Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck

The Hudson Rvier Valley circa Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee is home to the stately Cranston family. Of course, there’s really two Crantson families: the Upstairs Cranstons and the Downstairs Cranstons. If you’re into a certain popular BBC historical drama on TV recently like I am *cough* Downton Abbey *cough*, you may be expecting the Downstairs Cranstons to be servants. But they’re not. They’re actually mice. And they would like to point out theirs is the older Cranston family.

Helena is the oldest mouse, and since her mother, father, and two older sisters have since passed on (it’s a dangerous life being a mouse!) she has the responsibility of worrying about and taking care of her two younger sisters, Louise and Beatrice, and younger brother, Lamont. So when the Upstairs Cranstons decide to leave their home and take of tour of Europe in order to give their eldest daughter Olive “her chance” (to catch a husband), Helena decides that rather than face and empty house and starvation, the Downstairs Cranstons will just have accompany their humans across the ocean. Even though mice aren’t good with water. The resulting voyage is full of strange new experiences, intrigues, dangerous situations (cats!), brushes with royalty, and maybe even a little romance.

I have to say, I’ve almost never met a Richard Peck book I didn’t like. In fact, I can only think of 2 that I didn’t enjoy thoroughly, and they were both fine books, just not for me. And that’s okay. Luckily, Secrets at Sea can easily fit the category of “thoroughly enjoyed”.

I suppose it bears mentioning that the whole book itself is quite silly. This is definitely a “suspension of disbelief” book. However, I think for the middle grade audience it’s aiming for, this isn’t necessarily a problem. As a (young) adult reading this book, I personally didn’t have any problem with it. But I’m pretty gullible that way. I’ve seen reviews that have beaten this one up a bit for this very reason, because it seems little too unlikely and the plot is fairly simplistic. But I think if you go into expecting it to be silly, you won’t have a problem with it. So the moral of the story is: don’t take your reading too seriously!

The book is narrated by Helena, and as the oldest, she does come off as bossy quite a bit. However, being the oldest (and pretty bossy) myself, I found myself relating to Helena quite a lot. She’s simply concerned with how she can keep her dwindling family together, which is something I’ve worried about myself before. So although some might find her unlikeable, I enjoyed Helena quite a bit.

The other nice thing about this book is that I think it has appeal for a wide audience. Yes, it has some romance (think along the lines of “we love each other and now we’re getting married!”), but not enough to necessarily turn off the young male reader. It is historical fiction, but isn’t heavy enough in historical detail to turn off readers who shy away from history. And I think it is a book that all ages can enjoy, especially its target middle grade audience.

I really did enjoy Secrets at Sea, it was a short, quick read, and I am still putting Richard Peck at the top of my favorite authors list. According to Goodreads it appears he has another mouse book that’s been recently published, The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, which I will have to pick up and try soon.

Shady Glade Rating: 8/10

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I didn't have a chance to put up a new WOW post this week, but I do have another review to make up for it.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers

At first glance Theodosia Throckmorton appears to be like any other normal 11-year-old girl living in London at the turn of the century. But Theodosia’s life is anything but normal. First of all, her archeologist mother is currently off on a dig in Egypt, uncovering treasures in the Valley of the Kings. And rather than going to boarding school or having a governess like a normal, respectable girl her age, Theodosia spends her time exploring the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, where her father is Head Curator.

But that’s not the most unique thing about Theodosia either. It’s the fact that she seems to be the only one who can see the horrible black magic and curses that often accompany the Egyptian artifacts the museum acquires. Which means it’s up to her to break said curses too. When her mother returns from her most recent dig with the famed Heart of Egypt amulet, only Theodosia seems to notice that the item perfectly reeks of black magic. And the curse is a bad one. Bad enough that the entire British Empire might be at stake if she can’t figure out how to break it.

This is the kind of book I would have LOVED when I was younger. I was obsessed with anything Egyptian in 5th grade, and this book would have been made for me. Kids have it so easy these days! There’s so many more good books than when I was younger. Not that I had a lack of books to read, of course. :)

This is also a book that took me completely by surprise. I’m not sure why I didn’t pick it up sooner. I had kind of seen it hovering on friend’s bookshelves and wish lists online, but I wasn’t ever really interested enough to even investigate what it was about. And the cover copy is pretty boring, so if I had, I’m not sure I would have investigated further anyway. But I recently picked it up from the library as I was browsing, and I grabbed it the other day when looking for something new to start. Kind of a “hey, why not?” moment.

Theodosia narrates the story in first person, and her voice drew me in right away. First thing she already starts mentioning Egyptian artifacts and curses, which was a great hook for a girl who used to love (and still kind of does) all things ancient Egyptian. Theodosia’s story is engaging in its uniqueness. You want to know who this girl is, how she knows so much about ancient curses, and why she spends so much of her time in a museum. Then, as the story progresses, you add in mysterious characters, plot twists, secret societies, double agents, forbidden new friends… really, it’s a dynamite mix. I can’t wait to pick up the next one.

And on a side note, since I’m such a cover fanatic… I’m not a fan of the cover. Something about the artwork is off to me. Theodosia is really not a boring character at all, but I don’t think this cover makes her look intriguing in the least. Honestly, I think if I saw this at the bookstore or library I would probably pass it right by. Which, obviously I did, since it’s been out since 2007. So this is definitely a case of don’t judge a book by its cover!

Shady Glade Rating: 9/10

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This is one of those book reviews where I actually read this book a while ago, and have been meaning to post a review for some time. Well, I finally got around to it now!

Foiled by Jane Yolen

Aliera eats, sleeps, and drinks fencing. Not very popular at school, and with not a lot of friends, she spends most of her free time working on her fencing technique. And it helps that she’s good. Very good. Little does she know that her life is about to change when she gets assigned a new lab partner in science class. Chris is engaging, funny, and maybe a little bit mischievous (and mysterious). He brings a little bit of levity and excitement to Aliera’s life, and fencing just might start to slip out of first place in her book. When she aquires a new practice fencing foil with a red jeweled handle, Aliera’s fencing skills are about to take center stage, and she just might get more new excitement than she bargained for.

I’m going to be honest: Foiled really disappointed me at first. I’m hoping it was because I had such high expectations going into it, since it was not only a graphic novel, but one done by one of my favorite authors, Jane Yolen.

First of all, the artwork wasn’t my favorite. Eh. But I can get over that. Artistic license and all that. But one of the most disappointing things was that for a graphic novel that was published in full color, there was not a lot of color to go around. Mostly shades of gray, dark blue/purple, you get the idea. Granted, the end of the book reveals a very good reason why this is. So in retrospect, I understand why that chose was made, and I admire them making that choice. But in my initial reading of the book, the whole thing came off as “blah” to me.

Second of all, it doesn’t seem like much happens plot-wise until the last third or so. I realize to some extent there’s a certain amount of necessary background information that needs to be presented. In a graphic novel that’s show sort, where every panel is carefully planned to impart the maximum information to the reader, I found the amount of what felt like background a little overkill. I got a sick of all the fencing, Aliera at school with Chris, more fencing, Aliera hanging out with her cousin, more fencing… you get the idea. And once all the action does show up (in that final third) the resolution is rather abrupt. Kind of like “okay, here we go… and we’re done!”. Everything does turn out to be significant in the end, but I feel like there should have been more to keep me engaged as I went along, so I could pay a little more attention to those things while I was reading.

In the end, it’s a much better read the second time around. Knowing how it ends up, you do see more connections than the first time. And I think the book ended up being stronger than I originally thought. I see there’s been a sequel published since I first read this (Curses! Foiled Again), and I have high hopes for that second book. There’s a lot of questions and loose ends to be wrapped up, which I imagine would be just right for a sequel. In the end, Foiled isn’t a bad book, and despite my initial disappointment, I would still recommend it, especially to Jane Yolen fans. Maybe if you don’t have as high of hopes for it as I do, you’ll enjoy it more the first time than I did.

Shady Glade Rating: 6/10


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Yup, it's another review!  I'm on a roll lately.  :)  I've been able to  write up several of these in free moments over the last little while, so hopefully it will keep me supplied for a few weeks.

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

Jason feels like he’s in a rut. Although his real passion is baseball and animals, he feels like he will have to live up to his parents’ expectation of him becoming a dentist. Why? Because his dad is a dentist, and both of his older siblings are on their way to becoming dentists as well. It seems to be a blossoming family tradition. Jason’s one escape, other than baseball practice, is his volunteer job working at the local zoo. Which is about to get a lot more interesting, as one day while working near the hippo tank he ends up falling in and getting swallowed whole. But rather than being eaten alive, the hippo leads him to an alternate world: Lyrian.

Here Jason is a “Beyonder”: someone from the world beyond this strange place he has found himself in. Lyrian is ruled over by the evil Emperor Maldor; who happens to have outlawed anything to do with the Beyond. Through a “curiosity killed the cat” moment, Jason ends up engaged on a quest to find a Word of Power that will destroy Maldor and hopefully save Lyrian. The problem? The Word has a total of six syllables, which have been scattered and hidden all over Lyrian. With the help of another Beyonder named Rachel, Jason must quickly gather all the syllables of the Word, or he might not make it home alive.

I’m a big fan of Brandon Mull’s. I loved his Fablehaven books, the Candy Shop War books are also a lot of fun, and I even got to meet him one on one once. So I definitely have a soft spot for him. So when I first heard about the Beyonders series, and that it was one he had been working on for many years, I was pretty excited.

A World Without Heroes is a book that is both alike and different from Brandon Mull’s other books. Like the Fablehaven books, this features both a male and female main character, with Jason definitely taking the larger role. Although that feature does seem to change nearer the end of the book and I expect it will continue shifting in future books. The supporting cast of characters is quite large, to the point where it was almost a little difficult to pick up on characters that were mentioned once or twice in the beginning when they pop up again in the plot later.

The plot itself is full of twists and turns. Although not much seems to happen to Jason and Rachel at first, I was certainly never bored as a reader, or felt I was being plagued with introductory material. There is a chapter of the necessary background information, but the action gets going pretty quickly, within the first chapter. One of the things that caught my attention when watching the Star Wars movies for the first time (way back in elementary school) was that in addition to a great story, if you pay attention there’s also some political/intrigue subplots taking place. I felt like this book was a lot the same. Jason is on a quest to find the Word, but there’s a lot of political reasons he comes up against the things he does, which add a whole new layer to things when you start paying attention.

The world building of this book is intriguing. Lyrian definitely has a medieval/feudal feel to it, which is typical of epic fantasy. However, there’s something weirdly alien as well as that familiar fantasy feel. The description of foreign foods/fruits, strange musical instruments, and inventive architecture (such as a tavern that rotates like a merry go round) add plenty of strange to what you would expect from this setting. There’s even the addition of the “wizard born” races that add a dimension to the populace of Lyrian. These are all magically created races, but are quite human in appearance and action, but have special features such as being able to separate from your body, or being reborn after you die thanks to a seed that grows on your neck. Yeah, I know, that sounds really weird, but you should just go with it, okay? Cuz it’s awesome.

As a general warning, this book does have a pretty decent cliffhanger ending, so you will definitely want to have the next one (Seeds of Rebellion) on hand when you finish this one. Overall, I think this is a strong start to a great trilogy.

Shady Glade Rating: 10/10! 

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So I know it’s been a while since I’ve done reviews. And despite the fact that things are little crazy around here recently (see previous post about impending court date and Disneyland trip), I would like to get back into doing more reviews here on the blog. So I’m going to start with this graphic novel series I picked up recently.

Dorothy Of Oz by Son Hee-Jun

This is a sort of manga-style retelling of the Wizard of Oz story. Or more appropriately, a manhwa retelling, since it hails from Korea instead of Japan. But the artistic style is pretty typical of your average manga shojo series. Quick side note: favorite character is Toto. Why? Because he is just so darn adorable! He’s like a little ball of fluff with ears and legs. But anyway, moving on.

Dorothy Of Oz, not to be confused with an upcoming animated sequel to the Wizard of Oz (which I found out about in my Google searching for images), is the story of Mara Shin. Like Dorothy, she finds herself unexpectedly in the Land of Oz, and is chiefly interested in finding her way back home. Though in a twist of events, she ends up in Oz more like Alice ends up in Wonderland, by following Toto down a dark alley that leads to a yellow brick road. There, she meets up with the typical characters: scarecrow, tin man, cowardly lion, though not necessarily in the form you would expect them. I won’t give away how they are different here, as it would ruin the plot. Everyone is so excited to meet her, because they think she’s Dorothy, who’s been prophesied to return to Oz and fix everything that’s gone wrong since she left. The problem is, Mara isn’t Dorothy, she’s Mara, and she doesn’t want to save Oz, she just wants to get back home to Korea.

This is an Oz that’s both familiar, and completely alien. The role of magic is much more prevelanet, and it appears as though Oz is ruled over by the four witches (North, South, East, West) since the Wizard has mysteriously disappeared. The land is covered by war, and there seems to be a lot of mercenaries roaming about as well, each with their own agenda. Of course, I’m not really sure exactly what’s going on, as in typical manga tradition, Volume 1 drops you into the middle of the story, has a bunch of action, and then drops back to the introductory material once the battle is over. It’s great for drawing a reader in (nothing more exciting than unanswered questions), but can be a little disorienting.

As a content warning for those who are so inclined, the book does feature quite a bit of fighting, and some resulting violence/blood is depicted, although it’s toned down a lot from some manga I’ve seen. There’s also a typically manga skimpy fighting outfit for Mara, which is quite sexed-up. Those familiar with manga will know what I’m talking about, but if this is your first foray into the genre, you have been warned. As of the writing of this review, I’ve read three of the books in this series (the aptly named Volume 1, Volume 2, and Volume 3). Unfortunately, it looks like the series quit after Volume 4. And based on what’s happened so far in just the first 3 books, I’m not optimistic the action can all be wrapped up in that last book. So it looks like I might have to just resign myself to a lot of unanswered questions. But I will still definitely pick up that last book, just as soon as I can get it from the Interlibrary Loan.

Overall, it tends a bit to the mediocre side of things once you’re no longer reading and trying to figure out what’s going on in the story. But the storyline is engaging enough, and I think those who love books that have anything to do with Oz will enjoy it. And I would recommend it to those readers based on that facet alone. As long as you can get past that possibility of there not being a true ending after Volume 4, that is.

Shady Glade Rating: 5/10

Although apparently out of print, it is available at Amazon.com in Paperback
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On a side note: 

If you'd like a more classic, and in my opinion stronger, Oz-related graphic novel, you should check out the adaptations of the original L. Frank Baum Oz books that are published by Marvel.   The story is done by Eric Shanower (a veteran of both Oz adaptations and graphic novels) with excellent artwork by Skottie Young.  I haven't read one of those that I haven't enjoyed yet.  For those wondering on the chronology, they follow the original oz books: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Graphic Novel), The Marvelous Land of Oz, Oz: Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, and Road to Oz have all been published at this point, with The Emerald City of Oz to follow soon I believe.  

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I know I've missed a couple posts lately.  Let's just say things have taken a turn for the crazy!  Hot weather, prepping to be a witness in a criminal misdemeanor trial (I turned in a drunk driver) and oh, yeah, we're going to Disneyland next week.  And I just found out yesterday! 

Anyway, I don't know if I'll have time to post before I leave next week, so just in case I don't, here's a video to keep you entertained while I'm gone.

A couple 4th of Julys ago, I posted a YouTube video from a group called Soomo Publishing.  It was a new take on "Too Late to Apologize" by One Republic, where they took the song and twisted it around to match the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  If you haven't seen that yet, check out the original post to see it (it's really good).

Well, the same people have done it again, this time with women's suffrage.  It's a remix of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance".  Pretty neat (and a little freaky) and actually quite historically accurate.  Check it out:

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Today's Waiting on Wednesday pick again brings us back to Shakespeare.  But this time it pulls towards that historical fiction side I love, rather than a retelling of one of his plays:

Love Disguised by Lisa Klein

About the Book: "Will Shakespeare is about to meet the girl who will change his life forever. After a mixed-up courtship with the Hathaway sisters ends badly, Will jumps at the chance to go to London, where he can pursue his dream of becoming an actor. There, Will meets the unusually tall (and strong) Meg who has earned the nickname "Long Meg" for her height. She's also fleeing her own past as an orphan turned thief. Disguised as "Mack," Meg was once a member of a band of boy thieves who betrayed her. When Will is robbed by those same villains, Meg disguises herself as "Mack" again--telling Will that Mack is her twin brother--in order to help Will recover his money. As Mack, she finds true friendship with Will. But is there more? And who is Meg really fooling with her disguise?

What ensues is a tale involving love triangles, mistaken identities, and the pursuit of hapless villains, as Shakespeare becomes a key player in a lively drama that could have sprung from his own pen."

Hmmm... sounds kind of like a YA version of Shakespeare in Love?  I have to say, I love Lisa Klein's books.  Now, Klein has already proved she can do a good job with Shakespeare, with her books Ophelia and Lady Macbeth's Daughter.  But she also does a good job with actual historical events like in Two Girls of Gettysburg, and Cate of the Lost Colony.  So perhaps this 5th book, which seems to combine both elements, will be a hit out of the park? 

This also reminds me a bit of Carolyn Meyer's Loving Will Shakespeare, and Carolyn Meyer is probably my other favorite YA historical author. 

Now, about that cover... what do you think?  I'm not a fan.  It's certainly eye catching, but the mismatched random body parts in the diamonds seem weird to me.  Good thing I head about this one before the cover was released, since I'm totally a "judge a book by it's cover" girl. 

Love Disguised will be available in the US at the end of the month, on July 30th.

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This week's Waiting on Wednesday post ventures once again into the realm of retellings/sequels, but this time instead of fairy tales, we're doing Shakespeare.

Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub

About the Book: "Romeo and Juliet are gone. Will love live on? Despite the glooming peace that's settled on Verona after the recent tragedy, Montagues and Capulets are brawling in the streets. Faced with more bloody battles, Prince Escalus concludes that the only way to truly marry the fortunes of these two families is to literally marry them together. 

Everyone is skeptical, but none more so than the pair selected, for the most eligible Montague bachelor is Benvolio, Romeo's best friend, still anguished by the loss of his companions, and the chosen Capulet maid is Juliet's older cousin Rosaline, the girl Romeo first loved and whose refusal of Romeo's affection paved the way for bloodshed. Contrary to their late cousins, there's no love lost between Benvolio and Rosaline, yet they forge a bond to end the renewed feud not only to escape their forced betrothal, but to save their lives and the city of Verona itself."

So, I'm kind of an oddball in that I actually do enjoy some of Shakespeare's plays a lot.  However, Romeo and Juliet was never one of my favorites.  I like happy endings, not tradegy.  But for some reason, I seem to love retellings of Romeo and Juliet, so this one is right up my alley.  

By the way, if anyone wants to see a hilarous animated move retelling of Romeo and Juliet with an actual happy ending, I highly recommend Disney's Gnomeo & Juliet.  This movie had me and my brother rolling.  

Getting back to the book, I have another book on my shelf that's written from Romeo's point of view called Romeo's Ex.  I haven't read it yet (towering To Be Read pile and all that) but perhaps this is the time to pull it down and jump into it.  I have a feeling these two books will either compliment each other nicely, or totally clash.  

Still Star-Crossed will be available in the US starting July 9th, 2013, just a few days away.
  
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Oops, missed a week.  So that's why I wanted to pop in this week really quick and make sure I told you about the free audiobooks Sync has for download this week.

This week's theme is dead bodies, or the walking dead, zombies.... something like that.  The YA title is Daniel Kraus' book Rotters,which I've never actually heard of but sounds like it might be interesting.  I know I'm going to have to download this one regardless, because the audiobook is read by Kirby Heyborne, which is one of my brother's favorite people.  So I know he'll want to listen to it at some point.

And what classic pairing goes better with the theme of the rising dead than Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  I've never actually read Frankenstein, although I know the book is way different than the movies and typical Hollywood green monsters you see running out (thank you Wishbone! see, you can learn things from watching TV).

Head over to download both titles if you wanna snag them soon, since they will be replaced on the 4th of July

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For this week, I'm taking you into the world of contemporary YA.  I know, shock and gasp!  And yes, this one has already been published as well.  It actually came out June 11, the same day as last week's posting.  But I think you'll agree that this one looks interesting.

Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance

About the Book:  Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy.

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.

There's just something about a good spy book.  Or a good spy movie.  Don't know what it is, but they rock (if done right).  And add in a little Jane Austen?  I'm hooked.

By the way, if you like spy books and you haven't tried Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series yet, where have you been?  You really, really need to try them.  They're very good.  Seriously.  I recommend them highly.  A high school for proper spy ladies?  I know it sounds weird but just trust me on this one.  That is, if you haven't tried them yet.  :)


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Okay, so I'm doing really bad again.  Today's WOW pick is another book that was actually recently released.  So this isn't a pre-release waiting post per say.  But since I don't have my hands on this yet, I think I'm definitely still waiting to read it.  This week I'm breaking away from the fairy tale theme (and trust me, I could have featured another fairy tale book this week.  There are TONS about there I'm waiting to read).  So let's try a little bit of historical fiction this week, shall we?

Born of Illusion by Teri Brown

About the Book: Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

In case you didn't catch the reference, that "greatest magician of all" refers to Harry Houdini.  Yeah.  Why don't we have more YA about Harry Houdini anyway?  The guy was awesome...

Apparently this is the first in a series, but I'm not sure they're all about the same characters?  Maybe they're just connected by this mysterious society.  All I know is there isn't much info about the second one yet beyond that it deals with Rasputin.  Interesting.  I'll have to keep my eye out for that one.

And what do you think of the cover.  Hmmm.  Something so unique and intriguing and yet slightly disturbing.  I think it might be the color of her eyes.


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If you're new to Sync audiobooks, check out my introduction on them in this post.  

The theme for this week's sync audiobooks is hearing voices.  The selections this time are The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater paired with the classic title Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anay.

I haven't read either of these books yet.  Maggie Stiefvater tends to be a little more dark than I like to read, although I know a lot of people really like her books, and The Raven Boys has gotten some great praise.  I actually could have read Bless Me, Ultima for my AP Lit class in high school.   But I chose the group that was reading Pride and Prejudice instead, which was way more fun.  :)

So if you'd like to give either book a try, head over to Sync Audiobooks to download them both (or either one) for free.  But hurry, because the last day is June 19th!

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So this is going up kind of late in the day, but better late than never, right?  Today we have the return of Waiting on Wednesday!

Today's post is a little different, because this book has actually already been released.  It was released on May 14th (according to Goodreads).  But since it's still a recent release, and I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, we'll count it for today's entry.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani and Iacopo Bruno

About the Book: “The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.”

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good and Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.  

So, what do you think?  You know me, I love fairy tale books, and this one sounds like an interesting angle.  Apparently it's the first in a series, so we'll see where it goes from there.  


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So for those of you who've been around for awhile and have been hanging in there during my absence, you may remember I talked about something called Sync Audiobooks last summer.  This year I'm happy to announce they're starting earlier and going longer, which means even more books this summer. 

For every week during the summer months SYNC offers up 2 free audiobooks a week: one contemporary YA offering, and a classic book that goes along with the theme.  If you listen to audiobooks already, you know they can be expensive.  So 2 free audiobooks is a pretty amazing deal!  And if you don't do audiobooks already, well, it's free, so this is your chance to try them.  All you need to do is provide your name and email address when you download the book, and you'll need to download Overdrive Media Console to download the MP3 books with (which is also free to download).  It's pretty neat, so check it out. 

At the very least, you might as well download the classic title.  It's free (as I mentioned already) and you never know when you might have to read one of those books for school.  And sometimes listening to those books makes them much easier to understand than reading them!

This weeks offering features Victorian age governesses in strange circumstances.  It's The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood paired with the Charlotte Bronte classic Jane Eyre.  By the way, if you want to see the best movie version of Jane Eyre (in my opinion) you definitely need to check out the BBC's Masterpiece Theater miniseries version.

Head over the Sync's blog to download both books.  But you'll need to hurry, because June 12 is the last day!  Keep an eye here for more Sync news the rest of the summer.   I'm going to try and remember to update every week.  Try being the key word in that sentence of course.

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Or, at least I hope to be. 

I know I haven't been around much lately.  It's been almost a year since I posted.  Yikes.  Let's just say that life has been crazy, I've had some health problems (one of which makes me feel tired all the time) and well, life is crazy. And unfortunately because of my job I'm away from home for about 12 hours a day.  So it doesn't leave a lot of time in the evening for other stuff, and weekends are spent doing all the other stuff I never get done during the week. Sometimes it sucks being a grownup and needing to have a job so you can pay bills and rent and buy food and stuff.  I miss college...

Anyway, I've missed blogging over the past year.  Yeah, it had kind become yet another task I needed to cross of my "to-do" list.  I think I lost my focus.  I forgot why I was blogging in the first place.  All the social events and things are fun, but I really started this blog to share my love of books with other readers.  So in trying this restart that's what I want to get back to.  Hopefully a few of you stuck around long enough that I'll still have readers when the posts start flowing again. 

I do want to send a big thank you to Jennifer, Katherine, and Suzanne.  You know who you are.  :)  It's been the thought of all of you over these last few weeks that's made me want to get back into doing this.  You've definitely been my motivation, so thank you for that.  I hope all of you are doing well!

I haven't posted reviews in a long time, and I feel like that's a "get back to basics" thing I want to start.  But in the meantime, my tastes have branched out.  So although you'll still see me review lots of YA and MG like I always have, I might sneak a few other genres or picture books in there (because I'm finding I'm quite the picture book junkie lately). 

My goal right now is to put up at least 1 post per week.  I know, I was doing about a post a day back in my peak (right around 2009).  But with life the way it is right now, that's kind of a worthy goal.  We'll see how that goes for awhile and maybe step things up along the way. I'm also sprucing up the template a bit.  But not much, since I'm really not that tech savvy, and even more so since I don't do Twitter and Facebook and Google+ and all that stuff.  But I'm making some tweaks here and there and updating my sidebars and things. 

So what's coming in the next weeks?  Well, like I said, I would like to get back to doing reviews.  And maybe I'll get back into doing a few of the regular features I used to have going.  I'd also like to continue the YA Book Battle, as unfortunately we only got halfway through last year (since things fell through right in the peak of that).  I don't think I'll pick it up again this year, since I'm easing into things.  But next year?  We'll see.  September will be my blogoversary, and the blog will be turning 7 years old this year.  Yikes!  And by December I hope to have A Shady Glade Christmas again.  But that's 7 months down the line, and getting a little ahead of myself.

So let's try this again, shall we? 

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So I wanted to pop in really quick and give everyone a quick update on my status.  You may have noticed I haven't been around a lot lately.  Unfortunately like in December, my health has suddenly taken a dive.  I've also had a greatly increased level of stress at work due to a new computer system we're trying to get up and running.  With the medical problems and the job issues I've been so, so tired the past few weeks.  Something had to give, and as the blog does not pay my bills, and it doesn't keep my heart pumping, and lungs breathing, it was the thing that had to go. 

The good news is, I'm slowly recovering.  My goal is to ease back into things over the next few weeks, so I hope you can all be patient with me while that happens. 

In the meantime, for those of you who are wondering about the book battle.  Don't worry, it's still happening.  Round 2 is still coming up.  I'm hoping to be able to set things up in the next week or two, and get everything rescheduled and ready to go.  So if you're one of the Round 2 judges, look for an email with updates from me coming soon. 

Thanks for sticking with me through all of this.  Life is full of it's little ups and downs, isn't it?

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Sorry for the short notice about this, but I wanted to make sure I posted about it so you don't miss this awesome opportunity!

This week's theme for Sync's free audiobook downloads is "women dressed in white".  The classic title is The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, which is cool, but the really cool part is the contemporary YA title: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake! This is one of the most popular books they've had available so far, and it's only available through July 11th. So make sure you grab it while you can!

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I hope those of you who like audiobooks are keeping on top of the Sync offerings this summer.  I'm pleased to announce that this weekend there is yet another set of books (a modern YA and a classic pairing) that you can download for free.

Week 3's theme is "Be Careful What You Wish For" with an opportunity to download The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud and Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang.  As always, you can snag these by going to sync's website before July 4th.

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We interrupt the (somewhat sparce) Book Battle coverage today to bring up one of my new favorite things to talk about: eBooks.

I'm looking to get back into doing reviews again since I've been so lax about it over the past year or so.  And in going through books I've read organizing things, I realize that several of them are eBooks.  I got a Kindle for my birthday last year, so I've been picking up cheap eBooks and freebies over the last year doing that.

For those of you who don't know, Kindle also offers a lending program, where you can loan an ebook to someone with a Kindle (or Kindle app on their table, phone, or PC) for 2 weeks.  It's like borrowing a book from the library, only you can't renew it.

So my question is, would you, my readers, be interested in a highlight of the ebooks I have to lend?  Otherwise some of them once I'm done will just get deleted, but if anyone out there might be interested in borrowing them instead, I might keep them around.

Let me know what you all think.  Perhaps a new feature will be coming to The Shady Glade soon...

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So I posted last week about the awesomness that is Sync, a website that is giving away free audiobooks all summer.

Week 2 is now upon us.  Apparently this week's theme is sisters, with the offerings being Francisco X. Stork's book Irises and the wonderful Jane Austen classic Sense and Sensibility (not as good as Pride and Prejudice, but still one of my favorites!).

These will be available until June 27th, so grab them now while you can!

Meanwhile, we're getting really close to seeing some action for the Blog Battle.  Round 1 is almost over, and that's when things really get started.  :)  So keep an eye out for that coming soon...

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Hey readers!

I know I've been absent a lot lately (much organization going on behind the scenes for the battle!), but I had to pop in really quick and share this with all of you.

One of my favorite things is to listen to audiobooks while I'm doing chores or in the car.  I just download them to my iPod and take them with me wherever I go.  My library even has a program (through OverDrive) that allows me to borrow audiobooks for my iPod from the library.  Cuz let's face it, audiobooks are expensive!

Which is why I'm so excited about this.  Sync YA is hosting a free download every week this summer.  The idea is not only to introduce new readers to audiobooks, but also to share some great books.  Every week they will bring a new YA audiobook to the site that you can download for free for that week only.  And they've even paired each book with a classic.  So it's a great way to get some of those required summer reading books too.  Did I mention it was FREE?  No catches, no gimmicks. I tried it myself; it really is free. What could be better than free books?

This week's title is the dyspotian book The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch from Scholastic Audio paired up with John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.  These will be replaced with a new pairing on 6/21, so you'll want to download both while you still can.

If you're looking ahead, they've posted the schedule of books that will be available for the rest of the summer as well.  There's some great new recent reads out there including Anna Dressed in Blood, Cleopatra's Moon, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Check it out!

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Phew!  I'm finally done sorting through the nominations and notifying our judges, which means I can now post the long list for the battle!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who nominated a title!  Without your suggestions we wouldn't be able to have a battle.  We did have a few nominations who got filtered out as duplicates or because they didn't fit the parameters of this battle.  So if anyone doesn't see their nomination and would like to know why, please send me an email and ask.

There were 71 (!) nominations this year, way more than I thought we would have in such a small(ish) category.  This compares to about 80 nominations last year just to give you an idea of the scope of these nominations.  And the funny thing is, there are even more fairy tale retellings that weren't nominated and so didn't make the list!  It's a good time to be a fairy tale fan apparently.  :) Our long list has a nice mix of the expected fairy tale and Greek myths, but also has some surprises like Navajo and Polynesian legends.

Now with the release of this list, our Round 1 judges will get busy reading, reading, reading, and more reading over the next month to determine which of these books will make the short list and move onto the brackets.  71 books in, only 16 out...

The battle is on!

2012 Battle Nomination Long List
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Abandon by Meg Cabot
Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Beastly by Alex Flinn
Between Two Ends by David Ward
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer
7 Comments on 2012 Book Battle Long List, last added: 6/5/2012