See How They Run

The second book in the Embassy Row series by Ally Carter starts up exactly where the first one left off.

Grace, who has just learned something even more tragic about her dead mother, still suffers from PTSD from the incident. But now more is on her and she's gotten to the point that she wishes she didn't know the truth. At times she tries to run away from it all, force it behind her and in the past but the past keeps catching up with her. Now her brother Jamie is back on Embassy Row and brought an army buddy along with him. Not even a few nights on Embassy Row and Jamie's friend is found dead on the beach. Who would want to kill Spence? And now Alexie is somehow to blame merely because he is "the Russian." Politics and conspiracy and secret societies are everywhere. Grace cannot catch a break.

There will be some who are still very upset that Grace sticks to this PTSD thing and the death of her mother weighs very heavily on her character. If you are upset by that, I hope you don't meet a vet or go through anything traumatic because you won't cope well. Her PTSD, which it's never actually called that in the story, is part of who she is. So much of it, because it is so fresh, still claws at her mind and it's nails haven't been dulled yet. In the book, because her brother also has to deal with some things, she's able to start to cope and begins to mend. I think that seeing her brother going through the same thing lets her drop her walls more than anything else has it seems. Knowing the truth has also helped as well, I think. It appears she begins to mend and isn't as angry and willing to jump off a cliff as she was before. Steps forward. Good job Grace. It hasn't stopped completely, obviously, and there are still flashes especially around fire, but she seems less dark and hidden than in the first book. Grace is true to her character. She doesn't flip flop on being the pretty princess then suddenly go tom-boy. She's freaked out and while there are moments of pause, she's still broken and it's not an easy fix. Ally Carter gives us that; she lets us see that this is hard. None of us want to be in her shoes and we feel sorry for her and reading on in hopes that she gets better and finds her own peace. Well done, Ally. Well done.

I really like Embassy Row and the idea of so many countries sharing fences. Being able to hide in a dilapidated Iran Embassy while walking past Israel, Russia, Brazil, and other countries on your way back to the U.S. of A. is a fun little concept. Ally Carter worked this one well and had fun with it.

This one is more focused on Grace's relationships with her brother and Alexie. There is a skuffle when the new Alpha-Boy comes into town, which is kind of fun to have your brother defend you, willing to knock the guys out. I do wish there was more of Rosie and Noah and the rest, but there just wasn't. While the first book had a taste of the Heist Society where the kids were the masterminds behind gathering information and being all sneaky and spy-like, that wasn't here, which was good because then it didn't feel like a copy of the first book.

I think that this series could have worked will as a combination of them all. Obviously I haven't read the last book yet, but it feels like they could have been presented in the same novel. Grace didn't make a whole lot of internal progress in the first book and made major steps forward in this one and I predict that there will be even more leaps in the next book. The first book had a good climax and this one felt lacking that intense feel. I felt the build up to it but then it didn't quiet come or more like the climax hasn't had the opportunity to resolve itself. They get away and are getting help, but not much more than that. The resolve will probably be in the beginning of the third book, but I want it at the end here. It's missing.

The Appearance of Annie van Sinderen

The Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen is a ghost story without ever using the word "ghost."

Wes is a media major assisting his friend who is producing a small film for their college summer school class. They go to a seance to hopefully see a ghost or something spooky. What they don't realize is that they actually spotted one. Annie bops in and out of 1840 New York to the present in hopes that she can find out what happened to her and her family and, more specifically, what happened to her cameo that her beau gave her that has gone missing. Wes and very few others can actually see her and search to find out what happened.

The story is cut into three parts: Wes, Annie, and West/Annie. As Wes figures out that Annie is a ghost we jump to her story and what happened throughout the week before her demise. But as she flashes back to the past, she's able to change things, or is she? She acts differently around others and they, in turn, respond differently. She is able to find new clues to her past and what happened.

I think the book is well written, but for those who don't care for heavy description, be ready to skim/skip parts. It if full of heavy description. Though interesting to see what it is like to walk the streets of present-day New York through the eyes of someone who hasn't seen buildings higher than three stores. That was fun. I liked the difference of views that were subtle throughout the story. When we are reading through Wes' point of view, it is different with different things emphasised than it is through Annie's. She focuses on the "cushioned chair" or small delicate things, whereas Wes sets his focus like you would a camera. I thought that was well done. It also definitely showed what it is like to be in a nineteen year old boys mind.

The transition between the two times was easy to see, though sometimes a bit long in description.  I understand that sometimes that transition can be sticky, but she Katherine Howe did it well.

Um... aside from that, it took me awhile to get it finished. I found it easy to put down and I knew what was going to happen well before it did. I finished it because I wanted to see how it was going to end and if I was right--which I was. It's not one that I'd be eager to pick up again, but it was alright.

I'd suggest this for a light read if someone wanted it.