Early Review: Zenn Scarlett

Zenn Scarlett

Christian Schoon

 Publisher: Strange Chemistry

 When you're studying to be exoveterinarian specializing in exotic, alien life forms, school... is a different kind of animal. Zenn Scarlett is a resourceful, determined 17-year-old girl working hard to make it through her novice year of exovet training. That means she's learning to care for alien creatures that are mostly large, generally dangerous and profoundly fascinating. Zenn’s all-important end-of-term tests at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars are coming up, and, she's feeling confident of acing the exams. But when a series of inexplicable animal escapes and other disturbing events hit the school, Zenn finds herself being blamed for the problems. As if this isn't enough to deal with, her absent father has abruptly stopped communicating with her; Liam Tucker, a local towner boy, is acting unusually, annoyingly friendly; and, strangest of all: Zenn is worried she's started sharing the thoughts of the creatures around her. Which is impossible, of course. Nonetheless, she can't deny what she's feeling. Now, with the help of Liam and Hamish, an eight-foot sentient insectoid also training at the clinic, Zenn must learn what's happened to her father, solve the mystery of who, if anyone, is sabotaging the cloister, and determine if she's actually sensing the consciousness of her alien patients... or just losing her mind. All without failing her novice year...

More than anything Zenn wants to be an exovet so she can look after and care for all the strange and unusual aliens creatures found across the solar system. Unfortunately her dreams are endangered by the situation on Mars particularly local residents who object to having a cloister full of ‘monsters’ just down the road.

Zenn is a nice character – determined and slightly lonely, but bright and genuinely cares about the creatures she works with. Her friend, Hamish the giant bug is a wonderful character who is struggling to adjust to human society compared to his own hive-like world. However, I found some of the other characters a little flat. The locals sudden dislike of the cloister and it’s residents doesn’t feel motivated by much - it feels like a very superficial dislike and Zenn’s uncle is just a distant caring authority figure who doesn’t really develop a personality. Her love interest Liam is also a little flat to me. However, considering this is a teen book I can forgive some of these elements as morals to impart consider what else is happening.

And there is much happening in this story with multiply sub-plots with the obligatory teen romance, the locals dislike of the cloister and the animals under their care, Zenn’s strange affinity for the animals, her Mother’s death, the political situation between Earth and Mars and the missing interstellar spaceships. However, it doesn’t feel crowded with the pace unfolding at a steady rate and little hints and breadcrumbs from each plot dropped carefully throughout the story. This weaving of the story lines is very good if you are a little bored with one type of story - personally Teen romance just doesn’t push my buttons much these days so I was happy that even this area was linked to the locals dislike of the cloister. I’m really intrigued with the disappearing spaceships and what happened to Zenn’s Mother and both of these areas are teased and hinted at but not resolved – awaiting the sequel to find out more!

The writing is very competent and the fantastic description of these truly alien creatures and how they actually work is wonderfully done. These creatures do add a lot of colour and vibrancy to the story and really makes Zenn stand out from other YA stories at the moment. Overall, I enjoyed the plots and pacing and the unusual setting even if some parts of the characters and plots are a little generic. Looking forward to seeing what the wider worlds hold for Zenn though and will definitely be picking up the sequel

Recommended for fans of Laura Lam and Sarah Alderson. 8 out of 10

Book Confession: One Year On - A Kindle Review

For my birthday last year a group of my friends clubbed together to get me a Kindle. I was so excited as it was completely unexpected and something I probably wouldn’t have purchased for myself at that time – the kindle was relatively new in the UK and I didn’t know anyone else with one. I know e-readers verses paper books is a major change both for readers and for the publication industry, so I thought I’d do a mini review of my first year with a kindle.





So a year after receiving my kindle and I have to confess it is one of my favourite possessions. I still buy physical books – especially for series I love – but in terms of practicality the kindle is fantastic. I don’t have to carry two books with me on the train when I’m nearing the end of one. It is lighter than most books – especially for the big tomes that I love to buy but don’t want to take up weight-lifting to read. I took it on holiday earlier this year and despite reading every day it never ran out of battery. Plus how fabulous is netgalley? I love having access to books ahead of their publication dates- and being able to read on the kindle is so much more comfortable than on the computer (which strains my eyes). The e-ink technology is great – it doesn’t hurt to read for long periods. As well as mobi files from Amazon, you can read pdf’s which is very useful.

I’ve not had any major issues with my kindle – I’ve only had to restart it once in a year and despite loading it with plenty of free and cheap books I’ve yet to fill the memory. And I have to confess I do like stroking the kindle as I read in the same way I do the cover of physical books!

But are there any drawbacks?

Battery life is pretty long but if you forget to charge it you can end up with nothing to read (as Sarah, my regular guest review discovered last week!). I’ve been lucky that it hasn’t happened to me, but there are mobile phone chargers out there that will work apparently. I miss seeing the covers of books and being able to read the back of them when I’ve finished a book. Also having books on the kindle does mean that occasionally an out of sight, out of mind mentality rules. Physical books stare at me from their piles around my flat, but I often forget exactly how many books I have on the kindle – and it is so easy to add new books all the time.

With the new cheaper, lighter Kindle format out in the UK and the Kindle Fire in the US, I don’t think the e-reader is going anywhere any time soon. In fact I’ve managed to persuade at least two friends to get a kindle in the last year! However, I will continue with my duel reading – both kindle and paper.

Which do you prefer? Have you avoided e-readers so far? Why? What do you think  the future holds for the reading experience? J

Ops! Accidental purchase...

Some of you may be aware that about a month ago I received a Kindle for my birthday from my friends. I've been really enjoying the experience of reading with an e-reader (as well as the envious glances from other people while I'm on the train!), but this weekend I discovered the first drawback to it - the accidental purchase...

It was I suppose, my own fault in a way. I was with some friends in the pub and raving about how great the Kindle is. I was waving it about and singing the praises of 3G..."Look I can buy a book, while I'm sat on the train or in a coffee shop - no waiting." I was proving my point by connecting to the kindle store and picking a book on the top sellers, more or less at random, "See, if I wanted I could just click here and it would be sent to me within 60 seconds...ops..". Yes, I pressed the wrong button and bought a book completely at random.

Um...

I have since discovered there is a section where if you do buy a book my mistake, it will be taken off your kindle and your money refunded. But I only discovered this afterwards.

The good news is that the book I bought, while not one I would have chosen, it might be a different read for me. It's an autobiographical story by one of the most popular entertainers in Britain - The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry.

So the moral of the story - be careful what you press on your kindle when showing off!

Out of interest - has anyone else bought a book by mistake?

Brother Grimm Fairy Stories Review

Brothers Grimm Fairy Stories

Kindle Version

I admit I only downloaded this from the kindle store as it was free and I was experimenting when I first got my new kindle. However, having thought about fairy stories a lot recently (see my themed wish list), I thought I read some of the original stories to see how they diver from the more famous versions that Disney publicises. It’s a bit of a surprise to find out how many of these stories there actually are – most of which aren’t famous – The Goose Girl, Brother and Sister and others. There is a theme of poor becoming kings and queens, stepmothers jealous of their stepdaughters and being nice and polite to strangers in the land saves you from the horrible curses they place on haughty and stuck up people. I was fascinated to see how different some of the famous stories are from their origins – Cinderella for example went to the palace for three nights running and her dress wasn’t supplied by a fairy godmother but rather a robin in a tree. Her ugly sisters tried to trick the prince into marry them by cutting off their toes to fit in the slipper – only the blood gave them away. While not graphic, evil people tend to have their comeuppance and end up dead or never heard from again.

I enjoyed reading the Brothers Grimm version of these stories, especially seeing the differences between the plots ‘we all know’ and the version that everyone knew 500 years ago. The differences and changes show that these stories aren’t set in stone but flexible and continual evolving.

Recommended for those young at heart and as an antidote to the Disney happy ever afters. 8 out of 10.

A New World/Kindle Review

A New World

-          Patrick Ness

Kindle Version

This review is split in two – a review of the story itself and a second review of reading with a kindle.

In this dramatic prequel to the award-winning Chaos Walking Trilogy, author Patrick Ness gives us the story of Viola's journey to the New World.

A New World is a short prequel story to the Chaos Walking trilogy (excellent books - so much more than a children’s story – so many shades of grey – please check them out starting with The Knife of Never-Letting Go).  It covers the events leading up to Viola’s crash landing and entry into Todd’s world. While it doesn’t add much that isn’t mentioned during the course of the trilogy, it does add more to Viola’s motivations throughout the novels especially regarding her determination to never give up hope. I’m not sure how much it would mean to anyone who hasn’t re ad the trilogy – at best it’s a great teaser trailer for books and if you’ve already read the trilogy then you really need no encouragement to pick this up – especially as it’s free either on the Amazon kindle site or on Patrick Ness’s website. It’s not a long story but I enjoyed a brief revisit to that world and it had me thinking about re-reading the trilogy, even though I only finished it a few months ago.

This was the first thing I read on the kindle (other than the user guide!) and i have to say I’m really impressed. At first I was a little worried that the kindle is so light I would be throwing it around, but after a while I got used to the lack of weight and loved the fact I could hold it in one hand – especially useful for reading while eating! All the hype surrounding the non-glare is true – it looks and feels like paper rather than an i-phone or DS and there is no backlight which means you can’t read it in the dark, just like paper. I showed it to a few people and they all immediately tried to scroll through the pages using the screen – until I pointed out that it’s not a touch screen. (It’s amazing how quickly everyone has got used to touch screens like the i-phone so quickly!) The kindle was easy to set up and it wasn’t long before I was able to download books – the hard thing is remembering that these books cost money just like paper books! My favourite thing about reading with the kindle is how once you settle in, you forget you’re even reading and are transported to the world you’re reading about.  

So now I’m all digital, am I going to forget about the old-fashioned paper books? Short answer is no. I still have nearly 80 books on my TBR-pile to get through and I still have all my favourites in hardcopy. What the kindle will do is help me save space – especially as my new flat hasn’t got that library room (one day!). I think with the series I’m already reading I’ll continue to purchase hardcopies so I can have the full series in one format. But all new series and one-offs I will try to get in digital format – especially as most of them seem to be cheaper at the moment (or at the least the books I’m interested in!).

Recommend A New World for fans of the Chaos Walking trilogy and people who want a taste of one of the best children’s trilogies since Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials. 7 out of 10

Recommend a kindle so all those who enjoy reading but are fed up of carrying bricks around with you. 10 out of 10

My Book Haul - Surprise Kindle!

My new kindle sitting in it's box

Last week it was my birthday and as it was round number (no, I’m not saying!), some of my lovely friends grouped together and bought me a Kindle!! It arrived all wrapped up and unannounced in the post yesterday – I have to say there’s a lot of packaging for what it is really a light-weight and small product. I got so excited when I saw what it was and rushed off to charge it up and start browsing the kindle store. As a result I’ve downloaded a number of free books –

Dracula by Bram Stoker – I’ve read this before and love it. It’s always a good book to have and I’ve been thinking about re-reading it recently.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irvine Washington – one of those classics I’ve always wanted to try but have never got round to.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – can you see a theme developing? Again another book I’ve never read. Between these three I might have a Gothic horror themed week at some point!

The Brother Grimm Fairy Stories – I’ve been a bit of fairy tale hunt recently (as you can see from my wishlist last week!) and I don’t think I’ve ever read the original versions of them. I understand they are quite gory – so another book downloaded.

A New World by Patrick Ness – This is a prequel to his excellent Chaos Walking trilogy based on Viola before she reaches the planet. A friend had sent me this before as it’s free (or at least was!) on Patrick Ness’s website but I never got round to reading it. I saw it on the free section of site and thought I’m having that!

  

 The final book I downloaded last night wasn’t a free one but it was heavily reduced so I splashed on Fallen by Lauren Kate. I’ve heard a lot about this series on the blogosphere in the last month – especially with the sequel just released so another one to try.

I’d been toying with the idea of getting one for a while – there are some great books now available and of course the kindle books are cheaper than the paper one – I think my bank manager might appreciate the saving, especially as I haven’t had to fork out on the initial cost of the system! I haven’t started reading anything yet – I rarely have more than one book on the go so I‘m just waiting to finish my current read before I get to take my kindle on a test read.

So now I’m a new kindle owner, is there anything I should know about it? What did you wish you knew about the kindle when you first got it? What’s the best – or worse about it? I can already see getting hold of books within 60 seconds can be dangerous for impulse shopping!