fantasy

Review: Moving House by Mark Siegel

| Tasha

moving house

Moving House by Mark Siegel

Foggytown had such thick fog that people couldn’t even see where they were walking!  Chloe and Joey wished that they could see the stars from their house, but it was far too foggy for that.  One foggy day when they returned home, their parents announced that they were moving.  As they went to bed, the two children thought about everything they would miss about this house: the warm spot on the kitchen floor, the long hallway to run down, and their secret spot upstairs.  Then suddenly, their room moved and they were wiggled around.  Their house had sprouted arms and legs and was walking down the road!  It took them to a hill above the fog where they could see the stars and look over the world for miles.  After visiting with other buildings, the children got tired and headed back to bed.  What will they see when they wake up in the morning?

This clever take on books about moving adds a large dose of fantasy.  The story stays true to the emotions of moving even though it is fantasy.  The children think about their current home with great affection, worry about where they will live, and soon learn that things can be even better in a new location. 

Siegel injects the entire book with humor.  My favorite part is the series of panels at the beginning of the book with one person after another running into objects in the fog.  The series goes on long enough for it to be a great running gag.  That broad humor slows down as the book moves forward, pacing it much like a bedtime story.

A book about moving to share with children who enjoy a touch of whimsical fantasy, some sweetness, and plenty of humor in their picture books.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

| Tasha

tempest

Tempest by Julie Cross

Jackson is a college kid with a girlfriend, oh and one other thing, he’s a time traveler.  He can travel to the past and then back to 2009.  Nothing he does in the past has any impact on 2009.  He even got run over by a bus on one trip back in time and ended up with only a sore leg and a bruise in 2009.  But time travel does take a toll on him, making him tired and achy.  Jackson was just figuring out how his ability worked with the help of Adam, a brilliant science geek.  Then everything changed when his girlfriend was shot.  In the midst of his panic, Jackson traveled back into the past out of instinct.   Then he was not able to return to 2009.  Stuck in 2007, he has to figure out who to trust and why people are trying to kill him. 

This book was a challenge for me to get into.  I chafed at the way that consequences of time travel were ignored in the story.  As I kept reading though, it all made sense and the pacing and rush of the storyline made it compelling.  Even better, whenever I thought I had figured things out, the story took another twist.  I love it when that happens! 

This book is less about characters and more about action, and that is not a criticism.  The action is thrillingly written and riveting.  The book also has mystery elements to it, where glimpses of the past and current experiences meld together to form the complete truth.  It is a diverting read, almost impossible to put down and definitely one that lingers in your mind long after you finish reading. 

A great pick for teen collections, where the age of the protagonist at 19 and the action/mystery elements will keep them riveted.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from ARC received from St. Martin’s Press.

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Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

| Tasha

girl of fire and thorns

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

This one has been on my to-read list for awhile, after several blogging pals reviewed it very positively.  Then it was named a nominee for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and I knew I had to get my hands on it. 

Elisa is a princess, but a rather reluctant one.  Her older sister is the one with the beauty and poise, and luckily also the one destined to be queen.  But Elisa has a destiny of her own, she is the bearer of the Godstone in her navel, a gem that appeared during her naming ceremony as an infant.  She is destined to be a hero, but she can’t see past her own weight and laziness to even glimpse a future where that would be possible.  On Elisa’s sixteenth birthday, she is given in marriage to the king of a nation at war.  Moving away from her family, Elisa discovers that her new husband is going to keep their marriage secret.  Elisa is caught up in the politics and cunning of the kingdom, something she has always avoided.  Now she has to figure out what her future holds.  One thing is sure, it will be a different destiny than she ever expected!

Carson’s debut novel is a stunner.  She writes with a confidence and skill, weaving together what could have been jarring combinations into a harmonious tale.  This is a story that reads as a medieval fantasy, but is set in a desert nation with camels and dunes.  It is a fantasy that is steeped in religion, something you rarely see in fantasy for teens. 

Elisa is a marvel of a character.  She is fat, something unexpected in a princess.  She is lazy, but then displays a quick mind, clever responses, and a knowledge of war and tactics.  She is dark skinned, something that she alone dwells on as it contrasts with her sister.  Yet, and this is important, the men around her are attracted to her despite her size.  Just as with most of the book, the answers are not simple.  It’s a complex world that Carson has built here.

And the world building is exceptional.  She has created a world that is similar enough to our own, but filled with magic.  It is also home to a religion that is fully realized and complicated.  It even has disparate sects that disagree. 

This book was subject to some cover controversy with an original cover that featured a very light-skinned and thin girl.  While the new cover avoids the color of skin entirely, I would have appreciated a cover that embraces a protagonist of color and of size.

Highly recommended, this book deserves its spot in the William Morris Award nominees.  It is one of the best written and most intriguing fantasies for teens this year.  Appropriate for ages 14-17.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Review: Sea of Dreams by Dennis Nolan

| Tasha

sea of dreams

Sea of Dreams by Dennis Nolan

This wordless book begins with a normal scene of a girl building a sand castle on a beach.  When the sun sets, she reluctantly leaves the castle with its turrets behind.  As the tide comes in and the waves batter the ramparts, a light turns on in one of the sandcastle windows.  Then faces appear as the waves surge again.  A boat heads out to sea, rescuing the stranded people.  It heads into the waves and one of the small people is lost in the sea, tempting large fish to eat him.  Happily, the boy is discovered underwater by some mermaids who rescue him and return him to the boat.  They make it safely to a beach where there’s a cave.  The scene changes to the girl returning to the beach to build a second castle.   Once again, she leaves it behind on the beach at sunset, the waves roll in, and a light turns on.

Nolan has created a captivating story line here that blends real life and magic together seamlessly.  When one starts the book, there is no sense that it will suddenly change into something utterly different.  Part of this is the success of the realistic paintings that illustrate the book.  It seems grounded in reality until that amazing light turns on. 

A wondrous book that entrances and delights, this is a great read to share on a trip to the beach or in any quiet time where there is room to dream.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

| Tasha

liesl and po

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

Three nights after her father’s death, Liesl first meets Po.  Po just appears in her room, a piece of darkness that comes to life along with his pet, both of them are ghosts.  Po has come from the Other Side and the two slowly become close friends.  Meanwhile, another story is unfolding, one where a young apprentice to an alchemist makes a mistake and loses the biggest magic in the world because he accidentally picks up the wrong box.  This is not a small mistake, but a large one.  In this world devoid of color and sunshine, only potatoes grow.  The large magic is one that can change the course of the world or make someone the most powerful person in the world.  It all depends on whose hands it falls into.

This is an old-fashioned children’s book written by an author who usually writes edgy teen novels.  From the cadence of the story to the characters themselves, it could have been a story that was stereotypical.  But it is not.  Oliver has created a story built on a familiar structure that turns out to be a rousing adventure that speaks to grief, loss and recovery.  The themes are large, they are well drawn, and if young children do not see the themes they are still in for a good story.

While the action is great fun and the characters well drawn, I do wish they would have broken further from the stereotypes in the end.  The culmination of the story is very satisfying and the writing is a pleasure to read.  Much of the story, one is not sure what is going to happen because of the all of the twists and turns the book takes.

Magic and the Other Side are mixed together seamlessly.  The dark themes used in a children’s book carries this book into the realm of Dahl.  The black and white illustrations make it very friendly to young readers who will enjoy the fantasy and adventure blend.

A familiar but refreshing story, this book nicely combines tradition and larger themes into a magical read.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

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Review: Legend by Marie Lu

| Tasha

legend

Legend by Marie Lu

This dystopian fantasy is set in what used to be the western United States and now is The Republic.  The rising waters have caused issues with power, large slums, and lawlessness.  June is the only person to ever get a perfect score in the Trials, marking her as a prodigy.  She lives a live of luxury with her older brother, who has raised her after her parents’ accidental deaths.  Trained as a soldier, she is about to claim her destiny as the ideal warrior.  Day is the most wanted criminal in The Republic.  From the slums, he has managed several amazing feats of defiance but worries most about his family and the plague that is in their neighborhood.  The two of them would never have met, but then June’s brother is killed and it looks like Day is the culprit.

Lu takes the dystopian genre and weaves a story that both hearkens back to the heart of the genre yet creates something new and amazing.  The setting of a decaying United States at war with itself is slowly revealed through the story.  The results of that war are shown rather than told in details that bring the entire world to life.  From the luxury of June’s life through the squalor and danger of the slums, the setting is a pivotal piece of the tale.

The two compelling main characters add the action, the style and even the romance to this book.  June is trained to be a lethal weapon, yet she questions orders and thinks deeply about the ramifications of what she is doing.  Day is a dystopian Robin Hood with plenty of moxie and appeal.  Both of them wonder at their world, the truth of The Republic.  They also both see themselves as people who are able to make a difference.

The writing here is crisp and clean.  The story is vibrant, fast moving, and stellar.  This is one outstanding dystopian fantasy.  It is sure to appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and will leave many fans eager for the next book in the series.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

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Review: Liar’s Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce

| Tasha

liars moon

Liar’s Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce

When Digger is arrested and thrown in jail, she isn’t that surprised.  She is a pickpocket after all.  But it is interesting that the men who grabbed her knew that she was a girl though she was dressed in men’s clothing and that they were looking just for her.  When she is put into prison, she is surprised to find that she’s been put in Lord Durrel Decath’s cell.  He has been accused of poisoning his wife.  This is the man who once saved her life, and so she sets to work with her thieving skills to set him free.  As she searches for answers, she is drawn into the high society of their besieged city.  The clues seem to lead to only more questions and new theories rather than answers in this politically charged, masterful mystery.

This second book after Star Crossed is just as elegantly plotted as the first.  Bunce excels at creating a world that is familiar to readers but also unusual and unique.  Throughout the book, magic is a theme.  But in this world, it is reviled rather than embraced.  Magic users are persecuted, imprisoned and even slaughtered.  This forms the backbone of the story, the society itself, and our protagonist.

Digger is an amazing female protagonist.  She is gutsy, strong, intelligent, and loyal.  She never seems to be afraid of action or danger, making the entire story a delight to read since it is always moving quickly forward.  The other characters are equally complex.  There are women who appear to be flighty and dim, yet are something else entirely when their pretense is dropped.  There are suspects who seem obvious but then melt away to innocence and others who are just the opposite.

This is a complex and intricate mystery set in a world that is equally compelling.  Get this into the hands of fans of Tamora Pierce who will discover another amazing female protagonist to enjoy.  Appropriate for ages 14-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

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Review: The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

| Tasha

apothecary

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

Janie and her parents have just fled California and headed to Cold War London.  There she meets Benjamin, a boy who stands up for himself.  As the two of them attempt to follow Soviet spies around London, they discover a real plot, a dangerous one.  When Benjamin’s father disappears as they hide in the cellar below, Benjamin and Janie must try to use an ancient book of potions and spells to try to find him.  But first they have to keep the book and themselves out of the hands of the enemies who are trying to find them.  It’s not that easy when you don’t know who to trust or what to believe in anymore.

When I opened this book, it was like tumbling into a world that felt like home to me, but at the same time surprised and delighted me too.  Meloy’s writing has a solid feel to it, hearkening back in tone to classic children’s books of adventure.  At the same time, she has created a wondrous world to explore, one that she brings to life with strong characters, memorable settings, and a lot of magic. 

The two protagonists are winning characters, filled with both whimsy and charm.  They are characters that readers will relate to instantly.  Their sudden friendship and mutual attraction is written in a way that makes sense.  Both characters are brave, inventive, and creative.  They are just whom one would want to take a grant adventure with. 

The ARC I read of the book only had a few of the illustrations in it, but those that I have seen are beautiful.  The design of the book plays with light and dark and so do the images, many of them capturing moments of action and importance in the story. 

A dazzling fantasy novel, this book also has a strong sense of period and setting that can be missing in magical books.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin Young Readers Group.

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Review: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

| Tasha

breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Hazel and Jack have been best friends for almost their entire lives.   They share a love of Harry Potter, Narnia, and comics.  But now Jack spends a lot of time with his friends who are also boys.  He still does special things with Hazel, but it seems like less and less.  Then one day, something horrible happened and Jack stopped being friends with Hazel.  He was rude and mean.  Soon after that, Jack disappeared.  His parents weren’t worried.  They insisted he had been sent to care for an elderly aunt, but Hazel felt that something was really wrong.  When Tyler, a boy Jack was friends with, told her that he had seen a strange woman take Jack into the woods, Hazel set out to find Jack and bring him back.  But even her love of books can’t prepare Hazel for the twisted world she finds in the woods and the hazards she will have to face to find her best friend.

Ursu writes with a tone of wonder and discovery.  She puts things in ways that they have not been said before, creating new ways of expressing emotion and attachment.  She takes her time, building a way of seeing the world that is quirky and compelling at the same time.  Here is a paragraph from page 44 which shows the care with which she has created her world:

There were some days, ever since the summer, when the whole feel of Jack seemed to change.  Like suddenly, instead of being made of baseball and castles and superheroes and Jack-ness, he was made of something scratchy and thick.  Hazel could tell, because he had been her best friend for four years, and you can tell when your best friend is suddenly made of something else.  And all she could do was try to remind him what he was really made of.

The two main characters are exceptional.  Jack is a boy dealing with a mother fighting severe depression, someone who has already been lost to the emptiness and cold.  Hazel is a girl who never sees her father any more, who has a mother who wants her to make new friends beyond Jack, and who loves her friend beyond bravery. 

Everything in this book just works.  The background of the two protagonists clicks into what they do in reaction to the magic that enters their world.  Jack embraces the cold and emptiness.  Hazel has been abandoned by her father and will not abandon her best friend.  It is all simply cohesive.

This is a magical, amazing, lovely read that will appeal most to readers who also love Narnia and The Snow Queen.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Walden Pond Press.

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