Ruin and Rising Review

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Series: Grisha #3

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Genre: Fiction; Fantasy; Romance; Young Adult

Pages: 417

Format: Hardback

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The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

Let’s get one thing straight: The Darkling literally rules the world. No matter how hard I try, I cannot let go of him. Even when the author makes him obviously evil, I can’t let him go. This book wasn’t as bad as the previous ones, and I actually did have a bit of closure. That is until the very end. No spoilers, I promise, but it was really bad.

Alina is tired of sitting around and waiting for the revolution to arrive. Stowed away from the rest of the world, Alina and her friends decide to break free from the oppressively protective Apparat and defy the Darkling once and for all. As Alina and Mal begin their search for the last remaining amplifier, they will discover secrets about the Darkling and themselves that will reshape their destiny to save Ravka. Alina could lose everything she loves–is Ravka’s future really worth it?

Mal is not bad. He is just not as good as the Darkling. He doesn’t even come close to the magnanimous awesomeness of the Darkling. He’s sweet. I guess. And, okay, he’s a little heroic. And he’s not hella-crazy like the Darkling. Okay, fine, Mal is obviously the better, nicer choice. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. What can I say? Bardugo did a little too well in crafting a swoon-worthy Darkling prince in the first book. There really is no recovery from it. Does Darkling rehabilitation exist? Because I think I need to attend a session.

Alina was not as strong a female character in this book as she was in the previous two, which really was a shame. I mean, the finale is where it all counts doesn’t it? The finale should be filled with kick-ass, go-get-‘em characters, but, to be honest, I didn’t see as much of that as I would’ve liked. I wanted Alina to be at her strongest. I wanted to see the change in her from Book 1 to Book 3. The search for that transformation was as fruitless as Mal and Alina’s mission for the Morozova amplifiers. It simply, in my opinion, did not exist.

There were some really good moments also. All the scenes with Nikolai Lantsov were fantastic moments for example. It is such a shame was happened to him (again, no spoilers. It’s just…well…yeah. It was bad.), and honestly, I was more emotionally invested in Nikolai than I was in Alina, Mal, and the whole gang combined. Although, the Darkling still rules all. It goes: 1) Darkling 2) Nikolai and 3) Alina, Mal, and everyone else ever mentioned in the book. Can’t you tell I have my priorities in order? And, for future reference Bardugo, when you have made a character as amazing and wonderful as Nikolai Lantsov, you don’t go and just do what you did to him. You’ll save your readers a lot of heartache. 

This book was a solid four. Not quite a five, but not so bad as to be a three. Just a four. Which is considerably better than some of the books out there. Overall, it is worth the time and effort and a recommendable ending to one of my favorite book series. 

Between Shades of Gray Review

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Between Shades of Gray

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Series: None

Publisher: Philomel Books

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 344

Format: Hardback

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Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

“Don’t give them anything Lina, not even your fear.”

Everyone’s heard of the Holocaust. Everyone’s heard of Hitler. But how many people have heard of Stalin? Or the Baltic cleansing? How many know about the eradication of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia? Honestly, I didn’t actually know who Stalin was and what his reign held for Russia until High School English when we read Animal Farm. I didn’t know that his actions rivaled that of Hitler’s. I read this book with only the vague summary that the main character was a girl who was sent to a labor camp. Labor camp made me think of the Holocaust and Germany. I was surprised to find that it was actually about Stalin’s genocide of the Baltic people. This book told me a story about a time in history that I had heard next to nothing about.

“I hated them, the NKVD and the Soviets. I planted a seed of hatred in my heart. I swore it would grow to be a massive tree whose roots would strangle them all.”

Books like these put me in a mindset where I continuously wonder how I would act if I were in a situation like this. If everything I owned was taken away from me and my life was being torn apart at the seams and if I woke up each morning not knowing if I would see tomorrow’s sunrise. What truly amazed me in this book was the amount of generosity and hope they harbored even when they owned nothing but their dignity and self-respect. Especially the mother of Lina, Elena. She would always find a way to give when she had nothing. Lina’s strength and resolve were inspiring and awe-striking. Sepetys created a story that we can only read and shake our heads in wonder at.  

“It was the one thing I never questioned. I wanted to live. I wanted to see my brother grow up. I wanted to see Lithuania again. I wanted to see Joana. I wanted to smell the lily of the valley on the breeze beneath my window. I wanted to paint the fields. I wanted to see Andrius with my drawings. There were only two possible outcomes in Siberia. Success meant survival. Failure meant death. I wanted life. I wanted to survive.”

Ruta Sepetys was the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee and decided to write this story to tell the truth that so few people have heard. After the Baltic people escaped from their prisons, they were not allowed to tell anyone of their horrific experiences. They had to keep it within themselves and remember what they went through by themselves. In the Author’s Note, Sepetys bids her readers to “Please research it. Tell someone.” And reminds us that “These three tiny nations have taught us that love is the most powerful army. Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy–love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit.”

                                                                                             

I would recommend this book to anyone so that they could learn about something they've probably only heard little about. What this book lacked in magical writing, it made up for in the gasp-inducing and heart-pounding story line. This book is filled with death, life, happiness, and sorrow. Inspired by true accounts, this book will stay with me for a long time.