Mundie Moms

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Blog Tour/Book Review: Misfit by Jon Skovron


Published by Abrams Books
Released on August 2nd, 2011
Source: ARC to review from author/publisher
3.5-4 stars- I'm really torn between liking it and really liking it

Jael has always felt like a freak. She’s never kissed a boy, she never knew her mom, and her dad’s always been superstrict—but that’s probably because her mom was a demon, which makes Jael half demon and most definitely not a normal sophomore girl. On her sixteenth birthday, a mysterious present unlocks her family’s dangerous history and Jael’s untapped potential. What was merely an embarrassing secret before becomes a terrifying reality. Jael must learn to master her demon side in order to take on a vindictive Duke of Hell while also dealing with a twisted priest, best-friend drama, and a spacey blond skater boy who may have hidden depths.

I really liked Misfit's unique mythology and Jon's writing style. He can be edgy, yet funny, darker, yet writes a great love story, and his humor and wit in the story were great! I really liked the way he incorporated Misfit's back story in with present day. It gave me a better understanding about what was going on and what had happened to make Jael's father the why he was, as well as understand why Jael plays an important role with everything that's going on. There are at times a darker feel to the book, but it's also a story about a girl who's trying discover more about who she is, falls in love for the first time and deals with a betrayal of her best friend. Not to mention a father who doesn't show much emotion towards his daughter, nor does he tell her much about her mother or her heritage.

One of the things I liked about Jael is her independent attitude, and her desire to seek out the truth and find answers. She's a grounded character who's also broken in the sense she's grown up without a mother and has a father who hasn't always made the choices for her, even though he felt he had her best intentions at heart. No matter how hard I tried, I did not connect with her character. Surprisingly that lack of connection didn't take too much away from the story, because there are some great secondary characters that made up for it. Aside from Jael, her relationship with her BFF Britt, was the only other relationship I felt was a little forced and not relatable at all. What I did like was the back story on Paul, Jael's father, her mother Astarte and getting to meet Dagon, her Uncle, who's also her mother's brother.

I'll admit when I first read about Jael's dad, I wasn't a fan. It wasn't until I got to know more his story that I felt I understood him more, or maybe it had to do with all the emotions that came alive in the story whenever Paul and Astarte's relationship is mentioned. In getting to know more of their back story, I also came to admire Jael's mother Astarte more, and what she did for her daughter. When she's introduced in the book I may or may not have judged her for what she does, and I quickly learned there's so much more to her than meets the eye. I loved her uncle Dagon. He's by far my favorite character. He's definitely the most unique character to get to know, and he's a lot of fun. He not only provided the right amount of humor to the story, but he's the one person who really gave Jael the chance to learn more about her demon side. I liked that even though they're demons, they're not necessarily evil. Then there's the main love interest Rob. The skater boy with a sense of humor who at times comes across as an absent minded professor, but I enjoyed that about him. I liked his character, because he accepts Jael for who she is demon side and all.

I liked the different layers to this book, and the way Jon was able to create characters with realistic emotions that I was able to relate to. Misfit has a rich demon mythology, but there's so much more to it. I enjoyed getting to see Jael grow into her own character and how her father changes over the course of the book. There's a lot great character development as the story goes on with many of the different characters. I'd definitely recommend this for teens, and I also think adults will enjoy it as well. There is some minor language in the book, but nothing that I thought was offensive for teen readers.
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Don't miss our interview with Astarte here and follow the rest of The Teen Scene Misfit Blog Tour here

Interview with The Near Witch author, Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch is one of my favorite debut releases this year, and it was released yesterday! If you haven't already had a chance to, I highly recommend picking this book up. It's such a beautiful blend of fairytale lore, romance and mystery. You can read my 5 star review here.

The Near Witch is also our featured Debut Book Of the Month. I'm so excited to have Victoria with us today. Before I post our interview, here's a little bit about The Near Witch:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.


Congratulations on your debut release! We loved The Near Witch. It's a great mix of fairy tale lore and a great love story. Is there a particular fairy tale that inspired your story?

Thank you so, so much, for cheering with me, and for having me here.

NW isn't actually based on a specific story, but rather a kind of story, a blend of folklore and fairy tale and fable. I wanted to write something that felt old and new, fit into the odd and narrow place we call "timeless." I wanted to play with the isolated settings of fairy tales, the oral traditions of folklore. Basically, I wanted to create a world, complete with its rules and characters, but also the myths, gossip, opinions that shape them. And witches are perhaps the most versatile supernatural form! I wanted to take them back to elemental roots :)

We love the way you wrote Lexi and Cole's chemistry. Is there a fictional couple you love that shares that same immediate spark?

You know, I don't ever set out to write relationships. I write characters, and then find the reasons they would entwine/collide/ricochet. They are never dependent, though, never define themselves by the other.

I do want to say, that what Lexi and Cole have is the beginning of something, not the whole thing. It's not an insta-love, it's an attraction, and one bred out of character and circumstance.

There's a lot of great scenes in the book. What is one of your favorite scenes?

My favorite scene is probably the ONLY one to survive from first draft to final book, and...oh, how not to spoil...it's a night scene that involves someone who is not at all what they seem leading Lexi far astray. If you've read the book, you'll know which scene I'm talking about.

A close second involves angst and a cyclone ;)

Which character did you enjoy getting to know more about?

Always the sisters. Magda and Dreska, the old witch sisters on the Eastern edge of the village, or tangles of mystery and magic, and they always end up telling me things I didn't know while I'm writing them (which sounds crazy, but I bet you all the writer folk are nodding).

What is one of your all time favorite fairy tales & why?

I am a huge fan of Little Red Riding Hood, mostly because its origins are not only darker than most know, but involve as much witchcraft as wolves!

Another of my favorites is Godfather Death by the Brothers Grimm. I'm a sucker for personifications, and this is simple, elegant, and, of course, grim ;)

Thank you for much for being with us today Victoria!!

Thank you so much for having me!
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You can find out more about The Near Witch and keep up with all of Victoria's latest news by following her on her blog, and twitter.

You can buy the book from one of these retailers here.

You can enter to win an ARC of The Near Witch by entering our giveaway found here.

Waiting on Wednesday: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

By Cassandra Clare
Published by Simon & Schuster
To Be Released on December 6th, 2011
Book #2 in The Infernal Devices Series

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

With all the exciting releases this year, and aside from City of Fallen Angels this is THE book I can not wait to read! Not saying I've not been extremely excited about all the other releases, because I have, it's just this is the book I've been waiting for the most since last year. And, the special edition will include a never before seen letter from Will to his family!!

I'm also really excited to announce that we've got some fun things planned with Cassie for Clockwork Prince's release. I'm really looking forward to announcing what those are when it gets closer to our Clockwork Prince celebrations. We are also going to be hosting a Clockwork Angel Read Along, which will start towards the end of October and end right before Clockwork Prince's release. More information for that will be posted next month. I can't wait to start the Clockwork Prince celebrations.

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