Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish

A Dance of Cloaks 
by David Dalglish
388 pages, 2010
High School+

Thieves versus nobles, guild versus guild!  Within the city, the Spider Guild or thieves and assassins reigns.  At the head of the guild is Thren Felhorn- best of the best.  As his guild and control of other guilds grows, he challenges the power and influence of the Trifect, an alliance of the strongest noble houses.  Warily, all the parties watch each other for threats and maneuvers.

In the middle of all of this is Aaron, Thren's son and heir.  Trained to be a ruthless assassin, at the age of eight he kills his older brother.  5 years later, still training and learning guild ways, his father gives him an assignment- kill a young girl who has just seen her father die.  After chasing her down through the chaos after the father's assassination, he find her praying behind some garbage.  Watching and seeing a different side of life, he is unable to take her life.

But, the consequences of his actions must be faced.  Aaron is disgraced in the eyes of his father, the girl must still be killed by another, and the world must know to not cross Thren and the Spider Guild.  But Aaron's heart is not matching what he has been taught.  Can he survive without his father?  Or will that be his last mistake?

So, first of all, I was unable to finish this book.  Not because it was back, not because it uninteresting, but because of the language and violence.  Lots of language, lots of violence, and fairly graphic violence.  I've read other books with language and violence, but this one was just filled with it.  I'm pretty sure every page had multiple instances of swearing.  Granted, if you are talking about a thieves guild assassinating people and fighting, you'll get violence, but I really didn't need to know what it felt like to have your eye stabbed.  Fantasy violence I can handle, this was just a little to graphic for my tastes.

Besides that, the book was very interesting.  Characters with potential, lots of plots and twists.   I do feel like I wasn't getting to know any character except the main character that well.  And the narration didn't follow him all the time, so you only have limited glimpses of him.  Admittedly, I didn't get more than half way through the book, but the reader was introduced to so many plots and characters that I didn't feel like I had gotten deep into the story or the characters.

Overall, interesting premise, and if I had spent more time with the book (finished reading it plus there are sequels!) I might have gotten over the lack of depth that I perceived.  If you like intrigue, thieves, street thugs, noble houses, plots and violence, then you would like it. If you don't like violence or bad language, don't read it.  Definitely not appropriate for younger kids, high school aged at the earliest.

The Diviners

The Diviners
by Libba Bray
592 pages
High School+

Evie O'Neill is in trouble.  Again.  While at a party in town, she was not only drinking (NOT allowed during Prohibition), but she also decided to tell secrets.  Secrets she should have no way of knowing.  When this gets her in hot water, Evie gets shipped off to New York to live with her uncle for a little while.

While Evie didn't expect Uncle Will to completely hip, she gets the creeps at his place of employment: The Museum of  American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult—also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies." Filled with haunted and sinister looking things.  While thrilled to be in New York with all the glitz and glamor, she is not as thrilled with the Museum.   But together with her uncle's assistant Jericho, she is now helping show the few visitors they get around.

 One day, when a policeman asks Uncle Will to consult on a bizarre murder, Evie decides to come along for the ride.  At the murder scene, she is moved to pity for the victim, a young girl who is now missing her eyes.  Filled with sympathy, Evie bends down to straighten a bow on the shoe, and is suddenly seeing images from the girl's life.  This is what got Evie in trouble in the first place: when holding something connected to a person, she sees into their lives.

Pulled into the mysterious murders, Evie must help her uncle solve the cases.  Why are the bodies missing parts?  What is with the strange verses left at the scenes?  And will Evie's talent be more help or will it endanger her and her friends?

On this book I am a little torn on if I liked it or not.  I liked the characters alright, the story was interesting, great setting, good background, but the length and pacing of the story bugged me a little.  It took forever before things really started moving.  I can tell it is building up to more than just this book, but there was almost too much building, and not enough happening.  While interesting, it took me a while to get really involved in the characters.

Those issues aside, I liked many other aspects of the book.  The setting is great: New York during Prohibition!  Hidden clubs, jazz music, and flappers!  Glamor and bright lights!  A great setting for a ghost story and the world being in danger.  The setting was very vivid, and I liked the glimpses of so many different points of view.  Everything from the show girl, the activist, the poet, the scholar and the flapper.  The characters are all great studies of life at the time.

Overall, while the scenery was great, I felt like to much time was spent building up the story and not enough on the story itself.  This does build up to another book, and I will probably read it when it comes out, but probably won't try to reread this before.  Good story, great setting, alright characters, but I would have liked it a little more condensed.  I rated this for high school mostly because of the grisly details at murder scenes and scary stuff like that.  I'm not a big fan of scary movies or books, and even as an adult, I tried not to read it right before bedtime!  Good creepy book, if that is your thing!

Tiger's Voyage (Tiger's Curse Series #3)

Tiger's Voyage (Tiger's Curse Series #3)
by Colleen Houck
560 pages
High School+

Kelsey, Kishan, and Mr. Kadam have finally rescued Ren from the villainous Lokesh, but there is one big problem: Ren doesn't remember Kelsey.  While everything should be right with the world, Kelsey's world is continuing to crumble.  Not only does Ren not remember her, her very presence cause him physical illness.

While Kelsey tries to cope with this new development, the search for the treasures of the goddess Durga continues.  To break the next part of the curse, not only will they have to dive in the ocean, a new skill for all of them, they will also have to face five dragons, each with their own trial to overcome.  While this might be the best treasure yet, this might also be the hardest trial they have faced so far.

So, my feelings about this book are mixed, just like Tiger's Quest.  I still like the adventure part, but the love triangle is still driving me crazy!  Was I just a super level headed teenager/young adult?  Her reactions to things just seem over the top.  Yes, she is getting confused by everything going on, but oh my goodness, she is super dramatic.

I did LOVE the dragons!  One of the things I love about dragons in general is how different each culture sees them, and even within each culture, dragons can have varied personalities and traits.  This book lives up to that.  While each of the five dragons has some traits typical to dragons (loves treasure, magical abilities), Houck did a great job of having each be different from the last.

Overall, good book, I'm sure teen girls understand and sympathize Kelsey more than I do.  I will read the next, to see what happens, but that doesn't mean I will enjoy all the drama that the love triangle creates.  Fun dragons, fun adventure, but a little too heavy for me with the love triangle business.

William and the Lost Spirit

William and the Lost Spirit
by Gwen de Bonneval and Mattheu Bonhomme
152 pages
Middle School+

William's sister Helise has run away.  After the death of their father, their mother is remarrying, and neither of them is particularly happy about it.  Helise has shown her displeasure by running away, and William is considering joining her.  After he raid's he father's alchemy workshop, he sets off, and spend the night in a tree. 

The next day, as he is trying to find some food, he notices a servant from his home running through the forest.  Right in front of William, the man is shot with an arrow through his chest.  Brigands have finally attacked their home.  When William goes back, everyone is dead, and crows are feasting on the bodies.  While searching for any survivors, he meets Brabant, a knight of uncertain origin.  Since traveling with him is better than nothing, Willaim lets Brabant escort him to his aunt Ysane's home.

When William gets to Ysane's place, the adventures start.  He travels far and wide, looking for his sister.  He meets men with no heads, but faces on their chests, griffons, monsters and more.  Throughout it all, the friendly little white goat he found a Ysane's is with him.  Will he ever find Helise?  And will they ever be united with their mother?

So, this was a really interesting story line.  Lots of symbolism, fantastical creatures, and meaning behind everything.  Great illustrations that really helped tell the mood of the story.  William was a good character: always wants to do right by his family, searching for why his fathered died, and trying to protect his sister. 

One thing I did not like was the violence and gore in the illustrations.  I loved the color, the variations on the mythical beasts, and the detail that went into everything.  I did not like seeing people ran through with swords, blood everywhere, and crows picking out eyeballs.  If possible, I would give this more to high school aged, rather than middle school, but everything else points to middle school.

Overall, I liked the story, I liked the characters, and mostly liked the illustrations, but because of the bloody details in the illustration, not my favorite book.  I will be really wary of recommending this, but for teens and adults, it would be more appropriate than kids.

Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles Series #1)

Obernewtyn (The Obernewtyn Chronicles Series #1)
by Isobelle Carmody
256 pages
Middle School+

In a world where being different is dangerous, Elspeth Gordie has to hide who she truly is.  She is different than everyone else because she can read your mind.  Even her brother, who loves her, is a little freaked out by this.  A cat  is the only one that really excepts her for who she is.  And he isn't even around all the time.

Finally she slips and someone turns her in to the officials.  Aberrations like her are sent to mysterious Obernewtyn, a place none return from and that horrible rumors abound.  Slightly scared, and slightly relieved to finally be able to reveal her abilities, Elspeth travels there to be held for the rest of her days.

But when she gets there, Obernewtyn is not nearly as terrible as she heard.  She has to work hard in the kitchens and in the fields, plus there is no escaping the remote mountain location, but life could be a lot worse.  But when her friend is taken in for "doctor treatments," Elspeth starts noticing changes in her.  Something strange is going on, and Elspeth must figure out what before she too becomes a victim.

I felt like this was an okay book, has lots of potential for later books, but took me a little while to get through.  Lots happens, there is adventure and intrigue, but it felt a little shallow to me.  None of the characters really change that much, or grow tons.  Elspeth has the same issues at the end as she did at the beginning, and the rest of the characters stay the same- not tons of depth to them. The world is interesting and Obernewtyn does set up lots of possibilities for later novels in the series, but this one just felt a little flat. 

Overall, I probably wills till recommend this for mostly girls that are looking for another fantasy series.  Good book, just fell flat.  I hope that the rest of the series develops the characters more and presents new and different challenges to Elspeth.  Interesting premise, and maybe when I read the next it will be better.

Ruby Red

Ruby Red
Kerstin Gier
336 pages
Middle School+

Gwyneth lives in her cousin's shadow.  Her cousin Charlotte is the one destined for greatness, for time travel and the family legacy. When Charlotte starts having pre-time travel symptoms, the entire family is excited.

But then Gwyneth gets a headache and is dizzy.  And then it happens- she travels back in time.  Confused and unprepared, she eventually makes it back to her time.  When she tells her mother about it, the entire extended family is in an uproar.  This wasn't supposed to happen

Thrown into intrigue, family politics and secrets, Gwyneth feels lost.  Not only does she have this strange talent, but Charlotte now hates her, Gwyneth's time travelling companion is a snob, and there is far more to traveling back in time than just dressing right.  And when her carriage is waylaid, everything starts going topsy turvy.

This book and story line has tons of potential!  I like the idea, I like the little pieces of back story that we get, and love all the potential that it has for more books.  Great way to start a series!

I did feel that this lacked a little.  I don't know if this is from the translation from German, or something else, but I didn't feel like it quite filled all the potential that it has.  This book is obviously setting up more books, and I feel like there was almost too much "set-up" and not enough action in this one.   Even the action was limited, short and not all that interesting.  To me, not enough happened in this book.

Overall, interesting book.  I'm kind of torn on if I will recommend it or not. While it does have lots of potential, and I probably will read the next one, I think I will wait until after reading it to see if I like the series and will recommend it or not.  Fun book, lots of possibility, but needs more to be a fulfilling read to me.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
By Barry Deutsch
144 pages
Elementary+

Mirka is spunky, often fantasizing about dragons and swords.  She lives with her family, does her chores (not always with a smile), and tries to learn how to knit.  Life seems pretty boring and sometimes useless.

But then Mirka eats a grape.  But not just any grape, a giant grape from a pig's garden.  The pig is extremely upset that she has taken one of his grapes, and chases her down until he gets an apology.  This starts a string of strange events, involving the pig who talks, a witch and even a troll.  But how is she going to defeat a troll?  And why should her mother know how?

So, I thought this book as alright, but not spectacular.  The story is interesting, but not absorbing.  The characters seemed a little flat and don't change or grow throughout the story much.  The illustrations were alright, but I dislike the monochromatic nature.  I did like the change between the orange and purple for various parts of the story, but the orange strained my eyes and is not my favorite color to read.

I did like that this explained various phrases and and customs unique to the Orthodox Jews.  Gave a little insight to the culture in an unexpected format.  While not entirely a "study" of their culture, added a little depth to the setting of the story.

Overall, good, but not great.  I did like how Mirka overcame obstacles she faced, from bullies and witches to ogres!  Definitely not your typical heroine, but still fun.  Not sure who to recommend this too, as it is just different enough from many standard genres- not what I would really call fantasy, but more magic than realistic fiction.  Okay book, not terrible, just not my favorite.

Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas
416 pages
Middle School+

Celaena Sardothien is one of the best assassins in the world, and she knows it.  But after getting sent to a slave camp for the past year, she hardly looks like it anymore.  Worn and scarred, she is shocked when the crown prince comes and takes her away.   The only thing she has to do to earn her freedom is beat out the other contestants to become the king's champion.  She can't decide if it is another turn of bad luck, or the chance to escape that she has been hoping for.

Thus begins the contest for her freedom.  She must regain her strength to outwit and outfit the other contestants.  Most she has no worries about, but a couple give her pause for contemplation, especially the big brute Cain.  As Celaena slowly recovers, scary still start happening: random killings of the contestants in gruesome ways.  Not only does she have to worry about the other players killing her, she must watch out for these as well.

Throughout all of this, Celaena find those that might be allies in unexpected places.  The crown prince is showing strange interest in her, and the captain of the guard watches her every movement.  She also finds a possible friend in a visiting princess of a neighboring nation.  Celaena must figure out who the real threats to her are, and who are her allies.


So, I'm conflicted about this book.  This looks like something I would normally love, but I found myself noticing all the flaws or other things I don't like.  For example, there was a theme that just appeared out of nowhere near the middle of the book:  no hints, not foreshadowing or anything like that.  Almost as if the author was like "oh, let me add this element!" all of a sudden.  And other things that had seemed so important to Celaena, and occupying her thoughts suddenly disappearing and not being mentioned.  Kind of weird.

I do like the potential that the book has.  It does set up some interesting possibilities for future books, and I do like kind of Celaena's character.  I had a hard time getting into the first half of the book, but I ending it fairly quickly, once I got past that.  Hopefully now that the world is set up, the action and everything can continue in the sequel.

I find myself wanting to write more things that bugged me about this book than positives.  It was an alright book, but I hope I don't have to read it again to understand the sequel.  I will probably still recommend it a little, but it won't be the first on my list to recommend.

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel
by Madeleine L'Engle
Adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson
392 pages
Elementary+

Meg hasn't been happy since her father disappeared.  She is struggling in school even though she is smart, has issues with other kids, and tries to get along with her family.  Everyone wants to pick on her quirky little brother who is brilliant, but has issues interacting with people other than Meg.  All in all, Meg is miserable, and doesn't have much hope that it will get better any time soon.

One night, when Meg can't sleep, her little brother Charles introduces her and her mother to Mrs. Whatsit, a strange, wandering old woman who speaks as strangely as she looks.  They snack on some food, and as Mrs. Whatsit is leaving, she mentions something about a tesseract.  Meg's mother pales, and tells Meg and Charles that their father was studying tesseracts before he disappeared.  Confused by this random comment, Meg tries to continue on with life.

The next day at school, Meg meets Calvin, a local boy almost as quirky as Charles.  They talk on the way, and meet Charles in the woods near their house.  Charles leads them into the woods to see Mrs Whatsit again, and meet Mrs. Who, another strange woman.  Together, they start on an adventure to find Meg's father, and join the battle of light versus dark.

So, the synopsis is taken from my post about the regular novel because it follows it very closely!  From what I saw, I wasn't able to discern any differences in plot line from the original novel.  I like it when adaptations or reinterpretations stay true to the original!

As for the artwork, I really liked the cover, but was slightly disappointed with monochromatic inside.  If the entire book had have color, I think I would have loved it.  It was okay, but not fantastic.Clear pictures, without being messy or cluttered, which I did like.  I just like a little more color in my graphic novels!

Overall, I really like what they did with the adaptation, I like the story, but wish the illustrations had a little more color.  Great story, and oldie but goodie!  This would be a great way to introduce the book to a slightly less confident reader.  If they like the graphic novel, you could have the read the regular novel, or even other books in the series!  Good book!

Chiggers

Chiggers
by Hope Larson
176 pages
Middle School+


Abby is super excited to go to summer camp.  She can't wait to see Rose, her friend from last year, again.  But when she gets there, Rose is so busy being a staff helper, Abby feels like she is being neglected.  Instead of being able to spend time with her, Abby has to make new friends with Beth and Shasta.

 As Abby and Shasta grow closer, Abby gets kickback from her other friends.  They don't think that Shasta is the right person for Abby to be hanging out with.  On top of all the girl drama, Abby finds a boy that she like, Teal.  He's a Dungeons and Dragons dungeon master, and loves to play.  First time he meets Abby, he compares her to a wood-elf.  That night, she dreams of herself as an elf, journeying through the forest with him. 

As the summer progresses, she learns more about Shasta, and comes to be the only one that will hang out with her.  Abby's other friends also want to hang out with her, but can't stand Shasta.  How can she balance both groups of friends, and also keep an eye open for Teal?

This book is all about friendships and relationships.  Abby has certain expectations for friends that she has to adapt as real life kicks in.  She also has to realize that not everyone is perfect, but to accept them as friend anyways.  Backbiting, jealousy, and gossip make Abby deal with being told one thing, but feeling another.  She has to decide who she wants as a friend, especially her close friends.

Overall, good book, especially for those girls going through this type of stuff.  While I wasn't overwhelmed with the greatness of this book, it was fun.  The artwork was detailed and clear, without overwhelming the story.  Great balance of storytelling and art.  I would keep it to middle school and older, mostly because it makes some references that I'm not sure younger kids would get.  Good book, I'll recommend it!

Legacies (Shadow Grail Series #1)

Legacies (Shadow Grail Series #1)
by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
320 pages
Middle School+

Spirit White remembers little of the car accident that killed her parents and little sister.  All she can see is something darker than night, and then the accident.  Waking up in the hospital afterwards, she has little motivation to live, and after a fire at her home, no belongings to keep.  Spirit is surprised to learn that a school called Oakhurst Academy is taking care of hospital bills, plus providing a place for her to live after she recovers.  Finally she leaves the hospital and travels to Oakhurst in the middle of nowhere Montana.

Early on, Spirit learns that this school is more than just a boarding school for orphans like herself- it is a school of wizards and magicians.  Each person there has gifts and talents that set them apart from the rest of the world, magical talents.  When it's time for Spirit to find out which element her powers come from, no one element feels right to her.  Confused and feeling very alone, Spirit wishes that she had died with her family.

Slowly, Spirit starts to feel more at home as she begins to make friends: Loch, who arrived with her, Addie and Muirin who helped show her around, and big Burke, a battle mage that can learn any fighting style.  As they grow closer, they start to notice a strange pattern of other kids going missing.  When one of Muirin's close friends disappears, they decide to look closer at what is happening.  Who is taking the kids?  Why do they never hear from graduates?  And will Spirit ever find her power?

So, while on the surface it seems to be another "wizard school" novel, the story comes out fairly different than other novels I've read with that theme.  The dynamics within the school setting feel very different that the Harry Potter books, something the author does on purpose since Oakhurst is very different than Hogwarts!   Some similarities exist, but this book has it's own character and feel.

I do like that way that the book deals with Spirit's grief at losing her family.  At first, it is overwhelming, and consumes her.  Then someone tells her to stop feeling sorry for herself, and she starts to get on with her life.  She continues to think about them, and miss them, so it's not this abrupt "oh I'm over that" feeling.  Spirit's family continue to be a part of her- she is always hearing her mother's voice saying something that applies to her situation, or thinking of what her sister would do.  They stay a part of her, and she remembers them and misses them, but fortunately it doesn't overwhelm the story.  Instead it's a reminder that she wishes life were different.

Overall, fairly good book.  This is the second time I've read it, so good enough to come back to it!  A couple sequels have been written, so I'm excited to read those as well.  While not completely impressed with it, I will read the sequels.  Likable characters, interesting plot line (even if a little predictable by the end), and lots of potential for more to happen.  Good book, have fun!

The Unsinkable Walter Bean

The Unsinkable Walter Bean
by Aaron Renier
208 pages
Middle School+

Walter Bean is a slightly dorky kid who worships his grandfather, his stories and his inventions.  When his grandfather gets struck by an ancient curse, it is up to him to return the evil skull causing the curse.

Not looking for adventure, Walter is suddenly swept up into hiding from pirates, ancient sea monsters hunting them, and inventing machines to fool the entire crew on his ship.  Not to mention, he has to fight on the side of the pirates, rebuild the ship, and try to keep everyone safe from the skull.  If he listens to the whisperings of the skull, he and everyone around his will end up dead.  With new found friends, Walter must figure out who the strange doctor is, what he really wants, and how to protect everyone from the curse of the pearl skull.

So, the story was fun and mostly interesting.  But, to me the artwork was cluttered and messy.  I found myself skimming through a lot of it, just to get it over with.  The story was intriguing enough that I wanted to finish, but the artwork was very distracting from the story for me.  It was like Amulet, where I wanted to stop and really look at the pictures as much as I wanted to read the story.  This was just get it over with!

Other than the artwork, I like the story.  Nice twists, turns and lots of foreshadowing.  The story also has more potential, as if was meant to be the first in a series.  Some things haven't been resolved, but the book doesn't feel like it's left you hanging.  Good balance of wrapping up, but leaving more to be done.

Overall, engrossing storyline but the artwork detracted from the plot, at least for me.  Great adventurous, pirate story with buried treasure (kind of), sword fights and strange inventions.  Boys will get a kick out this book, but there's enough complexity that girls will like it too.  I labeled it as Middle School, but late elementary would probably like it too.

Bigfoot Boy: Into the Woods

Bigfoot Boy: Into the Woods
by J. Torres and Faith Erin Hicks
100 pages
Late Elementary+

Rufus is super bored.  His parents have left him at his grandma's place, next to the woods.  All she wants to do is drink prune juice, watch her soaps, and doze of in her chair.  Rufus waits until granny is asleep, and bolts out the back door, into the woods.

As he is leaving, he sees a neighbor girl wandering out there, too.  When he finally finds her, he has to admit he's lost.  While she takes him back, she is definitely NOT impressed with him.  He tries again, only to end up wandering deeper and deeper in the woods.  Looking for garbage to pick up (to impress the girl), he finds a strange, carved piece of wood.  On one side is carved some letters, which, when read out loud, turn Rufus into BIGFOOT!

Rufus has to find his way out of the forest, turn back into a human, and watch out for some strange, wolf-y shadows as well.  Can he do it?

So, this was a pretty fun, short graphic novel.  Rufus is a pretty typical ten year old boy, at least until he turns into Bigfoot!  The artwork reminded me a little of Brain Camp, but is a different artist.  Artwork is colorful, but has lots of black.  Not to the point where it is gloomy, but to help the reader get the idea of a dark forest.

The interplay between Rufus and the girl (Penny) is funny, especially since Rufus has a crush on Penny's older sister!  It's also interesting to see the personality of the squirrel.... Overall, though, the characters a fairly flat and static. 

This book was okay, but not great. It's probably something mid- to late elementary school boys would love, though.  Rufus is funny, has some crazy things happen to him, and finds some new friends.  I'll recommend it, but maybe not as heavily as some others.  Quick, fun read, even if it is fairly simple.  Has some potential for further books- it's tagged as #1, so more should be coming!

We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March

We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March
by Cynthia Levinson
192 pages
Late Elementary+

This review is part of the YALSA 2013 Best of the Best Challenge!

Meet Audrey, Wash, James and Arnetta, four African-American children living in Birmingham during the 1960's.  Each had a different life, different situations, and became involved in civil movements in different ways.  They lived through rampant racism and segregation, not being able to even sit at the same counter at the diner!

Follow their accounts of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, plus national trends.  Each has a different view of why they joined the march, what lead up to the event, and even where they were during it. They decided it was time to help change come about, instead of just waiting for it to happen.

This was a great subject, and it was so interesting to see their accounts of what happened.  I really liked how each was slightly different, their motivations to join were different, and their experiences varied.  It was a very strong portrayal of the Children's March, and it helped me understand more about the order of what happened during the Civil Rights movement.

I did like that they used the perspective of children in this.  Children and teens played such an important part in this event, it makes sense to tell the story from their point of view.  Helps children to identify with a historic event, instead of it being so distant and unapproachable.

To me, the storytelling felt a little choppy, jumping from one topic to another.  There were lots of names to remember, making it complicated. Admittedly, that is how history really is, with lots of people involved, but the storytelling seemed messy.  Not only were there lots of people and perspectives, but it also jumped around in time frames, as well.

Overall, this was a pretty good book.  I'm not a history buff, so it wasn't exactly what I would choose to read, but it was still entertaining.  I do wish the story order had made a little more sense, or the telling frame would have been better.  But it did redeem itself in using such a unique perspective, plus a great topic.  I will recommend it to kids interested in history, but not many others.

Mrs. Noodlekugel

Mrs. Noodlekugel
by Daniel Pinkwater
Illustrated by Adam Stower
80 pages
Elementary+

Nick and Maxine just moved into a new apartment.  One day, Nick has Maxine come to his room to see his discovery: a small house surrounded by apartment buildings, with its own little yard.  When they tell their parents, they tell Nick and Maxine not to go there, so of course, they do.

What they find there is bizarre and fun- a little old lady, a talking cat and mice that help them make cookies.  Mrs. Noodlekugel's house has a little fun, magic and excitement!

So, I read this because a couple of my fellow librarians recommended it to me.  I had lots of fun with it, but there were a couple things that bugged me.

First of all- good things.  Yay for a simple chapter book that is not the Magic Tree House series!  It was cute, fun and should keep the kid's attention. While it has a simple plot line, there are enough challenging words that it isn't boring.  This would be a great early chapter book for young readers.

Okay, now to the things that bugged me.  Whether on purpose or not, it kind of talked down to the kids in places.  I don't think they are going to get that mice on cookie dough is not good, but Nick and Maxine talk about it.  In places where contractions could have been used, they weren't.  This especially bugged me when it was when one of the kids was speaking.  What kid says "I did not" instead of "I didn't"?

Anyways, overall view- I will probably still recommend it to kids.  The details that bugged me won't bother the kids (but they might the parents!) and the kids will have fun with this.  Looks like it is the beginning of a series, so lots more fun will be had!  Fun book, just a couple details that disagreed with me.

Unlocking the Spell

Unlocking the Spell: A Tale of the Wide-Awake Princess
by E. D. Baker
272 pages
Elementary+

Annie is out on another quest, this time to save her sister's true love, Prince Beldegard.  He was turned into a bear by a dwarf, and they need to find that dwarf to release the spell. Annie, Beldegard, and Liam set off to discover where the dwarf may be.

Trouble starts right away for the group.  They can't find the dwarf, run into more fairy tale characters, and have an unwelcome addition to their party.  Can they survive the even though "the way is long and fraught with danger"? And what will happen when they cross paths with evil witches and trolls?

So, this sequel to The Wide Awake Princess is, in my opinion, not as good as the original.  While the concept is similar, and still fun, the story telling and characters are not as engaging and entertaining as the first one.

One of my biggest gripes with this book was Annie's attitude in the first part of the book.  During the first book, Annie is working so hard to save her sister and her family. everything she does is for them. But, Annie is so annoyed and grumpy during this book.  To me, it seemed such a complete turn about from before.  And instead of identifying with Annie, I felted annoyed with her and it made it hard to get started in this book.

Plus, this book seems to start very abruptly.  It starts very shortly after the first book, but the transition seemed choppy and contributed to the switch of Annie attitude as well.  The story drops the reader right in, and it doesn't give much background before heading right into the story.

Overall, it was an okay book, but not as good as the first one.  It got better through the later part, and I enjoyed it more, but the first part really bogged me down. Alright, but not great.  Still, I will recommend the series to kids!  If read immediately after the first one, the abruptness might not be such a factor.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns
by Rae Carson
432 pages
Middle School+

Princess Elisa has never felt like a proper princess.  She is the younger, fatter, and definitely less attractive princess in the kingdom.  But despite this, she has been chosen to bear the Godstone, a privilege granted to one person a century.  In spite of this great honor, Elisa feels small and unremarkable. 

Then comes her abrupt marriage to a neighboring monarch, King Alejandro de Vega.  He marries her, takes her home across the desert, and then neglects to tell everyone in his home kingdom that they are wed.  While this marriage seems to be a farce, Alejandro still expects the troops promised with the marriage to help him in a war against the enemy kingdom.

Elisa feels so confused.  For the first time in her life, she must truly be a princess.  She must play the political games in court, stand up for herself, and also learn the truth about her Godstone.  Frightening scripture she had never read before hints at purposes for her Godstone that Elisa had never imagined.  Just as she is on the verge of gaining more information on it, she is kidnapped and stolen away from her husband.

Now even more changes face Elisa.  While she had been growing more attached to her husband, is has also seen his flaws.  In captivity, she can't decide if she misses her husband, or is glad to get away from it all.  More secrets are discovered and friends are found as Elisa journeys through the desert to the rebels hideout.  Here, Elisa must discover the true nature of the enemies threatening both her kingdoms, how to fight them, and where her heart lies.

So, I listened to this read on CD, instead of reading it to myself.  While that affected the pace a little, it still seemed a little slow to me at times.  Despite trying to like this book, I had a hard time getting in to it.  It might be because of the slow start (whether due to the writing or listening to it on CD is debatable), but I think it had to do with a couple of the themes throughout the book.

First theme I want to address is self image.  Elisa is fat.  Or at least starts that way.  When she is fat, she barely has a positive thing to think about herself.  As she journeys through the desert, she slims down.  While not exactly "skinny," she definitely changes enough that she gains attention because of her new body shape.  This is when she starts feeling confident, powerful, and positive about herself.  To me (as an overweight woman), this is sending the entirely wrong message about a connection between body weight and self worth.  Elisa has a hard time feeling positive about herself, and feeling in control of herself when she is fat.  While not all of her confidence is coming because of her body changes, I feel that there was too much connection between her feeling confident in herself and losing weight.  That is one reason why I couldn't give this book my full approval.

Another theme that I noticed was how fleeting her love was. ***SPOILER ALERT!*** When someone Elisa loves is killed in front of her and dies in her arms, she is upset.  I would usually cry buckets at a point like this.  But I did NOT cry.  There was something lacking, either in the writing or in Elisa's emotional attachment to this character.  To me, she recovered from this much too quickly, and was a little fleeting and shallow in her love interests.  And she even was attracted to someone twice, once after learning some harsh truths about him.  To me, that does not make sense.

Anyways, if I were to recommend this, I would give it to mostly high school, unless it was a mature middle school kid.  While nothing inappropriate happens between Elisa and her love interests, Elisa is very interested in something possibly happening, plus there is some graphic violence in it.  There are other books that will recommend before this one.  It was okay, but not spectacular.  I know there is a sequel out that I might read in book format, instead of listening, to see if that would make a difference in the pacing.

Anya's Ghost

Anya's Ghost
by Vera Brosgol
224 pages
Middle School+

Anya feels miserable and lonely, or your basic teenager.  She's not skinny and beautiful like the popular girls, she's not incredibly smart like the nerds, and to top it all off, she's Russian.  While she lost the accent years ago, she still feels like an outcast and only has a few friends.

One morning, everything is going wrong. The hot guy is ignoring her, her mother tries to feed her greasy food for breakfast, and best (only) friend is mad at her.  She lets the bus go by and starts walking to school.  As she is walking through a park, she is so distracted by everything, she completely misses a step and falls into a dark hole.

At the bottom of this abandoned well is the one thing she really doesn't want to see: a ghost.  After getting over the shock, she meets Emily Reilly, another lonely girl just like her, just her loneliness has been for the past 90 years.  They talk while Anya waits for someone to find her or to walk by.  Eventually, someone find Anya, gets her out and Anya leaves Emily at the bottom of the well.

Then one day, while at school, Emily comes to visit Anya again.  A little bone that Anya took with her lets Emily follow her wherever that bone goes.  They ease each others' loneliness, helping the other be happier.  But is Anya really happy with the direction her life is beginning to take, and is Emily really a victim?

This was another graphic novel and was pretty fun.  The artwork was nice, but not spectacular.  This one I liked more for the story line than the illustrations.  The reader gets to see Anya's struggle with being a teenager, and also how these changes effect her.  Anya starts to see what is really important in life, and also that not everything you see is exactly what it seems to be.

Overall, this was a good, but not great, book.  Many issues are raised that are relevant to teens, such as self-image, family relations, cheating, truth versus embleshment, and how far you are willing to go to please other people.  I think many teens will identify with Anya and the struggles she goes through.

Icefall

Icefall
by Matthew J. Kirby
336 pages
Middle School+

Solveig is the second daughter to a king, and not even the pretty daughter.  She constantly lives in the shadow of her beautiful sister and her younger brother, the crown prince.  Sent to hide from the war in a remote steading, she and a few others are set to survive all winter.

Then the trouble starts to happen.  More soldiers show up, with food thankfully.  The cows get eaten by wolves, and the remaining meat gets poisoned.  A traitor lies in their midst.  Solveig must figure out who it is before spring comes and war finds them.

Icefall was alright, but not spectacular.  Solveig is likable, the telling realistic, but the book just doesn't flow quick enough.  The read waits the entire book for the scene on the cover, and that is short and almost too convenient. 

If you like Norse mythology, this might be a good read.  The myths and the story telling aspect is good, but the plot feels like it was pulled out too long.  An okay book, but not necessarily one I would recommend to lots of people.

Home from the Sea

Home from the Sea: An Elemental Masters Novel
By Mercedes Lackey

Mari Prothero lives by the sea, with her fisherman of a father.   Ever since she was a little child, she has seen things that others don't see: colors in the sky and little creatures in the water that talk her even though she ignores them.  When she finds out that her mother was Selch, a half-seal and half-human, and that her mother did not die when Mari was young, her world is turned upside down.  She is expected to fulfill the next generation of the Prothero legacy, wed a Selch and bear his children in return for luck at sea.  In addition to all of this, Mari has the potential to be an Elemental Master of Water, and enlist the aid of all those little creatures that she has always seen.

In walks Nan and Sarah, two young ladies that have been traveling the world.  Both have psychic gifts, Sarah as a medium, and Nan as her psychical warrior guardian.  Together they work to help spirits cross over to where they belong.  Having come back from their world travels, they feel slightly useless and out of place until Lord Alderscroft, the "Wizard of London", sends them out seeking some information.  A Water Master has arisen, and he wants to know more about this new master.  He sends Nan and Sarah to find out about this new master and make sure he or she does not turn to the darker sides of magic.

When Nan and Sarah finally get to Mari's village, and find out she is the new elemental master, they are shocked.  Mari is being taught elemental mastery by a Selch, plus being courted by several others.  While assured Mari is not being led astray to dark paths, they become friends with Mari and want to help her.  Another new addition of a constable to Mari's small village adds further confusion and complications.  Mari has to figure out which Selch she wants to marry by winter, bear his children, learn how to master the water magic, and stay out of trouble all at the same time!

This newest installment in the Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey is great.  I really liked getting an update on characters previously seen in the series- Nan and Sarah.  In the other book, they were children, so it's nice to see them older and wiser.  This book follows many of the themes and patterns set up in the other books in the series as well.  I liked it as much as the others in the series.  I would try to introduce this series to older teens, just because I feel it would interest them more than young teens.

I really liked the touch of romance in the book, while it had nothing inappropriate.   Also, Mari does things for herself.  She is bold, self-motivating and tries to have control over her own life.  At the same time, she is caring about those around her, and very considerate of her father.  This story follows her self discovery and her change from being merely a girl and daughter to a woman and elemental master!