Hearing voices in my head.

"My current verdict would be: crazy eyes. Nice ass.""I think I want that on my tombstone," Kami said. "Remember my last wishes, if I get involved in a tragic accident with a fruit cart before I can put it in writing. So, what happened?"

I'll tell you what happened, Kami. Unspoken happened.

And it might have been the best thing that ever happened to me.

Sarah Rees Brennan had showed up on my recommendations numerous times. She was literally stalking them. And I kept telling myself, "eventually." Eventually I will check her out. Eventually I will see what all the fuss about. Eventually I will panic and give in to her list stalking. The problem was, her Demon's Lexicon books just didn't appeal to me. There was nothing about the blurb that screamed, "IF YOU DON'T READ ME YOU WILL LITERALLY DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS." Maybe it was the good little preacher's kid in me that cringed away from demons. Maybe it was the rebellious preacher's kid in me that had read too many books about demons. Whatever it was, I wasn't interested.

Then Unspoken showed up on my lists. And I thought, "Okay, Brennan. I get it. I should read you. We're a perfect match. Calm it down a little bit" and I read the blurb and came over all, "OKAY, BRENNAN. WHERE IS THIS BOOK? I MUST HAVE IT."


Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Rating: 5 of 5 stars.

I have read a lot of books this year. A lot. Some have been glorious. Some have made my soul weep for the English language and the literary world as a whole. Some have made me come over with ALL THE FANGIRLING.

Unspoken fell into the latter category.

There is so much going on here. SO MUCH. And Kami Glass, my new book bestie, is smack dab in the center of it BEING AWESOME. This girl is hilarious. No. This girl is so hilarious, from this point forth, super hilarious people should be called Kami. WE SHOULD TURN HER NAME INTO AN ADJECTIVE. "Oh, she is a funny girl. Seriously. Downright Kami." She does things. Sometimes stupid things, but she does them with style and finesse and a heaping dose of dry wit. Kami is not a girl who is content to sit back and let things happen to her. She gets out there and gets her hands dirty herself. I kept waiting for that moment. You know what I'm talking about here. That moment. When Kami would throw away her awesome card and join the Bella Swans and Luce Prices. Because surely, surely, any heroine I love this hard is going to let me down, right?

WRONG. SO WRONG. Kami stays awesome. She stays awesome when Ash Lynburn shows up. She stays awesome when her imaginary friend, the voice in her head she's spoken to all her life, Jared Lynburn, shows up. Kami stays awesome through the build up and on to the climax. Kami even manages to stay awesome at the end, when we're left with a horrible cliffhanger that made me see all the red ragey caps lock emotions.

Kami and Jared's relationship is delicious. It's complex and confusing and slightly angsty and full of tight-in-the-chest moments that made me grip my Kindle and bite back a fangirly squeal. And even though so much of the book revolves around them, their mental connection, their magical one, their coming to terms with each other being actual real people and not just voices in the others head, it still managed to not completely drive the story. This was about Kami and Jared but it was also about more. It was about Sorry-in-the-Vale as a whole and the magic it was built on. There was a plot! An actual honest-to-goodness plot! And there was secondary characters that were just as fleshed out as the main ones! And parents! YES. Kami has a family that is present and accounted for and involved in her life! She has friends! Friends that she keeps! Her entire life does not revolve around Jared. 

I cannot say enough how much I loved the dialogue in this book. How hilarious I found it. How that humor was not used to cover up poor characterizations or a lacking story line. No, Brennan was able to make her characters funny without it ever coming off like she was trying to make her characters funny. Nor was she like the corny, embarrassing uncle at family gatherings who thinks the epitome of comedy is "pull my finger." The banter between characters felt genuine and the narration felt natural and at any given moment, I was ready to pee my pants or clap my hands and bark like a seal.

"Boys. Listen up. We are going out for a girls' night, where there will be dancing."Kami did an illustrative shimmy. Angela looked resigned.Jared looked amused. "What was that?""You’ve got to dance like nobody's watching, Jared," Kami informed him."Have you considered that perhaps nobody’s watching because they’re too embarrassed for you?""Fine," said Kami, grinning at him. "Be a hater of dances. Be a hater of joy. I don’t care. You’re not invited!"

"Have you seen a unicorn in the woods?""I imagine that's next," Jared muttered."Right," said Holly. "Well. If the unicorn is pink, about two feet tall, with a sparkly mane, we'll know my imaginary friend is real too."

 In conclusion:

WHERE IS THE NEXT BOOK I MUST HAVE IT.