Saint Iggy by K.L. Going

I have accidentally started collecting K.L. Going books. Collecting but not reading. Out of her seven books, I've somehow gathered up three of them without even realizing, so I decided to give one a try. I had Saint Iggy with me in Tennessee.

Iggy is a delinquent by his own estimation. The story begins on the day that he is ejected from his school which will lead to a hearing which will probably lead to an expulsion. Many delinquents wouldn't care, but Iggy does. Iggy does because he's not really a delinquent.

Certainly, Iggy struggles with school. He was born already hooked on a drug which is what happens when an infant's mother takes drugs while she is pregnant. He thinks that he is stupid and perhaps he's not the brightest, but it seems to me that his biggest issue is focus. Everything seems to distract him and he constantly imagines conversations in his head.

Iggy also has a friend, Mo, who is supposed to be a kind of mentor, but really is just another kid looking for a drug problem. Iggy can see that unless something changes, Mo is going to get himself killed. He also wants to clear his hearing and make it back into the good graces of the school. These two problems drive the narrative.

The story was quick paced and easy to read. The book features short chapters, a linear plot, and a single point of view. So, it's a good book for struggling readers. The end however, is oddly jarring. It's not how I would have expected it to end and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. It fits the story, but it didn't seem to be where things were headed.

It was decent, I didn't love it.

Valiant by Holly Black

It's always weird writing posts for multiple books in a series, which is why I started doing those series posts a while back. Those series posts always felt a little lack luster though and so now I'm back to this.

I'm not sure what I expected from a second novel in the Modern Faerie Tale series. I guess I assumed that the story would follow Kaye or at least Roiben. However, Valiant introduces entirely new characters. While still part of the same world, there is almost no cross-over in characters.

Valiant introduces Val who is something of a jock and something of a tom-boy. She plays lacrosse at school has a gay friend named Ruth and a boyfriend with a mohawk named Tom. There's nothing unusual or difficult about her life, she's just drifting through. That changes when she accidentally walks in on her boyfriend cheating on her with another woman, and the last woman Val would have expected.

Val goes to a hockey game to clear her head and just doesn't go home. It's not a concious decision, she just fails to get on the train home and soon is distracted by meeting Lolli and Dave who live in an abandoned subway station. Val fits right in. Soon, Val meets Dave's brother Luis and finds out how the exiled fey manage to survive in New York City. Oh, and obviously she discovers that the fey exist.

The only glaring problem is that someone is killing the fey and humans are high up on the suspect list.

This one reminded me less of the paranormal romances and more of Francesca Lia Block's Weetsie Bat books. I think because there is more of a dreamy quality to some of the writing. During her time on the streets, Val experiments with a drug that is a sort of magical acid. So there is a sort of weird magical realism going on.

Clearly there are some tough themes here, but relevant to a teenaged audience. Aside from the drugs, Val spends most of the book living rough on the streets. It's appropriate for teens but does require a more mature mindset.

Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff

This is a Ryan recommendation. I've read Matt Ruff before and his books are stunningly diverse. With most writers, there is a definite feel to their work that links it all together. Each book of Ruff's that I've read, has had a unique writing style. This isn't a bad thing, but it does mean that you never know what you'll get picking up one of his books.

Bad Monkeys is a strange book. Part of it is that I'm reading a lot of YA with a lot of very young protagonists, Jane Charlotte is in her 40's. Most of it is that Jane Charlotte is an unreliable narrator and a not terribly likable one.

This is a psychological thriller. The story begins with Jane Charlotte in the psych ward attached to a prison. She's guilty of murder and being evaluated by a psychologist. During this evaluation, she tells her story. The plot then alternates chapters between the psychologist and the events of her story.

Jane Charlotte insists that she is part of a secret society guiding human culture. She's part of the unit that eliminates irredeemable members of society, those that cause widespread harm. Before long, she encounters a group with the opposing purpose to cause widespread chaos and harm.

Clearly, these groups are in conflict.

It's rare to read something that creeps me out so completely. That's a compliment actually. I believe that any book that can cause a strong emotional reaction is by that factor alone a good book. So by that metric, this was a very good book.

I will never be reading it again.