REVIEW: Because It Is My Blood - Gabrielle Zevin

GENRE: Dystopia

PAGES: 368

PUBLISHER: Pan Macmillan

FORMAT: PB

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Freed from jail, Anya hopes that things will get back to normal. But life on the outside is even more dangerous than life behind bars. Some of her gangland family want revenge for the crime for which she has done time: the shooting of her uncle. Forced to flee the country, Anya hides out in a cacao plantation in Mexico. There she learns the secrets of the chocolate trade, a trade that is illegal and deadly in her native New York. There too she discovers that seemingly random acts of violence carried out across the world have a single target: her family. As innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire Anya must act fast and decisively to stop it, no matter what the danger to herself.

REVIEW

When Anya is finally released from Liberty, she finds that life on the outside is still as difficult as ever. Win's dad is still running for office and her mortal enemy so her boyfriend is off limits, her Catholic school won't have her back, and all she wants to do is graduate like a normal teenager. Nothing ever runs smoothly.

This, the second book, doesn't necessarily ease you in slowly. I like that it doesn't use the first chapters to recap everything that happens in the last book but you can still pick up on the important threads if you don't remember. I had missed Anya's voice a lot - she's probably my favourite character in any book. She's still strong and admirable, but she's funny too and I really aspire to be like her. She does what she has to in difficult circumstances but is also willing to deal with the consequences too. I hate quite a lot of female narrators in YA books, they can be so superficial or underdeveloped in terms of character - either completely weak to boys or think they are so ugly when every man falls at their feet. I despise this. So it came as a pleasant surprise when Anya decides to stay away from Win. Don't get me wrong, I adore their little relationship, but Anya is so much more realistic about things and knows that she and Win are both young and might decide to go their own ways one day. She's also clear about the fact that even though she cares deeply about him, she's not willing to put him before her family. She is so far from being stupid.

Anya is such a positive person. Despite everything she has so much hope. Because It Is My Blood sees her develop so much as her own person and gradually move away from depending on her father's half-remembered advice. She's such a fantastic role model and I can't praise her enough. She's selfless without being unrealistic and I totally understand her. There is something about Anya that is also really sad; she loses so much in her life despite her desperate attempts to hold everything together but she never lets it break her more than it should.

Again, this book features heavily on Anya's relationship with her dysfunctional 'mob' family, but no matter how much they all favour tradition, Anya begins to realise that it's her relationship's with those who are actually close to her (mostly her best friends) and not necessarily those she related to by blood that are the most important people in her life. Just because you have blood in common it doesn't mean they won't stab you in the back. This is an important move for Anya - she has always protected her family no matter what, but now she begins to see things for what they are.

As part of her way to avoid being pulled back to Liberty, Anya escapes to Mexico. I really liked that this changed the cultural focus from Russian. It brought a fresh flavour and perspective, and the move of scene made the narrative more interesting and gave Anya's character room to grow without being influenced by her family. It was nice to see Anya make a friend in Theo that doesn't have any connection to her life back home.

Apart from Anya, who's motives are clear because of the first person narrative, no other character is who you think they are. There are 'whodunnits' aplenty in this book. In fact, there is always something that leaves you on a bit of a cliffhanger just when you think Anya is getting to her feet again - Zevin knows exactly when to put the action in. As the plot develops you realise that the first book, All These Things I've Done, sets the scene and the actions, whereas this follows and explores the extremes of her consequences. 

There's so much to say about this book, and even this series. As much as I can't wait for the last book I desperately don't want it to end. This series has given me so much - it's exciting, heartbreaking, thrilling and romantic. I love Anya and I love this series. Read it people.

- Bex.

REVIEW: All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin

GENRE: Dystopia

PAGES: 368

PUBLISHER: Macmillan Children's

FORMAT: Paperback

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Sixteen year-old Anya's parents have been murdered because her father was the head of a notorious underworld gang. Now she is determined to keep herself and her siblings away from that world. But her father's relatives aren't so keen to let them go. When Anya's violent ex-boyfriend is poisoned with contaminated chocolate - chocolate that is produced illegally by Anya's criminal family - she is arrested for attempted murder. Disconcertingly, it is the new D.A. in town who releases her from jail, but her freedom comes with conditions. The D.A. is the father of Win, a boy at school to whom Anya feels irresistibly drawn. Win's father won't risk having his political ambitions jeopardised by his son seeing a member of a crime family. She is to stay away with him. Anya knows she risks her freedom and the safety of her brother and sister by seeing Win again. Neither the D.A. nor the underworld will allow it. But the feeling between them is so strong that she may be unable to resist him...

REVIEW

All These Things I've Done is a fast-paced story about a family struggling with loss and the weight of reputation. Set about 80 years in the future the world is a vision of a dystopian future. Manhattan has become a grey, desolate wasteland where everything is rationed by vouchers, including water. It is more importantly about a loss of childhood; the three Balanchine children are forced to grow up quickly and understand everything that has happened to their family. It's a darkly humorous whirlwind through the life of a teenager who has to struggle with both the normal teen processes of falling in love, but also the adult burdens of being born into a dangerous criminal underworld.

Anya is the (now orphaned) daughter of a 'mafiya' crime boss who was murdered in his home. Her mother is also dead and she is now under the guardianship of her aged grandmother who is only being kept alive by machines until Anya is eighteen and able to take guardianship of her siblings: Natty, her younger sister, and Leo, her brother who has slight learning difficulties that means he is vulnerable and easily manipulated.

As a narrator Anya is by far one of the best I have ever read. It is in first person, and there are hints in the texts that she is writing or transcribing the story, though the reader isn't sure where from or why. She is unbelievably strong. She's witty, clever, and has the biggest heart. She understands her responsibility within the family unit as an unofficial guardian and takes it in her stride. She's extremely likeable and although being a Ballanchine comes with a reputation she only lives up to its principles, not its actions.

Although she is strong and level-headed, she is also somewhat conflicted and this makes her so interesting to read. She confesses at the beginning at of the book that she hates her dead father, but she proves time and time again that it's his sayings that actually get her through the day, to the point where as a reader you wonder if she consciously thinks them or if they are internalised. Her narrative is matter-of-fact, and can at times be disturbingly clinical in emotional situations; there is an overtone of resignation, but I actually think this is more of a coping mechanism. The things that happen to her, and the things she has to shoulder, are enough to make any teenager fall apart. The plot is quick-paced and even though I'm a relatively slow reader I read this over 2 days. It's emotionally charged but it's not overwhelming. She spends her time between school and home, as these are the two most important parts of her life. 

I also want to mention the role of religion in this novel, because its an important repeated theme. Even though Anya is a Catholic she does not practice in the traditional way. Confession becomes a way of talking about her problems and (not quite in the traditional sense) of finding absolution. Anya has no one to talk to about her problems. She spends her time protecting everyone from themselves and her family, she can't tell her family because they will worry and she can't tell her friends because they will be put in danger. The priest becomes the only impartial character in her life and is therefore more important than she realises. The Church, then, features as a comfort to Anya and is actually more introverted than the whole religious practice. It takes on her parent's role of spiritual well-being that they cannot fulfil and in the same way acts a moral compass.

You won't really find your typical YA romance in here, although there is anamazing guy called Win. He's much more to Anya than someone who is a potential lover; he's someone who is there for her, is a friend and proves himself to be loyal, and in that way differs from a lot of the men in her life. I wanted them to be together, not necessarily because they would be a 'hot' couple, but because I grew to care about Anya and wanted her to let someone protect her for a change.

I'm happy that this is only the first in a series because I really want to read more about Anya and her family. However I do think that this would work perfectly well as a stand-alone novel. It answers just enough questions to satisfy the reader, but leaves enough open that you only have a vague knowledge of what the future will hold. This is also what the chapter headings and contents pages do - you think it tells you what is going to happen, and in a way it does, but the way Anya speaks and the intricate details of the events still make it worth reading. I think it's brave but also inspired when you have writing that is as strong as this.

Finally I wanted to share a quote that I feel really sums up the feel of this novel; it's on page 52 for anyone who has the UK Macmillan edition:

"I smiled at him. 'Her whole life story right here waiting for us to read it.'

He agreed. 'It's sad when you think about it, but also kind of beautiful.'"

- Bex.