For a short explanation and the first Flashback of the Month post, go
here. And, yes, I'm getting this in just in time - August is just about over.
After long battle with cancer, Betsy loses her mother and is left feeling lost in Tara Altebrando’s The Pursuit of Happiness. After the funeral, Betsy’s boyfriend dumps her and her best friend disappears from her life. As if things aren’t miserable enough, her summer plans include dressing like an early American to work at a colonial village (all her father’s fault, of course) along with the class freak, Liza. What begins as work soon turns into an escape for Betsy – from her judgmental classmates, from her breakup, from her mother’s death, and from her uncomfortably quiet home. With the help of her co-workers Liza and James, Betsy learns to work her way through the stages of grief and discover hope for normalcy in the future. While she is taught many colonial crafts and means of cooking, it seems that cutting silhouettes out of paper combined with a certain surfer’s woodcarvings are the perfect recipe for beginning to mend a broken heart.
Though sometimes it’s hard to look past the MTV logo, The Pursuit of Happiness is hardly a fluff novel. So, looking past the cover (and the corny “Declare your independence.”), Tara Altebrando’s novel will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, Elizabeth Scott, and Susane Colasanti. This is certainly one of the best young adult novels I’ve read that deals with overcoming grief. Betsy is easy to connect to as a reader (and respect, as she turns into a more proactive character), and Tara Altebrando truly succeeds in writing dialogue that sounds like it actually came out of a few teenagers’ mouths. I also love the setting, having always been fascinated by historical villages, and enjoyed this peak into what it could be like working at one. 9 out of 10.
For a short explanation and the first Flashback of the Month post, go here.
So this month I decided to go with a book that's sort of a flashback and flash-forward hybrid. The book I'm talking about is Cayla Kluver's Legacy - the self published paperback edition is out of print, but AmazonEncore will be releasing a hardcover edition this August. On to my review...
Set primarily in the world of Hytanica, Legacy by Cayla Kluver is a fantasy flushed with detail and full of romance. After years of war between the kingdoms of Cokyri and Hytanica, the Cokyrians draw away and cease fighting. Or so everyone thought. Instead, a total of forty-nine infant boys are abducted and returned dead by the Hytanica city gates as a final warning from the Cokyrians. Despite the following peace, one mystery remained – only forty-eight bodies were returned. Sixteen years after this ceasefire, while the dutiful Princess Alera of Hytanica is occupied balancing suitors (namely the man her father has in mind, Lord Steldor), a teenage Cokyrian is found within the walls of Hytanica. 
As Alera develops a kinship with this boy, Narian, she realizes that being a princess doesn’t just mean being a good, submissive wife. At the same time, Narian discovers the truth about his past and his nature and is forced to fight against everything he is accustomed to.
At the time Legacy was written, Cayla Kluver was only fourteen. I don’t care what anyone says, writing a nearly 500 page novel as a young teen is an incredibly impressive feat, so I respect Legacy just for that. As the first book in a trilogy, Legacy does a fantastic job capturing the reader’s attention and developing the kingdom of Hytanica without resolving. Cayla Kluver’s writing is full of elaborate descriptions that at times are a bit overdone, but generally help the reader create vivid images in his or her head. Legacy presents stereotypes and then creates characters that challenge them, a message that should certainly resonate with teens today. Despite its length, this book is fast-paced and difficult to put down once you’ve gotten into it. Legacy is full of action, well-developed kingdoms, mystery, and romance - everything I could hope for in a fantasy. Cayla Kluver’s Legacy leaves enough loose ends that I cannot wait until its sequel, Allegiance, is released.
P.S. Check out the FAQ with Cayla Kluver on her website.
P.P.S. If you’re in a gaming sort of mood, head over to Legacy’s page on Amazon, then scroll down to play the Legacy game.
I really like the idea behind Flashback of the Month. Kudos. :)