Twisted Kingdom

In Mary's world there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.

The Guardians will protect and serve.

The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Reason for Reading: Kailana from the Written World told me it was excellent and I love zombies.

Summary: In Carrie Ryan’s the Forest of Hands and Teeth, zombies (or the Unconsecrated) have taken over and the human survivors have fenced themselves in. This is the world that Mary, our narrator, has grown up in. Her village is smack in the middle of the Forest and surrounded by fencing. The forest stretches as far as the eye can see and everyone assumes that they’re the last people to survive the Return (what they call the zombie infestation).

Mary’s mother grew up listening to stories of how the world was before the Return and she passes on to Mary the stories of the ocean. Mary even used to have a picture of one of her many greats-grandmother in the ocean, so she knows it’s real. Her friends don’t really believe her and think her stories are just that, stories, fiction, NOT REAL.

So our tale begins with Mary washing some sheets. One of her best friends has joined her and he’s basically just asked her to marry him. Mary is looking up at him, thinking of his brother, and she’s just about to respond when the siren goes off – which means the fence has been breached. Mary knows in her gut that something has happened to her mother. You see, Mary’s father has gone missing months ago (into the forest) and everyday her mother watches the forest, waiting for her husband to come back to her. But today, Mary knows she dallied too long at the stream and her mother didn’t wait for her to return before she began her lookout…and got too close to the fence.

Now when someone gets bitten by the Unconsecrated, they become infected. They will die and rise again as a zombie. When this occurs in Mary’s village, the bitten always has a choice – they can be killed or they can be turned loose into the Forest of Hands and Teeth to join the other Unconsecrated. Mary’s mother chooses to join those in the Forest (which leads Mary to believe that her father is also Unconsecrated).

Throughout this, Mary’s brother, a Guardian (those that mind the fences) has been away checking on some fencing further out. He gets back just in time to see his mother rise as a zombie. So Mary’s guilt over not being with her mother and her brother’s anger at her letting her mother make the decision to turn in the first place all result in Mary joining the Sisterhood.

The Sisterhood runs the village. They have the final say in major decisions and they have all the knowledge of the Return and life before it. Mary does not want to join the Sisterhood, but she doesn’t have a choice. (There’s a good scene here where one of the sisters shows her which choices she does have.) And Mary quickly realizes that there is more to the Sisterhood than she knew. There are secrets hidden within the Sisterhood and when an outsider comes through the fence, Mary’s world as she knows it changes forever.

My Thoughts: Ok, not sure I did justice to the book, but just know that I loved it loved it loved it!

I picked this book up and did not put it down until I was done reading it. The story sucks you in and doesn’t let go! There is terror, action, romance and zombies! What more do you need?

First the world-building. Carrie Ryan has done an excellent job in creating a post-apocalyptic society. There’s no info dumping and we learn through Mary’s thoughts and experiences.

Second – our narrator. She’s a girl that’s always dreamed about what’s beyond the forest. While everyone around her is content with their existence, she’s heard about the ocean and she wants to see it. She lets her guilt get in the way when she’s forced into the Sisterhood but she’s independent and can think for herself. She makes hard decisions and she’s brave. She’s also good to have around in a jam (like zombies trying to eat you). I like my heroines to be strong and kick ass and that’s what Mary is.

The characters and the way they relate to each other are interesting too. Sister Tabitha is a scary lady, her brother is a redemptive jerk, the two brothers as love interests, her best friend. There’s even a dog. LOL

And the story doesn’t stay in Mary’s village. There’s plenty of action beyond the fence’s borders...

So for those of you who enjoy an excellent story with a smart and strong heroine and you don’t mind a little blood and guts? The Forest of Hands and Teeth is for you.

You can buy the Forest of Hands and Teeth here or here.

p.s. There is a sequel!

p.p.s There is a movie!

In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters—Sophie, Lettie, and Martha—and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

Title and author of book: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne-Jones

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? I really need to read more from Wynne-Jones, so this seemed to be the time to do so!

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? The world. Diana Wynne-Jones is a fantastic world-builder. She doesn't write anything that you cannot easily picture. When she tries to be a bit unusual, she can very successful explain how things are accomplished, so then it just makes sense. I love the characters. They all interact together in humourous and entertaining ways. The good and the bad, they all worked together to make a very readable story. There wasn't a character in the book that I didn't think was written really well. There is a lot of good things about this book.

What did you like least? There is nothing that jumps right out at me. I really enjoy Wynne-Jones and her writing. She can really do no wrong in my book.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Yes. I read Fire & Hemlock. I consider it one of my favourite young adult novels of all time, and yet, it took me a few years to read anything else by her! That makes no sense, right?

What did you think of the main character? I really liked Sophie. She was a bit annoying in the beginning, but as she progressed as a character and developed more into who she was supposed to be she became a character that I will remember for a while to come. The oldest of three sisters, she had resigned herself to a rather dull life. Events conspire to end her up in The Moving Castle, though, and then she really starts to shine. You quickly learn that not everything in this book is how it seems and Sophie might just have some surprises of her own in store for you.

What about the ending? I liked the ending. Obviously there are sequels now, but there don't have to be. The ending ties things up nicely.

The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle

When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her great-uncle's house, she thought she was getting blissful, parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time, and she did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now, somehow, she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the king's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The king is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called in an intimidating sorceress named Sophie to help. And where Sophie is, the great Wizard Howl and fire demon Calcifer won't be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in such a mess, and how will she get herself out of it?

Title and author of book: House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne-Jones

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young Adult Fiction. Fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? Sequel to Howl's Moving Castle.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? Twinkle. I'm sorry, but I thought the scenes with him in it were laugh out loud funny. He is just a great secondary character. The interaction between him and the main character and him and Sophie were immensely enjoyable! This book takes place in the same world as the previous book, so I enjoyed more world building. I also love the humour. The fact that the author can make you laugh really adds to the book.

What did you like least? While I didn't enjoy this book as much as Howl's Moving Castle, it was still a really good book. I can't find any major flaws with it to mention.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Fire & Hemlock and Howl's Moving Castle. I enjoyed both of them.

What did you think of the main character? The first moment that we meet Charmain she is reading. Apparently, she always has her nose in a book. When I heard that, I thought I was going to love her! Sadly, she is not exactly what you expect in the beginning, but she will grow on you. She has lived a 'respectable' life, by her parents standards, and now has to figure out how to do many things on her own. It adds to her character in many ways which will leave readers a fan of her.

What about the ending? I enjoyed the ending. It was one of the more humourous scenes in the book!

There will be a few posts covering several books in each post for the next little bit as I try and catch up on all the reviews I did not complete this year!

Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede
Book One in the Cecy and Kate Series

A great deal is happening in London and the country this season.

For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it--so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is.

Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives . . . if only they weren't having so much fun!

I had this book on my wish list for quite some time. I usually really like books that are told in diary or letter format, provided I am a bit picky with what I choose. Lots of people said that this was a good book, and it received great reviews on Amazon, but I just did not like it. I could not get involved with the characters and I actually found them annoying at times. The story did not capture me in at all. It was torture to finish this book. I am not sure if maybe it was my mood at the time, or I just am not a fan of this series. It made me sad, though, because it was a book I had looked forward to reading, and it just left me disappointed.

Mirror Universe: Glass Empires by David Mack, Greg Cox, Mike Sussman, and Dayton Ward

There are moments glimpsed only in shadow, where darkness rules and evil incarnate thrives. You hope against hope that in your lifetime, evil is relegated to the shadows. But what if it wasn't?

What if you lived in a universe where your life was measured only by what you could do for the Empire? What would you do to survive? Would you sell your soul to free yourself? If you were offered the chance to rule, would you seize it? If you could free your universe from the darkness but only at the cost of your life, would you pay that price?

Star Trek: Enterprise® She seized power in a heartbeat, daring to place herself against all the overlords of the Empire. Empress Hoshi Sato knows the future that could be; now all she has to do is make sure it never happens. For her to rule, she must hold sway not only over the starship from the future but also over her warlords, the resistance, and her Andorian husband. As quickly and brutally as Hoshi seized power, imperial rule is taken from her. Her only chance to rule again is to ally herself with a lifelong foe, and an alien.

Star Trek® One man can change the future, but does he dare? Spock, intrigued by the vision of another universe's Federation, does what no Vulcan, no emperor, has ever done: seize power in one blinding stroke of mass murder. And at the same instant he gains imperial power, Spock sows the seeds for the Empire's downfall. Is this a form of Vulcan madness, or is it the coolly logical plan of a man who knows the price his universe must pay for its freedom?

Star Trek: The Next Generation® Humanity is a pitiful collection of enslaved, indentured, and abused peoples. No one dares to question the order, except at peril of their lives. One man survives by blinding himself to the misery around him. However, Jean-Luc Picard resists, just once. And in that one instant he unlocks a horror beyond the tyranny of the Alliance. Can a man so beaten down by a lifetime of oppression stop the destruction?

When I decided that it was time I restarted buying Star Trek books, this is one of the first that I picked up. I am not a big fan of short story collections. I read them from time to time, but they are not my favourite thing in the world. That may have affected my response to this book, because while I liked it, I did not love it. One of the minor problems is that I was never a big fan of either The Original Series or Enterprise, so to read books set in those worlds left me trying to remember who was who. I really like books set in the Mirror Universe, though. Those were always some of my favourite episodes because they take everything you know and play around with it. It sorts of makes you wonder if there is a Mirror Universe really and someone sort of like you is leading a very different life. It is interesting to think about. I look forward to reading the next book in the New Year.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Winer of the Hugo and Nebula AwardsIn order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut-young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

It was probably not the best timing when I read this book. I had started it right before Sandy got really sick, so I was finishing it up right around the time she died. This is when my really good reading year sort of slowed down, and I even almost lost interest in reading in the first place. The period in which I read this book does not leave a great impression behind, though. I think it will always be the period that I read it in more than the book that will stick with me. That being said, I was not a huge fan of this book. I have to be frank, I have been noticing a pattern this year. I am just not a big fan of books narrated by children. Sometimes they work for me, but many of the books that I really did not like this year, that was why. Does that mean this was a bad book? Nope. I still intend to read more from Card in the New Year. Will I be able to reread this book in the future and get a different impression of it is anyones guess, but for right now, this book did not capture me like it did so many others.

What is Un Lun Dun?

It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.

China Mieville has been a fantasy/science fiction author that I have been interested in for quite some time, but this was my first attempt to read him. I liked the cover for this book, and the illustrations were very appealing for the simplistic nature. They added to the story. I received this book when it first came out, but when I tried it the first time it did not interest me. I put it aside for a few months to go back to when the mood was right. When I reattempted a couple months ago, I found that it was actually a fun book.

Un Lun Dun is sort of like the mirror universe to London. When people in London try to get rid of things, Un Lun Dun is where they go. They are in trouble, though, and they are waiting for their saviour to come and make things right. They have a book that has outlined everything that will happen when their saviour arrives, but when Deeba and Zanna find their way over there and appear to be the prophecy coming true, the citizens of Un Lun Dun soon learn that things do not always go the way they are supposed to. These are their adventures to save Un Lun Dun from those that wish to bring about its destruction.

This book is a magical adventure for young readers everywhere. It has its awkward moments where I found that I just wanted to skip ahead, but overall it was an enjoyable read. I think it was a promising first look at China Mieville, and I look forward to reading more from him in the future. The paperback is coming out in January, so it is just in time to purchase it with your Christmas money. I recommend this book for a fun read with illustrations.

To read more about it, head over to Random House, where it is published.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

When Dashti, a maid, and Lady Saren, her mistress, are shut in a tower for seven years for Saren’s refusal to marry a man she despises, the two prepare for a very long and dark imprisonment.

As food runs low and the days go from broiling hot to freezing cold, it is all Dashti can do to keep them fed and comfortable. But the arrival outside the tower of Saren’s two suitors—one welcome, and the other decidedly less so—brings both hope and great danger, and Dashti must make the desperate choices of a girl whose life is worth more than she knows.

With Shannon Hale’s lyrical language, this forgotten but classic fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm is reimagined and reset on the central Asian steppes; it is a completely unique retelling filled with adventure and romance, drama and disguise.

I read this book before it was even out in many places. Shannon Hale has quickly became one of my favourite young adult novelists. This book worried me at first. It had a bit of a slow start, so I was not even sure if I was going to like it. One of the saving graces was that it did not only take place while they were locked up in a tower. That might be okay for a fairy tale, but for a novel that would be a bit boring! The novel is told in diary-format from Dashti's point of view. Sometimes Dashti annoyed me, I think a lot of it was because she sort of did the predictable things. She was also a bit of a faithful servant at times, she was so loyal that at times she was just plain annoying. Overall, though, I was quite fond of this book by the end. Shannon Hale can tell a decent story. Romance, adventure, royalty, and other elements that make for an interesting fairy tale story.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.

Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

After reading Hale's new novel, I decided it was about time to read her Newbery-award winning book. I have to say, it was another good read! This one was a bit more interesting than The Book of a Thousand Days because it had more going on in it. Hale seems to enjoy the romance elements in her books, though, they almost always play a part. I suppose romance is a fairy tale ending, but that does not mean that it is had to be included. Even if the romance does not always work out, Hale always finds a way to work the element into the novel.

This novel was about Miri and her mountain friends. They had grown up in a secluded area of the kingdom, and were not very well aware of royalty. When the priests predict that the princes new wife will come from this mountainous area, the girls are sent to a Princess Academy to become the women that the prince would be fond of. During the course of the novel, Miri grows as a person. This also happens with Dashi, Hale is very good at writing novels with strong female characters that may not always be aware that the strength is there, but they grow into it. It makes for interesting reading!

Overall, I recommend both of these novels. I just have to readRiver Secrets, and then I will be all caught up in my young adult reading.

I finished Beastly by Alex Flinn last night. I enjoyed this book immensely. It’s a young adult urban fantasy novel that puts a modern spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. I couldn’t put it down! It’ll be out in hardcover in October. I’m hoping to have a review of it up in coming weeks but since this book was the inspiration for this post, I just had to mention it now. Definitely be on the look-out for this one.

Reading Beastly has made me want to seek out other Beauty and the Beast stories—a fairy tale I was never particularly interested in before (unless you count the animated Disney movie which I use to love—and still do!). It’s amazing how something can be completely uninteresting to you one minute, and then you read a wonderful tale by a wonderful writer and suddenly you’re hooked. That’s the way it was with fairy tales for me. I was never much into fairies before, having always thought of them as the Disney prototype—small, cute, kind—but not very interesting. I much preferred vampires and other dark paranormal creatures. After being introduced to Holly Black’s Tithe, however, I’ve become captivated by them. Over the past year, I've sought out more and more stories along this vein and I’ve become more and more interested in folklore, fairy tales, and fairy tale re-retellings. I even bought a collection of stories from the Brothers Grimm a while back, though I've yet to make sizable dent in it. Fairy tales, as a whole, have a long history, and it seems there has been a swell of fairies in pop culture recently—not only in books, but even in movies. Neil Gaiman’s Stardust will hit the big screen next month, and also Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s Spiderwick Chronicles will be brought to theaters soon. I just think there’s a certain magic to fairy tales especially ones that combine my favorite elements—romance, adventure, suspense, enchantment, interesting characters and a good ending. Who could ask for more in a book? I'm very glad to have discovered the magic of fairy tales, no matter how late I am to the party.

Luckily I’ve already got Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley in my to-be-read pile. It’s also a young adult book which, as those of you familiar with my reading tastes will know, is one of my favorite genres right now.

Do you like fairy tales? What's your favorite classic fairy tale? What are your favorite re-retellings? Have you ever found yourself interested in a particular fairy tale only after having read a good re-telling of it? What do you think is the reason behind fairies' increase in popularity?

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For more on fairy tales, check out Kailana's Fairy Tales Re-Visited Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

Calling All Artists!

Melissa Marr, YA urban fantasy author of Wicked Lovely, is currently running an art contest on her website. All you have to do is:

Portray a character, scene, or event from Wicked Lovely in whatever medium you choose--oil, watercolour, pen & ink, photography, sculpture (photo of it), digital, et al.

and you could win up to $300 in art gear! I enjoyed Wicked Lovely a lot. It was a very imaginative urban faerie tale. So go check it out if you haven't already. The contest ends December 22, 2007. Click here for contest details.

Eclipse Quote of the Day

Stephenie Meyer, YA author of the bestselling Twilight vampire series, is posting up one quote per day until August 6th, from her newest release, Eclipse, on her website. So if you’re eager for a taste of Eclipse, hop over to her site to see today’s quote!

This series is not exactly the most challenging series I am reading, but it is enjoyable. I read a few paranormal series here and there, but I am mostly moving away from that genre. There are only a few authors that I am looking forward to seeing what happens next with. This series is one of them. This book had a better ending than the last one, though, when the last one ended I was very impatient for book two because it had a majorly bad ending, in the sense that I wanted to know what happened next! This one, I of course want to read the next book in the series, but it is not a strong need.

Claire has a lot going on in her life. She's a genius, so she went to college early, but her parents would not let her go to a top of the line one because they wanted her to stay close to home. As a result, the school that she is attending is more interested in looks than grades. That does not matter, though, because she spends the majority of the book caught up in vampire drama, so there is often a reason why she cannot go to school. She a boyfriend in this book, and I kept having to remind myself that this is a teen book, so boyfriend and girlfriend is not necessarily going to go very far, especially since she is a minor.

Her other roommates have a relationship as well, and it gets pretty interesting during the course of this book. I cannot share because it would give away spoilers from the previous book. Let's just say that their relationship gets more and more complicated as time goes on. Claire's boyfriends dad is the cause of most of the excitement in this book. He is determined to kill all the vampires because they were responsible for his daughter and wives death. He does not take no for an answer, and he is hell-bent on revenge.

Claire is a typical teen caught up in a very strange situation. She is not the most popular kid at school, far from it, but she gets invited to the Dead Girls' Dance, and then everything in the book takes a drastic change for the worse. The mayor and most of the police force are under the rule of the vampires, so it is a question of who the quartet can trust to get them out of harms way safely.

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

I liked Ender’s Game, and I’m surprised that I liked it. Science fiction has never really been my forte. Even science fiction television shows: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek...none of that has ever interested me. I’ve always been more interested in fantasy. So I wasn’t expecting to really like Ender’s Game, which is based on the premise of a hostile alien race creating the need for child military geniuses. But the audiobook was nearing its due date at the library and I’d already renewed it twice, so I decided it was time to pop the discs in and listen to them. I can’t say I was riveted throughout the entire novel, eagerly turning the pages (or in this case, changing the discs), to get to the next sentence. It’s a little slow to start with—you have to be eased into the world and the lives of the characters—but as the story progressed, I became more and more interested in what would happen to Ender; in what would become of this genius child, thrown harshly into an adult world. I liked Ender because he strived so hard to do the right thing and hated when he couldn’t. The fact that he suffered so much when he had to make hard choices was testament of the good person that he was. I also liked Ender’s strength. When others sought to bring him down, he sought to show them otherwise. It was compelling to follow—it made you want to root for the underdog. And even though the world Card presented is different from the world we know, I could relate to Ender as a character. His emotions and his reactions to his situations were very human to me, even when the world he was in, was not. The secondary characters were well-developed, as well, bringing life to the story just as much as the main characters. One of the things I particularly liked was that Card didn't just tell you that the children were smart, he showed you.

As I mentioned before, I listened to this on audio. I’m quite new to audiobooks and the reading of this book surprised me because it was the first audiobook I listened to where there was more than one actor performing the reading. At first, I thought hearing a bunch of different voices would be distracting to the story, but it wasn’t. It actually made it more interesting and all the actors performed their readings well, putting emotion into each of the characters’ voices.

While I’m still unsure whether or not I would like to invest my time in the rest of this series (Ender’s Game stands-alone well enough), this is a book I would definitely recommend—not necessarily as a page-turner, but as a thought-provoking (and emotion-provoking) piece of fiction. I wish I’d read this book when I was younger, because I think it teaches some important lessons about life.

Ironside by Holly Black
published by Margaret K. McElderry in April 2007

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing -- her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth -- that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

I enjoyed this sequel to Tithe a lot. In fact, I found myself more engaged in it than I did Tithe. The reason for that could have something to do with the fact that when I read Tithe, it was my first real foray into modern faerie tales, and so I wasn’t all that familiar with the genre at the time--or faerie folklore in general. Since reading Tithe, I’ve read more faerie stories, in particular teen faerie stories, and have become better acquainted with faerie mythology; therefore, I’m better able to understand the intricacies of a crafted faerie world, as I wasn’t before with Tithe. Perhaps that’s what made this a more interesting read for me. I’d have to actually re-read Tithe to see if this theory holds true, but either way, I thought Ironside was a very enjoyable book. I loved re-revisiting Kaye and Roiben, and I was completely swept away by the descriptions of Faerieland; of its beauty and its darkness, of its mythical inhabitants who are as cruel as they are beautiful. I was constantly turning the pages to see what lay in store for Kaye and her friends; what new treachery the Seelie queen, and her faeries, would come up with next to lay claim to the Unseelie throne. Corny played a big role in this novel too. I hadn’t really thought much of him in Tithe, but I liked the development his character underwent here. Black weaves her stories of magic and myth with the modern world well, making the magical world seem all the more real. My only real qualm is that I thought there could have been more resolution between Kaye and Roiben. There was resolution, but...they didn’t spend a whole lot of time together during the book, and so once the book was finished, I wasn’t left with a real sense of how the two would fare. Also, considering this is supposed to be the last book in this series, it would have been nice to know more about Kaye’s background--such as the identity of her parents, and of the person who originally sent her into the mortal world as a changeling, but none of that was addressed. Those who’ve read Black’s previous books know there’s some strong language in the stories as the characters drop the f-bomb occasionally, as well other profanities. I mention this because I know some may find that disturbing since it’s marketed towards teens, but the profanity isn’t used gratuitously; it suits the world the characters live in, and adds a bit of realism to the characters as a whole. Still, I'd recommend this for older teens. All in all, I thought this was a great follow up to Tithe, and a very enjoyable read.

4.5 out of 5.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Published by Scholastic US in 2005

4/5

One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever. This is INKHEART--a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.

Valiant by Holly Black: 4.5/5
published by Simon & Schuster Childrens in May 2006

First of all let me start by saying that I loved this book! Holly Black doesn't disappoint with her follow up to Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. Straight from Amazon:

Val Russell runs away from home after discovering her mom and her boyfriend making out. In New York, she meets two eccentric, homeless teens who take her to their hideout in the subway tunnels where Dave's older brother runs an underground operation dealing potions to faeries. Lolli introduces her to the land of Faerie by shooting up an otherworldly substance called Never (named after Edgar Allan Poe's "Nevermore" from The Raven). Val and Lolli are caught by Ravus, the powerful troll they work for. After enduring his rage and bargaining for Lolli's life in true Beauty and the Beast fashion, Val is bound to Ravus for indefinite servitude and falls in love with him.

I found this book is just as good as Tithe in its dark and gritty portrayal of the Fey. This time we have another human, Val, who gets caught up in the underground network of exiled Fey now living in New York. Val is just as great a heroine as Kay and the romance between her and Ravus is, IMO, just as nice. However, people looking for romance must remember that Holly writes urban fantasy and not romance novels. There is always an element of romance thrown in for good measure but it is never the focus of the story. The tales are always about our heroine and how they deal with their everyday, mundane lives and their reaction when they discover this whole and dangerous world of the Fey.

I truly wish Mrs. Black would decide to continue on with this series as I think there are lots more possibilities and tales to explore in this world. Unfortunately I do believe this is the second book in a planned trilogy. The last book, Ironside, recently came out.

Let's just hope Holly changes her mind and keeps this wonderful world alive.

A solid 4.5 out of 5.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: DNF
published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in March 2007 (HC)

Don't be deceived by the following plot [from Amazon]:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Let me just start by telling you that this is the first time EVER I will be getting my money back. I am the type that figures if you bought it then you stick it out. However, I hadn't come across such a horrible read as this one in such a long time I think I deserve my money back.

How bad was it? A Did Not Finish. I barely got past the first 20 pages and I felt I was in a very, very bad episode of Buffy [from back in Season 1 when everything was so campy and horrid you couldn't help but wince].

Mind you and I am a HUGE Buffy fan.

Oddly enough what I find most disappointing was not the book itself but the fact that one of my absolute favorite YA writers recommended it. I don't know what Holly Black was thinking. In fact, I am willing to bet she didn't even have time to read the book and just read the description, saw faeries and figured it had to be good.

I bought the book because she spoke so highly about it. I have never done this. Ever. I don't buy books because of author quotes. EVER. But Holly Black is so amazing with her dark faeries and I figured what the hell.

I am never, ever doing that again.

Let's see, where to begin. Oh yes. We have a seemingly normal teenager walking into a club. Somehow I get the idea she isn't of the "in" crowd and her and her friend probably stick out like a sore thumb but what the hell I'm going with it. Out of the blue [remember she is supposed to be normal] she sees a boy following a girl and figures they are about to get it on but what bothers her is that they are being followed by two more boys. Now, anyone else would have A)figured they were all friends or whatnot and B)minded their own business. But not our heroine. She thinks this is weird and so she proceeds to follow them all into the storage closet.

Now, how big this storage closet is that there are 3 boys, 2 girls AND that the first four fail to notice our heroine hiding in the darkness, well, I don't know. Also, they are all super humans or not human and they can track each other yet they fail to detect a mere mortal hiding a few paces from where they are all standing.

It just gets better and better.

Of course our heroine mistakes the scene for a gang rivalry and figures they are going to kill the one boy they all followed. Instead of going to get help what does our heroine do? You probably saw this coming: she yells at them to stop what they are doing because killing humans is just plain wrong.

I didn't make that up. I paraphrased. No joke.

Oh, I think I forgot to mention that, before she decided to speak up, she was pretty scared thinking that these were not your average weirdos what with their talk of demons and supernatural beings.

Raise your hand if you would have run back the way you came.

Raise your hand if you would have gotten an adult, like one of the bouncers, to help.

Raise your hand if you wouldn't have even follow the lot of them into a storage closet because it was none of your damn business.

Since I couldn't believe my eyes I decided to check out some reviews on Amazon and, apparently, I should have checked them out first. It seems I wasn't mistaking and this book is a cross between every fantasy novel that ever was from Buffy to Harry Potter to Star Wars to god-knows what else.

I could have tried to read some more but not only was the plot horrific, so was the writing. This was somebody's fan fiction gone wrong.

I would have overlooked all of this if indeed it WAS someone's fan fiction but a professional book that cost no less than $18 USD?

Oh you bet I will be getting my money back. And if they ask me why at the bookstore I am not even going to lie. I am going to tell them that it just plain stinks.

You probably read Harry Potter or perhaps another equally famous not-for-adults book, figured teen and children novels can be just as entertaining and well written as those meant for adults yet are stuck and don't know where to go next. Fear not my dear friend for I am here to guide you in the right direction. Whether is high fantasy, more wizards, faeries or even a vampire pirate or two I will tell you just which books and series are a treat for everyone in the family regardless of age.

The first thing you should know is that children and Young Adult books can be just as well written and descriptive as any book geared towards an older audience. You won't find simple dialogue or two sentence descriptions here. They can also be as chock full of dangers, murder, death and mayhem as their adult counterparts. Indeed a lot of younger audience books don't shy away from killing, mayming or otherwise harming even the protagonists. These means you don't have to suffer from sugary sweet worlds filled with nice, fluffy beings that never get into anything dangerous. No siree-bob, these books have a bit of everything!

With that said, let's get to the books themselves!


NOTE: I've put descriptions by each of the titles so you have an idea of what to expect. Please note that GORE means just that. Some of the books easilly get into creepy character death/murder and/or other somewhat disturbing themes.


Books of Pellinor by Allison Croggon - High Fantasy, Magic, Quests, Adventures

These books are beautifully written. They are, in fact, my favorite in the children, young adult category as far as the writing is concerned. The books deal with the adventures of Maerad in the world of Edil-Amarandh. Books 3 & 4 deal with Hem, Maerad's brother.

They are:
The Naming
The Riddle
The Crow
The Singing

WEBSITE




The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix - High Fantasy, Necromancers, Quests

Second best children/YA writing. Garth Nix has such a way with words and this trilogy shows just how incredible his writing can be. Get swept away to a magical world where necromancers are good and they are all that stands between the forces of good and evil.

The books are:
Sabriel
Lirael
Abhorsen

WEBSITE



Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan - High Fantasy, Faeries, Magic, Some Gore

Amazing. Absolutely amazing! From book one these books are one rollercoaster ride after another. There is always something going on from the first time we are brought into this magical kingdom and the ride doesn't stop until the very end.

Books are:
Faerie Wars
The Purple Emperor
Ruler of the Realm

WEBSITE







Tithe by Holly Black - Urban Fantasy, Faeries, Minor Gore

Holly Black shows us faeries as they were meant to be: mean, selfish, and cruel. You won't be finding cute little Tinkerbell pixies in this book. No way. These faries just as soon eat you or torture you for entertainment than look at you.

Tithe and Ironside tell the story of Kaye and Roiben.
Valiant is set in the same world but has different characters.

WEBSITE








The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley - Urban Fantasy, Fairy Tale Characters, Some Gore

Unbeknownst to humans, there is a town where faerie tale characters live and mingle with the rest of us mortals. However these immortal characters are not as you remember from your children fairy tales. Snow White is the most beautiful teacher in school. Prince Charming is the town mayor and a mayour sleaze of a politician. Little Red Riding Hood is a deranged lunatic. The Big Bad Wolf works for the good guys alongside the Three Little Pigs. This is one strange town where you never know what to expect except a lot of murder, mysterious kidnappings, and more. Nothing is what it seems and, as the town's detectives, it's up to the Sisters Grimm and their Granny to sort out just what the hell is going on.

Books so far:
The Fairy-Tale Detectives
The Unusual Suspects
The Problem Child
Once Upon a Crime

WEBSITE


Fablehaven by Brandon Mull - Urban Fantasy, Magical Creatures, Faeries, Magic

If you like Sisters Grimm then you'll surely love Fablehaven. Brother and sister Kendra and Seth are faced with a similar dilema of being in a preserve where magical cratures exist. Humans, of course, are not aware and it's their job to keep it that way while at the same time dealing with the not so nice and often evil creatures.

So far:
Fablehaven
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star

WEBSITE






The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart - High Fantasy, Adventure, Quest, Pirates, Some Gore

You NEVER know which way is up in this highly entertaining and exciting series. Unlike most series, the main protagonist in these books is the land of The Edge. That's all that is constant throughout the series as main characters in one book become mince meat in another. From one book to the next the story jumps forwards and backwards in time to tell the history of The Edge and some of its most famous and interesting inhabitants. These books don't shy away of killing anyone as some of the creatures that inhabit these worlds can be downright cruel and you just never know who will make it to the end....of the series!

Books so far:
Beyond the Deepwoods
Stormchaser
Midnight over Sanctaphrax
The Curse of the Gloamglozer
The Last of the Sky Pirates
Vox
Freeglader
The Winter Knights

WEBSITE


Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan - High Fantasy

This series is set in a world much like ours in medieval times but where evil creatures exist and are threatening to take over the world led by an evil human. Not much magic but lots of adventures as we follow William in his quest to become a knight and then a Ranger, the secret service that works for the king.

Books are:
The Ruins of Gorlan
The Burning Bridge
The Icebound Land

WEBSITE




Septimus Heap by Angie Sage - High Fantasy, Magic

These books arte just plain fun. Also reminds me of a magical medieval times where we follow the adventures of Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son and thus endowed with magical powers.

Books so far:
Magyck
Flyte
Physik

WEBSITE




Leven Thumps by Obert Skye - Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy

Just think of him as a down=on-his-luck Harry Potter. OK, so Leven isn't a wizard but he did have one hell of an upbringing with his adopted family. The poor guy is stuck living outside in a trailer park when suddenly things start going bump in the night...and they want to bump him off!

Books so far:
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret

WEBSITE







The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix - Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy

The books gets better as the series progresses simply because one of the most entertaining characters, Suzy Blue, has a quick wit and dry humor that grates on Arthur's nerve and makes for some really funny dialogue and observations at the worse possible moments. At first I was skeptic of the series but by book 3 I was completely hooked.

So far:
Mister Monday
Grim Tuesday
Drowned Wednesday
Sir Thursday
Lady Friday

WEBSITE




Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

You'll laugh yourself silly with this witty series as the poor yet resorceful Baudelaire orphans go form one caretaker to another. Highly recommended reading.

13 books in this series which has now come to an end.

WEBSITE








Vampirates by Justin Somper - Quest, Adventure, Vampires, Pirates

If vampires are bad and pirates are too, well, what do you expect from pirate vampires?! Highly entertaining book about the adventures of twin brothers Connor and Grace as they are faced with the truth about the Vampirates.

Books are:

Demons of the Ocean
Tides of Terror
Dead Deep
Blood Captain

WEBSITE

Nobody is safe in the secret hour.

Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma.

Time freezes.

Nobody moves.

For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour — only they are free to move about the midnight time.

These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School.

Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her before she can use it.

Review: This book was a fast-paced, action packed story that fell short of my expectations. The beginning started off pretty decent, but by halfway through, I was bored. First, the world wasn’t fleshed out as well as I would have liked it, nor were the characters, thus they didn’t come alive on the page for me. And a few of the characters felt a bit sterotypical. Another problem I had with this book was that were way too many action sequences between the Midnighters and the darklings/slithers (the cannon fodder predator/snake-like creatures that roam the midnight hour). It got to the point where I would think (with irritation), “Here we go again! Another action scene!” There’s even a small amount of romance that was just developing as the story ends, but I didn’t find it very compelling. I did, however, think the concept of this book was neat—I mean, how many times have you wished for an extra hour in the day? The idea that there’s a 25th hour, that time freezes at midnight and only a select few--those born exactly at midnight—can access it, is interesting; I just think the idea wasn’t executed as well as it could have been, and by the end of the book, I still had questions--like why it is that only teenagers seem to be able to access the midnight hour? If those born at midnight are the only ones able to enter the midnight hour, shouldn’t there be older people who can access it too? Perhaps these questions are answered in the next book, but I doubt I’ll pick up the next in the trilogy to find out. I do, however, plan to give Westerfeld’s acclaimed Uglies trilogy a try. As for this one...

Rating: 3.0