The Illusionarium by Heather Dixon Book Review

The Illusionarium by Heather Dixon - 3 stars

SPOILER-FREE 

SYNOPSIS:

From the author of Entwined comes The Illusionarium, a fast-paced thriller in which a boy has to navigate a new world where the only way to survive is to perform illusionary shows. Upon discovering his mother and sister are both suffering from a mysterious plague, Jonathan decides he will help his dad find a cure for the plague that is ravaging their world. Enter Lady Florel, the woman who believes that with the help of magical fantillium, someone can be whisked into her version of London (Nod'ol) to help save her world. When Lady Florel discovers Jonathan can perform apt illusions, she offers him a deal: Come to Nod'ol for a few hours and then receive the cure, which she has already created. Leaving everything behind, Jonathan enters this mysterious Nod'ol only to discover how bleak the world has become--the people wear mysterious masks and rely on fantillium, and the city has all but been destroyed and deserted. What he doesn't realize, is that by entering Nod'ol, he is signing his name to the line of competitors in the Illusionarium. Now, he is expected to compete against two other Illusionists. All of them are competing for something of importance, but it is up to Jonathan to win the game and give the best performance, so that he may save his world.

This book sounded AMAZING based on the synopsis. And that freaking flawless cover (so much love for whoever designed it, because it completely captivated me all the way to the cashier at B&N). Unfortunately, this book didn't necessarily live up to my expectations for quite a few reasons. 

SPOILERS AHEAD 

THE GOOD:

Originality. I loved that this book had such an original premise! I have never heard of a book that consists of illusioning, at least not in the sense evoked here. It was so interesting that a sort-of drug-induced coma could allow people to essentially imagine things and have them appear to pop up in real life! It's everyone's wildest dream come true! It was especially interesting that the illusionists needed to know the chemical makeup of certain things before they could make anything appear in their illusions. The whole process was very creative and in-depth. The characters were also very out-of-the-box, in the sense that they were unlike any other cast of YA characters I had read about. For instance, Jonathan was an extremely clumsy protagonist, which was quite enjoyable to me, as it's sometimes nice to take a break from the endless slew of badass, sword-wielding characters.

Imagery. I died at the imagery. Heather Dixon was phenomenal at world-building in this book (but this only applies to the second half--you'll hear about this in my rant below). Everything was so beautifully imagined, I could literally see it in my mind as she explained every facet of this world. I found this to be evident everywhere from the broad explanations (the city on the clouds, the airships, the masks), down to even the minuscule details (the color gradient on the dinner table, how each character was assigned a color to represent them throughout the Illusionarium competition). And when the cast of characters had their first competition, and there are mechanical spiders battling glass men, all throughout the city Jonathan illusioned... So perfect. It was written so beautifully. It's always impressive to me when an author's words paint the clearest picture in the world. It's borderline enchanting when this happens.

Schisms. UM. WHAT. Was anyone else even a little terrified when schisms of freaking body parts were introduced?! Because that was completely haunting to me! To think that this whole beautiful world based on literally making dreams realities, was actually the cause of horrible mutations of the people... Man. It was just so dark and enthralling to read about. I was particularly fascinated with the idea of schisms in life, or the idea that there are multiple realities, created based on different choices and little details throughout life. This was especially interesting because everyone has has the thought, "What if...." Well, Heather Dixon's book takes that and practically runs with it, and it was a little overwhelming to digest, even if it was so intriguing.

Footnotes. Holla to Heather Dixon for writing the only footnotes I've ever been interested (and excited) to read. 

THE BAD:

There wasn't a plot during the first half of the book and there was no hint of the direction this book was heading. No, really. There was nothing. I felt cheated during the first half. The sleeve of the book promised an adventure, and it almost felt like the first half of the book was focused on introducing us to the stage for which the scene is set, but there's actually little to no world-building. I found myself wondering what the real story was, and what the real plot was, because the first half did not match the synopsis at all.

The language. "Dead nice?" "Deader nice?" ....What kind of language is this? And why was it so utterly irritating to read...? This one is just personal preference, but seriously. I was cringing at some of the language choices in this book.

One dimensional characters with zero complexity. I was interested in Jonathan, even though he was a slightly flat protagonist, but only because he was an unwilling protagonist and was so clumsy and interesting to read. And I enjoyed Lady Florel/Queen Honoria, because unlike the rest of the cast, she was complex and served a great purpose. The rest of the cast was SO. DAMN. IRRITATING. I hated Lockwood in this story. He seemed like an unnecessary bit added for comedic value, and I probably would have liked his character in almost any other story. The two antagonists in the Illusionarium game/show were the absolute worst, though (notice how I can't remember their names--isn't that funny?). The girl was obnoxious and rude, and the guy was just a brute who wanted Anna (Jonathan's sister's parallel self). God. The characters were so bad. So, so, SOOOO BAD. It's like Dixon looked at Jonathan's character development, and just though, "Eh. Good enough."

Casually glossing over the fact that Jonathan learns to illusion like a pro in less than 2 days. So. You're telling me that illusioning is this complex practice where the illusionists need to understand the chemical makeup and/or bonds of the elements needed to make the illusion, and most of the illusionists study this for years, but Jonathan can learn this skill in one day?! AND be considered good enough to compete in the Illusionarium?! AND he can create cities, but he can't create the replica of a door in his own dad's study?! RIGHT. OK. Maybe I'm being a bit too critical, but I was so irritated that he just magically learned to illusion at the beginning of the book, and then had to study up later, just so could create a door. CALL ME CRAZY, but that was just oh-so irritating. He freaking illusioned the world sideways, for God's sake. AND LET'S NOT FORGET THIS WHOLE DAMN THING TAKES PLACE IN LESS THAN A FEW DAYS. Jeese.

Lockwood and Jonathan's relationship. This is kind of a pro/con for me. I really enjoyed their friendship near the end of the book. They were the epitome of bros, and it was fun for everyone involved. But at the beginning, Lockwood just hates Jonathan, for literally no reason whatsoever. But he still tries to kill him..... They had a random brawl outside of Lady Florel's cell, and another one when they both got locked up! The second one was understandable, but the first had no foundation! I mean NONE. There was no real conflict or reason for why these two should have even been fighting! Just.... No. Just no.

Lockwood falling in love in a day. DAMMIT. I was over halfway through with this book and was so pleased that there was absolutely no insta-love or corny romance--it was just a fantasy book with beautiful imagery, and fun action. It was great! But then, we get to the end. And for some stupid reason, Lockwood and Anna fell in love. IN ONE DAY. It wasn't even insta-love and angst, it was just straight up insta-love with no foundation for the feelings. They literally met each other in a day. I was so irritated that this was in the story. It almost seemed like an afterthought, though. As if Dixon realized her story was missing a romantic element, and it was thrown in last minute. I could have done without that whole part of the ending.

OVERALL:

Eh. It was ok. Yes, just okay. I actually really enjoyed the entire second half of the book. I loved when schisming was revealed and I loved Jonathan's fortitude as a main character. Even more so, I loved the imagery Dixon created, especially in the scene where Jonathan illusions the whole world sideways, and runs to find Lockwood. All that cannot make up for the train wreck that was the first half, though. I was just so bored with the characters and the plot (or lack thereof) during the first full half (the story doesn't get going until about 160 pages in, and that's almost inexcusable). Usually I can excuse a slow start, as long as there is adequate world-building. But there was really nothing special about the first half--no world building, just mediocre character introductions, no emotion, nothing. I found myself so irritated by this book, that it became a job to get through it (until the second half, which I actually enjoyed).

Honestly, this book was okay, but so utterly forgettable. I read this book only two weeks ago, and had to reference my notes multiple times in order to remember exactly what happened. At the end of the day, this was a wonderful idea that was just poorly executed. I'd like to see another author give the illusioning act another try. 

END VOTE:

3 stars

★★★

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry - Book Review/Rant

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry - 2 stars

SPOILER-FREE 

SYNOPSIS:

So this book starts out with some high school kids that work in a pizza place--none of them are too close, nor are they overly friendly to one another. Then, one night, a mysterious man calls in to order 3 pizzas and asks for the girl in the mini cooper, who happens to be our main character, Gabie. What this man doesn't realize, is that Gabie is not working that night, but instead, Kayla is working and making deliveries. She takes the 3 pizzas to a non-existent address. The next morning, everyone realizes she has disappeared.

As the story unfolds, we follow Gabie in her attempts to understand and come to terms with the fact that the order was meant for her, not Kayla. And with time running out, and an unhelpful (and slightly shady) police force leading the investigation, Gabie must use her intuition and her newfound friendship with co-worker Drew to find a way to save Kayla, or else.

SPOILERS AHEAD 

THE GOOD:

Mystery. The mysterious element of this book was just SO promising. I finished this book in a day because I was completely on the edge of my seat. The whole time, the readers are given tiny clues regarding what may or may not have happened to Kayla. We're set to believe that everyone is a suspect and no one is safe. Throughout the whole book, I kept waiting for this epic mystery to unveil into a spectacular ending, which I feel a bit cheated out of. To add to the mystery, we get glimpses into "John Robertson" (Kayla's kidnapper) and how he is viewing the situation. I was particularly intrigued in the mystery surrounding her kidnapping scene, which entailed: her car, her purse, the keys in the ignition, and a bloody rock. I was almost completely salivating at this, as it seemed like a promising setup for a sinister kidnapping, which it wasn't (but I'll get into that later). Overall, the mystery was the redeeming quality of this book. It was so entertaining and I breezed through this book quickly because of it. Unfortunately, that's where the good qualities begin and end.

Pictures/Newspaper Clippings/Evidence. I enjoyed that tiny aspect of the book. It was a small detail that made the kidnapping case feet a bit more immersive.

THE BAD:

Gabie and Drew. God. What is it about authors that makes them believe that every story needs a romance? I was particularly annoyed with Drew in the first few pages when he discussed how beautiful Kayla was, and how beautiful Gabie was. As a reader, I had no idea which girl he was interested in (because OBVIOUSLY he had to be interested in at least one of the girls). That's just a little minor problem compared to how the characters were actually written. Can we just take a moment to recognize that the narration for both characters was practically identical? I would sometimes catch myself in the middle of a chapter, and realize I was reading it as if it were from Gabie's point of view, instead of Drew's. There was no clear variation. I don't even understand why it was necessary to include Drew's narrative, as it was usually a re-telling of Gabie's. That's pretty much my number one pet peeve with dual-narrative novels. Even more irritating was Gabie's incessant rantings: "Poor me--it should have been me! Poor Kayla, but it should have been me!" It was so hard to stomach. I thought Gabie was the most irritating character for this reason. Even worse, she kept claiming that she could feel Kayla alive, even when no one else could. Um, WHAT?! They weren't even friends, nor were they even close (which she reminds us of, constantly), yet she "feels" Kayla is alive. Ugh. The idiocy was too much to handle.

Kidnapper. This was the most glaringly annoying facet of the story. It was actually what made me throw this book across the room upon completion. Throughout the whole story, we're basically led to believe the kidnapper knew Kayla or Gabie--we're led to think he must be someone close to them in proximity, if only just a regular in the Pizza shop. Which, he was. But when Kayla is kidnapped, about 1/3rd of the way into the plot, the kidnapper laments that she recognized him and smiled when he got out of his truck and went to meet her (she was parked by the river, due to the fake address she was trying to find). But then, when she's locked in his basement, her POV claims she has no idea who he is (Excuse me while I guffaw at this irritating inconsistency). What's even MORE irritating about this mysterious kidnapper, is that we literally never find out the motive for his kidnapping. NEVER. There's even a chapter where he is literally having an internal struggle: He wanted Gabie for his purpose, because she was perfect, but now he has Kayla, so he can mold her. Okay, so I was intrigued by this, and I assumed we would be told the motive at the end when he was (inevitably) caught. BUT NOPE! We learn NOTHING of his motive! WHAT?! That was the most irritating part of the entire book, because after 230 pages, we're literally left with a kidnapping story, completely devoid of a motive. Even worse, Kayla soon discovers that she is not the first girl the kidnapper has kidnapped. But do we ever find out why he was kidnapping girls....? OF COURSE NOT BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SILLY. We only find out that he wants Kayla to address him as "Master." Hmm. Ok.

After I closed this book, I was so irritated at the lack of closure I felt. I was so annoyed, and irritated, and baffled, and just completely confused as to why the author just decided to add details, only to completely ignore them later in the novel.

"Gaby". Ohhhhh, yes. The author actually wrote, "Gaby" instead of "Gabie." Total hilarity. How do you even mess up your main protagonist's name? I almost laughed. 

OVERALL:

Well, I don't even know how to sum up this review. I was irritated by the characters, my questions were unanswered, there was no clarity of motive, and yet..... I still read it and enjoyed the fast pace the author so expertly adopted. There was a reason I read this one day: it was edgy, dramatic, chilling, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Perhaps if the ending had been better, or if the actual kidnapping had been explained, or the kidnapper's motive had been identified, maybe this would garner more stars. However, due to an unfulfilling ending and a largely unlikable cast of characters, my review rests at 2 stars.

END VOTE:

2 stars

★★

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – 5 stars

Note: I will start by warning all readers that there will be spoilers in this review! I will begin with a light synopsis, so as not to spoil the review for anyone who has yet to pick up this book, and then I will move into a more detailed review. Don't worry, I'll let you know when the spoilers are coming.

SPOILER-FREE 

Have you ever read a book, that you considered a borderline masterpiece, for reasons foreign to even yourself, but for some reason, you deemed it to be so? That is exactly how We Were Liars made me feel. Now, if you haven't read this book, it is recommended you go into the story without knowing anything other than this: You are about to meet a cast of characters that go to an Island every summer. They are the Liars. 

I know, I know. Cheap and simple synopsis. But believe me, it's best not knowing what you're getting yourself into. With most books, I understand the desire to seek out the plot before delving head-first into a potentially horrid story. But PLEASE refrain from doing so if you have any interest in picking this book up. It is just over 200 pages and a quick read, so even if you (for some strange, and ungodly reason) end up hating it, you can look back on the book knowing you didn't invest much. 

That being said, I too went into this book without knowing anything of the plot, characters, or the synopsis. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. All I can say in this spoiler-free section, is this: take a chance and read this book. It's mysterious and intriguing, and that's reason enough to give it a shot. 

SPOILERS AHEAD 

SYNOPSIS:

I'm trusting that if you scrolled past the spoiler warning, you've read this book. So let's just dive in at full speed. We Were Liars was a thrilling mystery, that you weren't even aware was a mystery, right? There's something about the name, the vague description, and the cover that just scream "contemporary summer read!" But then, about halfway through the book, you realize something's off. The side characters act strangely--walking around in the middle of the night, claiming one of the houses is haunted. And as a reader, you probably start feeling uneasy. This book focused on a group of friends, named "The Liars" who, despite school and outside life, re-connected on their family's island every summer. Our narrator is Cadence, who is going through what can only be described as a life-changing few years. The book brushes over a lengthy amount of time before we are able to get to the crux of the actual story, which was Cadence returning to her family's island after missing a summer and feeling disconnected and forgotten by her family friends. But when Cadence returns to the island, nothing is as it seems. Mirren, Johnny, and Gat are all acting differently, as though they don't want her to partake in their summer shenanigans, like cliff diving. The whole time, Cadence cannot figure out why they are being distant, or what has changed. All she can make sense of is that she has strong feelings for Gat, despite her grandfather's disapproval. Through the summer, her family fights over the estate, and essentially deals with what I've aptly defined as "rich people problems." It isn't until the other Liars start hinting to her that she needs to remember something, that we are introduced to the real story and the real conflict. We then follow Cadence on a journey to discover the tragedy that happened on the island, leaving Mirren, Johnny, Gat, and the family dogs dead in a fire. 

THE GOOD:

Mystery. I didn't even know I was picking up a contemporary novel riddled in mystery and intrigue! This was borderline shocking to me, because I went into this book with zero preconceived notions. The actual mystery was so masterfully constructed, it's almost hard to put into words what made it so perfect. While reading through the first hundred pages or so, I was thinking to myself, "Wow, this family is messed up, her friends are being less-than-kind, and there's no real plot here, just a lot of anecdotes about this money mongering clan." And I could see how many people would feel this way prior to about the halfway mark. Once you realize the mystery, and the revelation comes that Cadence is responsible for plotting a fire that killed The Liars, you are suddenly capable of looking back and noting that every little story and detail in the first half of the book was relevant--everything was a clue for what was to come. This was completely jarring to me, but in the best way possible.

Characters. E. Lockhart did an amazing job writing every character to near perfection. I absolutely hated every single person in this family, which was the point. After the mystery is solved, it becomes clear that we were absolutely meant to abhor every member of this wretched family. We were meant to find them awful and self-absorbed. We were meant to like the Liars and appreciate their own little world they built away from their otherwise horrid family. If the readers did not have a foundation for such feelings, there would have been no way to get the readers on Cadence's side when the fire plot was revealed. As readers, we needed to hate this family so that we could side with the Liars and understand why their revenge plot was necessary, even if poorly-planned. Upon completing the book, it becomes clear that all of this negative character-building was necessary. E. Lockhart did this masterfully.

THE BAD:

A minor plot hole. Overall, the book was pretty much devoid of anything that would seriously compromise my five-star rating. However, there were small plot holes that made me reflect and think, "Huh?" When the Liars made a mess around the house they were staying in, was it really there? One of the adults walked in and noted it, which makes me think the mess was indeed real. Which makes me wonder if Cadence made it on her own, a side effect of her clear mental illness. This was the only thing that bothered me when reflecting on my reading experience, because all I could think about was how the mess was there when Cadence walked in. Which leads me to question whether the Liars were real, or just a figment of her imagination. But then again, maybe this was Lockhart's intent?

Liars(?). This was such a minor detail that was never explained, which peeved me only slightly. We were never told why the group was called "The Liars," only that the adults had aptly named them that. Once I got to the end of the book, my first thought was that the term "Liars" made sense because they were all living a lie the whole summer. Maybe it was intended to be a foreshadowing term to describe their later actions? Or again, maybe all of this was Cadence's imagination. There's so much room for interpretation on this. 

OVERALL:

So far, this has been the best book I've read in 2015. To me, the mark of a good book is whether the characters and story have the ability to haunt you. If you can look back, months later, after reading numerous other books, and still remember the story, and still feel just as affected by it as you did the moment you closed the book--that's a good book. For me, this story was almost unbearably haunting. I wasn't expecting such a dark read when I picked this up. I was in the mood for light-hearted contemporary, and basically something that would just make me go, "Aww." While this book was none of those things, it was an amazing read. It was short, mysterious, dark, and haunting. I can honestly say I've never read anything like it. Because of all the mysterious details in the first half of the book, I am tempted to go back and re-read this story, so that I may be able to pick up on little bits of foreshadowing that I missed during my initial read. This was such a haunting read that I couldn't get out of my head even if I wanted to.

END VOTE:

5 stars

★★★★★

Soon To Be Reviewed and May TBR List

Fellow Book Lovers,

As you'll notice, my review for Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is below. And it's actually the first book review I've decided to write and post! Now, I won't go into details why exactly I'm choosing now to start this journey (when I've had this blog for ohhhh, I don't know, almost five years), but I'm very excited to start sharing my thoughts and reactions to YA novels with fellow book lovers around the internet.

After suffering through a silly reading slump earlier this year, I have just read a slew of books that are deserving of their own detailed reviews. So, without further ado, here is the list of reviews I plan to write and post within the week:

Upcoming Reviews: 
Endgame The Calling by James Frey
The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Even more exciting is the fact that I am currently sitting in front of a stack of TBR books that I also plan on reading within this month (YAY):

May TBR: 
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
H2O by Virginia Bergin
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Seeing as how I've already read 4 books within this past week, May is off to a good start. I'm so excited to FINALLY start this journey. :) If you're interested to see my ever-growing list of TBR books, plus a list of books I've already read and rated, here's my Goodreads profile: goodreads.com/jmreynolds92. Add me if you'd like to be friends, see what I'm reading, or you're just interested in seeing weird lists of books! I always love meeting new booklovers, as they seem to be a rarity around me these days.

Until Next Time! <3

NOTE: Please note that my Goodreads lists of "Read" books is not an all-inclusive list. I've read so many books before discovering Goodreads, and I know it will take time for me to inventory all of them. Treat my Goodreads lists as the most current books I've read (because I honestly have no idea how to review books I remember reading in 3rd-8th grade, especially because I don't remember the plots of them all). I pretty much remember reading books like Nancy Drew, The A-List, Gossip Girl, The Clique, etc. But as most of those books are not very memorable (as well as many other books I once read), you will not see reviews for all of them. Thank You!!