Tracy Banghart

A haunted house, a huge storm, no cell service, wifi, or electricity: the perfect setting for a sleepover!

Perfect Girl is a new young adult horror novel by author Tracy Banghart, who pulls out all the stops to create the perfect backdrop for an innocent sleepover gone wrong. Realistic teen characters dealing with authentic, real-world problems are inadvertently caught up in someone’s deadly obsession with finding the perfect girl.

As if high school isn’t hard enough already?

The main show more character, Jessa Morgan, exudes cheer, charm, and kindness, but underneath, her joy is just a façade. She’s an extreme people pleaser, and her carefully curated, perfect persona is approaching its breaking point. While facing the fears the night brings, Jessa also confronts her overwhelming need to be all things to all people, which has been fueled from childhood by her mother’s hopes and high expectations. However, she’s not the only one in her circle who’s struggling. Alexis is bi, and it’s killing her that she hasn’t been able to reveal this to her parents. Another friend, Tiny, who has drifted away from their close-knit group, is secretly trapped in an abusive relationship with an older guy. Even Jessa’s brother, Josh, is dealing with issues. Long ago, he abdicated his role as the responsible firstborn to his younger sister, and he is also struggling with living up to his parents’ impossibly high expectations. With Jessa doing all the heavy lifting, he may have just given up even trying to match her successes at home and school.

There’s a sweet mutual crush developing between Jessa and Ryan, Josh’s best friend, but she’s too embedded in adhering to the standards of behavior from a more conservative time. She won’t make the first move, and he’s being held back by something that won’t let him clearly indicate his interest in her. But eventually, the courage is mustered to speak up.

In a concurrent storyline, six high school girls in nearby York have gone missing in as many months. The ongoing events of one such disappearance unfold through the eyes of the sixth missing girl. The storylines eventually converge, and the horrific truth is shocking.

The author establishes a tense, suspenseful setting with Jessa’s secluded house, which is mostly jokingly said to be home to a female teenage spirit, and her parents’ overnight absence. Situated on the edge of a woods with spotty cell service, at the best of times, Jessa and her sleepover guests, her brother, and his friend, Ryan, are further isolated when major storms roll in and take out the electricity. I was quickly caught up in the story, surprised by the plot twists, and entertained from start to finish.

I recommend PERFECT GIRL to readers of young adult horror stories and thrillers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours. show less

In young adult fiction, strong young heroines who help save the world have been a mainstay of such stories for a decade or more. However, this does not mean that authors are overusing this character type. If anything, given the headlines these days, women of all ages need these heroines to remind us to keep fighting no matter how exhausting or painful it is. They remind us that all revolutions start small, and all it takes to grow is that one person to stand up for what is right. In this show more regard, Nomi and Serina are two more great examples of women fighting the good fight.

What makes Grace and Fury stand out from a crowded field of similar novels is the anger simmering beneath the surface of the story. While Nomi’s anger is upfront, it is the anger underneath that fuels the narrative. As both girls gain more exposure to their new homes, they begin to understand just how angry women are at their enforced situations. They also begin to recognize the machinations that exist solely to keep women submissive. As their awareness grows, so does the antagonistic energy that surrounds each woman with whom the girls interact, until eventually, neither girl can ignore the suppressed truth.

In many ways, one can relate what happens to the sisters to current headlines. Just as the girls become more aware of the undercurrents of tension in their fictional world, there is an anger among women in the real world which is only beginning to surface. Serina and Nomi gain greater understanding and knowledge of their lack of rights, but women everywhere are fighting to maintain theirs. Both groups face a firmly entrenched patriarchy that has generations of traditions, social mores, and other insidious forms of subjugation of which so many of us have never been consciously aware. The worlds may be different, but the enemy we face remains the same.

Grace and Fury is not perfect. In fact, the story is highly predictable, and the big plot twist is so obvious that there is no surprise. However, it remains an excellent story if only because it is inspiring. In the real world, women are angry and have been since November 2016. If it takes a fictional pair of sisters to create the spark needed for women to move beyond anger and into action, then I welcome it with open arms. show less

I am in love with Milek! End of story. He is my book bf of the moment so patient ♥

Review to come!

Update***

This is A tremendously well executed YA dystopian novel. You have the new world, new highly advanced technology, and a country that is in war.

Aris is a young girl (who is also one of the BEST flyers in Lux) who is going through Selection with her boyfriend Calix. They have everything planned out. He will become a mender and will announce that they are promised to each other that very show more night. Her world gets turned upside down when she meets a man named Tress who tells her that everything she has planned is in fact not happening (he wants her to consider flying for a military that women aren't allowed to join). Aris sorta shrugs everything he says off. At selection she learns everything Tress said was true. Calix will indeed become a mender but for the Military.

Aris not able to handle her Boyfriend going off to war, knowing they could go months even years without seeing each other decides to take drastic measures.
This is when Aris becomes, Aristos Haan, Military flyer.

At first doing this all for the wrong reasons Aris is a little annoying to me. But hey if shes annoying to me and gets under my skin then it shows that I am in a teenage girls mind. Someones mind who hasn't fully matured. One that misses her boyfriend. The author developed her correctly. I get to watch Aris blossom into a wonderful man/woman. One with commitment, loyalty, and courage. A person who decides that everything she/he is doing has much more meaning. And its something beyond her. It isn't just for Calix anymore. Which is a good thing because the way he treats her later on the book disgusts me.

Major Vidar/Milek (no spoilers you have to read the book to find out why he has two aliases) Is the hero/male lead in this book, in my opinion of course. Once it comes out that Aristos is actually Aris we see little glimpses of Major Vidar being interested especially towards the end. But you know what I love about him?!?! He isn't pushy. He understands Aris isn't ready for a relationship much less a new love interest. And he respects that. He is very handsome, charming, and patient. I love him.

On top of the war going on, Aris becoming a man and growing into herself as a person, we also have the kidnapping of Galena, The Warden of Ruslana going on. I liked the suspense the author built on this. Until the end when everything was getting wrapped up and tied together I had no idea what significance Galena had or why this kidnapping was so important. But don't let that get to you, it does have significance and it opens a lot of doors for Aris and women in general. I like the vague and mysteriousness of it all.

I enjoyed this book. It took me to a new place. I was rooting and hollering for Aris. I got emotional and scared and worried. Everything I want a book to make me feel this one did it for me.
As I have said in a previous book review I have done for this author, Her writing style is flawless to me. The character execution is right on the money. She truly makes me feel like I am a part of this. She makes me WANT to be a part of this.

In modeling you aren't always posing alone. Sometimes you have to pose with two birds on your head a snake wrapped around your arm and a crying baby at your feet. But your job is to own that picture, to make it work, to make people want to be you in that same situation because you make it look good you own it. Tracy Banghart did that for me in this novel. She made me want to walk in Aris shoes. She turned this dystopian novel into something real for me. The emotions were live and raw.

two more things to say
1. I love that this novel is based on the story and everything going on at hand, You don't have a romance taking over the story, but it still has the romance there.
2. Thank goodness for no love triangles, I was almost scared there was one coming on! So again thank you for not doing that to me show less

A YA Spin on The Handmaid's Tale Set in 1600s Italia

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for violence against women, including rape. This review contains very vague spoilers.)

“One evening,” Serina had recited from memory, her recent singing lessons coating her voice with honey, “as the sun eased toward the horizon and the moon rose from its slumber, two birds flew along the path made on the water by the setting sun. They dipped and show more sagged, their battered wings barely holding them aloft. Every now and then, one would falter and fall toward the water, all strength gone. The other would dive and catch the first on its back, carrying its partner for a time.

“The two birds traveled this way for many leagues, until the path of the sun had faded and the moon’s silver road appeared. The ocean shimmied and danced beneath the birds, intrigued by their obvious love for each other. The ocean had never loved anything so much, to burden its own back with another’s survival. It didn’t understand why the birds didn’t fend for themselves—the stronger leave the weaker and carry on.

“It took the ocean some time to understand that apart, the birds would never have made it so far,” Serina had continued, wrapping an arm around Nomi’s shoulders. “That their love, their sacrifice, gave them both strength. When at last, the two little birds, their bright red and green feathers tarnished from their long journey, could no longer hold themselves free of the endless water, the ocean took pity on them. Rewarding their steadfastness, it pushed land up from its depths—huge, lush hills with fresh, clean water, towering cypress trees, and all the fruits and berries and seeds they could ever desire. The lovebirds alighted in the shady, cool branches of an olive tree, their tired wings wrapping around each other, their beaks tucked into each other’s feathers. And at last, they were able to rest.”

###

Every aspect of their world, down to Viridia’s prisons, pitted women against each other while men watched.

###

Serina and Nomi Tessaro are daughters of Viridia - which kind of sucks, since women aren't valued very highly in their culture. Women are only allowed three vocations: factory workers, servants, or wives. Rarely do they get to choose which. Also on the list of no-nos: reading, disobedience, impertinence, wearing their hair above their shoulders, cutting their hair without the say-so of a man, and engaging in violence, if even as a means of self-defense. Women who break the rules - so-called criminals - are imprisoned on the imposing volcanic island of Mount Ruin.

Serina and Nomi are alike in that they're both gunning for a way out: Serina hopes to trade her dirty industrial village of Lanos for the rich, opulent city of Bellaqua by becoming one of the Heir's first three concubines - his Graces. Viridia is a monarchy, presided over by a sort of king called the Superior. The present Superior has two sons, Malachi and his younger brother Asa; at his upcoming twentieth birthday celebration, Malachi will choose his first three Graces. Serina is determined to be one of them. Success will mean that she and Nomi - serving as her handmaiden - will be spared a lifetime of drudgery. Failure is not an option.

Nomi is the younger sister, and also the more rebellious - the Fury to Serina's Grace. Nomi's escape - and her downfall, perhaps - lies in the magical worlds that swell and beckon from between the covers of books. When Nomi is tempted by the palazzo's vast library, things go sideways. Before the sisters can utter a tart retort, Nomi has been chosen as one of Malachi's Graces, while Serina is condemned to fight and die on Mount Ruin. Both sisters must summon up the other's strength to survive - and maybe even overthrow the patriarchy.

I love a good feminist yarn, and Grace and Fury doesn't disappoint. Well, mostly. Initially the tone felt a little on the young end of YA for my taste, but I quickly warmed to each sister's voice. I feel like the MCs could stand to be a little more fleshed out, but I'm hoping we'll see this in the sequel. I thought Banghart did a great job with the supporting characters; I want to know more about Oracle and Maris and Helena and Anika - and Val's parents, too.

I saw the surprise twist coming a mile away, and I bet more astute readers will spot it even sooner. (The clue for me was in the horses. Never trust a dude who abuses animals.) I almost had trouble believing that Nomi fell for the ruse ("It was so obvious now." No kidding!), but once I sat back and tried to truly imagine myself in her shoes, I can kind of get it. I mean, she's totally alone, completely out of her element, with no one to trust, and here comes this slithery little serpent telling her what she wants/needs to hear. And I mean, it's not like she had any better options.

The climax of the story was well worth it; rarely do books compel me to talk (or shout!) back at them, but I was yelling and hand-waving at Serina, as though she could hear me ("Fight him! Challenge him to fight!"). The last scene just leaves so many possibilities open, I cannot wait to see where the story goes.

Also great is Viridia's entire backstory, which prominently features strong, badass women getting shafted by THE MAN. How many centuries, and how little has changed?

http://www.easyvegan.info/2018/09/18/grace-and-fury-by-tracy-banghart/ show less