Review: The Returned By Jason Mott

One day, out of the blue, all the dead return to the living, as though they'd never left. For elderly couple Harold and Lucille, it means seeing their long-dead son again - or does it? Is it really their son? And does it matter? Such are the questions that create the central drama at the heart of The Returned. It's not so much about the dead coming back to life, as it is about the impact the event has on the people around them and society at large. It's about grief and hope and love and fear and horror and joy and death and life.

Going into this, I was expecting it to be creepy, and while there is an uneasy tension and building sense of horror that pervades the novel, as humans react as they always do - by locking away and even destroying what they fear - The Returned is, more than anything, a truly beautiful book.

The writing is lovely, but it's the characters that really get under your skin. I love, love, love the fact that the hero of this book is an old lady - an ordinary old lady, at that. Lucille is one of my favourite characters in a long time. I also appreciated the exploration of Harold's mixed emotions, and the intrinsic sense of good that ruled his behaviour no matter what. A lot of the secondary characters were great, too, and their varied reactions to the Returned felt incredibly realistic.

The setting of a small town in the US was really effective in creating a claustrophobic and increasingly oppressive atmosphere that conveyed the confusion and fear felt by everyone. I also enjoyed the interludes featuring the stories of the Returned around the world - some of them were truly gut-wrenching - but I have to say the subplot involving the Reverend kind of disappointed me. It was interesting at first but just fizzled out. The main story, on the other hand, started out slow but built to a fantastic and memorable climax.The bittersweet ending, and indeed the book as a whole, really makes you think a lot about what it means to be alive, and what it takes to let go of those we love. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've finished it.

Rating: 4/5

Fine Print
Published: 2013, Harlequin MIRA
Source: Netgalley
Get It: Book Depository

Related
The Returned has been adapted into a TV series that is apparently coming out in March. It doesn't look anywhere near as good as the book, judging from the trailer, but it still looks worth a watch.

Top Ten Bookish Goals For 2013

1. Read more than last year. My goal for 2012 was to read 100 books, and I failed miserably. This year I'm aiming for 75, but I'd like to at least read 52 - one per week, and one more than last year.
2. Blog regularly. The first half of last year was taken up with wedding planning and then the actual wedding, and then it was hard to get back into a good blogging rhythm. But I feel like I'm off to a good start this year, and plan on posting at least five times a weak, as I did when I first began my blog.
3. Stay up-to-date with reviews. A big problem with my blogging last year was getting behind on reviews. At one stage I was nine books behind! It created unnecessary stress and made it harder to actually write the reviews when I finally got around to it. This year I intend to write reviews on the day I finish the book. So far, so good!
4. Ignore the drama. I feel like 2012 was the Year of the Drama Llama in the book blogging community. I've made a conscious decision to step back and ignore it all (although hopefully it doesn't happen this year!). It just sucks the fun out of blogging.
5. Read more classics. Back in my uni days, the classics took up the majority of the books I read. Some of it was for my English Literature major, but a lot of it was just for fun. When I started working full time I had much less time on my hands and found myself drawn to quick and easy reads. Now I want to get back into reading the classics, so I'm aiming to read at least six this year. That's only one every couple of months - I think I can do that!
6. Finish all of my challenges. I signed up for waaay too many challenges in 2012 and failed most of them. This year I'm only doing four and I intend to complete them all. That means reading at least 12 Aussie books for one challenge, 10 by Australian women writers for another (obviously these will overlap), knocking at least 36 books off my TBR pile, and, as stated above, reading 75 books in total.
7. Buy less books. I have a bit of a book buying addiction. There was one stage last year where I was getting packages nearly every day, and half the time I couldn't even remember what I'd ordered. Indeed, I ended up ordering multiple copies of a couple of things! This year I need to make sure I read the books I already own and...
8. Use the library more (and get books back on time). I finally joined my local library last year after living in the area for four years. I used it quite a bit at first but then I racked up some heavy fines and have been too chicken to go back since. I need to square off my debts and get back into it. That, or sign the husband up for a card and use his. Mwahaha.
9. Read books I've been meaning to get to for ages. Like those in last week's Top Ten.
10. Reread some of my favourites. I've only reread one book since starting my blog, because I'm inundated with new books I want to read all the time, but I really miss revisiting some of my favourites - like Jane Austen, for instance. I've also been contemplating reading some of my childhood faves, like The Babysitter's Club, but I think that would be a bigger project that I need to plan out and right now I'm just concentrating on getting my blogging mojo back.

What are your bookish goals for 2013?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

2013 Challenges, Here I Come...

I didn't do so well with the ridonkulous amount of challenges I signed up for last year. So this year I'm keeping it simple and only doing four.

Aussie Author Challenge 2013 
Hosted by Booklover Book Reviews, I've participated in this challenge twice before and actually did really well last year, so I'm keen to have another crack. I'm aiming for "Fair Dinkum" level, which requires you to:
- Read and review 12 books by Australian Authors.
- Ensure at least 4 of the authors are male, at least 4 of the authors are female and at least 4 of the authors are new to you
- Ensure at least 2 of the books are non-fiction and at least 4 fiction genres are represented amongst your 12 titles.
Balanced and diverse reading is the objective here.

Australian Women Writers Challenge 2013
With its very own dedicated website, this is a great challenge that I completed last year and am looking forward to doing again this year. Last year I aimed for three different authors and ended up reading 14 books by eight different Australian women writers. This year I'm going to aim for the highest level - "Franklin", which is to read at least 10 books by Australian women writers and review at least six.

Embarrassment of Riches TBR Reading Challenge 2013
Hosted by Planet Pooks, the aim of this challenge is to knock some books off the TBR pile - i.e. books I already own. I'm going for Gold level - aiming to read 36 TBR books between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2013.

Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Last year I challenged myself on Goodreads to read 100 books. Unfortunately I only made it to 51. This year, after much deliberation, I've decided to aim a little lower, but still improve on last year's total - so I'm going for 75 books. Fingers crossed I can reach it!

Top Ten Books I Resolve To Read In 2013

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic evening and 2013 is off to a good start for you all. I personally have big plans and high hopes for this year. Including (but not limited to) reading these books...


Source

1. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. This book received so much buzz in the blogosphere that I knew I just had to read it. I managed to get my hands on it when it came out, but haven't had a chance to read it yet. Here's hoping I get to it soon.
   
2. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. This one received even more buzz and I pre-ordered it despite never having read John Green before. I figured it would be as amazing as everyone was making it out to be. But I've been too scared of being totally depressed to actually read it yet.
   
3. Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan. It sounds amazing and is another that has gotten brilliant reviews. I can't wait to read it!
   
4. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. An Aussie gem (or so I've heard) that I'm ashamed to admit I haven't read yet.
   
5. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Anne is the only Bronte I have yet to read, and I plan to remedy that.
   
6. Divergent by Veronica Roth. Of the many dystopians to hit the scene post-Hunger Games, Divergent was one of the few to get resounding praise. I finally picked it up at a book sale after Christmas so I can read it soon.
   
7. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. The first in a series that came to my attention when I found out it was one of Melina Marchetta's faves – so it must be good!
   
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This has been on my bookshelf for years and for some reason I've never read it. I think it's probably about time I did.
   
9. Night Beach by Kirsty Eager. Eager is another Aussie author that I've heard great things about, and I've been meaning to read one of her books for awhile.
   
10. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. When I was at uni I was obsessed with Dickens and read a bunch of his books, but I haven't read much of his lately. I plan to rekindle my love this year, and NN looks like a good place to start.
    

What books do you want to tick off your to-read list this year?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

I'm not big on the book news; I tend to be pretty clueless about what's coming out and when, but there are some books I can't wait to get my hands on in 2013...

1. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 2 (currently untitled) by Ransom Riggs. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children almost became one of my favourite books... until it ended on a massive cliffhanger that drove me nuts. So needless to say I've been waiting for the sequel for awhile.

2. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. I looooved If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman, so I've been eagerly anticipating her next book.

3. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. OK, I haven't been excited about the Sookie Stackhouse books for awhile. But I'm excited for this one because it will finally bring the series to an end, and answer the question once and for all - will Sookie end up with Eric? She better.

4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. I love, love, loved Anna and the French Kiss and really enjoyed Lola and the Boy Next Door, so I predict good things for the final book in Perkins' trilogy.

5. The Hybrid Chronicles 2 (currently untitled) by Kat Zhang. I really enjoyed Zhang's debut novel, What's Left of Me, when I read it recently, and I can't wait for the sequel.

6. The Boss by Abigail Barnette. Not content with pointing out how terrible 50 Shades of Grey is in her hilarious, brilliant recaps, Jennifer Armintrout (under the name Abigail Barnette) has decided to publish a feminist romance as the antithesis to the abusive dynamics found in the popular tome. Best of all? She's publishing it for free on her website, in serial form. It sounds awesome.

7. Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff. The plot sounds really intriguing - a young girl is haunted by her best friend, who pushes her to investigate her death and the other mysterious murders in their town. Plus the cover is super pretty, and I'm superficial like that.

8. Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. The Book Thief is one of my favourite books, and this will be Zusak's follow up. It's been a long time coming, and I anticipate amazingness.

9. Prodigy by Marie Lu. The first book in this series, Legend, was pretty decent, and I've heard the sequel is even better.

10. When We Wake by Karen Healey. About a girl who gets cryogenically frozen and reanimated 100 years later, this is one dystopian/sci-fi that sounds unique and has a lot of potential.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.