The Violet Hour

Whoa...that escalated quickly.  

The Violet Hour by Whitney Miller is a fast-paced YA horror novel.  Harlow Wintergreen is the daughter of the leader of a religious organization called VisionCrest.  She has been hiding something deep down, though- a voice telling her to do horrible things, and giving her gruesome, violent visions.  As she and others in VisionCrest tour Asia on a PR tour, the voice is gaining more and more control.  People are dying.  What is in her, and what can she do to save her friends...and herself?

This novel caught me right off the bat!  They had me at Harajuku...and didn't let go after bleeding and eye gouging.  I have to admit, I giggled a little bit at the first mentions of the voice- "Obliterate.  Exsanguinate." I just kept picturing a Dalek running around inside her skull.  That quickly dissipated, though, as things escalated.

There are a lot of music subculture things in this novel- to the point where I meant to look up the history of Japanese Punk (and in writing this, am reminded of that again).  Music plays a huge part in character connections.  If you have ever read the manga Nana, you'll picture it a bit in the first part of the book.

For the dystopian aspect- Japan is now the Socialist Republic of Japan, China is the most democratic country in the world, and people can be drugged up on a SOMA-like pill to function compliantly.  

At times a futuristic, dystopian story, at others a novelization of some Junji Ito creeptastic manga mixed with del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.  I pretty much loved it.  Kind of rethinking my desire to go to Asia right now, but...(just kidding, it's still totally at the top of my bucket list). 

I've always been intrigued by cults- not to join one, just their beginnings, followers, etc.  I did a grad school project with a YA bibliography about cults.  This cult is different, because it's not based on typical allegory or misinterpretation of texts...there's an ancient supernatural aspect. 

If you like Indie music, dystopian darkness, gruesome horror...this is for you.  Sure, there's an awesome sidekick, and a bit of a love story- but there's so much more.  




The Violet Hour is published by Flux.  Digital ARC provided by NetGalley.
Released: 03.08.2014

Ink

Kami, Kendo, Yakuza...just the beginnings of INK by Amanda Sun- the first of The Paper Gods YA series.

Katie Greene is newly orphaned, and has moved across the world to Japan to live with her aunt.  She becomes attracted to the school's kendo superstar, Yuu Tomohiro.  However, when she's around him, drawings and doodles come to life (like, snails coming at her with snapping teeth from a homework page).  Turns out Tomo is connected to the kami, the ancient Shinto spirits. The Yakuza are after him, wanting to use his abilities.  As the two get closer, things get out of control.  The result is a power struggle that will stir the core of Japan, and the core of Yuu.

***

I really, really liked this book.  Having been on an obsessive (to my husband's chagrin) manga kick & K/J-Drama kick the past 8-or-so months, I kept comparing the story to those- and it totally lined up.  There's a Cherry Blossom viewing scene that could've been taken right out of Honey and Clover.  Plus, all of the awesome mythology!

Amanda Sun was great at bringing in cultural Japanese "stuff."  Honorifics, slippers, the Yakuza, school children cleaning the school, viewing the sakura when they bloom, after school activities, the crazy neon kanji on Japanese TV shows...and the food, oh the food!  Thanks manga for educating me on okonomiyaki, Anpanman [pictured in my Pictures page], etc- I didn't even have to check the glossary to know what they were eating.  It pretty much makes you hungry through the whole book.  And really makes you want to go eat your way through Japan.  Not in Godzilla fashion, though...

It is kind of your typical outcast girl meets bad boy story- however, bringing in the Japanese mythology and cultural dynamic gives it something extra.  Enough of a twist to make it interesting/different.

I love how Sun put the romanized Japanese in italics, and had a glossary in the back.  It was much more effective than not having ANY definitions, or inundating the page with parenthetical definitions.  The pages also have flip sketches at the bottoms that go along with themes in the book.  There are sketches and paintings included in the novel, bringing it even more to life.  The cover is just beautiful- I love the color scheme, and the dripping ink.  There's also a Q&A at the back, with the author and artists; book discussion questions are included.

[sidenote: You know when you're reading, and you come across something and are really excited because you already know what it's referencing?  I may have done that with the mention of dango.  I learned what this was after viewing the credits of the anime Clannad (and the song has been my ringtone for months).  So, for your viewing pleasure- The Happy Dango Family!]

This YA novel is great for those interested in Japanese culture, mythology and food; also for those who like supernatural romances and Manga.  I'm super-excited for the next installment!  



INK is published by Harlequin Teen.  ARC graciously provided by the Publisher.
Release Date: 06.25.2013

Samurai Summer

So, I picked this book, because I tend to be drawn toward all things Asian.  And then I realized the author is Swedish (wha...???)  Then I actually started reading it, and learned it's about a summer camp.  Having spent many a summer at summer camp (and band camp, and theater camp), I was intrigued.

Sidenote: The term "camp" has actually been the base of many an argument between my husband and me.  I grew up in New England, where a camp- not a summer camp- is basically a summer home.  Or winter home.  Away from "it all." Nearness to a body of water is generally a given.  We have a nice one on Moosehead Lake. My husband says this is a cabin, and camp is where you play games with a bunch of kids, do crafts, and have counselors.  Deer/moose camps are something else, entirely.

Plus, the cover's pretty awesome, eh?

Samurai Summer by Åke Edwardson (translated by Per Carlsson) is the story of Kenny's last summer at camp.  Kenny's real name is Tommy- he renamed himself after ken (Japanese for sword).  He is obsessed with the ways of the Samurai, and is training himself to become one. It is set in Sweden in the early 1960s- families are just starting to get TVs and telephones.

The camp is run by "The Matron" and has visits from her creepy son, Christian.  Campers wash in a sludgy brown lake, and eat oatmeal that "tastes like chicken poop."  Dessert is similar to fruit cocktail syrup.  Campers only get to wash up with hot water and soap once, in the middle of summer, before parents come.  Counselors steal candy from the campers. There are 40 kids attending the camp, but there is no laughter.  

To escape The Matron and her counselor lackeys, Kenny and his friends escape to the forest, where they are building a castle.  As Kenny gets to know Kerstin, a girl at the camp, he toys with going against the rules, and showing her the castle.  When Kerstin suddenly disappears, Kenny teams up with his samurai "trainees" and they try to find her.  The result is a grim "us vs. them" battle.

***

I enjoyed Samurai Summer.  It wasn't a fun read- it actually got to be pretty disturbing- but it was very well-written.  There was a point I had to put the book down for a sec, because the description of the food was making me nauseous. It was like a darker, more disturbing, Holes (Sachar). 

There is a lot of information about samurai.  Legends of famous samurai like Miyamoto Musashi, who beat his opponent Sasaki Kojirō with a boat oar; training one's thoughts toward that of a warrior; LOTS of romanized Japanese, especially for weapons.

There's an ominous feeling throughout the whole book- absolutely not happy.  There are entertaining moments, however.  One of my favorites is when Kenny and his friend Janne sneak into town and meet a couple of "Explorers" their age, paddling a canoe.  The Explorers want to travel to Missouri (remember, this takes place in Sweden).

I was also interested in the significance of the bag of Twist candy.  Like, it's mentioned in almost every other paragraph, and I was like "what the heck is this stuff?"  Thanks to Google, I found out it's a bag of different flavored chocolate candies from Norway.  Of course now I want to figure out how to get my hands on some...

As I said, it's not happy.  But it's very well-written.  I would definitely recommend it to boys- probably Junior High and up, anyone who was a fan of Holes, and anyone interested in Samurai culture.

Samurai Summer Release date: 6.25.13  ARC provided by NetGalley