The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler

Happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans (and to those that aren't in America, I still wish you a lovely day)! I had planned to wait and post this review until closer to its release date, but it was the most American-themed book I've read so far this year and I wanted to go a little with the Fourth of July theme, so here we are! 

The Outside Lands by Hannah Kohler. St. Martin's Press, 2016. 304 pages. Paperback/Softcover.

**I received a copy of The Outside Lands courtesy of St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.**

The Outside Lands was wholly unexpected and entirely satisfying in a dark, realistic way. Based upon the brief blurbs I read about The Outside Lands, I had no idea that it would become such a bleak, deeply moving book. Kohler writes with an elegant simplicity that will draw you in and wrap you around this story before you even realize what hit you. If I were sum up this book with one singular word, it would be 'haunting.' This book is like a ghost that quietly seeps into your mind and soul, drags out your emotions, and openly displays the darkness that exists within all of us and the within the world around us.

This is an honest, raw book set during the turbulent years of the Vietnam War. We are given a frank view of the experiences of those deployed along with those stuck back at home, left to wonder and wander aimlessly around, unaware of what is occurring elsewhere. Jeannie and Kip are our two protagonists, siblings who lost their mother in a tragic freak accident at a young age and are still fighting to regain normalcy in their lives. The two still have their father, but they never truly seem to recover from this loss, which is entirely understandable. This is a book where everyone seems to lose themselves, no matter whether they are a main character or a minor supporting one, and it is interesting to see how each copes with their fate. There is much imbalance in the atmosphere as each character struggles to come to grips with the changing times and with who they are.

Jeannie is sort of floating in life. She has a set life with Billy and her young son, Charlie, but she doesn't seem to be a part of this life. There is some piece of her that doesn't quite fit with them, that seems to be yearning for something else - something more. Then she meets Lee, and it seems like this could be just what she needed and was looking for, but again, something isn't quite right. She never quite fits. She wants to be a part of the anti-war movement and a life with Lee, but it's not quite her, and she is too limited in her own life to become any more entrenched in the movement. In the final part of the book, she meets yet another person, and I will not say more than that, and once again it just feels right. But, as history often repeats itself, this can't work either, and she is yet again drawn back to her own life with her husband and child. Jeannie is a relatable character. She is quiet, but she has a subtle strength about her. She is meek and follows the rules around her, but she is not afraid to deviate from her own beliefs and ideas.

Kip is much more bullheaded than Jeannie, but he is still somewhat quiet in his own way, much like Jeannie. Kip is the trouble-maker in the family, always ending up getting into things he shouldn't and acting out. Kip does not wait for a draft and instead enlists himself as a Marine. He is sent off to war where a tragic incident sends him to being accused of a horrific war crime. While Kip and Jeannie differ quite a bit, there are many similarities that can be seen in the way in both are a bit reserved, but both are stubborn and will do what they want.

I was completely taken by surprise by The Outside Lands, as I definitely wasn't expecting this book to affect me or reach me in such a strong way. Overall, I can't help but give it four-and-a-half stars because of its sheer will and ability to tell such a disheartening story in such a simplistic, yet moving way. This is a new Vietnam War-era book that is not to be missed, and Kohler is a new author that is not to be overlooked either.

The Outside Lands will be released Tuesday, August 23rd!

Get more reviews in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

You might also like:
All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker
Whistling Women by Kelly Romo
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
Smoke by Dan Vyleta

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

Get more reviews in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

All is Not Forgotten is now available!

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker. St. Martin's Press, 2016. 320 pages. Paperback/Softcover.

**I received a review copy of All Is Not Forgotten courtesy of St. Martin's Press.**

All Is Not Forgotten is a psychological thriller that left me in complete awe at the mastery of Walker's storytelling. This book completely messed with my head, and I loved every minute of it.

This book has one of the best unreliable narrator situations that I've read in a long time, and it was amazing. There was such a slow development of the narrator's personal descent from appearing to be an objective, behind-the-scenes storyteller to the immense role we realize he has been playing throughout the entire story. I am still reveling in the beauty of this darkly twisted story. This is such an intricate, carefully plotted story that I am still in awe of how wonderfully Walker executed it.

I don't want to go into describing the characters themselves too much, largely because I don't think one should go into this book knowing too much about any of them, and I also don't want to accidentally revel anything. This book completely banks (in my opinion) on the need to be completely unaware of anything that is going to happen because it must be unraveled on your own in your own personal experiences. The way in which all of the characters end up weaving together in this densely created spider web of entanglements is brilliant, and I spent a lot of my post-finishing ten minutes trying to work it all out in my head.

All Is Not Forgotten is not for the faint of heart, as it is at times graphic, intense, and brutal. However, it is also darkly beautiful and provides an interesting look at how deeply memories can affect us and alter our own emotions. I was a bit unsure at first about the treatment described that erases Jenny's memory of the event, as it sounded slightly far-reaching, but once I started the book and figured out exactly what it was and meant, it made much more sense and it worked really well. The way in which Walker plays with the concept of memories and explains them is finely detailed and nuanced - it truly shows just how fragile our minds an memories are, and also how powerful they can be in making us believes thing, whether they happened or not.

It is incredibly difficult for me to believe that this is Walker's debut novel, and it is apparent that she must be immensely talented and detail-oriented. She is definitely going on my authors to watch list, and I look forward to seeing what else she has in store for her readers. This is must-read for thriller-fans or those who want something gripping for the hot summer months.

A word of caution: if you are in a place where rape triggers you or causes you any form of anxiety or pain, you may not want to dive right into this one just yet. There are some very graphic depictions of both the act itself and the feelings it creates that may pose a challenge.

I know I've been giving what seems to be an abundance of high amounts of stars lately, but All Is Not Forgotten completely deserves yet another four-and-a-half stars from me.

Get more reviews in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

You might also like:
Consequence by Eric Fair

Security by Gina Wohlsdorf

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Smoke by Dan Vyleta

Smoke by Dan Vyleta will be released on Tuesday, May 24th!

**I received an ARC of Smoke courtesy of Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review**

Smoke by Dan Vyleta. Doubleday, 2016. 448 pages. Paperback/softcover. 

(Note: This was not the cover of the ARC I received [this is the cover I received], and to be honest I'm not sure I like this final one too much. I feel that a more monochromatic/black and white cover would have been much more dramatic and stark and thus more fitting to the story. But anyway, on to the review!)

About a month or two ago I received a package that contained an ARC of Smoke, which I had never previously heard of, and within that package was also an adorable little tin of sweets (pictured below) that I assumed had to do with the content of this book (it did). I thought it was incredibly clever marketing and a fun addition to the story, and it made me that much more excited to dive into this book.

I'm honestly not sure where to even begin describing a novel such as this one. The basic premise of Smoke is both complex and simple at the same time: when people 'sin' (though 'sin' is a very vague and broad word, but I don't have another word to use), they emit smoke and soot that dirties themselves and their surroundings. The varieties of smoke differ according to each person and each particular crime or misdeed that a person commits.

Smoke takes place in a Victorian England type of setting, and the story begins at a boarding school in which young boys are sent to learn to control themselves in order to continue on with their elite, aristocratic families and political wealth. The plot lies in the inevitable doom that Thomas believes lies in wait for him, the rebelliousness of certain characters that want to 'rid' the world of smoke, and the adventures that take place as a result of these varying circumstances.

The multiple points of view in which Vyleta writes was rather unexpected, and although it at first seemed like it would bother me, it actually kept me quite engaged. There are switches between a third person POV and the POV of main characters, such as Charlies, Thomas, and Livia, as well as various other brief minor characters, which adds even more depth and intrigue to the many events and scenes of the story.  Howeverm I did encounter difficulties discerning between the POVs of Charlie and Thomas in the first few chapters. At the beginning of the story, both boys are somewhat similar in their mannerisms, but I largely think that is the expected effect of growing up in such a strict environment such as the one they did. As the novel progressed, the distinctions between each boy began to grown and further push their personality traits away from one another. Charlie begins to distinguish himself a somewhat more controlled and level-headed boy, whereas Thomas is portrayed as more of a 'loose canon,' so to speak. Livia was also a very dynamic character who begins as rather uptight and struggles with her natural urges, or 'sins,' as she begins to develop and move away from her sheltered and strict life.

One area in which I think Vyleta excelled was in the dynamic transformation (though transformation may be a bit too strong here) of each character, which were wonderfully drawn out and detailed. Every change within a character happened very slowly, but very distinctly. One minor gesture or thought would occur, one minor emitting of smoke, and it is immediately apparent that that was a big moment for that character's change in this story.

Vyleta's writing is fairly consistently bleak and dark, which creates an atmosphere that I found immensely compelling and immersive. It became almost to heavy at times, as there is very little relief from the relentlessly dark atmosphere. However, this also keeps the entire storyline consistent - there is no chance to escape to another more hopeful or optimistic world.

Here's my main problem with this book: although I understood the process of smoking and what Livia's mother wanted to do (I won't say more because of spoilers), I always felt like I was missing something. Why exactly was everyone acting so dramatically? Why did the three children feel that they needed to hide out? Everything just felt a bit too drawn out and overly compensated for what the truth drama was. The writing wasn't necessarily disjointed, but every once in a while I had this sense that I was missing something important - and not in a good, mysterious way.

Overall, I am giving Smoke four stars for its unprecedented plot and immersive storytelling. I would have loved to give Smoke five stars, but there was just a bit too much uncertainty and lack of explanation that made this difficult to follow at times.

Get more reviews and book news in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

You might also like:
Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates

A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry

A Fierce and Subtle Poison will be available for purchase on Tuesday, April 12th!

**I received a physical advance review copy of A Fierce and Subtle Poison courtesy of Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for an honest review**

A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry. Algonquin Young Readers, 2016. 288 pages. Softcover/paperback.

First, I have to say that A Fierce and Subtle Poison has, hands down, one of the most gorgeous covers that I've seen so far this year. I distinctly remember opening the package from Algonquin, unsure of what book lay inside, and pulling out this incredibly enticing and gorgeous book.

A Fierce and Subtle Poison centers around the story of Lucas, a seventeen-year-old boy who spends his summers with his father in beautiful Puerto Rico. Growing up, he has been surrounded by stories about a cursed girl with green skin and grass hair. Lucas' girlfriend goes missing one day, and he is then inexplicably drawn to Isabel, a girl filled with poison who cannot so much as touch someone - the cursed girl.

This was an extremely enjoyable and rather quick read, as I was immediately hooked and thus able to power through it in only a couple days. The premise of the story itself is fresh and remarkable, and I loved the setting of Puerto Rico. Mabry brought the entire island to life with its rich characters, culture, descriptions, and overall atmosphere - I definitely now have the urge to visit.

A Fierce and Subtle Poison is beautifully written with a fluid, almost lyrical-like prose at times that made this book a breeze to read through. Regardless of the plot or characters, the writing style itself is well-developed and displays talent. The pacing is not very consistent, however, as it moves rather slowly at times, then suddenly fast and rushing, almost leaving me behind wondering what was happening.

The characters are all very distinct in their personalities, but there is a lack of fleshing out that caused them to suffer. A few characters appear too one-dimensional, while others, such as Lucas, are much more developed, which created a sort of double layer in which part of the book was well-developed and strong, while the other part appeared weaker. There was also a lack of chemistry between many important characters, and I failed to see how such strong relationships could have formed between various people in such short amounts of time. Lucas' actions are a bit random at times as well; I wasn't entirely sure what his motivation was, besides the obvious attempts to find his girlfriend, but even then it just didn't account for all of his actions.

This book fell short in its lack of explanation. The storyline has much promise and potential,  but I feel like Mabry didn't quite delve as deep into the elements of the story as she could have. While there is an abundance of folktale and myth-like stories that add a deep level of culture and atmosphere, I think she spent too much time on those and not enough on the present day issues. I understood that Isabel was born with poison inside her that makes others sick - but how exactly? There is a backstory, but it only left me with more questions. The ending is open-ended, which I do enjoy in books, but I felt sort of jilted when I finished, and I haven't yet decided if it was a good feeling or a bad one.

Overall, I found this to be an exceptional magical realism book that was very compelling and entertaining to read, so I will be giving A Fierce and Subtle Poison three-and-a-half stars.

 Get more reviews and book news in your inbox and subscribe to Forever Lost in Literature!

You might also like:
Sun-Kissed by Coco Nichole
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson