Review: Zen and Xander Undone by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Zen and Xander Undone by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Zen and Xander are sisters—truly, madly, deeply sisters, and this is their last summer together.

Zen is the "good" girl with a black belt in karate and a newfound penchant for kicking heads. Xander is a wild scientific genius with a self-destructive streak a light-year long. They have three things in common: they’re brown-eyed blondes, they’ve noticed the boy next door has turned into a hottie, and they miss their mom, who died almost a year ago.These sisters are surviving just fine—except Zen keeps getting into fights that are harder and harder to finish, while Xander spirals into a vortex of late-night parties, scary men, and drugs. What’s worse, Xander has scholarships to the most coveted universities in the country, but she’s about to ruin everything. Should Zen keep trying to protect Xander, or finally let her go?

Review:

After reading and enjoying Amy's debut Vibes, I was really excited to dive into Zen and Xander Undone. This was an overall really enjoyable and well written sophomore novel that will definitely appeal to a variety of readers. While Zen and Xander were not necessarily "likable" characters, they are definitely realistic and well developed. The plot was also very original and kept me reading, enough that I finished this book in about 2 hours.

To elaborate, Zen and Xander are two sisters dealing with their mother's tragic death in different ways. Both act out, but Xander does it a little too crazily. She gets involved with bad boys, drugs, and partying and nothing Zen says to her will bring back the Xander she remembers. Their father has turned into such a recluse it's up to Zen to try and protect her sister, but Zen is having troubles of her own. The relationship between Zen and Xander was fantastic, you could feel their connection and how important it was to Zen that Xander stay safe. Even though the story was told from Zen's POV, I could understand Xander really well, both characters were really well developed and readers got a good look into the life they were living now that their mother was gone.

The plot was engaging and filled with a variety of sub plots that kept the story moving. The main focus of the novel was on Zen and Xander's relationship, but there was also romance. Their sweet neighbor across the street that Xander was falling for, and Paul, a witty photographer, that was perfect for Zen. There was also the mystery surrounding their mother. She had written letters to them before she died that were being delivered to the sisters at random intervals by a mysterious someone. I loved this idea and it made their mother's feelings for the sisters that much more real.

This was an overall engaging and well written novel, and while it had it's flaws I overall really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading more by Amy Kathleen Ryan in the future!

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

May 3, 2010/Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/224 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books by this author: Vibes

Vibes Review

Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Publisher: Graphia

Release date: December 30, 2009 (paperback)

Source: Flamingnet

Other books by this author: Zen and Xander Undone

Nothing is beyond Kristi Carmichael's disdain—her hippie high school, her friend Jacob, her workaholic mom. Yet for all her attitude and her mind-reading abilities, Kristi has a vulnerable side. She can hear the thoughts of her fellow students, calling her fat and gross. She's hot for Gusty Peterson, one of the most popular guys in school, but of course, she's sure he thinks she is disgusting. And she's still mad at her father, who walked out on them two years ago. Soon, a school project brings her together with Gusty, her father comes home and drops a bombshell, and a friend comes out of the closet, and suddenly she is left doubting that she can read people at all. Bitingly funny but ultimately poignant and positive, this YA novel is completely on the mark.

Review:

Vibes has been on my TBR shelf for quite a few months, it just never fully grabbed my attention and yelled "read me!". Luckily, yesterday, I was looking for something different to read and I picked up Vibes. It was definitely worth reading!

When I first began Vibes I was wary. Kristi seemed like a character I wouldn't like, but luckily, the more I read, the more I liked her. She was dealing with a lot. Her best friend has dumped her for the popular crowd, her mother was a work-a-holic, and her father had disappeared two years ago. On top of all that, she's caught in a love triangle and can read minds. This sounds like a confusing plot, but Ryan really ties it all together and keeps it smooth and organized. The reader always knows what is going on and I really liked how the mind reading aspect played out.

I couldn't really connect with Kristi as I've never had any of her experiences, but Ryan made her life believable and I felt for her. I also liked how Ryan made Kristi overweight and a little unsure of herself. It definitely made Kristi more real. Kristi wasn't the only great character. I liked her Mom a lot and enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and change for the better. Jacob, her best friend, was a unique character. At first I thought he was kind of creepy, but the ending explains a lot and he really is a good friend to Kristi. Her Aunt Ann was nice and of course I loved her cat Minnie Mouse. For some reason, pets make books that much better :)

Onto the love interests. There's Mallory, the acne-plagued new kid, who is in love with Kristi. He is a sweet guy, but Kristi's heart truly lies with uber-popular Gusty. I was nervous at first that this would be the typical girl falls for popular guy, blah, blah, blah kind of read. Luckily, Gusty was a terrific person and great to Kristi. Their background definitely made things more understandable.

Overall, the plot of Vibes was great. Kristi learned a lot about who she really was, and about the people around her. By the end of the book she'd matured a lot, made new friends and changed things for the better with her family. This was a solid, well written debut and I can't wait to pick up my ARC of Amy Kathleen Ryan's sophomore novel, Zen and Xander Undone!

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars