The A-Word by Joy Preble

This light and fun read is the sequel to The Sweet Dead Life.  If you haven't read that one yet, you might want to check out that review first!

It's been about a year since Jenna and her brother were in their car accident, which resulted in Casey becoming an angel.  Together with angel Amber Velasquez, they solved the Renfrew mystery, healing Jenna and her mom.  Things should be back to normal, right?  But Casey is still here on earth (no promotion for saving Jenna), and he's been "grounded" for using his wings.  Their father is still living mostly in Austin, and might even be seeing another woman.  Even worse:  Casey and Amber have started feeling a "spidey sense" that something is most definitely wrong.  But what?

The best part of this book:  the author's growth since the last book!  You might remember that I wasn't thrilled with some of the writing in The Sweet Dead Life.  The writing in The A-Word is so much better!  The primary characters are more 3D and real and mature.  The characters' actions and conversations feel more age-appropriate too.  In the first book, Jenna's speech and mannerisms seemed much more suited to a high schooler than a middle schooler; in this book she actually is a high schooler, and acting like one.  There was also a ton of putting-down of her brother in the first book and lots of drug references; in this sequel the brother is mostly clean, and there are only a few references to his past drug use.  This leaves a lot of room for character development and plot.

The plot in The A-Word starts right away.  There's a mystery and a sense of impending doom, and a new angel is introduced.  Jenna is struggling with being a normal teen and also trying to help the angels fight the bad in the world.  The mystery kept me guessing up until the end, and I totally enjoyed the ride.  The angels have this great snarky sense of humor, as does Jenna.  Along the way, Jenna will maintain her relationship with her best friend, Maggie (who has her own fantastically fun quirks), and maybe start a relationship with a boy.  :)

Overall, this is definitely a light YA read.  But it's so much fun!  I listened to the the audiobook during my commute and literally laughed out loud a number of times.  I recommend.

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by Tynga at Thursday, November 05, 2015

 angels, Blackstone Audio, Humorous, Joy Preble, Library, Paranormal, Review, The Sweet Dead Life, young adult  1 Person left their mark

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The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble

I was literally laughing out loud by the end of page 1 of this book!  It has a really strong start, with a main character who has that snark that I love so much.  However, I finished the book slightly conflicted.

The Sweet Dead Life reads as a series of journal entries by the main character, Jenna.  She's 14, in 8th grade, and possibly dying.  This journal (this book) is her way of recounting events that transpire.  Jenna has been sick and getting sicker for a few weeks now.  Unfortunately, her mom is deeply depressed and her older teen brother is always high and she's only in 8th grade and unable to take herself to the doctor.  One afternoon, Jenna passes out and her brother decides it's time to go to the hospital.  When Jenna wakes up in the hospital after surviving a major car wreck, her brother is suddenly beatified.  His skin has cleared up and he's standing up straighter.  And he's being nice to her.  How weird.  Turns out:  he didn't survive the car wreck with her, and he's now an angel.  (This isn't a spoiler; it's in the summary on the back of the book.)

Things that I love about The Sweet Dead Life:  Jenna's dry sense of humor.  I'm talking Sahara Desert dry here.  I love it!  As I mentioned before, I was literally chuckling out loud.  I also love the sibling/family dynamic in the book.  Joy Preble manages to show how much the siblings love each other and their mom while still keeping it all real.  They occasionally get frustrated with each other, but they always have each other's backs and will do whatever it takes to keep the family together and afloat.  I also love that this book shows teens dealing with a parent with mental illness.  Jenna and Casey's mom is so depressed that she literally cannot get out of bed some days.  She's stopped cooking and cleaning and working.  This is, unfortunately, a reality that some teens are living.  It's nice to have books that reflect that.

Some things that turned me off just a little:  Jenna's language and independence.  She's only 14 and in 8th grade, but I kept picturing her closer to 16 or 17.  She has the mouth of a sailor!  Realistically, I don't see myself recommending this book to many middle schoolers.  So I kind of wish the main character was solidly high school to more closely match her personality and language.  I also got a little weary of the drug references.  Jenna repeatedly references Casey's affinity for marijuana.  Like, every other page.  This was another reason why I thought Jenna should maybe be a little older; she was very aware of the weed smoking, and knowledgeable as to when and where Casey got his weed from.  Weed is the only drug named in the book, so there's none of the hard stuff.  But still... it was a little heavy-handed for my taste.

While the middle got just a little bogged down, the start and finish of The Sweet Dead Life were strong enough and entertaining enough for me to add the sequel to my to-read list.  It's a quick read; a mystery; some of the characters are angels; most of the characters are teens.

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by Tynga at Thursday, January 08, 2015

 angels, Joy Preble, Mystery, Publisher, Review, Soho Teen, Sweet Dead Life, young adult  1 Person left their mark

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Dark Winter Tale: Part 6 with Joy Preble

 

I'm really happy to have the fantastic Joy Preble with me today for the sixth part of the Dark Winter Tale story! She accepted our invitation right away, jumping with us on this crazy wagon!  She is the author of the successful Dreaming Anastasia and it’s sequel, Haunted, will hit the stores in 2 months!

If you missed the previous parts of this story, please visit the Master Sheet.

 

 

Liv started to protest – really she did – but fey dude took her hand and she found herself walking beside him. His skin was warm – human -feeling warm. But those pointy ears of his reminded her that he wasn’t human. At least not all of him.

One of the trolls growled menacingly but made no move to stop them. What good were trolls if they acted like puppy dogs? Liv made a mental note to research this. Perhaps the next time she was yanked into a subterranean someplace with a tall dark and handsome whatever he was, she’d need to know.

“You know how to get out of here?” Her question echoed in the cavern and also in her head. Of course he knew how to get out of here. Didn’t he?

Not that she hadn’t been in tight situations before. That night she’d met Wyatt had been one of them. It was his hair, she thought. She’d always been a sucker for dark, shaggy hair. And crooked ironic smiles. Got her every time. It had been her second week on campus – roommate Alice had gone home for the weekend and Liv was rattling around on her own. Not that that was a bad thing – Olivia liked her own company just fine. But sometimes being alone can turn to lonely, even in a huge dorm on a huge campus. Or maybe especially because of those things. Liv had headed out to explore – shake the cobwebs out of her head. I’m here for a fresh start, she told herself as she strode purposefully across the darkened quad. Forget that pesky past and everything that Nana Rose had confessed to her a few days before she’d left home. She was Olivia the college student now. The old Liv, the one with the wonky, crazy family secrets, didn’t have to follow her here. Nope. She could be all shiny and new if that’s what she wanted.

Only fate or the goddess or maybe just dumb luck had something else in store for Olivia McMichael. Something tall, dark and Wyatt – and looking over his shoulder as both he and Liv rounded the corner of the building on the far edge of campus and smacked into each other with a resounding ‘thwack.’ The rest, as they say, was history. And whatever had been chasing Wyatt never did show itself that night.

They’d ended up talking over coffee and late night breakfast tacos at Lupe’s. Because how could she not like a guy who was double majoring in bio-chemistry and linguistics? Wyatt was crazy smart, both sides of his brain working over-time. And he, well, knew stuff. Okay, it was the kind of stuff that Liv had sworn she was leaving behind her when she drove from Kenosha to Oregon for that fresh start she’d wanted for so very long.

I’m doomed, she’d thought as she washed down the last of the corn tortilla with a swig of black coffee. But they’d become friends anyway. Better to align herself with someone who honestly seemed wonkier than she was. Perhaps he’d be so busy hiding his own secrets that he’d never dig up those of a normal looking girl from a normal little town in Wisconsin, famous for its cheese shops that dotted the interstate. People who stopped at Mars Cheese Castle on their way to Milwaukee didn’t usually suspect that the girl who was bagging up their curds – with or without caraway seeds - had just been informed by her Nana Rose that the world of faeries and goblins was not just fiction. Or that while this explained a lot about her family it only served to heighten Liv’s resolve to move as far away as she could as soon as she could. The resolve which lasted exactly two weeks and disappeared with that ‘thwack’ when she met Wyatt.

Of course, she didn’t have to become Wyatt’s courier. But Liv was a curious girl. Besides, Wyatt had given her the talisman. The same talisman that was still resting in its little velvet pouch in her pocket. The same talisman that – if fey dude didn’t get her out of this cavern in the next three to five seconds or if he made a move or any kind of sound to set the trolls into attack mode again – she was about to grab and find out if it did what Wyatt had promised it would.

Liv dug her hand back in her pocket. Closed it around the pouch.

“The book,” fey dude was saying. He was still holding her other hand. “Wyatt’s cool about me having it, you know. Although he thought it would be easier if you just placed it back on the shelf. Only sometimes Wyatt and I disagree.” His voice was soothing but still had that low throaty edge in the background. Wonderful, thought Liv. Hot and dangerous. Exactly what gets me every time.

Better to act than to trust. Hand still in pocket, she loosened the drawstrings of the little pouch. Wrapped her fingers around the talisman. And under her breath, hoping that she’d finish before fey dude could catch on, began to chant.

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Here’s a bit more about Joy’s books! Dreaming Anastasia is already available and it’s sequel, Haunted will be available in February 2011!

Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan- who at eighteen made some choices he’s starting to regret – realizes that Anne is the girl for whom he’s been searching – for a very, very long time. Stir in doomed Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia – who is definitely not quite as dead as the history books say – and Baba Yaga, the legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got DREAMING ANASTASIA, a contemporary YA fantasy that alternates between the voices of Anne, Ethan, and Anastasia as Anne and Ethan join forces to battle the bad guys and save Anastasia. Only problem is – no one’s quite sure who’s really bad and who’s good. And everyone has some secrets.

Anne Michaelson’s world turned upside down last fall when a handsome, blue-eyed and temporarily immortal Russian named Ethan informed her that she had a destiny to save the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, held captive for decades by the witch Baba Yaga. But Anastasia had her own thoughts about destiny. And Anne and Ethan discovered that some things aren’t so easily undone. Now, six months later, the craziness in Anne’s world hasn’t gone away. Neither have her feelings for Ethan. Anne still has powers she doesn’t fully understand. She’s still dreaming about Baba Yaga’s forest. And she’s got a new boyfriend – very normal and very sweet lifeguard, Ben Logan. As for Ethan, well, he hasn’t quite gotten over the events of last fall, either. And he definitely hasn’t gotten over Anne. In short, everyone’s haunted by something – or someone.

Enter the rusalka – a Russian folklore mermaid with a malevolent streak - and a particular interest in Anne. When Ethan suddenly returns from Europe, Anne’s world collides with the paranormal once again. Her heart torn between Ben and Ethan, Anne’s search for the rusalka’s identity reveals deep and startling secrets - including the true source of Anne’s powers.

Like Dreaming Anastasia, HAUNTED is a wild adventure of a tale, a genre blend of fantasy, folklore and romance alternately narrated by both Anne and Ethan. As lives and fates intertwine and the romance heats up, so does the danger. “Stories within stories,” the rusalka tells Anne. “Secrets within secrets.” And as Baba Yaga frequently observes, nothing is as simple as it seems.

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Joy also very generously offered A signed copy of Dreaming Anastasia and a bookmark and postcard for Haunted.

The perfect opportunity to catch up with the series!

Open to US & Canada

Ends Dec 27th, 2010.

All you have to do is FILL THE FORM!

Thank you so much Joy!

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by Tynga at Wednesday, December 08, 2010

 Dark Winter Tale, giveaway, Joy Preble  12 People left their mark

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