Lise Haines

Merideth says: This book has a killer concept, but it falls apart pretty quickly. Also, I think it might be guilty of a little bit of false advertising because the promised "Girl in the Arena" doesn't happen till the very, very, very end of the book, and then it is pretty anticlimactic. I think that ultimately, Haines tried to do too much here, and can't decide on what part of her story to focus on -- does she want to show a family in crisis? or tell a coming of age story? or focus on a show more society that has become desensitized to violence? or show the impact unscrupulous corporations have in our lives? Instead of picking one theme and running with it, she tries to cover all bases and winds up with a mess. show less

I've been wanting to read this one. It looked to have an interesting premise- not quite dystopian, rather set in modern times with a few twists. Gladiator competitions have become a major sport, just like football or hockey, only in Gladiator sports, the opponents in the arena fight to the death. Not really all that far fetched. We are a vile, violent race on the whole and I can think of a handful of people, just of my acquaintance who would happily put on their beer guzzling helmets and show more wave their giant foam fingers while two people hack each other to bits in the name of entertainment. If you look at it like that it's only slightly less civilized than football, and perhaps a bit more so than hockey :)

I'd like to clear up that even though, when one sees the title, one could speculate that this is merely a Hunger Games wannabe, but it's not. There are countless differences and very few similarities. I think perhaps the biggest difference (and perhaps the biggest plus for this novel) is that Lyn's story is entirely believable. A big multimillion dollar entertainment corporation owns and operates a sports association, profiting from all the publicity, advertising and merchandising that goes along with it. The fight to the death- not so unbelievable. It's happened in the past, and it happens today in other less demonstrative forms. I liked that. Lyn and her family lived in the suburbs, owned lots of needlessly high-tech, futuristic gadgets (just as we do and will), she went to high school and so on. I could really get into the story because for the most part, it's stuff I've seen first hand and could picture it. Except for the killing part.

I got a kick out of all the Gladiator culture, with its idiotic rules and regulations, and its people who believe in it wholeheartedly. It reminded me a lot of a religious cult and it was just as ridiculous.

I wasn't sold on the writing; it was rather flat. When I read I like to mark (yes by dogearing the bottom corner of the page) specific passages where the writing stands out to me, or if there's a quote that I know I want to share. I didn't find any memorable examples in this book and I was less than impressed by the fact that it took over 3/4 of the book to get to the point. When it finally did arrive at the "big event", it was rather anticlimactic. I was really hoping for a good fight.

Kudos for shamelessly writing some really gross stuff- dismemberment and suicide and humans trampling humans. And even though I shouldn't have been, I was very much team Uber. show less

I have really conflicted feelings about this book. I was expecting some cheap Hunger Games rip-off, but it wasn't like that at all.

This book is about Lyn, who has had seven gladiator fathers, due to her mothers career as a Glad wife. As a substitute to war, and entire Glad culture has arose, blood sport being just as common as football. Lyn's life is ruled by bylaws put forth by the Gladiator Sports Association. It is these bylaws that say she is required, through a chain of unfortunate show more events, to marry Uber, the warrior who defeated her seventh father in the arena. Rather than give in to these demands, she proposes an alternative: fighting him in the arena.

Initially, I thought I wasn't going to like this. At first it was because I thought it was a rip-off. Then it was because the writing and formatting was odd and distracting. And then it was because I realized that the action would be slow-coming. But then, about half-way through the book, I realized I kinda liked it. Lyn, the narrator was endearing, and the writing was starting to grow on me. I stopped with the exectations and just went with the flow. By the end, I didn't hate it as much as I did to start with.

The writing is not typical of a young-adult book, and that threw me off for a while. I appreciated that the author was doing something different. And I shall warn everyone right now, this book has no quotation marks. This drove me insane to begin with, and I was frustrated with the author. I mean, why couldn't she use quotation marks like a normal author? But in no time, I didn't even realize the difference.

I liked Lyn. She was endearing. She wasn't a Mary Sue, yet she wasn't a stereotypical bad-ass robot. I understood her motives. But I did not understand her brother. Her little brother, who is autistic, is also supposedly a prophet/oracle. I thought this book was set in an alternative now. I don't get the whole mysticism thing. And I also didn't get how they had things like You Tube still, but also virtual living machines that can create a functioning virtual being. But I did like the whole history of GSA. That does seem odd enough to be true.

Don't expect a hardcore thrilling action novel. Despite being about violence, this book had very little action. Lyn wasn't even in the arena until the final pages. I think this is misleading on the marketer's part. This book is way more contemplative than it sounds. I got bored in some places, but I was overall absorbed.

I am still confused about my feeling for this book, so I apologize for the possible wishy-washiness of this review. I can see how some people hate it, some people love it. It's an odd little book. show less

3.5⭐

Nora, a documentary filmmaker and editor, marries her friend Paul, a contractor who had been temporarily renting the loft above her late husband Takeo’s ceramics studio in their home. Soon after, Paul and Nora, along with Leon, Paul’s eighteen-year-old son from his previous marriage, travel to Paul’s family campground, Hidden Lake, which has been closed down for years, to fix it up and eventually sell off the property. Paul, who had left his childhood home almost thirty years show more ago, does not seem to have too many happy memories of his childhood. Paul’s parents are still alive, his father terminally ill and his mother suffering from dementia. Nora also meets Paul’s younger brother Gabe and his wife, Salish and their four children. Salish, who takes it upon herself to cook and take charge of the kitchen, shows them a collection of thirteen novelty knives, a proud possession passed down to her by her father. Trouble starts when one by one, the knives start disappearing, despite Salish’s obsessive hiding and protection. Nora, intent on documenting as much as possible on video, embarks on an investigation behind these strange occurrences, often aided by Salish’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Jones.

Book of Knives by Lise Haines is a well-written slow-burn suspense thriller. Haines’s writing is elegant, descriptive and immersive. I was impressed with the author’s characterizations- the adults, teenagers and the children- all the characters, even the immensely unlikable ones are well-developed. The mystery behind the disappearing knives (a few of which reappear under mysterious circumstances), other sinister and paranormal occurrences, hidden rooms, strained interactions between Gabe and Paul, fluctuating tempers, tension and suspicion among the adults, the suffocating atmosphere of the camp, and a decades-old murder mystery make for an engaging read. Yes, there are ghostly apparitions and sinister occurrences, but not enough to scare you silly! (for which I am thankful; otherwise, a scaredy-cat like me would be hiding under the bed instead of writing this review!). The author does leave a few questions unanswered or rather leaves it to the reader to ponder over, but that’s okay.

Overall this is an interesting, albeit slow-moving read, with a climax that satisfies, and a few surprises along the way.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed here are my own. show less