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The Grimm Legacy. Polly Shulman. 2010. Penguin. 325 pages.

 The Grimm Legacy has an intriguing premise. Wouldn't it be fun if fairy tales were true and there were magical artifacts gathered together in a library collection in New York? Wouldn't it be fun to work in such a library, such a collection? To be able to 'try' some of these artifacts yourself. But it isn't all fun as our heroine, Elizabeth Rew, and her fellow pages (Marc Merrit, Anjali Rao, Aaron Rosendom) learn. For someone is attempting to steal the real magical objects and replace them with fakes. And the attempt is succeeding. These four teens (Elizabeth, Marc, Anjali, and Aaron) must learn to work together--despite great personality conflict--to solve the mystery of WHO is stealing from the Grimm Collection. This fantasy novel has mystery and drama for it's a dangerous task before them.

While I liked the book well enough to keep reading, I didn't love it. I just didn't make a good connection with the characters. Some of the characters were interesting; for example, Anjali has a very spirited sister that plays an important role in the novel. But I wasn't satisfied with their development; the characters just didn't feel believable enough.

Read The Grimm Legacy

• If you enjoy YA fantasy
• If you enjoy fantasy 
• If you are interested in the second novel in the series which involves time travel! It's called The Wells Bequest!

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Annotated Hobbit. Revised and Expanded Edition. J.R.R. Tolkien. Annotated by Douglas A. Anderson. 2002. (1937, original Hobbit pub. date). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 416 pages.

The Hobbit is one of my favorite books even though I didn't discover it until I was an adult. It's a children's book that I've read several times as an adult. One of those feel-good books that you can happily, joyfully read each and every year without tiring of it. The Annotated Hobbit makes a lovely present for people who can't get enough of The Hobbit!

After viewing The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey, I picked up The Annotated Hobbit. It was just what I needed! The film "covers" the first six chapters of the novel: "An Unexpected Party," "Roast Mutton," "A Short Rest," "Over Hill and Under Hill," "Riddles in the Dark," and "Out of the Frying-Pan Into the Fire." The most significant chapter in this annotated edition may just be "Riddles in the Dark." Fans most likely know already that the story of Bilbo's ring varies greatly from the original publication in 1937 and the later editions published after Tolkien wrote The Lord in the Rings, the variations even becoming a part of the story in a way. But this was the first time I was able to read the full, original ending to the story. (This is found in the notes on pages 128-131 and page 134.)

I came to the text needing to "check" the "faithfulness" of the film to the movie. True, I wanted to spend time with the characters, and, of course, I wanted to read it (again) because it's a great story. But. I wanted to see if the movie got it "wrong" or "right." While that was my original intention, I didn't always keep to it. I found the characters and story so irresistible. I was reminded once again of all the lovely little things that I just ADORE about the book. Things that didn't always translate as faithfully as I would have liked in the movie. Of course, some of what I ADORED about the book made it into the film, sometimes very faithful both in tone and detail.

There were some things that are technically "from the book" but taken completely out of proportion and focus, things that were made BIG AND SIGNIFICANT that barely got more than a sentence or two at most in the novel. The thing that stands out, for example, is how the party is HUNTED in the movie. Almost from the start, the journey is perilous because of a specific threat. And every single stage of the journey is equally dangerous and life-threatening. There is a purposeful, intentional darkness (evil) beginning to move in Middle Earth. In the novel, this isn't the case. The party faces danger, yes, sometimes a little danger, sometimes a lot of danger. But it isn't of an intentional hunted sort of danger. More of a being in the wrong place at the wrong time danger. They stumble almost on the trolls. (They also stumble upon the meeting place of the wolves or wargs.) And they face danger from rock slides and bad storms--but this is a natural threat. And yes, the stone giants exist but not so absurdly as in the movie:

There they were sheltering under a hanging rock for the night, and he lay beneath a blanket and shook from head to toe. When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out, and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang. Then came a wind and a rain, and the wind whipped the rain and the hail about in every direction, so that an overhanging rock was no protection at all. Soon they were getting drenched and their ponies were standing with their heads down and their tails between their legs, and some of them were whinnying with fright. They could hear the giants guffawing and shouting all over the mountainsides.
"This won't do at all!" said Thorin. "If we don't get blown off, or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football."
"Well, if you know of anywhere better, take us there!" said Gandalf, who was feeling very grumpy, and was far from happy about the giants himself. (104)

The book doesn't exactly stay focused on the danger in any particularly threatening situation. The focus is on the adventure, the quest, the journey. There are plenty of in-between moments in the book. Moments where they might not be physically in danger from an enemy (goblins, trolls, angry elves, giant spiders), but might be facing discouragement, doubt, depression. Not to mention hunger, thirst, and exhaustion!!! 

There were isolated scenes that were especially faithful to the book and lovely to watch! But there were plenty of scenes that were pure interpretation. For better or worse. The film shows that there is more than one way to "read" a book or story.

Reading The Annotated Hobbit was beneficial. It reminded me of the creative process involved in writing and storytelling. Reading the annotations showed me that Tolkien never stopped creating this story. It was NOT "the end" of the story when it was published in 1937. The story kept changing and transforming and evolving through the decades. Tolkien stayed involved in the story. If Tolkien himself kept changing the story as his fantasy world kept growing and expanding, then it only makes sense that the film would be free to do the same.

I personally enjoyed reading almost all of the annotations. Some notes are mainly textual revision notes, letting readers know the differences between the different editions of the text (1937, 1951, 1966, etc.) Other notes tend to be scholarly and focused on literature. But some provide insights on The Hobbit or Middle Earth. (I liked notes about authors that influenced Tolkien.)



© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Apothecary. Maile Meloy. 2011. Penguin. 356 pages.

I enjoyed Maile Meloy's delightfully odd historical fantasy novel, The Apothecary. The year is 1952, the Scott family is moving to London, England. Our heroine, Janie, is fourteen and not so happy about the move. At least not at first. But after a few weeks, Janie finds herself in the middle of an almost unbelievable adventure, an adventure that will lead her straight into danger, but also leading to her very first kiss.

I would have loved The Apothecary just as much if it had not turned magical or supernatural. The first half of the novel focuses on Janie's new life: her new school, her new classes and new subjects (Latin!), her friend possibilities. There are some delightfully descriptive passages that are just fun! The second half of the novel focuses on her friendship with Benjamin Burrows (the local apothecary's son). He likes to play chess in the park and "spy" on a Russian man. What he spies one Saturday, changes everything...for it leads them a little too close home!

When Benjamin discovers his father's big-big secret, a secret that Janie gets drawn into as well, the novel becomes quirky and fantastical. Danger, action, drama, mystery and a hint of first love...

Favorite quotes:

It's safe to say I was not graceful about the move to London. I was no witty, patient, adaptable Jane Austen. And if I was anything like Katherine Hepburn, it was in the scenes where she's being a giant pest. (12)

"We're looking for three hot water bottles," my father told him.
"Of course."
"And how about some chocolate bars?"
The apothecary shook his head. "We have them sometimes. Not often, since the war."
"Since the war?" my father said, and I could see him calculating: twelve years without a steady supply of chocolate. He looked a little faint. I wondered if he could get a prescription for chocolate from a doctor. Then I could have some, too. (16)

The school was in a stone building with arches and turrets that seemed very old to me but wasn't old at all, in English terms. It was built in 1880, so it was practically brand-new. (19)

Two teachers walking down the hall wore black academic gowns, and they looked ominous and forbidding, like giant bats. (19)

The school secretary, whose tight gray curls reminded me of a sheep, gave me my class schedule. (19)

"My mother said moving here would be like living in a Jane Austen novel, but it isn't really."
"But your story couldn't be Austen, with an American heroine," he said.
I couldn't help smiling at him. "That's what I said!"
"More of a Henry James novel," he said. "The American girl abroad. Are you an Isabel Archer or a Daisy Miller?"
I blushed, but told the truth. "I don't know. I haven't read any Henry James novels."
"You will soon enough," he said. "But you wouldn't want to be Isabel or Daisy. They come to bad ends, those girls. Confide tibia, Miss Scott. Far better to be who you are." (24)

The apothecary looked out at the drizzle. "It would be strange not to think about orange trees and blue sky on a day like today," he said. "No matter what powder you took."
"And my new school is pretty awful," I said.
The apothecary laughed. "The man who develops a tincture against the awful new school will win the Nobel Prize. It would be far more useful than the cure for the common cold." (30)

Read The Apothecary

• IF you enjoy historical fiction OR historical fantasy
• If you enjoy books about magical books
• If you enjoy spy-adventure, action-adventure books

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Runaway King. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2013. Scholastic. 352 pages.

I really LOVED The False Prince. The Runaway King did not disappoint as a sequel. The novel opens with an assassination attempt,"I had arrived early for my own assassination." I love it when books have great first lines! How could I not want to read on?! Jaron has only been on the throne a short while and already the kingdom is in great danger, Jaron's life is at risk. The regents of the kingdom want Jaron to go into hiding, "for his own good" of course. They would rather deal with a steward in the king's place than have a "boy" on the throne, a boy who isn't afraid of facing reality. Jaron looks at the facts and sees: WAR IS COMING, WAR IS COMING, WAR IS COMING. His regents seem to see a different reality: peace, peace, peace, we must have peace no matter what, peace, peace, always we must have peace. Jaron would feel absolutely alone--forsaken--if it wasn't for a few friends who knew him before, knew him as Sage...

Running away from the throne, from the kingdom, might be Jaron's best option...

The Runaway King is such an exciting book! I love, love, love the fact that we get to go with Jaron/Sage on his journey into enemy territory as his own cleverness is put to the test...

I am still loving the world-building, the characterization, the dialogue, the storytelling. It's a GREAT book.

Favorite quote:

“Above all else, I think that you are a compulsive liar."
My laughter was tense, but sincere. "Hardly. In fact, I consider myself a compulsive truth teller. It's only that everyone else seems compelled to misunderstand me.”  

Read The Runaway King

• If you LOVED The False Prince, it will not disappoint!
• If you enjoy fantasy novels
• If world-building, characterization, and great storytelling matter to you! 

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The False Prince. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2012. Scholastic. 342 pages.

I thought this one would be good, but even I didn't expect it to be THAT GOOD. This book is WONDERFUL. Everything I wanted it to be! Readers first meet an orphan named Sage. When we meet him, he's on the run having just stolen meat from the butcher. He is "rescued" from the butcher by someone in the crowd, Connor. But is the rescue genuine?

Connor goes with Sage to the orphanage and explains that he's just bought Sage. Sage soon meets other orphan boys his own age that Connor has bought from various orphanages in the land. He's taking them to his castle...

Sage is suspicious fearing that Connor and the men working for him are DANGEROUS. Yes, he could be beaten, he could be imprisoned, but he knows that he could also be KILLED if he displeases Connor. Does knowing this make Sage less defiant or outspoken? Not really.

Connor has a plan--an ambitious plan. The royal family has been killed, murdered, and no one knows the truth, yet. The second son was presumed dead at sea, but, what if one of the orphan boys could assume this second son's identity and become king? Connor wants the boys in competition with one another and in training to become the future king. In a few weeks time, he'll pick the "lucky" boy.

Sage wants to be the boy, for better or worse, perhaps knowing that to fail in this means certain death. But that doesn't mean he likes Connor or trusts him. He doesn't trust Connor...at all.

I loved spending time with Sage! I loved being introduced to this fantasy world!!! I loved the setting, the characterization, the writing!!! This is a magical, oh-so-satisfying read!

Favorite quote:

“The saddest thing is there won’t be anyone to miss us when we’re gone. No family, no friends, no one waiting at home.”
“It’s better that way,” I said. “It’ll be easier for me, knowing my death doesn’t add to anyone’s pain.”
“If you can’t give anyone pain, then you can’t give them joy either.” 

Read The False Prince

• If you like fantasy, especially MG or YA fantasy
• If you love fantasy, this is a MUST read
• If you like fantasy novels with great world-building and characterization

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Dragons of Winter. James A. Owen. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 389 pages.

I definitely enjoyed reading The Dragons of Winter by James A. Owen. In this sixth adventure, our Caretakers (well, some of them) travel to the FUTURE. They travel to the future first seen (or experienced) by H.G. Wells (Bert). Well, that's the future they THOUGHT they were heading to. In reality, they end up someplace very, very different, a what-might-be world of darkness. The time they spend in this world is very interesting to me, and they do meet an interesting Bradbury-inspired underground community. But that's just a small part of the story, all the heroes and heroines are desperately trying to save time, to restore the timeline, to fix what has gone so horribly, horribly wrong with the world. There are dozens of characters and plenty of stories including a few flashbacks. (Readers learn of when a certain someone became apprentice to a certain dragon.) There were things that definitely surprised me in this one!!! But overall, I was very satisfied.

Read The Dragons of Winter

• If you've read and enjoyed the previous books in the series
• If you enjoy fantasy/adventure novels
• If you like time travel books
• If you like historical fantasy

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Dragon's Apprentice. James A. Owen. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 376 pages.

The series has remained entertaining, but it's so complex now! Time has been unraveled--the Keep of Time is no more--and both worlds are in great danger, not particularly from the Winter King, but from a darker, more ancient Evil. The Caretakers have lost the ability to travel in time AND the ability to travel to the Archipelago. Both worlds are in danger, the Archipelago perhaps will experience the danger first, but, in the end the real world faces the threat of overwhelming darkness too. This adventure has the team of Caretakers (plus a varied assortment of talking animals) traveling through the one remaining door from the Keep of Time, the door that Madoc traveled through in the previous book, and spending a great amount of time in the 1760s. (Meeting Daniel Defoe, Benjamin Franklin, etc.) Can time be restored? Can darkness be defeated?

I am still enjoying this series. This book is the result of a whole series of consequences. For every previous decision, readers are now witnessing the full consequences of every person's actions and decisions. And I think it may also be the darkest or bleakest of the series. I can't wait to begin the newest book in the series, The Dragons of Winter.

Read The Dragon's Apprentice

• If you're a fan of the series. If you've read Here There Be Dragons, Search for the Red Dragon, Indigo King, Shadow Dragons.
• If you're a fan of fantasy, mythology, and classic literature
• If you enjoy mystery, adventure, and espionage with your fantasy

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Shadow Dragons. James A. Owen. 2009. Simon & Schuster. 417 pages.

 The Shadow Dragons is my last in the series to reread. The next two books will be new to me! I am still enjoying this series, enjoying the characters and all the twists and turns. Each book leads the Caretaker into a bigger mess, making earlier conflicts seem almost too easy to set right. In this one, "to save the world" the Caretakers must team up with previous Caretakers and loyal subjects/citizens of the Archipelago. There are many separate journeys in this one--the Caretakers split up--and some will venture to the end of the world and back. One of their allies is Don Quixote! Madoc plays a significant role in this one--as does Rose. This book seems to be taking the series in a new direction. 

I did appreciate this one more upon rereading it. When I first read it, I had not read Don Quixote for myself. And I did not truly know his story well enough to appreciate his appearance in this series. I don't think you *have* to have read certain books in order to like the series, but, I do think your appreciation will only grow the more you know your mythology, classics, and fantasy novels. This one is still heavily reliant on King Arthur!!! 

Read The Shadow Dragons

• IF you have enjoyed the previous books in the series: Here There Be Dragons, Search for the Red Dragon, Indigo King.
• If you enjoy fantasy, mythology, and classic literature 
• If you enjoy works by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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I’m excited that my new YA fantasy Parallel Visions is now out in the world! To celebrate, I’m having a contest. Help me get the word out about Parallel Visions, and you’ll be entered to win bookstore giftcards and an ebook reader. It’s $2.99 ebook, and $7.99 print. It’s up on Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords (where you can get it in every ebook format, including for Nook), and will be up on B&N in a few weeks.

Parallel Visions deals with being different, domestic violence, attempted suicide, rape, and asthma, all in a fantasy setting. Like all my books, it’s also written with suspense and hope, and some of my own trauma and abuse experience.

Evelyn Fazio, the same editor who edited my books Scars and Hunted, edited Parallel Visions. I care a lot about Parallel Visions, just like I do all my books. I hope you’ll help me get the word out.



Check out the book trailer!

Help me get the word out about Parallel Visions, and you can win:

• 1 of 2 bookstore giftcards for $10 (at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, or any other online bookstore)
  
• 1 of 2 bookstore giftcards for $5 (at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, or any other online bookstore)
  
• A Kindle, Kobo, or Nook! (Your choice.)
  

You can get multiple entries to the contest:

• 1 entry for watching the book trailer
  
• 1 entry per tweet about Parallel Visions or my book trailer http://youtu.be/gcq1veOfnbI (up to 5 entries)
  
• 1 entry per post on your blog, FaceBook, Google+, or other social network about Parallel Visions or my book trailer (up to 5 entries, 1 per social network)
  
• 20 entries per ebook or print book bought of Parallel Visions (email me the receipt)
  

So you could have a total of 31 entries to the contest.

Contest is open worldwide, though the ebook reader is US and Canada only. (UK if the stores ship there.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Indigo King. James A. Owen. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 375 pages.

The third adventure in the series mainly features Jack and John...Charles being conveniently away when this unexpected challenge/adventure finds them. Hugo Dyson, a friend, is introduced to readers, when he is thrown into the adventure. He may not know where he is or why he's there, but, he is perhaps *safer* than Jack and John...at least temporarily. For after Hugo disappears through the mystery-door-that-appears-out-of-nowhere, and that mystery door is shut by some well-meaning animals from the Archipelago of Dreams, their whole world changes...for the worse. The "real world" is dark and dangerous and ruled by the Winter King. The two aren't without some hope, they discover their good friend, Bert, who has been waiting and waiting for them. And he gives them hope, a time machine of Jules Verne and a mystery box. These friends, these caretakers, will have to journey through time--observing things very carefully--and have to use some wisdom and discretion on what to change and what not to change. Can they "fix" time and save the world? While the second adventure used Peter Pan and Jason and Medea for inspiration, this one uses King Arthur and Odysseus and the Trojan War. It also is the novel that introduces the young woman, Rose, and a young man Hank Morgan.

I really do LOVE this series!!! It is so fun to visit with these characters, and it's always interesting to meet new characters and see where they are going to take the story! This is a very significant book in the series, for it reveals the identity of the cartographer 'stuck' in the Keep of Time AND it reveals the identity of the Winter King.

This is also the book in the series that utilizes time travel most.

Read The Indigo King

• If you're a fan of fantasy, mythology, classic literature
• If you enjoy time travel; the more you LOVE time travel, the more you may appreciate this one!
• If you enjoy mystery and adventure mixed in with your fantasy
• If you've enjoyed the previous books in the series: Here There Be Dragons, The Search for the Red Dragon.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Search for the Red Dragon. James A. Owen. Simon & Schuster. 384 pages.

I am so excited to be rereading this series. I think I will enjoy the new books in the series so much more after I reread these first books again. In this second adventure, Jack, Charles, and John are called to the Archipelago of Dreams by Laura Glue, a little girl with wings who shows up looking for the caretaker. The caretaker she means is an enemy of her grandfather. It is not Jack, Charles or John she is looking for, but a man named Jamie. But her need for help is very great...someone is kidnapping the children from the Archipelago of Dreams. Even the royal prince has been taken. Even some of the 'lost boys' are gone. Can these three caretakers solve a mystery? This one relies not only upon Peter Pan, but Greek mythology as well. Readers also learn that all is not well with time, and that their adventures in the Keep of Time has had an effect on both worlds and an old enemy has returned...

I enjoyed meeting Laura Glue, and her grandfather; I also enjoyed catching up with some of the other characters.

This is a fun series that is easy to recommend.

Read The Search for the Red Dragon

• IF you enjoy fantasy, mythology, classic literature
• If you enjoy fantasy-adventure quests
• If you read and enjoyed the first in the series, Here There Be Dragons
• If you have enjoyed the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Barrie, etc.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Here There Be Dragons. James A. Owen. 2006. Simon & Schuster. 326 pages.

I was a little nervous to reread Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen. I remember just loving it when I read it the first time. Would I still enjoy it? Still find the characters enjoyable? The plot twists clever? I was not disappointed. In this first adventure, readers meet Jack, Charles, and John, the three caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica. They meet Bert, a former caretaker as well. Readers are introduced to a few other key characters as well: Tummler, Aven, Bug, Samaranth, the Cartographer, the Winter King, Magwitch, etc. (Just to name a few.) Many stories, tales, and myths are hinted at in this one. But. Mainly this book serves as a fun introduction into a brand new fantasy series. Readers are introduced to the 'real' world (England 1917 or 1918) and the 'imaginary' world of the Archipelago of Dreams, a world where there are dragons and dragon ships, elves, trolls, and talking animals. Readers also learn about the Keep of Time, which is central to the series....

I loved this one! I thought the storytelling was great!

Read Here There Be Dragons

• If you enjoy fantasy and/or mythology
• If you like dragons and other 'imaginary' creatures
• If you have enjoyed the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc.
• If you love to read; this series draws richly from literature

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Sweetest Spell. Suzanne Selfors. 2012. Walker & Company. 416 pages.

I was in the perfect mood for Suzanne Selfors' The Sweetest Spell. I loved the heroine, Emmeline Thistle. I enjoyed reading about her community, especially the husband market where the young women bid on the single men of the community. Since she was born with a deformed foot, and since the whole community distrusts her, she's not one of the young women joining in, at least not yet--she's just sixteen or seventeen. But the novel opens with a big disruption: soldiers arriving on that day to take away the men to fight the king's war. Days later, major flooding proves even more devastating to the community. Emmeline Thistle finds herself truly alone with nowhere to go, but as long as there are cows nearby, Emmeline will never be friendless.

I enjoyed this one so very much! I loved Emmeline. I loved Owen Oak, the love interest, who discovers her after the flood. I enjoyed so many characters--major and minor. And I really loved spending time in the world Selfor's created. I loved the storytelling, the adventure, the romance, the characters, the writing.

Read The Sweetest Spell

• If you enjoy fantasy with a historical feel
• If you enjoy fantasy with some romance
• If you are looking for some charm in your fantasy (I found it very delightful!)
• If you like reading about chocolate

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Vessel. Sarah Beth Durst. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 424 pages.

Vessel is a good example of an almost book for me. It almost almost made me love it, but, not quite. I did enjoy it, for the most part. There were chapters that were quite satisfying, that gave me hope. But then there were places I felt a disconnect, and ultimately I didn't end up loving it as much as I had originally hoped. I definitely went into this one with high expectations. I thought it had the potential to be wow-worthy. And I think for some readers, it works well, really well. I am sure it will find readers that do love it.

Readers first meet Liyana, a young woman who is destined to be a "vessel" to her clan's goddess, Bayla. When the possession does not happen, when the goddess fails to come and take possession of this girl's body, well, her clan leaves her to die in the desert. She doesn't die, however, she is found by a god, Korbyn, a trickster god who has recently taken possession of his own human vessel. He has a message and a mission. Certain gods and goddesses have vanished from the Dreaming, including Bayla. The ceremonies have failed and the gods and goddesses are disappearing. He doesn't know where, though he tells her he felt a pull to the East, but he knows that they have to rescue them from false vessels and restore them to their worthy (human) vessels. For only if they are restored will the god's magic be able to heal the desert lands and save all the desert clans. Liyana is easy to convince; she finds Korbyn charming and swoon-worthy. But some of the other vessels won't be so easy to convince. These two must prepare to go on quite the adventure quest...

Readers also meet a super-mysterious emperor, but, I felt these sections weren't as compelling as the rest of the novel. (I didn't connect with them and was a bit puzzled by everything until the ending when things became clearer.)

For those that like fantasy and magic and storytelling, this one does have potential.

Read Vessel

• If you love fantasy, magic, gods and goddesses
• If you love storytelling, if you love storytelling cultures and mythologies
• If you love novels with world-building

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Messenger. Lois Lowry. 2004/2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 169 pages. 

In anticipation of reading Son, I decided to reread the Giver trilogy. Messenger is the third book, and it is a companion to The Giver and Gathering Blue. The hero of Messenger is Matt, a character first introduced in Gathering Blue. Several years have passed between the two books, and Matt is living with Kira's (blind) father. At one time, both found their village completely ideal. It was a community that celebrated morality: kindness, mercy, tolerance. It was a community that celebrated second chances. Open hearts, open borders, education for all. But times are changing slowly but surely and some are beginning to notice the differences. The Forest is also changing...

At one time Matt felt comfortable entering the Forest. He traveled from community to community. Not everyone COULD enter the Forest, not everyone wanted to enter the Forest. The Forest had a way of letting a person know if he/she were welcome. For those not welcome, it would seem to maliciously attack you.

Matt has ONE HUGE MESSAGE to deliver when the Forest begins to become unfriendly...will he leave the forest alive?

This one stars Matt and Kira (and Kira's father), but also mentions THE LEADER and a certain sled.

This one is definitely a darker novel, and a more symbolic novel.

Read The Messenger

• If you enjoyed The Giver and Gathering Blue and want to continue on in the series
• If you are a fan of Lois Lowry
• If you enjoy mysteries and dystopias 

 
© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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What Came From the Stars. Gary D. Schmidt. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 304 pages.

I wanted to love this one, but I'm not sure I can even say I liked it. I found the fantasy sections to be confusing, in an unnecessary way. (I think he could have written it to be more accessible and enjoyable.) YET at the same time, these sections reminded me of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. (I would have preferred to be reminded of The Hobbit!) The realistic sections were interesting. A grieving boy finds an out-of-this-world necklace that changes him in small ways--foreign ways; and since this necklace is highly sought after by evil aliens from a far away planet, bad stuff starts happening in the boy's community. This one had a handful of scenes that I really enjoyed. For example, when Tommy Pepper (our hero) is "fixing" the painting of his principal, I believe. There were a few scenes with delightful details that just worked. And some of the dialogue was great. But I had a hard time connecting with this one for the most part.

Read What Came From The Stars

• If you're a fan of Gary D. Schmidt
• If you enjoy children's fantasy OR science fiction
• If you're looking for a unique book on grief and guilt

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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The Broken Lands. Kate Milford. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 455 pages.

I just loved, loved, loved Kate Milford's The Boneshaker. I can't say I loved The Broken Lands as much, but, I still really liked it. I think I loved the narration more in Boneshaker. With The Boneshaker, it was love almost from the first page, it definitely took me longer to connect with the characters and the story from this newest book. But. Once I started caring about Sam and Jin, I did care. Both books, of course, are about good versus evil, and being brave enough to make the right choices and stand up for good. And there were great scenes in both books. I continued to love the author's description and storytelling. I would recommend both books.

The Broken Lands is historical fantasy set in New York City in 1877.

Read The Broken Lands

• If you love great storytelling and unique characters
• If you love historical fantasy young adult fiction
• If you're looking for a 'magical' or 'supernatural' book set in New York City
• If you are looking for a little supernatural in your fantasy BUT you don't necessarily want werewolves or vampires or zombies

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Goblin Secrets. William Alexander. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 240 pages.

Rownie woke when Graba knocked on the ceiling from the other side. Plaster dust drifted down from the knocking. Graba knocked again. Baskets hung on chains from the rafters, and they shook when she knocked.

Goblin Secrets was an almost-almost book for me. I do think that some readers will appreciate it, and I can see why some might even come to love it. For me, however, I was a little too confused about what was going on and what everything meant or really meant to enjoy it. The first half of the book, however, was lovely.

Rownie, our hero, has been "adopted" into Graba's "family." Graba is a local witch (of sorts) who always has a bunch of "grandchildren" around her to do her bidding. Rownie and his older brother, Rowan, were both "adopted" into this strange non-family. But now his brother is gone, and Rownie isn't really sure who he is and where he belongs. After being an audience volunteer at a goblin play, Graba throws him out of the house claiming he's a changeling. Rownie then seeks out the goblin troupe and joins them determined to learn their craft. Something that is illegal for him to do. (Only goblins can act in plays; only goblins can wear masks; only goblins can pretend to be something they're not.)

The premise is VERY interesting. But. It didn't quite work for me. There's one or two scenes in the middle that disoriented me almost, and I never quite recovered. I had a hard time connecting the dots between the weather--the flooding--and the masks.

Read Goblin Secrets

• If you love fantasy and/or steampunk
• If you love drama, theatre, traveling shows

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Princess Academy: Palace of Stone. Shannon Hale. 2012. Bloomsbury.  336 pages.

Miri woke to the insistent bleat of a goat. She squeaked open one eye. Pale yellow sky slipped through the cracks in the shutters.

Miri and the other graduates of the Princess Academy are preparing to go to capital city to attend the princess-to-be, Britta. Miri will even have the privilege of attending Queen's Castle--a university. Peder, Miri's best friend, will be heading to the capital as well, as an apprentice to a stone carver. But the months leading up to Britta and Steffen will be anything but boring...

Katar, the delegate from Mount Eskel, confides in Miri that there is talk of revolution. The "shoeless" are conspiring against the aristocracy. And she's hoping that Miri can get to the bottom of it, discover who is plotting and why...and determine which side is in the right. And attending Queen's Castle, Miri does in fact discover how unhappy, restless, and angry people are with the royal family, with the way things are done in the kingdom. Miri listens quite sympathetically and decides that change does need to happen, that the people have a right to fight against injustice....so what does this mean for her relationship with Britta and the other royals?

Most of Palace of Stone focuses on Miri and her new friends and acquaintances. (Peder has some competition as well.) Politics definitely play a big role in this one! As does education and literacy.

I really loved it. I certainly couldn't put it down! The writing was great. Hale does have a way with words. I would definitely recommend both books.

Read Palace of Stone

• If you're a fan of Shannon Hale
• If you're a fan of Princess Academy
• If you like a blend of fantasy and politics--think Megan Whalen Turner.
• If you like fantasy with light romance

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Princess Academy. Shannon Hale. 2005. Bloomsbury. 336 pages.

Miri woke to the sleepy bleating of a goat. The world was as dark as eyes closed, but perhaps the goats could smell dawn seeping through the cracks in the house's stone walls.

I decided to reread Princess Academy by Shannon Hale in anticipation of Princess Academy: Palace of Stone. It had been years since I'd read it, and I thought I would only appreciate the new novel more if I took the time to reread the first book. I am SO GLAD I did. This is a lovely fantasy novel!!!

The heroine of Princess Academy is a young girl named Miri. She's the youngest in her family, and much beloved by her father and older sister. So her parting with her family is definitely bittersweet. But sometimes girls don't have a choice in when they leave home, or why they leave home. Miri along with the other girls in her mountain village are compelled to attend a Princess Academy in preparation for a grand ball. It has been foretold that the Prince will marry a young girl from Mount Eskel, and so an academy must be formed to transform that mountain girl into a lady. It will ultimately be the Prince's choice, but all the young girls are potential princesses, all must receive equal training.

Princess Academy is a coming-of-age fantasy novel that delights!!! It's such a joy to spend time with Miri and Britta and some of the other young girls. And Peder is wonderful as well!!! Every glimpse of Peder is worth it! For Peder is the boy whom Miri loves dearly--though she's too afraid to say how much she likes him. Is this a proper-proper romance? I wouldn't say it was. There is something sweet, innocent, pure, and delightful about it.

I loved the characters, the writing, the pacing, and the setting!!! Everything was just about perfect. I definitely recommend this one.

Read The Princess Academy

• If you enjoy children's fantasy novels 
• If you are looking for a family-friendly fantasy novel
• If you are a fan of Shannon Hale

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Shadow and Bone. Leigh Bardugo. 2012. Henry Holt. 368 pages.

The servants called them malenchki, little ghosts, because they were the smallest and the youngest, and because they haunted the Duke's house like giggling phantoms, darting in and out of rooms, hiding in cupboards to eavesdrop, sneaking into the kitchen to steal the last of the summer peaches. 

I really enjoyed Shadow and Bone. I'm not sure that I loved it. But I definitely liked it. The prologue was very promising. Almost too promising. Because I'm not sure the prologue matches the rest of the novel. Readers are introduced to two young children, a boy (Mal) and a girl (Alina) who have a very close, very special bond. The novel starts when these two are all grown up. Readers learn that he has become a soldier and that she has become a mapmaker. The two are about to venture into a dangerous unknown, the unsea, the Fold. Not alone, of course, they are just two of the people taking part in this expedition. But it will change their lives, for better or worse. For in fighting for her life, for the life of her best friend and not-so-secret, secret crush, Mal, her power is revealed. She is a sun-summoner. This puts her on one path and Mal on another...and it is the start of a dangerous, exciting adventure.

I found this one entertaining; it was easy to read. The world-building isn't the absolute best I've ever read. I didn't really try to match this fantasy world with the real world, to find parallels between the fictional world and the real world in terms of legends, mythologies, etc. I've read reviews that do, that find fault with this book for getting it wrong. I didn't read the book with that in mind. I wouldn't know how to read the book with that in mind. Did I find the story entertaining? Yes, for the most part. Did I like the characters? Yes. I thought Bardugo did a good job with Alina, the Darkling, and Mal. Several other minor characters had potential as well. Did it work as a romance? Well, it had potential. The Darkling was a fascinating character, in my opinion. And Mal, well, he was heroic enough certainly. The romance didn't wow me, but, I don't have to be wowed to enjoy the novel. It's good enough if the romance doesn't annoy me.

Read Shadow and Bone

• If you enjoy fantasy novels
• If you enjoy fantasy novels with a love triangle
• If you enjoy dark fantasy with a showdown potential between good and evil

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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For Darkness Shows the Stars. Diana Peterfreund. 2012. HarperCollins. 416 pages.

Elliot North raced across the pasture, leaving a scar of green in the silver, dew-encrusted grass. Jef followed, tripping a bit as his feet slid inside his too-big shoes. 

I really enjoyed Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. Did I enjoy it because it was a futuristic dystopia, OR, because it was a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion? A bit of both. For those expecting Captain Malakai Wentforth to be as swoon-worthy as Captain Wentworth, well, you might be disappointed. Might. For Kai's romance with Elliot North doesn't exactly mirror that of Wentworth and Anne Elliot. Peterfreund has definitely made this story her own.

For Darkness Shows the Stars is definitely a novel about social class or status. There are three "types" of people in this futuristic world: the Luddites, those with the highest status and wealth, the elite, those that have estates and titles, those that MATTER; the Reduced, those with slave status, essentially, they are thought to be mindless sub-humans, incapable of thought and feelings, definitely thought to be genetically inferior; the POST-Reductionists, the children of the Reduced who happen to be smart enough to function with more independence in the world, they have skills and abilities that make them worth something, they are not thought to be mindless and incapable, but, they're "socially" inferior to the Luddites. No matter how smart or brilliant a POST is, no matter how much money they acquire, they will never be on equal status with the Luddites.

Kai and Elliot grew up together; they share a birthday in fact. (Actually, there are three that share an exact birthday: Kai (Post), Elliot (Luddite), and Ro (Reduced).) But their friendship always had to be a secret, for if Elliot's father or older sister, Tatiana, found out, then everyone would get in trouble. Elliot enjoyed Kai's company, enjoyed spending time with him in the barn, enjoyed watching him fix things--he's a mechanic, the son of a mechanic. But when Elliot chose not to run away with Kai when they were fourteen (or possibly fifteen?), the friendship was broken. He chose to leave the estate, to risk everything in hopes of finding a better future. Elliot hasn't heard from him since the day he left, and he still matters to her. She chose to stay not because she didn't love him, but, because she needed to be responsible, because she was the ONLY one capable of being responsible on the estate, the only one who cared for the welfare of the Reduced, and also respected the Posts.

Meanwhile, Elliot's life has been as unpleasant as ever. Her father and sister are heartless and selfish and at times cruel. The novel opens with her father destroying his daughter's wheat field--weeks before harvest. That wheat could have helped feed the Reduced, it could have been sold for a profit, as well, to help the estate. But her father's "need" for a race track was more important. He's unwilling to see that the estate is struggling financially that they have a responsibility to the Reduced and the Posts that work their land/manage the estate. Elliot doesn't even bother protesting; true, the damage is already done and nothing can bring her wheat back, but, she also has a secret of her own. That wheat was her wheat--her special experimental seed. And Luddites do NOT under any circumstances experiment.

So in an effort to help finances, Elliot decides to rent out the estate to Cloud Fleet....and one of the guests is Captain Malakai Wentforth. Of course, there are plenty of other guests as well.

I enjoyed meeting the different characters in For Darkness Shows the Stars. Since this is a retelling, there is always a chance that the characters could have been weak, shallow copies of the original. For the most part, that was not the case.

I also enjoyed the story; there were just enough twists in the story that it really worked as an original story. The dystopian setting was interesting to me. I didn't have all my questions answered--at least not right away--and this futuristic society definitely added something to the story. 

Read for Presenting Lenore's Dystopian August. 

Read For Darkness Shows the Stars

• If you enjoy science fiction, dystopias, post-apocalyptic fiction
• If you enjoy futuristic stories 
• If you are interested in a new retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion
• If you enjoy a little romance in your science fiction

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Loss. (Riders of the Apocalypse #3) Jackie Morse Kessler. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 272 pages.

The day before Death came for Billy Ballard...
...Billy was on the ground, getting the snot pounded out of him. Again. No special reason this time; maybe it was because it was Tuesday, or because Eddie Glass didn't like Billy's hair.

This is the third novel in Jackie Morse Kessler's Riders of the Apocalypse series. The first two books are Hunger and Rage. Hunger was a novel about a young teen girl with an eating disorder becoming Famine; Rage was a novel about a trouble teen girl, a girl who cuts herself, becoming War. The third novel is about a GUY who has spent years of his life being bullied becoming Pestilence. (For the record, the books do stand alone; you don't need to read them in a certain order; each book is about a different Rider of the Apocalypse.)

The hero of Loss is Billy Ballard. And he's going to have to become confident in the role of hero fast if he's going to stand a chance at saving the world from self-destruction, at stopping the end of the world. He's going to have to face what is troubling him--everything that is troubling him. At home, he's having to deal with a grandfather with Alzheimer's disease. Every room, every window, must be locked. And the front door itself must be "hidden" so that the grandfather can't escape and get lost and cause problems. Soon after the novel opens, readers see what happens when the Mom is careless when she comes in from work. The two are soon rushing through the streets, yelling as they search, needing to find him before something horrible happens. And that something horrible does almost happen--but Billy is there just in time. It was the closest of close calls. And it makes Billy "a hero" in the eyes of his best friend, a girl Billy wishes was his actual girlfriend. But. Billy feels silly thinking himself a hero when he's too scared to go to school, too afraid to go to his classes, his gym class, his locker room. He spends his life dreading every moment he's out of the house; considering what his home life is like--taking care of a grumpy, sometimes-violent grandfather who does not remember him, does not love him, does not want him around--that is saying a lot. But everything changes, everything goes topsy-turvy, everything becomes surreal when Billy is greeted by Death and given the Bow of the Conqueror, of Pestilence. Billy has a chance to wield power, destructive power. But he doesn't necessarily have to do it recklessly or irresponsibly.

Loss will best work for readers who don't require their fiction to make sense 100% of the time. In other words, for those that can accept a certain flowing ever-changing magic-realism, poetical, fantastical dream-state. While Billy does interact in the real world after assuming his bow and the 'office' of Pestilence, most of it does occur in Billy's mind. The imagery and allusions are powerful, in a way, and are incredibly creative. But. At the same time, it didn't quite work...for this reader. It was not quite my personal style.

Though the author uses some biblical imagery in these novels, the whole concept of the (four) riders of the Apocalypse, I can't say that the books are ever faith-friendly. In particular, this book has bothered me more than the others. True, it has been a few years since I've read them, and true, it's possible that I didn't just mention it in my reviews. In general, my philosophy is that I don't expect books to "be biblical" or to meet certain moral standards if they're o

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Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Authorized Adaptation. Ron Wimberly. Introduction by Ray Bradbury. 2011. FSG. 144 pages.

First of all, it was October. A rare month for boys. Not that all months aren't rare. But there be bad and good, as the pirates say. Take September, a bad month: school begins. Consider August, a good month: school hasn't begun yet. July, well, July's really fine: there's no chance in the world for school. June, no doubting it, June's best of all, for the school doors spring wide and September's a billion years away. But you take October, now. School's been on a month and you're riding easier in the reins, jogging along. 

What makes a graphic novel adaptation work? I'm not sure I could say. For graphic novels are not in my comfort zone at all. I rarely pick up graphic novels to "review," for I don't feel qualified to comment. The graphic novels I tend to read are adaptations of novels that I've already read--for better or worse.

I recently read the official adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. What did I think of it? Well, it made me WANT to read the book, the "real" book. This story, in its adaptation, in its abridgment, just wasn't enough to satisfy me. I wanted more, needed more. That's not a bad thing at all. If every single reader of this graphic novel responds the same way I did--with the NEED or DESIRE to pick up the original Ray Bradbury novel, that wouldn't be a bad thing. Indeed, you might say it was a GOOD thing. For there is no replacing, no improving the original novel.

The magical wonder--the horror, the terror, the suspense--of this story is in the words, the phrases, the sentences. And this graphic novel adaptation is able to only capture a part of that wonder. Every reader will have to decide for himself (or herself) if the addition of the illustrations is worth losing a little something of the original. (For the record, only the cover has colored illustrations, the rest of the graphic novel is in black and white.) For me, the graphic novel just doesn't have that magical something of the original.

Read Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Authorized Adaptation

• If you're a fan of graphic novels
• If you're a fan of dark fantasy, horror, and suspense
• If you're looking for a dark(er) coming of age story
• If you're a participant of the R.I.P. challenge and are looking for an easy read you could finish in just an afternoon
• If you're a fan of Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, The Authorized Adaptation. Dennis Calero. Introduced by Ray Bradbury. 2011. FSG. 160 pages.

One minute it was Ohio winter, with doors closed, windows locked, the panes blind with frost, icicles fringing every roof, children skiing on slopes, housewives lumbering like great black bears in their furs along the icy streets.

Compared to the adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, the official adaptation which I reviewed above, this adaptation of The Martian Chronicles is very satisfying indeed! Now, here's where it becomes tricky, compared to the original novel by Ray Bradbury, it still is second best at most. (I haven't listened to it on audio, or any radio dramas of it, and I definitely didn't make it past th

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There’s something about fantasy, magic, and dystopian novels that can really hook readers. Think about the Harry Potter books—they got millions of kids, teens, and even adults reading middle-grade fantasy—and loving them, being absorbed in them so much that they wore costumes, wrote fan fiction, put on skits, waited up in long lines to buy the books, and went to see all the movies. The same thing happened again with Twilight, and now with The Hunger Games.

There’s a lot that appeals to me in fantasy novels—and by “fantasy” I mean fantasy, paranormal, magic, time travel, sci-fi, dystopian, and anything else that can fit under that category—that I think also appeals to a lot of children and teen (and adult!) readers. I really needed to escape my life growing up—I’m an incest and ritual abuse survivor, and I was also bullied a lot at school, so books were my way to escape. Fantasy books helped me escape the best (though I also really needed realistic fiction to know I was not alone). I think we all have something that we’ve wanted or needed to escape from, and fantasy can be a powerful doorway out of our life and into another’s.

There’s so much in fantasy that can hook readers:

Magical or Paranormal Powers.

The idea of having magical or paranormal powers like the characters we read about can help us imagine ourselves as more powerful than we are, instead of being abused or a victim or feeling powerless. It can help us feel like we can change our lives. I wanted to have paranormal powers or magic so badly!

The possibility of fixing or changing problems with magic that doesn’t exist here, or with paranormal powers—the power of your own mind and your will—is incredibly appealing. It makes solutions seem more possible, and can also seem like an easy fix. Though in books often those powers create new problems in the characters’ lives, but it’s hard not to wish or dream for those powers when you read about them. Like a genie’s wishes—they’re often tricky and work against you, but who hasn’t spent time imagining “If I had three wishes, what would they be?” Or if I could read minds, how could I use it to help me (and others)? Or being able to heal someone, to bring someone back from the dead who we love and miss dearly. All sorts of need and emotion, wishes and desire can be mixed up in magic and paranormal powers. So they have a great appeal.

Some examples are the Fingerprints series by Melinda Metz, 2 Comments on Why Fantasy Novels Can Hook Readers (children, teen, and adult!), last added: 5/9/2012