Incarnate

I have no idea if it is just me, but I felt strong undercurrents of "ism" in this book. Simply replace the word nosoul with black, Chinese, gay, etc. Ana is the Newsoul in heart, or the nosoul, depending on who is asked. She replaced someone and having had zero control over this; She is still hated, fiercely.

The people of heart remind me of certain of my own family members (distant family), who would never accept me were I certain things listed above. Some people completely shut down because as soon as they learn you are "Other" you are now an object to them, you don't matter.

These are the people of Heart. It is more than a little Ironic that a people Living in village called Heart possess such little compassion and caring. This book show more really made me think; It has been a while since that happened, I thank you [a:Jodi Meadows|4116488|Jodi Meadows|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1389713448p2/4116488.jpg]. show less

First of all, let me clarify something: I'm giving this book 5 cheeses but, if I could I would put six or seven. That's how amazing it was.
And I'm afraid I won't be able to write coherent things in this review and that the only thing you are going to keep reading in every single line is that I LOVED this book.

But I promise I'm trying to take deep breaths to calm myself down.
I think it's working. Now I have to put order in my head (to many things I want to say, sorry).

Facts:
- Since I discovered how to highlight quotes in my readers I've been doing so a lot. But with this book I didn't highlight quotes, at all, I kept highlighting paragraphs, PAGES. Really. I was completely amazed too, they are 94 highlights in total!
- I started with show more Incarnate at 10:00pm and I went to sleep at 8:00am (after my hubby left). I had already finished the book at 6:00am but I couldn't stop myself, I needed to re-read the quotes, paragraphs and pages I had marked.
- I even had a dream about the book.
- I should be writing 3 reviews before this one but I had to share this book with you all.
- Jodi Meadow is now in my list of Amazing-Wonderful-Incredible Authors.
- Incarnate, the hardcover edition, will have a special place in my bookshelf.
- I can't believe I have to wait until 2013 for the next book. That's just wrong...

Proper review:
Everybody was expecting Ciana to be born. That how things worked: once you died you were reborn again, over and over again. No surprises, no new souls, everybody knew that after a lifetime they would gain another one remembering everything that had happened before (and if they couldn't remember something they had the diaries they always wrote).
Things had been like this for the last five thousand years.
That's why when Li gave birth to a baby no one could recognize their perfect world crumbled. Menehem, Li's husband, left the city ashamed of himself and Li had to take care of Ana, the new baby, the nosoul, even if she didn't want to.

And Ana always knew, thanks to Li, that her life was a mistake and that no one would ever love her. Li even assured her that she could never love because how could a nosoul feel love?! But she was wrong and Ana knew, deep down, that she loved music (she had once sneaked and listened to music. It had cost her Li's rage but it was worth it). Her favorite musician? Dossam, who could make her feel emotions she didn't even understand

As soon as Ana reached eighteen she left Li behind and marched to Heart, the city that held, hopefully, all the answers she sought.
But her trip to Heart almost cost her everything when sylphs cornered her: she coud die a horrible death with fire and pain with the sylphs or jump to the river and die of hypothermia.
She chose hypothermia (who wouldn't?!).

It was then that Sam saved her. A stranger that didn't look at her with disgust, a stranger that decided to help her get to Heart, a stranger that introduced her to new people who liked her. He shared his roof with her and always reassured her that she was a newsoul, not a nosoul.

But things in Heart weren't easy for her, of course. How could they be? A lot of the population blamed her for Ciana's death and were afraid that more "nosouls" would be born and replace some of them in the process.
And to make matters worst Li was back in town and the Council was considering gave Ana's custody to her again...

Personal opinion:
The way Jodi writes is mesmerizing, you won't be able to put the book down. The words will flow from the pages to your head and create the whole story for your eyes to see. When Ana struggled I struggled, when she discovered new things I discovered new things with her. Her feelings were one with mine and it felt incredibly good.

The way Sam and Ana's relationship develops is just perfect. No rushing at all, just what she needed and what he could give her in every step they took. I valued their friendship like a treasure and I'm sure you will feel the same.

The ending is just great, everything happens fast but well explained and the plot reaches the point where you feel at ease when your eyes read the last sentence.

Now, as I said, the next book comes out in 2013 but if it's any consolation this book doesn't leave you in a cliffhanger that could make you cry, it leaves the story in a good point making sure that you will want to read the next one. show less

Let me begin this review by saying that I simply adored this book! And obviously the cover is beautiful. It is a bit slow moving at first, but after reading the first few chapters, I was hooked.

Can you imagine being the only newsoul born in 5,000 years and living in a community where everyone knows everyone but you? And everyone thinks you're evil and have no soul? That was Ana's life before she met Sam, who believes she's a newsoul instead of a nosoul. Even though this book is set in a Utopian society, it felt, to me, like it was making a statement of the small town BS that so many people go through, and I admire the book even more for that.

Ana is a terrific character, and she is easy to sympathize with. She has had a terrible show more childhood, and she is so scared of people that she is extremely defensive. Knowing what her mother, Li, put her through though, it's understandable. Ana's tortured childhood is unfolded as the novel progresses, and she grows quite a bit as a character in this book. She becomes more comfortable with herself, less defensive, and her self-esteem improves. However, she's still not exactly where she should be. I guess that's why there will be sequels. I was rooting for Ana the entire time. It's impossible not to want the best for her.

I LOVED Sam. I wish I could just rip him out of the pages of the book and call him my own. He's a musical genius, kind, patient, intelligent, and brave. He helps Ana overcome so much of her fear and defensiveness, and he is so patient and understanding with her. It's impossible not to love Sam once you get to know him. He repeatedly puts himself on the line to help Ana and protect her. He's the perfect hero.

The secondary characters are all pretty well developed, and they all have distinct personalities. Some are obviously bad, some keep you guessing. My personal favorite two secondary characters are Armande and Stef. Stef is mischievous and fun, and Armande has a heart of gold.

After the first few slow-moving chapters, the pacing is pretty spot on and kept me interested as the plot unfolded. I had two pet peeves with this book, however. The first was that Ana always "missed" or "couldn't see" Sam's expressions. I'm sure this was done to show she'd had no social interaction growing up and that she couldn't decipher normal human emotions easily, but it really pulled me out of the story. The author would have been better off being vague and simply saying "something flashed across his face," and leaving it at that. Either that or she could have just not mentioned his expressions at all the majority of the time, and the other times, simply been vague. Another thing that kind of got to me was the fact that Meadows gave these beautiful elaborate descriptions for buildings, streets, etc., but she never described the clothes people were wearing or what the SED screen looked like. That made it hard to picture certain things. I wanted to know what time period the clothes of Heart resembled, and I wanted to know if the SED screen was like a projection screen used in a movie theater or like a TV. Those few details would have made the world an even richer and more intriguing place.

Over all, I completely enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to the sequel. Meadows has created a unique and captivating world that is sure to draw readers in. Her characters are believable and easy to relate to, and I can't wait to continue unfolding the mysteries of her Utopian universe. show less

See, Laura said, "She writes like you, you're going to love her," but I'd been in the middle of other books, and in other things, and sort of took it as a note, but sort of just let it slide, and I think it took a whole month to get back to this book she kept trying to wave in front of my nose.




Then? Now howdy. It's month later and I can still remember devouring this book in less than two days, wanting to suck the marrow from every word and world detail. How much I hated the page count getting lower and lower and lower. The way I fell in love with the main characters. The way I want to know the answers, the mystery, love the set up of the universe. How different and interesting it is.

Definitely in the top handful of favorite books for show more this year. show less

Incarnate is best described as a part fantasy/part dystopian novel. It features creatures like dragons and mysterious shadow creatures called Sylph that are equally as dangerous with their burns. The only way you can kill the dragons is with these lasers which bring them down, but you need to be able to dodge them fast… dragons spill acid everywhere. And the dystopian aspect is due to the council which governs the town of Heart and it’s citizens. The High Council is corrupt at best.

Everyone in Heart is reincarnated. There are 1000000 souls that have been reincarnated over 5000 years. Once they die, they are reborn again with full memories of their previous lives. Except Ana. Ana is a NoSoul. It’s the first time she’s been born. show more That’s never happened before, and so she is outcast by everyone – but most importantly by her own mother Li. Li was absolutely cruel and manipulative and she made me so angry at certain points in the book! She was the perfect villain.

Ana leaves home and almost drowns but is saved by a boy named Sam. He sticks by her side and we see this relationship blossom as they make their way to Heart.

Ana is represented on the cover of the book in her butterfly mask that she wore to the maskerade ball. I could not agree more with that metaphore for Ana. At the beginning of the story, she was cuccooned – shy, untrusting and cynicle. Li had not exactly been a good parent to Ana. My favourite part of the book was seeing Ana slowly learn to trust, build relationships and friendships, until she blossomed like a butterfly would.

The tenderness and patience Sam showed Ana was just beautiful. I absolutely adored the electricity between these two. Sam nurtued her as though she were a broken baby bird bringing her back to full health, and until he knew she trusted him. It was SO well written. And their romance was amazing. I actually really love these types of books where nothing happens for the most part, but then when it does it crescendos into a huge climax. This couple has spark!

I really loved the way in which the characters were written, they had such depth that I really cared about them. Towards the end of the book where the action kicked in, I stayed up late just to find out what happened – I couldn’t bare the thought of something happening to my beloved characters! I was completely satisfied with the ending too – sometimes it’s refreshing to NOT be left on a cliffhanger!

I truly believe that Jodi Meadows is on to a great thing here. I am sincerely anticipating the next book in this series (already!). There is love, humour, action, danger, violence, friendships and the makings of one really kick ass female lead in this book. This is a must read for 2012! show less

This book, guys. This. Freaking. Book.

So, Ana is one of my favorite heroines. I feel like maybe I say that a lot, but hear me out on this one. Ana's got one of the worst parents ever and she has very little education. She has no reason to trust people and every right to not care. But she doesn't. She learns how to do dozens of things. She learns how to make friends and she cares about others. Ana is this well rounded, clever girl with a big heart. I wanted to hug this girl, I wanted her to be one of my best friends. Ana is just incredible.

Sam is this mystery, but he's also very open. It's hard to explain without giving things away for you. He's a constant support for Ana and he stands by her. Sam doesn't give up. He lets Ana do what show more she needs to do, but in the end, he's always going to do what he thinks is best for her.



The other characters are all important, as well. Each plays a role in Ana's life, even if it may seem small. I highly suspect that Jodi will make their roles more important in the next book. They were each unique, well created. They had their own personalities, instead of just being cardboard cutouts or copies of the others. Jodi created a wonderful, diverse cast of characters, ones to hate and ones to love.

Two of the big recurring things in this book are music and butterflies. I'm a music junkie, I'll admit it. I'm always looking for new music and I can obsess over certain songs/CDs/artists. I'm also a semi-musician, having played piano and sang for a number of years. Basically, I love finding music in books. Seeing the two worlds cross is fun, and when it's done right, it's like finding a unicorn. Not many books can do it really well. I also loved how Jodi uses butterflies in this book as a symbol. It's beautiful and true and I just...it was so well executed. I loved the whole butterfly theme so much, I had to point it out so you guys would pay attention to it.

Jodi's writing is fantastic. I've read this book twice already, but it's just as enthralling the second time. Addictive and rich and descriptive. I could see Heart in my head; the people, the buildings, creatures that come up were all well painted in my imagination. The story is beautiful and full of wonderful descriptions.

If you guys haven't figured it out yet, I freaking loved this book. The way I love Hourglass, the way I love Shatter Me...that's the way I love this book. Incarnate is simply magical. Fantastically created characters, rich description, and some incredible symbols and themes blend together to create an experience that is not to be missed this year. show less

Review first appeared on fefferbooks.com.

One of the things I love the very most about being a book blogger is how much it stretches me. Before I started blogging, I was pretty predictable in my reading choices–(classics, historical fiction). Now, I try a lot harder to be aware of what’s out there and to maintain greater variety in what I read, so I can share it all with you! There are just so many books out there in the world, and so many of them open up whole new genres and ideas and writing styles, and some of the authors out there are wonderfully subtle about sneaky about it.

Example: I never ever used to like fantasy novels. You know those moms who know how to make brownies with applesauce and make them actually taste awesome? show more Every time I end up liking a fantasy novel, I feel a little like that’s what just happened. If I’d read a synopsis that gave a rundown of, say, the fantastical and mythological creatures that’d be appearing in said novel, I’d give a cynical quirk of my eyebrow and put the thing down. TRUST ME and do not do that with Incarnate. Jodi Meadows is making good brownies right here.

Incarnate, at its heart, is a story about Ana, a teenaged girl trying to figure out how she fits into the world. She hasn’t had much help, up to this point. She’s distrustful, defensive, and determined. She’s downright likeable. Ana’s vulnerable, at heart, and when she meets Sam, all bets are off. (And just trust me when I say: BEST kissing scene ever. Ahem.)

Meadows is a downright fun writer. Her plot is just plain imaginative, her setting fantastical, but her characters are real, which is what makes the novel so enjoyable, in my view. Their emotions are raw and authentic. I also absolutely revel in her precise word choices, but I’m an English geek like that.

Verdict? Incarnate is a fun, clean, romantic adventure. I was hooked from about page three, and I’m onto the second book in the series, Asunder, right away. 4 stars. show less