Not just a flash in the pan: Vengeance Road, Erin Bowman

Vengeance Road
Erin Bowman
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2015
978-0544466388

You guys. It’s well documented by now that I’m a sucker for a cross-dressing, historically fiction-y, adventure with a twist of romance squeezed over the top novel. I’m looking at you, Bloody Jack, Song of the Lioness Quartet, and most recently, Gold Seer books (I read the second one; it was an awesome albeit at time crushing finale - read it!). The later is totally appropriate to end that aside with, because there’s a bit of a Western element to it, which ties nicely to this one, the truly, madly, deeply, Western you never knew you were missing.

All that glitters is gold...or cholera: Walk on Earth a Stranger, by Rae Carson

Walk on Earth a Stranger

Rae Carson

Harper Collins, 2015

ISBN: 978-0062242914

Lee Westfall is relatively content in her life in a Georgia homestead with her mother and ailing father, though she does wish they could use the windfall from her secret ability to sense gold to improve things without major ramifications.  Major ramifications take that choice away from her when she returns home from school one day to find her parents murdered and their hidden gold findings missing.  With nothing to hold her back, her best friend Jefferson, a half Cherokee boy urges her to run away west with him in pursuit of the gold that is there for the taking in California.  Lee is reluctant, and Jeff sets off with the promise that he’ll wait as long as he can in Independence, MO for her if she decides to join. When her uncle turns up at the funeral covered in gold dust that only Lee can sense and tells her he has plans for her it is abundantly clear to Lee that he is behind her parents deaths.  Lee realizes her best option is to follow Jeff west, disguises herself as a boy, and begins the formidable, perilous and adventure filled journey west - to Jeff, gold, and away from her uncle and past.  Along the way she, along with the millions who also made the historic journey, will encounter no less than bandits, buffalo, brutality, racial tensions, starvation, exposure, medical emergencies, all while trying to stay alive and hide her identity and talent.  This is a nonstop historical fiction with a touch of whimsy and a promise of future romance, and it is wholly engrossingly fabulous!  With realistic characters in realistic yet hard to fathom from a contemporary standpoint, it is a strong recommendation for all libraries serving teen patrons or with adults who love YA.  Basically, unless you have no money, buy this book.     

Perhaps the most articulate way to say this is that some books can be hugely absorbing, and I found that to be the case with this one.  But a better way to say it is this: a book has not hit my squee button like this in quite some time - like May, when I read the Royal We (or actually probably also Uprooted).  

Ain't no dragin' in Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

Uprooted

Naomi Novik

New York: Del Rey, 2015

ASIN: B00KUQIU7O (read on Kindle)

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon.

I’ll cop to why I read this: I skimmed the summary, read the words “dragon” “girls he takes" and “human sacrifice” and was all, Ooooh. But it also sounded like Dealing with Dragons -- naturally I was in!  I was hoping for a cozy magical book of cozy magic and some adventure.  This is also why I’ve taken the lazy route and used the publisher review instead of writing my own.  I’m not 100% a bad reader...but maybe 80%, because I clearly stopped reading in depth after the first part sentence and missed the second part of the description, in which it clearly states that the dragon is not actually a real dragon:

Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.” 

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.
But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. (Publisher text)

WHATEVER. But omg you guys -- forgive Naomi Novik her lack of dragon.   Also me, for not being able to read, because it clearly states several times that there are no real dragons to be had.  I’m realizing I may not be what your English teach referred to as a reliable narrator (reader), but give me a second chance, mmmkay?  You’d hate to miss out on this one.

This book is so not even just that jacket flap...that’s just like the first three chapters of many chapters, and then it is all that and a bag of freshly baked hot biscuits.  I know, because I actually paid attention (after realizing I wasn’t, obvi).  It goes well beyond what is advertised and proved quite the fairy-tale adventure!  This book is so. so. awesome. I was not anticipating it, and it took me completely by surprise.   It’s not at all the book you think you’re going to read when you start off, but it is the fantasy novel I’ve been wanting to read for a while but hadn’t found until halfway through the book.  Another way to say that is that I was sad because it ended, and that’s a sign of a good book to me.  Another another way to say it is that it is magical, and I was enchanted (womp womp).  By now, you should know me well enough by now to not expect better than bad puns of me when I’m really delighted by something...

There’s a heck of a lot of character growth, a lot of empowerment, a lot of magic, but of a practical sort (nature! cleaning! also fashion!), zero actual dragons (stop rubbing it in those of you who can read good), some steamy scenes, action, adventure, romance, nature, empowerment, etc.  Basically, it’s like Graceling meets Fantasia meets a Grimm fairy tale in rural peasant-y Russia or somewhere Eastern European with just a slight touch of Dealing with Dragons.  It may make you want to try borscht (note: I still haven’t ever tried borscht).  Is this one for kids, as I initially thought it might be, given that I thought it would be like Dealing with Dragons? Probably not anyone younger than 15 or 16  if you’re not cool with them reading a sexy sex scene.  I’d say it’s probably mostly cool for mature teens, who will probably love this, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.  But if that worries you, you’ve been warned!  The rest of you pervs can read up (kidding - you real pervs are reading Outlander.  And loving it!).  

Adjust your joysticks, fanboys: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

Crown Publishers: New York, 2011

ISBN: 9780307887436

Fanboys of the world, I’d say this one is for you, but chances are you’re rolling your eyes at that belated statement, given that the United States movie rights for this one were obtained for the low price of 7 million dollars and it’s got some newb of a director called Spielberg attached.  That’s right - JUST the rights for the US.  For the rest of us less...say, fervent nerds, behold a book we can read and enjoy instead of fighting crowds at Comicon (#neverwilliever), or reading a Bill Gates/Steve Jobs romance fan fiction (if this exists and you find it for me, I will buy you a pizza.  Seriously.  That will be your Easter Egg).  That is also to say, I, an avowed video game h8r enjoyed it, and suspect many of you nerds/geeks on all ends of the spectrum (like to fervent to obsessive) who enjoy fun adventure books will too (but I didn’t think there were enough BSG or Goonies references, so WHAT UP, Mr. Cline?  Sloth love Chunk.).  

It is 2044, and the world is a dystopia meets technerd utopia. The climate and world, physically and politically, are a big ole mess; people live in urban squalor, and more or less everyone spends all day plugged into a virtual world called the Oasis in some capacity: schools, business, government, entertainment, banking and commerce (I’m assuming Bitcoins finally took off), etc. - it all happens 24/7 in the Oasis,  an immersive virtual reality accessed via some recognizable yet futuristic technology: visors, consoles, gaming systems, sensor suits, etc.  When Oasis cofounder and owner, the eccentric 80’s enthusiast, recluse, and billionaire James Halliday dies, he leaves behind a will in video form stipulating that he has created a treasure hunt and hidden virtual three keys inside the Oasis that unlock an Easter Egg: ownership of his entire fortune and his owning stake in the Oasis. Wade Watts, a (virtual) high school senior, and millions of others around the virtual and physical world become obsessed with finding it.  Wade, or Parzival, as his avatar is known online, however, is the first person to find a key.  The virtual world begins to bleed even more into the physical world, and danger becomes more than a virtual reality. Wade soon finds himself in deeper than he ever could have imagined.  

There are too many ways to count the 80’s pop culture references, and there is enough adventure, fun, nerd romance, nostalgia, and moments of distorted looking glass recognition in this bizzarely plausible future; it’s much more Wall-E than Gattica, if you will.  It’s super fun, period, but I admit to suspecting you’ll find it more fun if you’re over 28ish and have a functional memory of the 80’s.  It’s enjoyable too if you like dystopias, techy sci-fi, Xbox, World of Warcraft (give these little Minecrafters 10 years and they’ll be on board, Mr. Cline), want an Ender’s Game readalike but aren’t a homophobe, and are roughly 13 and up (there’s some naughty words, I think, if you care about that).  

Are you not entertained by Court of Fives?: Court of Fives, by Kate Elliot

Court of Fives

Kate Elliot

Little Brown: New York, 2015

ARC provided by publisher

Jessamy dreams of the Court of Fives, an American Gladiator-esque competition in her Roman-esque world.  The masked game offers her a chance to shed the dual identity she bears in anonymity and receive accolades based on skill alone.  Jess is the daughter of an aristocratic general and a commoner; her dark skin marks her as different, and few in the aristocratic Patron class accept her family.  When Jes lets Kalliarkos, the Patron nephew of a scheming lord, beat her on the Court to avoid being unmasked, he finds her and they strike up an unlikely and societally unappreciated friendship.  However, Jes’ world is upended and her family torn apart when Kal’s powerful uncle turns her father into a pawn in his game. Jess must choose whether or not to risk her own dreams to save her family as the game becomes her reality.

I was handed this book last fall by the lovely Jenny Choy at Little Brown, who game me a tour of their beautiful (then) new space and handed me this book with a knowing “I think you’ll like this one.”  Well guess what, Jenny?  You were right.  I didn’t get the chance to pick it up for a while (and even longer to write this), but when the snows finally rolled in I had at, and yep - totally dug this book!  

The world Kate Elliot created feels historical, perhaps Greek or Roman, with the gladiator fightclubdeathmatch part replaced with the American Gladiatoresque challenge/race in an arena/coliseum.  The racial and class issues are as historic as they are timely. Moreover, they are given due diligence without becoming righteously preachy or superseding the other aspects of character development and allow for good parallels to be drawn.  Teachers, this could be an easy way to crack open a conversation about diversity in this world and our own with 7-9th graders.  Jes isn’t just biracial, she’s stuck between two social classes, a young woman discovering herself, a sister, a daughter, a friend, an athlete, and she is capable of love and struggles with forgiveness and hard decisions.   She’s a multifaceted character in a complex world. She’s wholly human and one I think many young people of many colors and social classes might find appealing. Maybe they’ll have themselves an adventure and a think while reading Court of Fives (until you trick them into #hardtalks and ruin it you teachers, gawd)!

I recommend this for fans of the Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, or like...Lindsey Davis books (I haven’t read any, but they’re classical, right?!).  This is probably best for ages 12 and up.  

Once upon an island: A Brief History of Montmaray, by Michelle Cooper

A Brief History of Montmaray

Michelle Cooper

Knopf: New York, 2009.

ISBN: 9780378585642

Once upon a time in a land far away, but not too far way if you’re English or coastally European, there was an independent kingdom named Montmaray.  Once a tiny island principality, the population has dropped to roughly a dozen, including the ruling family, the FitzOsbournes, comprised of our narrator, orphaned sixteen-year-old Sophie, her slightly ferral little sister, her cousin who records the history of the island, and her uncle, the king, who would have been declared legally insane long ago had they wanted to let that cat out of the bag.  The rest of the island’s shrinking population is a scattershot of loyal villagers.  Island life is rough - subsistence based and supplemented by a few ships that pass in a year - and hardly what you would picture for royalty, yet the FitzOsbournes make due.  They love their island dearly, crumbling castle and all, and often rely upon their rich aunt who provides for Sophie’s brother (the crown prince), who lives off-island to attend Eton.  The year, however, is 1936, and nations considerably larger than their own are beginning to test the waters; international politics becomes a hot topic amongst the Montmaravians and their loyal servants, one of whom may or may not be the apple of Sophie’s eye.  When a group of German “archaeologists” lands on shore, the FitzOsbournes are suddenly thrown into the deep end.  

This book has a slow start and potentially misleading cover (what is this, Wuthering Heights? Dracula? Lord Byron, are you there?) but an exceptionally strong finish!  I believe enchanted would be a word I would use to describe what this book did to me.  I read it in the spring solely because it’s on my (official) summer reading list, and I had contemplated recommending we cut it.  I’m so, so glad I gave it a chance, because I really loved it!  It has it all: castles, accents (I imagine, but whatever), intrigue, history, romance, danger, and yes...sequels that I’m dying to pick up!  We don’t have to walk away from these lovable, quirky characters! I give this two finger and two toe thumbs up, and recommend it for all school/YA library collections, along with those of the female persuasion aged 12 and up (there’s some medical violence that could be upsetting to younger readers but it’s otherwise cool), but dudes who maybe watch Downton, you should check this out too!  

Smuggle up with Greenglass House, by Kate Milford

Greenglass House
Kate Milford
Clarion Books: New York, 2014
ISBN: 9780544052703

Miles is readdddy to party...or rather enjoy a quiet winter holiday break with just his parents in their smuggler friendly inn, Greenglass House, so named for the beautiful stained glass windows and rumored to be the site of the founders hidden treasure.  Winter break usually means an empty inn instead of the usual motley crew of offbeat smugglers, and Miles is just cracking the spine on a good book when he is interrupted by the jingling summons that portends a guest.  One guest leads to another and then yet another, and suddenly, unexpectedly, the inn is nearly full of a curious cast of characters.  Even more curious is that each guest seems to have some prior knowledge of the others, and soon things become even more complicated when break-ins occur resulting in the disappearance of personal items that have a curious connection to the Inn and it’s founder, and a massive snowstorm rolls through and traps them all for the forseeable future.  Miles is understandably perturbed that his vacation has been a bit ruined, until Meddy, who arrives with the housekeepers, enlists his help in a role playing game that may or may not double as a way to find out the secrets the guests all seem to be keeping before anything else goes missing.  Before long, Miles realizes he may be on a hunt for more than personal treasures, as might the thief in their midst.

This is perhaps one of the most excellent middle grade novels I’ve read in years, and I don’t say that lightly (don’t worry Penderwicks, you still have real estate claims on my soul).  It is incredibly fun to read, never panders to the age of the intended audience, keeps even seasoned readers guessing until the twist of an ending, and frankly, warms the cockles of the blackest hearts!  It made me feel super cozy in the dead of the worst winter in my own memory.  There is treasure, adventure, mystery, and friendship.  Themes of challenging yourself, courage, and creativity abound, and this book deserves serious accolades for not only having a non-white (he’s Chinese) protagonist (huge snaps on this front alone), but one adopted by (white) parents of a different race. In short, Kate Milibrand doesn’t sugarcoat or tidily wrap up Miles’ occasional feelings of abandonment, deep love for his adoptive parents, shame about fantasizing about his birth parents, or about how he feels about the confusion he sees in strangers when they see him with his parents.  It’s extraordinary and I hope all youth librarians take note to include this wonderful book in their arsonal.  Excellent for kids aged 9-99, fans of the Goonies, and anyone who likes a good story!  

PS.  Thanks for putting this on my radar, Sam!

These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: The Titantic Sinks in an Outer Space Blue Lagoon!

These Broken Stars
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Hyperion: New York, 2013.
ISBN: 9781423171027

ARC provided by publisher
Book Club Recipe suggestion: These Broken Ration Bars (aka Date Bars with Almond and Coconut)

Ms. Lilac La Roux and Major Tarver Merendsen were passengers of the Icarus, the finest, newest and most technologically advanced spaceship across the many galaxies.  Tarver is a war hero, recently returned from battle and being paraded around and shown off by the military on tour.  Lilac is the only child of the richest man in the universe.  Now, though, they are the only two survivors after disaster befalls the ship.  Stranded on a strange planet, they must survive both the unknown planet, strange whispers they are hearing, and their mutual discord if they have any hopes of living long enough to repair the beacon that will signal their SOS.  But, as they grow to develop a slow-burning bond that is more than mere friendship, they begin to wonder: are they really better off being rescued?  Fast-paced, dramatic, and unexpected, this is a spectacularly fun, engrossing, and totally accessible Sci-Fi title filled with adventure, romance, and intrigue.   It is a STRONG recommendation for anyone who likes their Sci-Fi light on the Sci and heavy on snappy writing, adventure, high-stakes, and romance.  I’m looking at you, readers of this blog. 

This super title came into my orbit (see what I did there?) this summer when I was lucky enough to be working at the best bookstore in all the lands (all of them).  One of my fellow booksellers and I were chatting about what we’d been reading and she’d just finished it.  She summed it up as…Titanic in space.  And she’s TOTALLY RIGHT.  OMG you guys.  It was a tonic to my 13-year-old self, she of the three viewings of Titanic in movie theatres and listening to the CD so much it broke (that must have been awful, sorry, family).  I’m pretty sure I’d re-read this at LEAST three times in a row if I were 13.  I’d go one step further and add that it’s like Titanic in space with shades of Outlander and a healthy dash of Blue Lagoon… Which is why, readers of this blog, I suspect that the vast majority of you will more than dig this.  Even the dudes.  I’m not genderist (okay, well, ladies will probably dig it a little more).   

THIS IS WHY WE ARE BEST FRIENDS.

Now, let us take a walk with my brain through this super fun read together, in bullet form, because my brain is unable to form full paragraphs and desperate for some vacation!

The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater: Let's get lost in this summer dream together!

The Dream Thieves
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press: New York, September 17, 2013
ISBN: 9780545424943
ARC provided by publisher 

Picking up right where she left us agonizing over Ronan Lynch’s admission that he can bring his dreams to life in The Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater does not disappoint in her second entry to this unique, lavish yet subtly magical YA cycle.  The Dream Thieves begins with a new point of view: Ronans, and takes us straight back to Henrietta, Virginia.  It is summer vacation, and Gansey, Ronan, Adam, Noah, and Blue are still on the hunt for Glendower, though there have been subtle and not so subtle shifts in the group dynamic.  Adam’s rogue sacrifice and pride begin to affect his relationships with Gansey and Blue, who finds herself closer to exploring prophecy that has defined her life.  Ronan, meanwhile, struggles to control his newly admitted powers, but all, including the refreshing, interested adult psychics of 300 Fox Way, are challenged when a stranger arrives in town searching for the Graywaren.  Who, what, where this is will all be revealed in the scintillating new addition to the Raven Cycle.  It is a recommended read for humans over the age of 12, and all libraries, personal, public, and scholastic, wise enough to boast The Raven Boys as part of their holdings.  

Let’s cut right to the chase: holy sh*tf*re and tarnation, cowpokes.  Jonesing for a book I could get lost in, I loved The Dream Thieves, maybe even more than Raven Boys. Sophomore syndrome? What is that?  Aside from a setting for the climax best described as Hollywood dance movie meets Fast and Furious meets Alien v. Predator (which still, somehow, works), this book is allll a-game, no steroids (I’m looking at you, MLB).  
Continued:

The Passage, by Justin Cronin: Don't judge a book by its cheap lookin' dress (or try to make vampires; bad idea.)

The Passage

Justin Cronin
New York: Ballatine Books, 2010

ISBN: 9780345516862

Oh hey, girls and boys.  Let’s talk about The Passage, shall we?

I’ll be the first to admit that I wrote it off at first glance.  I was convinced it was some tricksy Hay-Zeus agenda book, masquerading in a mass-market paperback dress.  There’s no shame in being a cover judger!  That’s also not to say I’m 100% certain there isn’t some secret to-be-revealed agenda of a fictional religious sense, because at a short 800+ pages and a cliffhanger, this OBVI needed to be the first in a trilogy.   Persnickity snark aside, there is enough other stuff going on that moved this book from the supermarket checkout line in my mind and into an an esteemed position on my summer reading list (for the win!).

A recommendation from J.Hawesome, who knows what I like (I blame her for Outlander) and reads what I tell her (J - you’re welcome for Twilight), this is not a mere vampire novel.  It is part dystopian exploration of an decimated United States now afraid of the dark, part ethically and morally questionable scifi experiment gone horribly wrong, and yes, part beach book thriller.  My friends, I am no slow reader.  This book, no exaggeration, took me fooooreeever to read.  While I at times resented the fact that I was still reading it, I did find myself wishing I could find the time to hole up and spend some quality time with it.  I’d be lying if I didn’t start to work about infection myself when I caught myself dreaming about it, which is kind of horrifying, if you’ve read it (but I didn’t have THAT dream, phew). 

Because I’m too lazy to take this seriously in the same week I am throwing a pop-up book store (okay, a summer reading book fair), here is how I summarized it on my list:

 There is nothing sparkly about the vampires in this epic novel. After something goes
horribly awry following secret government experiments on human subjects, a plague is
unleashed that alters the DNA of humans to become horrifying blood-thirsty creatures.  Humanity is nearly extinct, but a few souls have survived, and may be closer to a cure than they realize.

In short, I put this on my summer reading list because it holds great appeal to kids of a certain type (generally those pumped to be reading huge thriller type of books; see also: boys), and is highly readable.  It is, quite literally,  heavy lifting (unless you go for a digital copy too), but it ain’t hard, if you catch my drift.   The main maturity requirement is in commitment, so I’d recommend it to really avid middle and high school readers, who can hang with the stiffs (ahem, adults).  It’s a fun summer read!

For those of you who are now obviously convinced from my awesome summer reading list blurb that you want this to be your hawt summer read, you are done (with this review), son.  Go and get thee a copy!

Let’s let the big boys and girls play with some spoilers now, shall we?

A Corner of White, by Jaclyn Moriarty: Oh, Cello there, you manic pixie dreambook!

A Corner of White
Jaclyn Moriarty
New York: Arthur A. Levine, 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-54539736-0
ARC copy via NetGalley

Realism and magical realism entwine to make beautiful music together in this enchanting first book in a planned trilogy by Jaclyn Moriarty.  In two cities populated by two quirky, endearing, supporting casts, two hugely likeable teenage protagonists grapple with missing people, life and familial changes, challenges, and adapting to them.   Serial runaway Madeleine has finally made it permanent by bringing her mother along.  She is struggling to adapt to her new life, and begins to worry about her mother’s health as she attempts to complete a home-school history assignment to channel Isaac Newton.  Town golden-boy Elliot, however, is eager to find his missing father, who disappeared in the same storm that killed his uncle.  He reluctantly agrees to delay his trip to help his mother prepare to rent his fathers shop to the strange newcomers to town.  Things begin to come together when each teen finds a mysterious letter, tucked away in an unlikely place, and begin the most unusual pen pal exchange ever to occur between the Land of Cello, and the world.  Playful, yet deeply thoughtful and well written, this is a unique and delightful novel.  Parts epistolary, narrative, fantasy, realism, it abandons genre and reader expectations and is wholly, whimsically, realistically, magically fantastic.  It is strongly recommended for both teens (grade 8 and up, but younger readers who can hang with complex plots with like this too) and adults.  

If you couldn’t tell, I maybe kind of really enjoyed this book.  I suspected I would; I have found Jaclyn Moriarty’s books to consistently be majorly delightful, and was pumped to have at A Corner of White.  You guys – she did not let me down.  In fact, I was so engrossed that I didn’t realize until about 60 pages that I had no idea how two such seemingly disparate stories would, or could even come together – and then was like I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE when she did, in a way that was very true to her previous books.  I won’t say any more to spoil it though!  I will say that there HAS to be something in the Australian water – yet again I’ve fallen for the charm from down under!

I took copious post-it notes, while reading this on a bus to and from Newark, NJ, to hang out with ¾ of the super fabulous Brown family (hi guys!).  Being that my copy came from NetGalley, this was a slightly weird process, whereby I stuck them all to the back of my Nook, and now can’t read them, because who writes legibly on a bus?  I’m also pretty sure a bunch of them fell out…because I swore there were more than four.  But I digress.

Quintana of Charyn, by Melina Marchetta: Can't we all just get along? Call me, maybe?

Quintana of Charyn (The Lumatere Chronicles)
Melina Marchetta
Candlewick: Somerville, 2013. 
ISBN: 9780763658359 (ARC reviewed)
Available in the USA/Canada April 23, 2013. 

When last we left them, the titular characters in Melina Marchetta’s Chronicles of Lumatere trilogy had left their readers on the edge of a gravina (aka a cliff). Not literally – it was just the bestworst kind of cliffhanger.  What a way to leave the readers hanging, with our two favorite nations, Charyn and Lumatere, on the verge of letting misunderstanding and deep-seeded grudges steer them in a course of hasty war!   We pick up where we left off, and though the action thankfully shifts, there are several dozen pages of will or won’t they agony, coupled with the fear of the survival of both Froi and Quintana.  All these important questions, plus some you didn’t even realize you had, are summed up in Marchetta’s presumptive finale to the series.  Characters travel great distances, searching for answers and for each other, and prejudices and fears must be tested and unlearned.  Politics, family, forgiveness, and love are the powerful and pensive themes in this title.  Though the course is agonizing, and to go into detail would be to spoil SO many of the myraid plot points, Quintana of Charyn is a deeply satisfying read.  Deep breathing technique practice is optional, yet encouraged.  It is a strongly recommended book for older teens and adult readers, and for all libraries with a vested interest in smart, well-crafted fantasy.  If you own the first two and are reconsidering, what are you, monsters?  

Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers, by Kirsten Miller: Sisterhood of theTraveling Underworld Explorers

Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers
Kristen Miller
Bloomsbury: New York, 2013
ISBN: 9781599907369
ARC via NetGalley - now available in print and digitally

The Irregulars have finally returned and they are as smart, empowered, and adventurous in their all-female crime-thwarting efforts as they’ve always been.  Kiki Strike has left New York and the leadership of the Irregulars in Ananka Fishbein’s hands as she heads to Paris to claim her rightful throne as the displaced Pokrovian princess.  When she and her guardian disappear somewhere over the Atlantic, Ananka is faced with the task of finding Kiki and keeping the Irregulars in check.  A solution presents itself when Betty Bent, master of disguise, is offered a position in Paris as the personal assistant to a mysterious woman who runs a finishing school, and who has taken an interest in the challenge of the irascible Molly Dent (who naturally decides to stage a revolution in the school!).  Meanwhile, Ananka is working on keeping her crush on Betty’s boyfriend Kasper in check, Oona is tracking down her evil twin, and the others are working on an untested cure for female baldness that has garnered some pharmaceutical attention.  When Kiki makes contact via a cute French boy who just happens to be part of the secret society protecting the Parisian Catacombs known as the Darkness Dwellers, things begin to come together.  With bits of romance, history, humor, charm, danger, and lots of smart, loyal, and courageous young women, The Darkness Dwellers is a welcome, long anticipated addition to Kirsten Miller’s series.   It is strongly recommended for girls (and boys cool enough to pick it up) grades 6-10, and both middle school and public libraries.  

I first read Kiki Strike: In the Shadow City nigh on five or so years ago.  I was working at an all-girls school, and took the recommendation from the middle school librarian, she of the Parantheticals.  Guys - I loved it!  Kiki Strike and the Irregulars are everything we should want for our middle-school and young high-schoolers to be reading for fun!  Sure, it is fun fiction with action and slightly unrealistic things like kids stopping major crime syndicates.  But it’s really a lot more than that.  It is slyly smart, encourages creativity and thinking outside the box, and reminds kids that while it may be a little unrealistic to expect to stop said crime syndicates, even little people can make a difference.  What I think is really notable about this series, however, is the fact that it showcases many different types of intelligence - science, engineering, mapping, history, politics, art, etc.  Even more remarkable?  It so in the form of young girls - likeable, young girls (for the most part.  Kirsten Miller needs to work on a few of them)!  While for the obvious reason, girls will probably turn to this more than boys,  I do wish boys of the middle school ages would pick these up.  Seriously, little dudes.  If you like Katniss and Alex Rider, you’ll probably also like Kiki and the other Irregulars.

The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater: Indiana Jones and the lost Tarot Cards

The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic Press, 2012.
ARC Digital Copy via NetGalley

Blue Sargent comes from a family of psychic women, who have told her for years that she will kill her first love with a kiss.  Consequently, she has avoided the wealthly Raven boys of nearby Aglionby Academy, so called for the raven patch on their school uniforms.   Naturally, Blue is none too thrilled when a group of Raven boys begin to appear everywhere in her life.  These Raven boys are held together by their irresistible poised ringleader, Gansey but they are as different as they can be, ranging from the quiet Noah, the brash and angry Ronan, and the hardworking local scholarship student Adam.  Gansey is on a quest for the lost Glendower, a vanished ancient Welsh king.  Legend tells that whomever finds him will have the power of one wish.  Blue is wrapped into their friendship and the adventure, assisting the group in following the magical ley lines that may lead them to Glendower.  The quest is not without adversity, foes, secrets, and danger for each member of the group, though their friendship is strong and the adventure gripping.  The first in a series, this book is as exciting as it is mysterious.  Though child abuse, murder, and violence occur, the strong themes of friendship and family outweigh them.  This title is a strongly recommended purchase for all school and public libraries, particularly those housing other Stiefvater titles; it has appeal for all readers aged 12 and up (including adventure seeking adults!). 

The Dark Unwinding, by Sharon Cameron: You sort of got (steam)Punked!

Excuse me miss.
Is that Downton Abbey you are posing
in front of?The Dark Unwinding

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press: New York, 2012
ARC copy via NetGalley

Left to the mercy and care of her aunt in high-society Victorian England, Katherine Tulman has had the sense to make herself invaluable as a right-hand woman and bookkeeper.  When her aunt orders her to visit her reculsive uncle on the Tulman family estate in the country, 17-year-old Katherina has no choice but to go.  Stanwyth Keep, as she find it, is horribly unkempt, gothic, and terrifying.  Her Uncle Tully, as she finds him, is a raving lunatic, with a talent for inventing mechanical and earily life-like gadgets, and to make matters worse, the estate is inhabited by nearly 2000 villagers it employs to run it, all rescued from the workhouse.  If Aunt Tulman discovers this, she will shut the operation down and send Uncle Tully to the lunatic home.  Though she makes a poor first impression, Katherine finds the people and the estate growing on her, and agrees, against her better judgment, to the plea for more time to save the estate made by her uncles handsome apprentice.  However, as she struggles to find a way to save the estate, she begins to wonder if the estate is robbing her of her own sanity too.  Bits of steampunk and historical fiction give this title appeal to fans of the genres, though the plot is a bit overwrought at times.  It is recommended to readers aged 12-15.  

I’m a bit...so-so on this title.  I wanted to like it a lot more than I found myself actually liking it, and wonder if that disappointment has colored my whole perception and reading experience.  I’m not usually able to put down a book and come back to it a few weeks later if I like it a lot - and I did exactly that with this one.  That said, many other people have loved this book, so maybe you ought to listen to them!  Katherine rubbed me the wrong way, and aspects of the plot made me roll my eyes.  While I appreciated that Uncle Tully’s mental illness wasn’t totally vilified as it very well may have been in Victorian England, I did find it a bit cartoonish at times, and that cheapened it for me.  The whole thing was at times a little too fast-paced in a way that may leave others gasping and ripping through the pages, but really just had me feeling confused, and then annoyed with predictable plot twists.  I was also kind of bummed that this is a sequel.  Come on, YA.  PLEASE.  Give me more stand-alones!  I think some of you will love this, especially if you like costume dramas (which I do), and others will not.  It’s worth a try though!  Check it out at your local public library, and enjoy it with a cup of tea (sugar free, after you read this!).  

Finally, I have to ask.  On page 13, when Cousin Robert is in the potting shed, is this a straight up Cold Comfort Farm shout out?   If so, well played.  

Girl at Sea, by Maureen Johnson: Summer vacation is such a beach (bonus Titanic Case of the Terribles)

Girl at Sea
by Maureen Johnson
EPUB copy from Boston Public Library
Harper Collins: New York, 2009
ISBN: 9780061973932

Moments after scoring her dream summer job working with her crush and in her favorite art store, Clio is hugely disappointed to learn that she will be spending the summer with her father on a yacht off of the Italian coast.  Though the hesitancy seems ungracious, their relationship has been strained since her parents divorce, following both her father encouraging her get a rather large arm tattoo at twelve on an unorthodox international trip, and a business partner embezzling their money from the invention of a famous board game.  Arriving against her will, insult is added to injury when she finds it will not be just them. Instead, there is a motley crew consisting of her dad’s best friend, his new surprise professor girlfriend, her gorgeous Swiss-English teenage daughter, Elsa, and her infuriating yet cute college research assistant, Aidan; to cap it off, Clio is summarily informed that she is the group chef.   Still smarting, she is surprised to find herself hitting it off with Elsa, who has expressed a more than friendly interest in Aidan, and doubly surprised to find herself confused when Elsa makes her move.  Clio is also highly suspicious about the purpose of the yachting trip – in addition to the ban on telephones and the Internet, there is too much diving and scientific equipment onboard to be a simple pleasure cruise – but nobody will tell her anything. Clio decides to take matters into her own hands to discover the secret truth behind her Mediterranean summer captivity.  Maureen Johnson is always quirky fun to read, with guaranteed laughs, smart female characters, witty banter, a little romance, and exciting plot twists.  Girl at Sea is no exception.  A fun, light read for summer (or any time), it will be enjoyed by girls grades 7-10.

As per what seems to be my usual Maureen Johnson trend, I am reading/reviewing one of her books while enjoying an adult beverage, in the summer, and in a Southern airport.  Twice makes a trend right?  Like all MJ books (in our humble opinion – using the royal we to demonstrate how humble, obvi), this was total fun from start to finish.  My only regret?  It arrived off of the hold list a week AFTER my beach vacation ended.  It would have been super meta to read it while on the beach, getting stung by a jellyfish too*, no?

This has a ton of my favorite curiosities in it: beaches, old timey things, adventure, smart and independent girls, archaeology, vacations, Italian wine, walkie talkies, etc.  It may well be the reason I look into scuba diving lessons in the near future, though I’m right there with Clio on the creepy baby doll head floating out at me from the murky depths of the sea, and totally because of this picture that still haunts me, and apparently Maureen Johnson, from my mother’s Titanic book by Robert Ballard.  Since it is shark week and naturally we are all terrified to get in the water, I've chosen to include it here:

Sleep well tonight, team. 

In maybe possibly NSFW news, this is the kind of thing that turns up when you search for Dolls and Titanic on the ol'Googles.  Thank you James Cameron and doll lady creator, for this Titanic Case of the Terribles.  

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner: Build bridges, not walls!

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner
Delacorte Press: New York, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-385-73794-4

A boy comes to in a rising elevator.  He is disoriented, scared, and clueless as to where, or who, he is.  He has no memory from life before, even of how old he is, only that his name is Thomas.  When he disembarks, he finds himself on what appears to be a small working farm, populated only with other teenage boys.  This, as he comes to find out, is the Glade.  The Gladers have lived here for two years and also have no memories prior to their own arrivals.  They have, however, discovered that the Glade is located in the middle of a giant, treacherous maze, whose walls shift daily, enclosing them inside nightly, protecting them from the monsters that lurk beyond. But things are changing; the first ever girl arrives a day after Thomas, in a coma, but clutching a note that simply says “She’s the last one.  Ever.”  Thomas, begins feel like he remembers things about the maze, and the mysterious girl, though he can’t fully recall what.  He’ll have to, because the Gladers are facing a whole new set of challenges: they’ve been cut off from all supplies, and the walls have stopped shifting to protect them at night.  Will they find a way out of the maze, and discover who they are and why they are even inside it before it is too late? Because of some violence and death, this book is recommended to middle school boys, and will have appeal to fans of The Hunger Games.

Book talk hook: (Yeah, I'm back on the sauce.  For now.) Briefly summarize the disorientation experienced by Thomas, asking the group to close their eyes and imagine that feeling.  Then continue with a brief summary, emphasis on the danger, excitement of trying to find a way out, and the shock at having a girl show up, bearing that super showstopper of a confusing message.  Hook, line, stinkers!

Review continued:

Divergent, by Veronica Roth: Five factions diverge in a future Chi-city, and sorry Tris could not travel all...

Divergent, by Veronica Roth
Katherine Tegen Books: New York, 2011.
Nook copy reviewed.

In an alternative future Chicago, people live as part of five disparate social factions that highly value specific qualities.  As a 16-year-old, Beatrice must now choose her own faction.  Raised in Abnegation, she receives an inconclusive test result on the government administered aptitude test, and must choose to stay in Abnegation with her family, or break ranks, abandon her family, and join another faction.   Her surprising choice to join Dauntless spins her life in an entirely new direction; soon she is jumping off buildings, onto and off of moving trains, learning to shoot guns, making new friends and enemies, developing feelings for her distant instructor, and fighting to survive her initiation training.   But the newly nicknamed Tris’ test result is what really sets her apart, even from her new faction members, and what will awake her to the realization that her utopia is anything but.  It may be the very thing to save her…Divergent is strongly recommended to all libraries serving older teens.  It even has a bonus slow burning romance (delightfully not a love triangle!), and is an easy sell to Hunger Games fans of both genders craving more, this is an action packed, high intensity, highly addictive, and fun book to read.

YOU GUYS.  I LOVED THIS BOOK.  Not because it’s the most super books in all the lands, not because it blew my mind, not because it made me want to be a better person – in fact, it did none of these things.  No, my friends.  It was straight up FUN to read.   So, so, so much fun!  It’s firmly in the mind-crack category.  Y’all know how much I love a slow-burning romance (swoon), so Veronica Roth had me at Four.  I loved the description of messed up future Chicago (the Bean in particular), the differences in the factions, and witnessing Tris and her fellow faction switchers adjust to what really amounts to as a new culture.  Super bonus points for a kind of badass game of capture the flag!  Sure, there are minor things that if I hadn’t raced through it I might have a quibble with (largely, hey TRIS, have a thought about what is beyond that giant fence!? OR where do the factionless go?!? OR less importantly, who drives those trains? what happens in winter? - but methinks this will factor in later in these books), but I don’t care!  I couldn’t put it down, and when I did, I got that twitchy finger feeling that encouraged me to go back and pick it up.  I even stayed up past teacher o’clock to finish reading it, and then couldn’t sleep because I was so excited.  I’m so glad I finally resigned myself to get at it, after having heard tell of it for a while.  It received a strong rating of awesome from the wonderful teens on my trip to Chile this past summer, and it had been on my to do list since.  Thankfully, my procrastination paid off; I have to wait way less time for the May 1^st sequel, Insurgent.  I won’t say much more about how much I enjoyed this, because I’ll be gushing here all afternoon and you’d rather use your time to be reading this, right?  Lucky for you, there is a 100 page preview available.  Say goodbye to your afternoon plans!