Beauty in Chaos

I tend to think of myself as open-minded. I don't judge a book by its cover or a person by the clothes they wear. Strong visuals do attract my attention, but looking deeper to find the truth within is always my goal.

Finding gold was simple with this next Young Adult book I read, a no-brainer. I literally got wabbly at the knees when I found it in my mailbox.

Title: BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, book #3
Authors: Kami Garcia/Margaret Stohl
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 2011
Pages: 528

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with this gorgeous ARC for reveiw.

Intriguing Passage/Line: I was standing on the top of the white water tower, with my back to the sun. My headless shadow fell across the warm painted metal, disappearing off the edge and into the sky. I could see Summerville stretching out before me, all the way to the lake, from Route 9 to Gatlin. This had been our happy place, mine and Lena's. One of them, at least. But I wasn't feeling happy. I felt like I was going to throw up.

Description: Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask. 

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

COVETED!! A Must Read

My Splats: Stretches the bounds of the teen experience, while exercising the virtues of trust, hope, and true sacrifice.

Beautiful Chaos continues the journey of our magical couple, Ethan and Lena, as they strive to make sense of their blending worlds. It's obvious that both have important purposes, yet battle to accept their roles. They fluctuate from trust to forgiveness to pain and then joy--real life amid a make believe struggle. 

The end was a surprise to me, and surely inciting, giving me the hunger for more of the story. It captured a genius buildup, as the writers dropped snippets of information along the way. Seriously, I just had to keep reading. The writing is all kinds of awesomeness, filled with living descriptions and movement, which urge the reader to think.

From word one, I started pondering. Not just what could and would come in this story, but our world and how the inner working of the cast of characters is similar to life. I love books that do this. The story pushed me, prodded me, and stirred me. I had no idea where the story would take me, but I knew from the onset that I couldn't wait.

The world building was interesting and interactive, as it changed in reaction to the story's progression. The characterizations were brilliant, neat, and comfortable silhouettes of real people--people I'd love to sit with and play a game of cards with. 

My favorite part about this story was seeing it from Ethan's point of view. I am a huge fan of the ever-neglected male voice leading a tale. He's intelligent and sweet, yet also strong. The fact that he lives with a group of elderly woman made him that more interesting and desired as a character. For me, having him lead the story was a mark of wisdom.

(NOTE to writers: this is a great book to study character, plot, and inserting back story.)

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