Dystopian Persuasion

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

A retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion set generations after scientific meddling nearly ended the world. 

I found this book had a slow start; the author does well by not simply laying out the setting and rules of her post-apocalyptic society but it does make for a confusing start.  The cause of the world destruction and the resulting rules were fairly complex which while very interesting, took a while to fully flesh out.  I admire that the author has confidence in her reader intelligence.  It is worth it to keep on reading.

Considering it was based on a novel I had already read (and, well because it is a YA novel) I knew how it was going to end, but I still enjoyed the journey.

Recommended for: fans of Jane Austen's Persuasion, and for those looking for another dystopian novel once they have devoured the like of Hunger Games and Divergent.

Sequel: 
Across a Star-Swept Sea

Dancing and Bad Decisions

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

Ruby is a poor girl, living in a poor neighbourhood of Chicago.  She works at a meat packing factory to support her arthritic mother and younger sister.  When a opportunity to do what she loves (dancing) and make more than twice her factory wage (a whole $50) comes up, she takes it.  Little does she know that even though dancing may seem innocent, it will lead her down a path of heartache and danger.

I have had this book on my mental "To-Read" list for quite some time. Sometime when that happens, if I leave a book unread for to long, by the time I get to it I am not longer interested. This was definitely not the case.

This was also one of those books where the main character keeps making bad decisions, and I am writhing in the couch in agony because it is painful to watch her do these things.  A couple time I needed to snap the book closed, put it down, and walk it off.  While possibly bad for my blood-pressure, that is a sign of a good book in my opinion.

This was more along the lines of what I had hoped Vixen would be.  It's a different era, I know, and not a flapper in sight but it is full of glamour, and scandal, gangster wanna-be's, and danger.  It felt much more real, and the stakes were, if not higher, more present. If you were a fan of Vixen, but felt it fell short, perhaps this one is for you.

Read-a-likes: Strings Attached by Judy Blundell

Published 2008, Bloomsbury