Grace by Elizabeth Scott

I thoroughly (and darkly) enjoyed Elizabeth Scott's novel Living Dead Girl and when I read the reviews and descriptions for Grace, I got giddy that she was writing another dark novel. Scott's wonderfully slim but powerful novels are great for reluctant readers and those needing a change of pace (that was me this week).
Grace is a girl trying to escape her country (an unnamed country, and the book takes place some time in the future) after failing at her purpose: to be a suicide bomber and to kill the Minister of Culture as well as herself. She approached the stage where the Minister was, slid the bomb down her leg (as all good Angels are taught to do), but kicked it off her leg and did not detonate the bomb until she was a safe distance away. After her failure, she was no longer welcome with her People, the ones who live in the Hills and attack Keran Berj and his cities and villages through suicide bombers. So Grace went back to the City, went into hiding and found someone who would help her escape.
Grace finally boards the train that will take her to the Border, where hopefully she can cross into another country and start a new life, and with her is a young man Kerr. The two are supposed to pose as brother and sister, fetching a fictitious pregnant sister from the country they are fleeing to. Soldiers are constantly present on the train, checking papers and creating constant worry for Grace and Kerr.
The story unfolds as Grace thinks about what she did, what she was supposed to do, and how her life came to that point. It's amazing to watch this character struggle with feeling sorry that she wants to live, that she didn't want to give up everything, her life, to send a message to the dictator Keran Berj, that she just wants freedom. But freedom at what cost? Who defines freedom? And is the freedom Keran Berj's people want different from that of the People of the Hills? Grace learns that the world is not such a cut and dry place, that what she has been taught is similar to what Kerr has been taught, even though their people fight each other. Kerr has a few secrets of his own that challenge Grace's chances for escape.
Grace invites readers to think about how easily we all grow up believing what we're taught, what we're told, how questioning the way things are can be dangerous, and being true to yourself is dangerous as well. There's one particularly eye-opening moment when Grace thinks about not herself and not her intended target, but everyone else around the day she set that bomb off, something she had never thought about before. Powerful.

Lester Higata's 20th Century by Barbara Hamby

I don't normally seek out collections of short stories to read, though perhaps I should. What caught me about this title as I read a review in ... some review journal, was that all the stories are interconnected and take place in Hawaii. I like Hawaii and will read pretty much any fiction set in Hawaii. So, Lester Higata's 20th Century made its way onto my reading pile. I really enjoyed it.
This was one of those stories that just happen--it's not about action and chases and moving quickly from one point to the next, but about snapshots in the lives of these characters that move backwards in time. Which was pretty cool and unexpected.
The first story begins shortly before Lester's death. And I mean shortly as in a matter of minutes, not days or months, but as soon as he finishes talking to his dead father. Lester's father tells him about the afterlife which is different than what Lester was expecting, so he's a little intrigued by it. The reader is introduced to Lester's wife Katherine and daughter Linda. Son Paul is not around, but pops up in other stories. It's just a very comfortable story and sets up a great place for Lester's past to be told.
The brilliant thing is the stories are not all about Lester and not all from Lester's point of view. Family members, neighbors, acquaintances are the protagonists in the various stories, each finding a way to weave in with the previous stories and the ones following. More than just the stories happening, there's usually one powerful but brief moment in the story that reveals something about each of the characters and those are great moments. The stories are like our lives--days go on and on but there are moments and days and interactions with people that we remember always, even though the rest of our lives become clouded blurs. The stories are quietly powerful and give the reader plenty to think of. If you need a break from fast paced or plot-driven stories, Lester Higata's 20th Century is a fantastic foray into characters and how the stories of people's lives all have their intriguing moments.

Evil for Evil by James R. Benn

Ok. I don't read very many mysteries. I just have a hard time getting into them and I often don't care about the mystery and solving it. But I love James Benn's Billy Boyle series. Freaking love it.
The fifth book in the series, Rag and Bone, was recently released, but I had yet to read Evil for Evil, the fourth book in the series so I finally sat down and picked it up. It simply reinforced why I like this series so much. There's the history of World War II (which I find interesting but admittedly know very little about), there's the characters who are all well drawn and fleshed out, and the crimes that Billy solves to keep the Allied Forces together(think "Foyle's War" but for the entire Allied Forces, not just England).
In Evil for Evil, Billy finally has a chance to visit Ireland--a working visit, of course. 50 Browning Automatic Rifles have been stolen from a US base in Northern Ireland and the British command is concerned that the IRA has stolen the BARs. Billy's Irish-American Catholic family is heavy on the side of a united Ireland, so Billy resents--just a little--that the Brit who sends Billy to Ireland automatically assumes it was the IRA who stole them. The truth is in fact much more complicated that IRA vs the Red Hand. Which is something I love about these novels, the fact that the answer is not so easily cut and dried. I like reading Billy puzzle over putting the pieces together because you can be sure that I don't want to do it (I'm a lazy mystery reader). Two dead US servicemen, a crooked captain, a beautiful Irish woman working for the British, a surprise visitor from the US, and a wooden pig later, Billy's solved the crime. But he's also come to terms with Diana's desire to return to duty (not to mention his own), and how the question of Ireland is so much more complicated than it seems from Boston.
James Benn is fantastic. Billy's journey through the war it touching, exciting, and informative (and it makes me want to go look up articles about WWII). I can't wait to read Rag and Bone.

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Let me begin by saying I love the Feegles and Tiffany Aching, so when an ARC of Pratchett's I Shall Wear Midnight came my way, I had to read it.
Tiffany is the witch of the Chalk and being worn down a bit by it. When we first come upon her, she hasn't had a decent night's sleep in days. And of course, matters are about to get worse.
Suspicion begins to spread about Tiffany and witches in general, that they are no good, but Tiffany is confused by this since everyone knows who she is and the entire village is pretty much family. Tiffany has awoken the Cunning Man, who desires to rid the world of witches. He appears every few hundred years or so and Tiff's last encounter with the Wintersmith kind of brought him out. Tiffany, once she discovers what the Cunning Man is about, doesn't want to ask the other witches for help. Advice, certainly, but as it's been explained that Tiffany must find her own way to defeat the Cunning Man, she feels on her own. She doesn't want to be the witch who couldn't quite cut it, the one who all the other witches wonder if she's really capable of being a witch. That's something I love about this book: there's the magical element of the Cunning Man and also Tiffany struggling with her own confidence and whether or not she's grown up enough to be the Chalk's witch. As Tiffany is only sixteen, she is struggling a great deal with how she fits into the Chalk as the witch and how people she's known practically her entire life will take her seriously. By the end of the book, Tiffany has grown into her own and knows she has the support (and confidence!) of her fellow witches.
Being the last of the Tiffany Aching books (or so it is advertised on the back of the ARC) I Shall Wear Midnight ties up the relationships between Tiffany and other people we have met throughout the books very well. Roland plays heavily in the novel as does Letitia, his intended bride. Tiff's father is around for a bit of advice, as are some of the witches we've met in the past. There are also the Feegles, who will always be rather entertaining wherever they may pop up. I was very pleased with how the book ended and know Tiffany will always be one of my favorite characters.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

When we last left Alek and Deryn in Leviathan, they were aboard the Leviathan (the giant living flying whale) and on the way to Istanbul on top secret business to deliver some mysterious eggs to the sultan.
As Behemoth begins, Alek and his fellow Austrians are maintaining their Clanker engines that they've attached to the Leviathan to get out of the Alps. It's a tenuous sort of peace between the British and the Austrians, if only because each knows they could not have escaped without the other, but Count Volger knows that once they arrive in Istanbul, they'll have to escape from the Leviathan, to find safety and wait out the war.
Deryn has successfully kept her secret (that she's a girl disguised as a boy to serve on Leviathan) and finds herself growing closer to Alek. And, heaven forbid, feeling like a girl towards him. She's still terrified that someone will find out (and someone DOES, but I won't say who) and she'll be kicked off the ship. She gets sent on her first command mission (which is a success and yet goes miserably).
The Austrians escape the Leviathan (something else that is a success yet goes miserably) and Alek becomes involved with anarchists, who desire to overthrow the sultan. He also meets Lilit, one of the anarchists, and a very intelligent and well trained young woman (she can pilot a walker). And an American reporter, who's too clever by half with recording bullfrog.
Deryn of course manages to be a part of this group and also comes up with a brilliant idea to help save the day. But all operations are not without loss. The Leviathan comes to the rescue once more; could this be the parting of Deryn & Alek?
Behemoth is full of action and adventure, lively moments as well as thoughtful ones, and great imagination. Perhaps one of MY favorite things about Scott Westerfeld is his portrayal of strong, independent, intelligent young women. There's a great deal of young adult literature out there starring female characters who are not so fantastic. Yes, Deryn is disguising who she is, but that doesn't change the fact that she's just as capable as the rest of the middies, and Alek. Westerfeld's character development and imagination for stories is amazing, and I eagerly look forward to the final book in the trilogy!