With Malice » Book Review

I may have to retire YA suspense and thrillers for good, and With Malice is partially to blame.

The problem is, so much of the content of these books deals in teen drama and angst, and I'm officially in my mid-to-late twenties now.  I'm less compelled by high school power politics than ever before. I'm almost a decade removed from that time of my life.

Tastes change.  For instance, as a teen, I thought Twilight was incredible and carried a copy of it around with me at school to read and reread before classes.  Now, I keep a sentimental copy of my shelf to remind me of my past, but I never actually go back and visit it.

I don't see myself quitting YA anytime soon.  But I am reevaluating my allegiance.

Interestingly enough, here's what I wrote in February about the sample chapters of With Malice that I received in my Buzz Books sampler: I’m very conflicted about these sample chapters.  On the one hand, it sets up an intriguing story, one that plays on a number of classic noir films and thrillers.  On the other hand, I was not a fan of the style or the tone or the writing. Nor was I jumping up and down over the petty, high school drama that saturated the excerpt.

There we have it, folks.

With Malice and the Trials of Amanda Knox

There was a redeeming quality about the book, however.  That is the homage it pays to the darkly fascinating Amanda Knox case. Without a shadow of a doubt, With Malice is a complete and total reference to this famous story.

In the novel, our protagonist, Jill, loses her memory of the car accident that killed her best friend, Simone, while the two were studying abroad in Italy.  All signs point to Jill being guilty of crashing the car purposefully.  The Italian police certainly seem to think so and go after her with tenacity. Meanwhile, news reports about the case are gripping the world and everyone has an opinion over whether or not Jill killed Simone.  As the story begins, we see that public favor has turned against Jill, in an ugly way.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="294"] Amanda Knox on the left. Meredith Kercher on the right.[/caption]

As for the real life case that inspired With Malice...

Amanda Knox, a U.S. citizen, was studying abroad in Italy when her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was terribly murdered in their apartment. This happened in 2007. The Italian police and the country's corrupt justice system zeroed in on Amanda, latching onto her like a starving dog on a juicy bone. Dubbed "Foxy Knoxy" by the international media, Amanda was branded as Meredith's killer before she even had a chance to defend herself. Italy convicted her, despite their utter dearth of DNA evidence.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="222"] Amanda was maligned by the press, dubbed "Foxy Knoxy" as a reference to her supposed manipulative and sexual personality.[/caption]

Amanda spent  four years in Italian prison before an appeals court overturned her conviction. Then, after she'd returned home at long last, the Italian courts REVERSED HER AQUITTAL. This never would have happened in the U.S. because of double jeopardy laws, but in Italy things are different. Largely behind this reversal was Giuliano Mignini, a world-infamous prosecutor dubbed "The Monster of Florence," who was after Amanda's blood.

On her home turf, facing forcible extradition, Amanda fought back. I remember seeing her on the news, clawing to change the public opinion of herself.  She won the day.  Not only was she not extradited, but in 2015, after years of horrible suspense, an "ultimate appeal" was decided in Amanda's favor, ending the case for good.

There are still people out there who are fervently convinced of Amanda's guilt, and that is a true testament to the power of media spin and resultant crowd mentality.

Readers, do you remember the initial "Foxy Knoxy" newswave? Do you recall the aftermath and the gradual reversal of public opinion?

Who Exactly Is the Antagonist In With Malice?

Just like the Amanda Knox case, our main character, Jill, is facing many antagonistic forces.  It's easy to assume that her Number One Enemy is the Italian police, but I'd argue for a different culprit. From the very beginning of the novel, and throughout the story, Jill is countered by the public opinion of the world.

In fact, one of the most distinctive aspects of With Malice are the chorus of voices that end each chapter in the form of interview transcripts, internet articles, blog comments, news reports, and more.  They all have an opinion to share about Jill's supposed guilt or innocence. With the flux of the public's opinion, so sways Jill's chances of staying out of jail and living in the world without recrimination.

This aspect of With Malice — the complex and unique antagonistic force — was the best part of the book.  Like we learned from the Amanda Knox case, public favor can affect criminal proceedings in massive ways. I appreciated that With Malice had a distinct point to make on this subject.

What's the Bottom Line?

The bottom line is, With Malice had some great, fundamental aspects to it.  However, I hated the way those lines were colored in, with Jill's juvenile, mall-rat voice and the importance placed on catty high school drama. I'm over it. Ultimately, I don't recommend With Malice.  

[rating stars="two-stars"]

Readers, I'm always up to being proven wrong when it comes to books! What are the best YA suspense/thrillers you can recall reading or hearing about?

Reliquary by Sarah Fine » Book Review

Sarah Fine really burst onto the scene as an author to watch.  She writes YA and Adult Fiction in a number of genres — fantasy, urban fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi and dystopian. She broke out with her indie hit Sanctum in 2012, finishing that series up quickly and putting out the duology Of Metal and Wishes and Of Dreams and Rust. Next, she collaborated with Walter Jury in the sci-fi series, Scan. The Imposter Queen followed, receiving acclaim for its sexually diverse characters. Oh, and on top of that, she put out an adult trilogy, Servants of Fate. Sarah Fine did all this within the last few years. The woman is a workhorse and I love it.

Sarah Fine's Newest Book, Reliquary

Her most recent release is the beginning of a new adult series, Reliquary.  Immediately, I engaged fully in the story, which has a marvelous hook — magic exists and it's addictive. Our protagonist, Mattie, is a small-town girl, a veterinary assistant set to marry her boss, her beloved Ben Ward. But the morning after their engagement party, Ben is brutally abducted. Mattie is desperate to find him, even when she discovers that Ben is a magic user and addict.  To rescue Ben, she must travel down a proverbial rabbit hole, and her guide turns out to be someone most unexpected.

Reliquary wasn't a perfect book, but it was a great piece of escapism.  Like I mentioned before, I was engaged in the story. I kept making gleeful predictions about what would happen next, feeling highly gratified when I was correct and shocked when I was wrong. I was locked in.

My favorite character was the highly distinct Asa, a battered, yet determined man, as tough as he is quirky. I love his frequent line: "Jacks, baby." You'll see. Mattie herself took second place. She has a nice character arc, starting out naive, with simple goals, and growing stronger and more wily with each passing chapter. Third place goes to Gracie the pitbull, a minor character, but highly charming.

Most of all, what I take away from Reliquary is my burning need to keep reading the story. Thankfully, I'll only have to wait until August 2 to read book two in the trilogy. Thank you, Sarah Fine, for working so hard and so quickly.

[rating stars="three-half-stars"]

Saga Review (Volumes 1-3)

I've flipped through a couple of graphic novels in the past, very briefly. I'm usually at the library when I've done this and I've always put them back on the shelf, thinking, not for me.  Well, if graphic novels are like Saga, they're for me.

I kept seeing Saga pop up on the websites and social media feeds of my reviewer pals — Sierra, Joy, Megan.  Eventually, due to FOBLO (Fear Of Being Left Out) I decided to broaden my horizons.

So glad I did!

Saga is a space adventure, a space romance, and a space... well, a space family saga.  Our narrator is Hazel, and she is telling us her story, which is also the tale of many other people.  Or perhaps I should say, it is also the tale of many other beings. 

The overarching plot centers upon two waring planets — the immense Landfall, full of winged humanoids, and its smaller moon, Wreath, inhabited by horned humanoids.  The Horns and the Wings loathe each other and have spread their vicious conflict throughout the galaxy.  Hazel's parents happen to be a winged mother (a former prison guard) and a horned father (a former prisoner).  They've fallen in love, run off together, and produced Hazel.  The higher-ups of the Wings and Horns have caught wind of the union and both send killers to dispatch the couple.

The first three volumes of Saga have seen Alana and Marko, Hazel's parents, dodging death at every turn, and attempting to raise their daughter in midst of chaos.  We also get to follow the adventures of the killers who are after the little family, and their stories are no less compelling.  There's robot royalty, a lie-detecting cat creature, a guild of bounty hunters, tabloid reporters, and an ex-fiance, all closing in.

The creativity of Brian K. Vaughan, the series creator and writer, is astounding.  I'm not sure if all graphic novels are like this, but reading Saga made me think of when I'm babysitting and the kids ask for a bedtime story.  When you're making up a story AND AT THE SAME TIME SPEAKING IT, the weirdest, random-est things come to you! Saga had that same feeling of spontaneity.  This is story spinning at its finest.

There is almost constant action, but Vaughan manages to sneak in little moments of love, of humor, of outrageousness throughout.  The artist, Fiona Staples, is no less important to the storytelling as well.  Her illustrations are stunning.  Just, wow. I was especially impressed by her figures (drawings of the human body).  The vividness of the expressions, the movement of the forms all compliment and contribute to Vaughan's words.  Again, I don't know much about graphic novels, but Vaughan and Staples seem to have a harmonious union of text and image.

Saga is a beautiful and exciting story, conveyed by beautiful and exciting pictures.  I give this series five north stars out of five!