Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young adult fantasy
Publisher, Year: Scholastic, 2010
Other Works: Shiver
Flags: Teen angst, Tenuous references
Rating: B-, or Not Sorry I Read It
Premise: Another girl meets another wolf. Plus, the continuation of the first girl and her wolf's life together. Then, things start to get sticky.

I read this book awhile ago, so I hope I can do it justice. For me, it wasn’t as good as the first in the series, but still held my attention.

Grace and Sam have happily found a way to be together. Sam has stopped shifting, which is great because he can be with Grace always, but at the same time, an entire part of his life that has in many ways been important to him, is now gone. However, he is still connected to his wolfish past, although not physically, because there are now new wolves that need to learn the tricks of the trade. Enter egotistical, terribly good-looking, spasmodic Cole St. Clair—former rock star turned depressive wolf. And although everyone has a hard time working with him, he proves to be the one person who can provide an important solution to a life-threatening problem that no one has yet encountered.

I just couldn’t get as connected to the characters (ie. Sam) as I could in the first book. Grace was always a bit lacking for me, and she seemed to turn it around a little bit. I didn’t find her spineless in this book, and maybe it was the influence of her earlier experiences that made her grow up a little. I think Stiefvater was faced with a common problem when it comes to sequels, and that is that the ending of the previous story was so perfectly tied up that the characters don’t have much to do but go through their very normal existence together. When the new conflicts crop up, the story’s momentum began to rise, and with it, my hopes.

However, this book also introduces two new narrators, one character that we’ve met before, Isabel, the other a new werewolf, Cole. I have to say that I didn’t enjoy being in either of their heads. Maybe I’m just the type of person who doesn’t get Isabel, but she seems a cookie cutter “poor little rich girl” type, and Cole, I’m sorry to say, seemed simply her male equivalent. And that fact meant that I found everything about their interactions a complete bore. The split narration in the first book was difficult enough, to double that, I think, was asking too much.

I was disappointed that this book also lacked a certain feel that the first did so well. Sam and Grace were haunted by the onset of winter. That cold weather was almost a third main character—a sort of ghostly presence that was always lurking, waiting to pounce. It gave the book an appealing creepiness that I felt was deficient in the continuation of the story. As the temperature rose and fell, so did my anxiety. I felt that sense of urgency was missing.

With all that said, Linger still held my attention, and there were plenty of bright spots of suspense that kept me turning pages. Though I wish the story would have been more concise, once I came to the conclusion, I was satisfied and happy to have spent the time. I will definitely be checking out the final installment.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher, Year: Scholastic, 2009
Other Works: Lament
Flags: Teen angst, Tenuous references
Rating: B, or Decent
Premise: A teenage girl obsesses over a wolf in the woods. This isn't just any wolf--the animal saved her from a terrifying experience as a child. One day, she finds out that her wolf has a secret.

I went into this book with very little expectation. I had heard it was Twilight-esque in many ways, which is a fair categorization, I would say.

The story opens with a girl, Grace, remembering when she was brutally attacked by a pack of wolves. One wolf in particular, she remembers clearly—the wolf who has been watching her from the woods behind her house ever since. He stalks her and she stalks him right back. A local tragedy sets events into motion that will reveal a secret and change Grace’s life forever.

It’s not too difficult to figure out that Sam, the mysterious wolf, is actually a werewolf—part human, part animal. I thought the rules that Stiefvater invented for her wolf species were very interesting and unique, considering that the subject of werewolves is a variation upon a theme as so many fantasy books are. I enjoyed reading about Sam because he was so consistently conflicted. His wolf life, although not the nature to which he was born, has become so a part of his being, that although it is somewhat of a curse, it is slowly becoming a comfort. He has been so often a wolf, that that form is beginning to feel like home. His loyal family, his good memories, most of his joys as a being are tied up in running with his wolf pack. All except for one—Grace.

Grace as a heroine, however, I felt was lacking. As with Twilight, I felt like the lead female role was not a strong one. By the end of the book, I didn’t feel as though I knew her well, and what I got to know of her wasn’t very appealing to me. She was at times wishy-washy and getting mad over seemingly insignificant things. And although the book starts from the premise that Grace and Sam have been “dating” over six years by watching each other as woman and wolf, I didn’t find that premise very convincing. It seemed like the two were automatically “in love” without the falling part. I would have enjoyed a little more of the getting to know each other and a little less description of passionate kissing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for a love story. But, I would have liked to see them know each other and connect on an emotional level.

Stiefvater definitely had moments of brilliance in this novel. I could really feel the slow creeping of winter’s cold hand. I’m all too familiar with the dreading of snow, and I think she captured that beautifully. The violence that the cold triggered with the werewolves was really mesmerizing and was so tangible for me. Through her words, I felt the pain as the wolves experienced it. That is the beauty of the split narration of the novel, which I think fit just right.

I’m interested to see what the next books will bring, as there is a sort of momentum from this first novel. I definitely liked it enough to keep reading!

Matched by Ally Condie

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher, Year: Dutton Juvenile, 2010
Other Works: Crossed (out in 2011)
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: A, or Great Read
Premise: A teenage girl begins to question the things she's always accepted as fact when her Society's proven method of "matching" up marriages seems to go awry.

I went into this book sort of tentatively because there was someone I talked to who had read it, I can't remember who now, but they said that it was a creative story, but the writing wasn't that great. I couldn't disagree more. I thought the writing was excellent! A breath of fresh air, honestly. Condie's writing is smooth as silk. It has a musical quality to my ear.

Imagine a place where the Society (central government) directs every aspect of its citizens lives: what to eat, what to wear, where to go, and especially those important decisions like who to marry and what career path to follow. We first meet Cassia, a teenage girl getting ready for her all-important Matching Ceremony, where she will find out who she will marry one day. She is thrilled and surprised to discover that she’s been matched with her best friend, Xander. Such a match doesn’t happen often as most couples are formed from different areas of the country where you’d have no opportunity to know anything about your match before the fated day. However, when Cassia enters the chip into her computer to learn what it says about Xander, a new face flashes across the screen. Another boy she knows, Ky, and now her curiosity about him cannot be suppressed. As her mind is filled with questions, she begins to realize that perhaps things she has accepted since childhood about her surroundings are not all that they seemed to be. +/-

Although I liked Cassia overall, I liked Ky as a character much better. He is a person true to himself. While Cassia is still trying to figure out who she is, Ky has never been more certain of the metal he’s made of. As Ky’s past unravels, I find myself, along with Cassia, greedy for more. He was just the right mixture of vulnerability, strength, and mystery. I loved how Cassia had to figure out in stages what his game was. How he wasn't always what he appeared to be.

I am always amazed how these writers can come up with such an interesting alternate reality. At first, it takes a little time to buy into it. To accept the terminology, the system, and the pills without raising an eyebrow. However, once I was on board, the story and all its little intricacies started to come together, and I realized how creative it was. I have always had this experience with these type of books, and I really am happily surprised that there are writers out there who can keep reinventing the dystopic wheel.

Although I enjoyed the novel, I wish there had been stronger motivation for Cassia to start thinking outside of the box when it came to the Society. I think in several cases, her loyalty to what she’d been taught since birth about her country/government would have been more difficult to break. I had a hard time believing that Cassia would flip on the society so quickly when she'd been brought up with its ideals for so long.

Secondly, I tire of these love triangles sometimes, especially when both parties don’t get a fair shake. Honestly, I can't say whether I like Xander because I simply don't know enough about him. Cassia and he obviously have a long history together, which she knows, but we aren't privy to. I don’t feel like, for me, the inner tension between the two characters is strong enough. I need to really waffle between the two, and, at least from my perspective, there is a clear choice. If there's going to be a love triangle, then I'd at least like the opportunity to weigh both on their merits equally and see which is really the one found wanting. Perhaps this one-sided-ness is by design, and we will get to hear more about Xander as the story continues; I hope so.

Overall, Matched is a fantastic story, a quick and easy read, but one you can really sink your teeth into. A real winner in by book. And the sequel is out this fall!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Publisher, Year: Scholastic, 2008
Other Works: Catching Fire
Flags: Teen angst, adult themes
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Library, Countdown
Premise: A new government controls what used to be North America and holds the Hunger Games, a gladiator-style, to the death fight between competitors, as punishments for the districts' rebellion. Each year, families are forced to send one teenage boy and girl to the games and watch them die on television.

In my opinion, this book is worth all the hype and attention its received and then some. It’s an easy and fast read, but the topics and issues it discusses are deeply relevant and probing.

Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, a part of the new government of a war-torn North America Panem. Because of the districts’ failed rebellion, as a constant reminder of their weakness and total lack of control, the government invented the Hunger Games. A Roman gladiator–style, pseudo reality TV program, where “tributes” (two teenagers from each district selected at random) are forced into an “arena” (some destitute place, rigged with manipulatable traps and cameras) where they fight to the death until one person is left standing. When Katniss’s sister, Prim, is called to step forward and join the games, her protective nature forces Katniss to volunteer to take Prim’s place. She, along with Peeta, her companion male tribute, makes her way to the Capitol to fight for her life. +/-

Like everyone else on the planet, I instantly fell in love with this book. It’s a heart-pounding tale from beginning to end. Katniss is a strong and powerful heroine, flanked by a stellar cast of supporting characters, from her loyal co-tribute Peeta to her hunting companion Gale to her unlikely friend Rue. She is a woman who knows how to take care of herself, having grown into the leadership role of her family after her father’s sudden death, her mother completely incapacitated with grief and her little sister too young and frail to fight. She enters the arena with important skills: knowledge of edible plants, successful hunting techniques, and living on very little. These things make her strong, but the limits of that strength will be tested to a breaking point.

Throughout the story I just kept turning over in my head why the tributes couldn’t just refuse to participate. How come they couldn’t just ban together and find a way to keep alive until the audience would tire of the game? This book answers that question in lots of ways; it’s almost like an experiment of force and control. The whole point of the games is the psychologically manipulate an entire population of people by demonstrating their ability not only to kill them, but also to convince them to kill each other.

And the reality TV aspect cannot be overlooked. After putting this book down, it really made me rethink the reasons why I like the shows I do. I’ll never look at The Biggest Loser the same. In so many ways these shows are rigged for drama, because that’s what we love to see. We want to witness shouting and fighting and people losing control. Perhaps we haven’t gone so far as fighting to the death—but could we really rule that out as a possibility?

I quickly set out for the second book in the series, and it will be a trilogy when all is said and done. I also think this book has great potential for a prequel at some time. We know there’s been a war and that this civilization is the result of it, but we really are given very few details, especially about a mysterious District 13, which was completely eradicated during the rebellion by the Capitol. I would love to get more back history on this place. Hopefully, the author might consider it. =)

I think this book has been placed in the correct categorization, being young adult, but it’s a really great story for any age, and adults can learn just as much from it as teenagers. If you haven’t read it yet, amend your ways! A really great read.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Genre: Young adult (historical/fantasy)
Publisher, Year: Random House, 2003
Other Works: Rebel Angels, The Restless Dead
Flags: Teen angst, tenuous references
Rating: B+, or Mostly Good
Challenge: Library, Countdown
Premise: A teenage girl discovers she has magic powers. She and her friends find that although these powers are great and exciting, there is also an unfortunate side effect--a dangerous creature out to capture that power.

Another pick for the Countdown Challenge, I'd been meaning to pick up something by Libba Bray for awhile, having heard great things about her. I have to say that I enjoyed the read, but I was not blown away.

Gemma desperately wants to go to London. When her mother tragically dies, she gets her chance, and her life is suddenly and forever altered. Then, she notices an odd change taking place--as magic touches her life in the form of visions. Now she's on a hunt to get down to the bottom of these mysterious happenings, all while trying to fit in at her new rigidly Victorian private school. +/-

I enjoyed Bray's writing style. She weaves together a wonderful tapestry of color and sound. The ambiance in this book is very haunting--read with a flashlight under the covers. I also enjoyed the cast of characters for the most part: Kartik, the protective and darkly handsome foreigner; Gemma and her fiery red hair; Brigid, the quirky, loose-lipped maid. Bray also does an excellent job recreating a believable, yet mysterious, Victorian private school--complete with strict headmaster and corsets that pinch.

However, I didn't feel like I could become completely invested in the story. I found the fantastical world a bit beyond my suspension of disbelief. I could not get carried away in it the way I would have wanted. I never did quite understand what it was exactly that was after the girls, although I knew the creature's name. And I could not get a handle on whether Gemma's family were for or against her. That brings me to the interesting little gaggle of girls who Gemma calls her "friends" in the book. Major flashbacks of Rachel McAdams's "Mean Girls" attitude in this book. Although Gemma's three friends--Felicity, Pippa, and Ann--are pitiable, I could not find it my heart to sympathize. Felicity most of all, with her strange outbursts and wild accusations. But I suppose it's really not far off from what teenage girls do in school to one another--the pecking order becoming apparent. All the same, I still found it tiresome.

Minus the faults, I do think Ms. Bray is quite a talent. I did enjoy her brand of language and style. It would be remiss not to seek out another of her novels and give her a second chance.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Genre: Fiction, mixed with fantasy
Publisher, Year: Doubleday, 2008
Other Works: Debut novel
Flags: Moderate language, adult themes, explicit references
Rating: A-, or Good w/ Minor Problems
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: A young, handsome man drives off a cliff in a drug-induced hysteria. While in the hospital recovering from major burn wounds, he meets an charismatic and slightly off-kilter woman who claims she was his lover in another life.

I’m really at a loss as to what to say about this book. It’s vastly different from any other book I’ve read before. I picked it up on the recommendation of Ann of Books on the Nightstand, whose opinion I like to take when I’m in the mood for something different or edgy. This books satisfied both criteria.

The Gargoyle is narrated by a man who careens off the side of a cliff and finds himself in the middle of a horrendous car fire, which destroys much of his body. As he recovers, a mysterious young woman begins visiting him and telling him stories about 14th century Germany. The only catch is, she believes he is a character from her story, that they met and fell in love in a medieval monastery, and she’s been waiting for him to come back for seven hundred years. +/-

There is a stark contrast that comes to the forefront during the book, and I’m still contemplating its significance. Before the accident, the narrator was a pornographer, so his livelihood depended upon his sexuality. Not only as a profession, we learn, but for sport as well; meaning, his entire life revolved around sex—like someone with an all-consuming hobby, such as an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars or hobbits. Sex was his hobby, his profession, what he spent all his work and free time doing. However, after the accident, he is no longer capable of those things. Not only is his physical appearance considerably altered, but he has also suffered damage to essential organs for such a profession. Thus, his entire world has been taken away from him. Part of his discovery is thus tied up in how he is changed in the aftermath of the fire--how he is reborn. He has to find new things to live for, and it’s not an easy task. He feels the burning of intense desire without the physical ability to act on that feeling. In his struggle, he also feels a little seed of love take root in his heart.

The mysterious woman, Marianne Engel, becomes his self-appointed teacher. She reveals to him, in parts, a history he can’t remember. He finds out that his latest accident is not the first time he’s been burned, that his heart is ready to remember things he’s felt in past years, a past life. She teaches him through short parable-type stories: a girl in Japan, a Viking in Iceland, an Italian couple, and a husband lost at sea. Each of these stories are wildly creative and tragic, too. Marianne also has a close relationship with religion and God. She believes she has a calling from God to carve gargoyles--to release ugly monster from stone and give them a heart from her own chest. She takes it upon herself to rehabilitate the narrator from the prison he’s created of his heart. Marianne reads to him from Dante’s Inferno, which takes on special significance. The narrator believes his burns present a punishment for his way of life, but it seems also to take on the form of a type of cleansing, a healing power to the pain he ran away from.

I found the writing style to be rather scattered, and it was a slow read for me, not because it didn’t hold my interest, but because of the density of the plot and helter-skelter timeline. For me, it was a necessity to read the book in chunks, so I could toss each episode around in my brain and digest it fully before moving on. By the end, I couldn’t go back and pick out certain parts that made more sense because of the final revelations, but rather, it was like all the events felt like memories, and they converged to create an entirely unique experience. That’s not something you find often, and what was really brilliant about it was that it wasn’t hard. The text was nice and smoothly pressed. It rolled right off the tongue (in my mind’s inner “reading voice”).

Although it’s not one I would have ever picked up on my own, I really liked this book. And it can creep up on you the way some books do--a few chapters in, I wasn’t blown away. But somehow I found myself very involved without realizing it. It’s not for the faint of heart, I will say that. Our nameless narrator had a difficult and painful childhood. He’s also an ex-porn star and is hopped up on drugs when he takes that fateful tumble--not to mention the excruciating descriptions of his accident, injuries, and recovery. And the subject matter can be sometimes disturbing and graphic. Normally some of these things would have turned me off the book, but this time was different, and I can’t exactly put my finger on why. I don’t think this book is for everyone, but I’m glad it was for me.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Genre: Young adult (fantasy)
Publisher, Year: Bloomsbury, 2007
Other Works: The Goose Girl, Austenland
Rating: A or Great Read
Challenge: Fairy Tales, Library
Premise: Dashti, a young lady's maid, is locked away in a tower with her mistress for seven years. But when hunger and outside dangers threaten their safety, Dashti must find a way to survive.

With this book, I am officially in love with Shannon Hale--platonically of course. =) I can’t exaggerate with her books. This is the third one I’ve read, and it once again exceeded my expectations: the lyrical language, sweeping descriptions, lively characters. I just can’t get enough.

This one is yet another fairy tale re-telling, since I have a really hard time getting away from those lately. They are just too much fun. The fairy tale Hale wrote about in this book is a rather obscure one called Maid Maleen. So, it was in effect like reading a regular novel in some ways because I wasn’t at all familiar with the fairy tale, but it still had all those great qualities that fairy tales have: intrigue, mistaken identity, adventure, and, of course, getting the girl. +/-

Dashti is a lady’s maid and a mucker, she knows how to sing away pain. She works for a princess, Saren, who has been sentenced to be imprisoned in a tower for seven years because she wouldn’t marry the man her father picked for her, the evil Lord Khasar. Saren is a shrinking violet and becomes more reclusive from this cruel treatment. It is up to Dashti, who will also be imprisoned with her lady, to take care of Saren and, eventually, to find a way out. Once the two girls have broken free, however, their elation comes crashing down when they find the world they left has changed beyond recognition.

Hale’s created another cast of unforgettable characters. Dashti is a sweet and accepting girl; she tries to do the right thing though her life is full of conflict, to which her culture gives no right answer. And the adoration induced by Tegus, a khan with a cool smile and simple laugh, is matched by the opposite feeling in Lord Khasar. Hale takes the reader to the brink, showing how the devotion, integrity, and courage of one woman can become a tipping point. Overall a winner in my estimation: compelling story, memorable characters, and a dash of mystery. A great page-turner.

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle

Genre: Young adult fantasy
Publisher, Year: Henry Holt, 2003
Other Works: Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, The Sky Inside
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: B or Decent
Challenge: Reliquiae, Countdown, Library
Premise: A beautiful young girl finds herself the object of desire of a grotesque underworld goblin.


I think this is the first book that I’ve read that I could call a true fantasy. (Well, besides the Star Wars book I read.) And I have to say that I quite liked it--although I’ve come to realize that this sort of fantasy may just not be my thing. In other words, I’m not moving on with the rest of the trilogy; however, I think it’s completely conceivable for those whose boats were floated with this tale would be itching for the next installment.

Kate and her little sister Emily, both their parents having passed away, move to the estate that was left in their mother’s name. Their cousin lives there and two of their great aunts nearby. Unfortunately, the cousin is not all too taken with the girls, so they live happily in a small house with their elderly, but feisty, aunts. Kate loves the fresh air, the rolling hills, and the open sky of her new home, and she and her sister spend many hours outdoors, even until nightfall. +/-

One evening, they get lost walking home, and end up running into an unlikely band of people, a gypsy woman and some hooded figures, to ask for help. One of the hooded men, Marak, kindly offers to take the girls home, and although Emily is taken with him right away even without seeing his face, Kate is mistrusting. As they arrive, Kate is finally allowed to see the stranger’s hidden visage, which will set in motion a series of events that she cannot escape.

I really enjoyed the setting Dunkle created of underworld creatures, magical powers, and the mixing of reality and superstition. Although I found a few of the themes unsettling for young women, complete with kidnappings. I guess I would hope for a stronger female heroine, although I think Dunkle did try to alleviate these problems with something different in Kate. She is definitely a live wire, but I suppose I was hoping for a little bit more. I enjoyed the first two sections (Starlight and Lamplight, particularly the latter) much more than the last (Darkness). That last section I felt deviated from the main focus and rhythm of the story, to sort of make it more adventurous and introduce more problems to be solved. I think I would have been satisfied with the first two sections on their own.

Overall, I have to say, even though I’m not terribly interested to move on to the next book in the series, that it definitely had a "can't put down" quality, and it seemed that I couldn't read the book fast enough. I'd say if your tastes run toward fantasy, this one will be a slam dunk for you.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce

Genre: Young adult/fantasy (fairy tale)
Publisher, Year: Arthur A. Levine, 2008
Other Works: Debut novel
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Reliquiae, Count, Tales, Library
Premise: The miller's daugther finds herself in a pickle, based on the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin.

I am finding that I’m a real sucker for fairy tale retellings. There is just something about them! I haven’t met a bad one yet. I hope I never do. Elizabeth Bunce’s debut novel was no exception, based off of the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin. Beautifully written, excellent story, creatively crafted. Loved it.

Charlotte is the miller’s daughter. Stirwaters mill has been in Charlotte’s family for generations—although never passed from father to son. There’s a dark cloud that hangs over the business, which only thickens as Charlotte’s father dies and she and her sister, Rosie, are left to try to run the mill alone. Problems keep cropping up: between bad weather and family obligation to machinery repairs and debt collection, Charlotte finds herself hard pressed for solutions. In the superstitious 18th century country town, the sisters happen upon a mysterious and unlikely answer to their problems, and they have to decide what they are willing to pay to save their livelihood. +/-

I was drawn into this story from the first page. Stirwaters is a spooky, yet comfortable place, and I came to love it as much as the Millers. The whole town of Shearing, where Charlotte and Rosie live, comes alive with skillfully written, colorful characters. Uncle Wheeler, Mr. Woodstone, Biddy Tom, and the most unforgettable character of Jack Spinner, round out the cast. You’d think in a novel like this one where you know the main storyline from beginning to end, that it would be hard for an author to bring such a fresh and interesting look to it! But, the book was still somehow full of moments of mystery, intrigue, and surprise.

The author very deftly described the “mill” life, acquiring wool, spinning it into thread, weaving it into cloth, and dying it to make valuable fabric. The whole process really captivated my interest. She breathed new life into this topic, making me wish I could take another trip to Lowell, Massachusetts, where they have textile museums as the trade spread to the United States. There’s nothing that can make a time period come alive like a well-written and -researched historical novel--this one happens to be both.

This book is part historical fiction, part fairy tale retelling, part fantasy. It’ll capture your attention and imagination. I’m definitely looking forward to what else Ms. Bunce may have up her sleeve.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Genre: Young adult (fantasy)
Publisher, Year: Dial, 2009
Other Works: Graceling
Flags: Teen angst, tenuous references
Rating: C or Good Idea Bad Execution
Premise: A young woman with special gifts tries to use her power for good and not evil.

I really enjoyed Cashore’s first novel, Graceling. It was mesmerizing and wonderful and can’t-put-downable. However, I did not feel Fire was able to do this for me. Unfortunately, I found this novel seriously lacking. The idea was a good one, and at the beginning I was interested to see where it would go, but I soon felt so confused that all enjoyment I may have experienced vaporized.

Fire is an anomaly. She’s half human and half monster, named for her unearthly red hair. This brings a lot of problems into her life. First, monsters are extremely attractive to humans—always. Because of this immediate response from humans, Fire has the ability to control humans’ minds and make them do things she wants them too. She can also “sense” the presence of people, depending on how close they are and how well she knows them. Fire is called upon to use her abilities to help in a civil war raging in her homeland. She’s favored by the king and his family, who she believes have the right to the throne. As she struggles with the decision to use her powers to interfere in the war, she faces dangers she never imagined. +/-

This story is so all over the place, I’m not really sure where to start. First, I was under the impression that this story was supposed to be about Leck (a character from Graceling), but found that he really had little influence besides the occasional cameo. I actually found him sort of annoying, as if he was part of an unrelated side story that was clumsily incorporated into an entirely different story in order to connect it to her previous novel. That bugged me. Although, I do admit that I might simply have suffered under a false expectation of what the book was about.

I enjoy a good super power. But, I have to say that I just didn’t get Fire’s supernatural abilities. The “attractiveness” confused me, only because I felt like it was inconsistent. Because of this immediate passion, people react differently to her, meaning some want to have their way with her out of desire, others want to kill her out of hatred, while still others want to torture her out of jealously. But some seemed more affected by her than others. Some seemed pretty much untouched, as if Fire was a regular being, while others were like a mosquito to an electric bug zapper. And then, there’s the question of how she could ever have a real relationship, since her very presence caused serious complications. I also found it slightly creep that Fire became especially desirable during her “time of the month” if you who what I mean, even by other monsters, who could apparently smell her better.

And that was only the beginning. I tired of Fire and felt she was sort of selfish, in a lot of ways. I also tired of a lot of the characters, the obsessive behavior, the “war” and its intricacies. I mean, the “best” archer’s name is Archer. Really? Not to mention, keeping track of who was sleeping with who gave me whiplash.

However, through it all, there are a few moments where I’d read a passage and think, “Yeah, that’s the Kristin Cashore I remember.” She really has a unique way with words, I just think this story needed more cutting down and a lot more work. But, I’m undaunted. I’ll still seek out her next book to see if that one returns to her original brilliance.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Genre: Fantasy (Adult Fiction)
Publisher, Year: Jove, 2003
Other Works: The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown
Flags: Moderate Language, Explicit References
Rating: C+ or Could Have Been Worse
Challenge: Reliquiae
Premise: A single woman, baker of cinnamon rolls by trade, finds herself suddenly in the grasp of vampires. Meant to be a certain vampire’s next meal, Sunshine Seddon ends up being his friend instead. And as they build a friendship that neither one of them understands, they find a strength together that can change the world in which they live.

I enjoy Robin McKinley’s novels. I was excited for this vampire tale and had heard good things about it. Unfortunately, I feel like those praises have been mislaid. I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I had hoped, and by the end, I was doing some serious skimming just to get to the last page.

Rae “Sunshine” Seddon is just your run-of-the-mill, average girl who has a sweet tooth and a knack for baking. When suddenly she is taken captive by a dangerous vampire gang, she knows she is facing an immediate end. But, to her astonishment, she is locked up with another vampire, Constantine, who is also a prisoner of the same gang. And although she is meant to be his meal, they end up being friends instead. As they struggle to escape, Sunshine realizes powers that she never knew she had, or perhaps just never fully understood. +/-

The start of Sunshine’s story is intense. Sunshine is snatched and imprisoned before you even know it, and the action just gets more exciting from there. McKinley takes the reader up the rollercoaster--click, click, click to the apex before the dive down from the highest point. And, you’ll want to put your hands in the air for this one because it makes the ride that much more thrilling. I literally could not put it down. I had to take the morning off from work just so I could get to the end of part one. Constantine is a great character, and I could feel his steely green eyes boring into mine from the page. I also enjoyed how passionate Sunshine was about cinnamon rolls and other such baked goods. It’s like I could smell the aroma of sweet breads and could see the flour-fogged air.

However, from there, I never felt the up-swing of the rollercoaster continuing its electrifying ride. No, the story took a nose-dive for me at that point. The action began to slow until almost a stand-still I felt, and Sunshine began to speculate beyond my patience. I didn’t enjoy being inside her head. I felt like she “talked” too much. Her thoughts, splintered by asides, which were splintered by even more asides, left me feeling weary and annoyed. Not even to get into the fact that she actually saw herself in a sort of “multiple personality” way, which sort of put me off.

I didn’t at all enjoy the “world” she created full of “part-bloods,” “comboxes,” and “SOFs.” I especially did not enjoy the SOFs, the “strange creatures” police. I think I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Perhaps it was just too far fantasy for me.

I felt the book lacked an enormous amount of Constantine. I really would have liked to see more of him. It seemed to me like the connection he and Sunshine shared was somewhat unrealistic based on the amount of time they spent together. After awhile, I had a hard time seeing the Con I’d come to know in part one of the book. I felt like his character faltered, and he become rather dull by the end.

Overall, it wasn’t my favorite of McKinley’s works. I find it hard to believe she even wrote it honestly, because her writing in Sunshine seems so different compared to her other novels. Perhaps the difference was that this book was written for adults while her others were for young adults. I think the premise was a good one, I just didn’t enjoy the execution of the idea. But, I’m not giving up on her; I still think she is an excellent writer.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher, Year: Harcourt, 2008
Other Works: Fire (prequel), October '09
Flags: tenuous references
Rating: A-, or Good w/ Minor Problems
Premise: Katsa has a gift. She can kill a grown man with her bare hands and has been able to since childhood. She’s is part of that group of people called the Graced, those with special gifts no two alike. She’s a minion of the king, scaring those he wants into submission. And she’s about to make a decision that will change everything.

Graceling, Kristin Cashore’s debut novel, follows the adventures of a young girl, Katsa, who has been “graced” with fighting—to the death (always of her opponent, fortunately for her). This ability has made her a powerful asset to her king, who uses her to induce fear and loathing from his subjects. The book begins with a rescue mission, where Katsa and several of her friends save a noble from the dungeons of another kingdom. Along the way, she crosses paths with another graceling, whose gifts seem to mirror many of her own.

Katsa’s circumstances have always required her to be on her guard. As a graceling, identified by her two different colored eyes, her life is somewhat controlled by that characterization. The graced automatically become charges of the state, and, if their gifts are valuable, they are forced to serve the king for as long as he wishes. Katsa despises the king and the vicious things he makes her do. Her purpose in life fills her with sorrow. +/-

When she meets the mysterious graceling, with a gift she’s never seen, her life takes an unexpected turn. She starts a journey that will change the course of her life forever. She learns the meaning of friendship, the depths of her control, and—most of all—to trust herself.

I did have two grievances. First, I thought it was just a little bit too long. I could have done with a quicker slope from the climax to the resolution. And second, the author used the story as a strange platform to push some views about marriage and relationships that I found peculiar and slightly immature.

However, I didn’t feel as though these things took away so much from the story that I was not able to enjoy it. Cashore is a masterful storyteller, and I was carried away into her make-believe world of princes and powers and a beautiful, enchanting island. I was completely engrossed in the story, and I would recommend this book to just about anyone.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher, Year: Ace Books, 1987
Other Works: Beauty, The Hero and the Crown
Rating: A, or Great Read
Challenge: Book Awards III
Premise: Harry, a young Homelander woman, finds herself in a new world when the Hill leader, Corlath, kidnaps her in the middle of the night. She soon learns that her new life will lead to her destiny.

I read this book as part of a Book Awards challenge (Newbery Honor). I also loved Beauty by Robin McKinley, so I thought this one would be a slam dunk.

The story begins with a young woman, Harry (short for Angharad), who has recently moved to an outpost of her country (Home) in a foreign land (Daria/the Hills). When Harry has a brief encounter with Corlath, king of the Hillfolk, her life changes forever. A magical force called kelar prompts Corlath to kidnap Harry, take her back to his country, and train her in the ways of his people, as a war is brewing with the North. Harry learns that the many mysteries that lie around her in her new country are nothing compared to the secrets held within her, which she is about to unlock. +/-

It took me a couple of chapters to get “inside” this story. I don’t read a lot of fantasy, so sometimes I have to remind myself to continue to suspend my disbelief, but once you buy into Harry and Corlath and Home and Hills, you will not be disappointed. McKinley takes the reader deep within a magical and mysterious fantastical world, which is so well defined, it feels as if you’ve been there and walked the sands of the Hill country yourself. Harry is a wonderful character: a strong woman, though not without insecurity. As is Corlath: a responsible and humble leader, but not without fallibility. As Harry learns to accept her new land and people and to channel and control her new-found gifts, we see a hesitant girl turn into a dignified woman, embracing her destiny as the hope of not only her adopted people, but her own Homeland as well. An adventure story not to be missed!

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn

My brother insisted that I read this book. He's been a Star Wars fan for many years now, and he loved this book when it first came out back in the early 90s. He practically dared me to read it, so what am I going to do? I took him up on it.

And to my surprise, it was actally a really great book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The story picks up after the end of the 6th movie. Han Solo and Leia are married, and she is pregnant with twins. Luke is a full-blown Jedi, the last of his kind. Or is he?

The Empire is gaining influence, as a new villian, Grand Admiral Thrawn, emerges. He stirs up trouble, as he negotiates a deal with a forgotten Jedi to begin a new war with the Rebel Alliance. And the Rebel Alliance has its own problems, as fractures occur in leadership. +/-

Han, Luke, and Leia discover that they are being followed and something out there is trying to kidnap them. So, their adventures begin.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed every moment of this book. Zahn combines a good mixture of sci-fi fun with real, down-to-earth characters. And I felt the book followed the same spirit as Lucas's films (the second trilogy, which came first).

And as someone who is not into the gadgets and whats-its of the sci-fi world, I felt Zahn did a beautiful job of making the book fun even for someone who might not be interested in Star Wars at all. So, if you are looking for something great to read that you wouldn't normally pick up--look no further! I might even be tempted enough to read the next one in the series.