Fairytale re-tellings can either be completely brilliant or total poop. Marissa Meyer is a master at taking things to the limit of unconventionality and making it obscenely awesome.

Scarlet is the second book in the Lunar Chronicles and it took me ages to get my hands on a copy. So either it was really popular, or the book sellers here do not have any clue as to the calibre of story Meyer creates.

Little Red Riding Hood has never made me this excited. Red teams up with Wolf to save Grandma, and along the way her tale tangles with Cinder’s. Oh, what a twisted web they weave, but oh, how the web will grip you.

This is fast paced; full of action and adventure, you’ll be looking for book three, Cress, the moment you’ve read the last word on the final page. I promise.

http://www.marissameyer.com/

Paperback, 452 pages

Published February 7th 2013 by Peguin Books (first published February 5th 2013)

ISBN 0141340231 (ISBN13: 9780141340234)

My first musical infatuation circa 1996!

Alright, one of Brisbane’s most iconic music stores is closing in late June. (Sad face.) The reason this store was iconic was Savage Garden front man Darren Hayes worked there.

For those of you who have no idea what the big deal is, picture 14 year old me sitting in my friends lounge room in the wee hours of a Saturday morning and, seeing 2 guys from Logan actually on RAGE (The show was better in the 90’s, trust me). Oh and this is the original clip for their first single I want you …

It was extremely surreal, being able to picture the roads they’re travelling along. Knowing they’re local boys. Man were Darren and Daniel cute to me in those days.

The follow up single, Moon and Back had me pulling parallels to my own life, so beyond everything else I felt like they were singing to my heart.

Darren read Anne Rice, and I discovered her to be an intricate storyteller.  He is one of the reasons I am still reading to this day.

Fan Club membership number 106 was MINE. I have the Fanzines for the first 3 years. I have all the TV Hits articles; anything Savage Garden tended to find its way into my possession. 

In 1999 their second album, Affirmation, was released to more tears from me. The song 2 beds and a coffee machine reminded me of a friend who was being abused by her family in high school and I haven’t seen her since our school formal. The song still chokes my up to this day.

My hubby proposed to me while we were at their Affirmation concert in 2000.

Now there is a glut of memorabilia going on sale to clear the floor for Woody’s Music to close their doors.

It’s sad to see a local icon close their doors, but if I can get my hands on something signed, I will be that 14 year old girl again for just a moment, crying when those songs came on the radio, dreaming of a big life in a sleepy city, of a time when the possibilities were endless.

So now, if you put this into context, all those screaming fan girls will grow up one day, and even if their memories make them cringe, they will always be able to remember where and how they were made to feel when the song they first became infatuated with is played on the radio.

https://www.facebook.com/events/684188564973616/

Brisbane author, Alayna Cole, shares her Chocolate Mug-cake recipe with us. Good for a cold winter evening!

• 4 tbls plain flour
• 4 tbls caster sugar
• 2 tbls cocoa powder
• 1/4 tbls baking powder
• dash of vanilla essence
• 3 tbls oil (I use olive, but vegetable or whatever would work fine)
• 2 tbls water
• 1 egg.

Combine all in a mug. Whisking with a fork helps get all the powder up from the bottom and smooths any lumps.

 Microwave for 1min – 1.5min. It depends on your microwave. Start low, and if it’s too soft in the middle, work your way up next time – you don’t want to overcook it!

Bel:

Cover

The hard cover’s dust jacket is stark white with two teens hand in hand, backs to the viewer, in yellow scrubs. With the dust jacket off, the fresh faced teens are facing forward. They both, however, are utterly miserable looking.

Characters

There is a plethora of hate-able characters in this angst- filled book–though it is difficult to separate the person from the situations they’re put into and how they survive to the best of their abilities.

Favourite

James. Some things never change.

Least Favourite

Sloane’s parents. UGH!

Beginning

Suicide is at epidemic proportions in the under 18’s. So The Program has been invented to ‘save’ at risk teens.

Storyline

Sloane’s picked for The Program; she endures and assimilates.

Ending

Things are never as black and white or clean cut as the ones in power would like.

Thoughts

I don’t know if I was in a bad head space when I started reading this book, or the book triggered a bad head space, but I do not recommend it for anyone with mental illness. It is far from a happy book, and by the end, I was ready to let my black dog catch me.

Perhaps some parts hit a little too close to home. Perhaps it was the parents and society using medications and ‘reprogramming’ instead of listening and using alternative preventative measures to treat their teens.

Quote

“I bet she looks beautiful,” my mother says. “The returners always look so healthy, don’t they Don?”

Kids help line http://www.kidshelp.com.au/  1800 55 1800

Life line http://www.lifeline.org.au/  13 11 14

Krista:

Cover

This cover is the perfect representation of the book. So far it’s been my favourite cover over all. The image of Lyla and James in yellow uniforms staring down a white hall represents the feeling of the book well.

Characters

Favourite

James: He showed the most emotions and things that I wanted to feel as a reader trying to identify with the characters.

Least Favourite

Sloane: I couldn’t connect with her or her family.

Beginning

Suicide rates have been rising and the school systems are implementing new programs to help them cope with the loss of loved ones but also to keep those survivors alive.

Storyline

With suicide now an international epidemic, Sloane knows her parents will do anything to keep her alive. Everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Their depression is gone—but so are their memories. The only person Sloane can be herself with, is James. They are both growing weaker, depression is setting in, and The Program is coming for them.

Ending

What I liked about the ending is that it gives us hope for the 2nd book in the series. It leaves us with the sense that there’s more out there to discover.

Thoughts

I had a hard time getting emotionally invested in a story in which all emotions are suppressed. Everything is so depressing. Mourning is not allowed and the actions that the parents and teachers take were very outlandish in my opinion. What I did appreciate about the book was the ending and the hint at an even bigger idea that could really take this story to exciting places.

Quote

“I’m so alone. It’s like being dead but still conscious.”

“It’s like I never existed. We had so many secrets together and now they’re just mine. The weight of them is too heavy for me to carry.”

Lisa:

Cover

I absolutely LOVE the cover on this one, for so, SO many reasons! First off, the white background: I like how it looks so clean, bright, and it makes the yellow suits REALLY stick out. Besides that, I also like that we can’t see the models’ faces. I’m just so tired of book covers where faces take over the entire thing! I feel like it ruins the character for me because the face on the cover doesn’t look anything like I imagine the character to look.

Characters

There were quite a few characters in this book that I despised, and one or two that kind of grew on me.

Favorite

This one is tough…I had such a hard time connecting with characters in this book simply because the way things worked in this world, and how EVERYONE just went right along with it, and never thought to question anything. If I REALLY (and I mean REALLY!!) had to pick someone, I would have to agree with Bel and Krista, and go with James. But I would also have to pick Sloane. Why you may ask? Because of their feelings and because they seemed to be the only ones to recognize just how wrong this entire situation is.

Least Favorite

Where should I start? Sloane’s parents? For goodness sake! Your child is being dragged away to this crazy place, which will completely wash out some of her memories! She will be stuck there for weeks under drugs. What else has to happen to her for their parental instinct to finally kick in?

Beginning

The beginning of this story and the way this society runs is what suckered me in reading The Program: a world without emotions? How is that even possible? With brain washing and lots of drugs, I guess. Sloane and James (her boyfriend/brother’s best friend) are dealing with the lost of Sloane’s brother. But that’s pretty hard to do when you can’t express any sort of grief and when there’s threat of being sent to the “looney bin.”

Middle

Sloane is picked up and brought to the program. She doesn’t know what happens inside, but Sloane does know that the people who come back from The Program are cleansed and cleared of any sort of emotion. The majority of this book follows Sloane’s journey through The Program and the difficulty of dealing with these memories she can’t remember but somehow knows, after she gets released.

Ending

I don’t actually want to say what happens in the end, but this was definitely my favourite part of the book. Like Krista said, there is a little bit of hope and insight into the second book, The Treatment. And just Bel said, things aren’t always what they seem. I couldn’t put it in any better terms than Krista and Bel did.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, the story was interesting. Some of the characters were frustrating, but a few did grow on me. I liked The Program, but I did struggle a bit getting through it. I listened to it on audio (which may be why I was struggling my way through the story) and felt that some parts were just dragged out. When Sloane was in the program, I just felt like this part took SO long, and SO many things said seemed to be repeated over and over again.

I do plan on picking up The Treatment, but before I do, I will be reading The Program in physical form again, instead of listening to it on audio.

The world has ended with the coming of the Rapture and those who did not make it to Heaven wander through Earth’s wasteland, trying to survive the demon-infested nights. Sam, a half-human, half-demon, has recovered from the wounds the Archangel Michael inflicted on him but not from the loss of Aimi, the angel that he loves.

He spends his time protecting the innocents left on earth, while trying not to reveal what he is to them. It can’t last, however. The final battle looms ever closer and Yeth, Sam’s hellhound, has been missing too long. If Sam has a chance of finding his mother or joining the battle of the Apocalypse, he will need Yeth by his side.

The Rapture trilogy holds together really well. The world is built on biblical mythology and stays faithful to it throughout all three books, while weaving in its own unique legend. The characters grow, but remain true to their origins. The promise of the first book is realised in the last. Sam’s part in the war is creative in a way that I wasn’t expecting; his mother is brought into the novel finally and more of the ideas of Heaven and Hell are explored.

Like Rapture and Tribulation, the first two books in this trilogy, Apocalypse starts with a fast pace that barely lets up until the big finale. Fans of Simpson’s amazing actions sequences won’t be disappointed by the last instalment. The battles are bigger, the enemy more powerful, and the humans more desperate than ever.

Though the major scenes in Apocalypse don’t disappoint, there are several places that feel like old ground being covered. Human groups yet again don’t want Sam to play with them, Sam is still trying to toss-up between his human and demon side, and it isn’t fair that Heaven has all these cruel rules. Sometimes when an entire book centres on one character the emotions and thoughts roil in circles, not bringing anything fresh to the table. Apocalypse definitely suffers for this. Having had Sam primarily on his own in Rapture and Tribulation, he really should have had Yeth and Grace around for most of Apocalypse. Admittedly, this opinion is partly selfish. Grace and Yeth were my favourite characters and they were woefully under-utilised in the final and arguably most important novel.

Despite these issues, the big questions that everyone wanted answers to are resolved perfectly and the trilogy is tied up neatly, leaving behind few loose ends. Anyone who loved Sam and felt for his plight in the first two books will savour the last one. Apocalypse is a bitter and sweet end to an imaginative trilogy.

Apocalypse – Phillip W. Simpson

Arete Publishing (February 14, 2013)

ISBN: 9781301931378