12.12.08
Recent Reads – December 2008
I’ve been reading a lot lately, and I just hate it when I read too much and cannot post on them. Therefore, today I shall post my recent reads with little reviews next to them.
by Jeanne Birdsall
A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
I loved reading this book. It was so fun! It’s one of those old-fashioned, squeaky clean books full of humor and adventure (and trouble!)
by Robin McKinley
She’s just a beekeeper with a woodright; she shouldn’t be Chalice, second in command. But she is, and she has to deal.
It’s been so long since I read a Robin McKinley book for the first time – and it’s so nice. Her writing is so detailed and enjoyable. It could have been a short story, but it was written into a novel and it’s probably better that way.
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Josie has celebral palsy, which makes her different from everyone else. But she wants to just forget her difference and live.
This book was written in verse. I’ve wanted to read this for so long, and I’m delighted that I finally have. The verses were compelling, and sweet, just like Josie herself.
by Irene Hunt
Julie’s mother has died, so she, with her brother Chris, leaves her father to live with her stern, spinster aunt. She cannot at all imagine what will happen to her.
This is a very old book (I think it was published sometime when my parents were born) but it was so good I decided to include it anyway. The book was detailed, the characters very lovable, and the story charming.
11.20.08
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by E. Lockhart
A pretty, intelligent girl. Her handsome senior boyfriend, who she is pretty sure is lying to her. His cocky friend. A boarding school. A secret society. A secret fight for power.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. This was an addicting read (especially toward the end). I loved the way Frankie fought for power, and the pranks she played, and the words she played with. The ending was bittersweet, but it fit, and it’s a pretty open ending, leaving you wondering what would happen next, as Frankie was apt to do.
visit E. Lockhart at http://e-lockhart.com
Books I found somewhat similar: the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer
11.08.08
Palace of Mirrors- Margaret Peterson Haddix
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Cecelia is not a normal peasant girl. Actually, she’s the real princess, raised up in this remote village so as to keep her safe, while Princess Desmia is merely a fake used to trick the people who killed her father and mother, the King and Queen.
But when Cecelia goes to claim the throne, she meets with challenges she had never imagined.
I approached this book with caution. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because I’d read Just Ella, which took place in the same universe (and which focuses on Ella Brown, who reappears in this book), I found it boring. Even now I remember it as predictable and not very impressive.
But Palace of Mirrors surprised me. The plot was entertaining and diverting, and the characters intriguing. It’s the sort of book that has both nice parts and parts that don’t seem to fit. The ending seemed too happily-ever-after, and the explanation didn’t seem quite possible. Yet, I think the idea was a good one, and almost pulled off.
Cecelia’s a good narrator, and it was interesting to revisit Ella Brown. It’s not a must-read, but it would be a nice read all the same.
10.23.08
Out of the Wild- Sarah Beth Durst
by Sarah Beth Durst
The Wild was conquered weeks ago by Julie. Or so she thought. But all of a sudden, the Wild swallows one of the three blind mice-only instead of growing, it spits out her father. Rapunzel’s prince.
But Julie’s father is terribly outdated. He doesn’t understand anything around him, and worse-he doesn’t understand how he is fueling the Wild, by doing everything he is supposed to do. So as Julie’s father sets out to rescue a captive Sleeping Beauty, leaving Rapunzel and Gothel as mere pumpkins, Julie has no choice but to follow, knowing that she must stop her father.
This was a wonderful book. I devoured it, and not just because of the newness of it, either (although I do love new books). Julie was an honest character, true to her age and insecurities. The plot was beautiful and sweet, and the other characters-some new, some old-were fantastic.
The plot did start really fast, which launched me straight into the story. It was a wonderful sequel, more satisfying and happily-ever-after than the first one. My only complaint? I wish it was real! I can just begin imagining what I would do, if this book was only non-fiction instead of fiction. 
10.13.08
Into the Wild-Sarah Beth Durst
by Sarah Beth Durst
Julie lives the life of a normal girl in a normal home with normal family friends. But under the pretense, she has some secrets. Under her bed lives a collection of green vines. These are the Wild, which her mother, Rapunzel (yes, the fairy-tale one), somehow defeated and escaped from five hundred years before.
Besides enduring the monster under the bed, Julie also has to live with her mother’s wide range of friends, all fairy-tale characters who also escaped. But the Wild doesn’t just give up. And when the Wild returns, kidnapping Julie’s mother and terrorizing her town, she must go and be the hero in a cruel place which she has underestimated for nearly all her life.
This book was gripping. Nearly every chapter had a cliffhanger ending. The plot is convincing, the intermixing with twists on traditional fairy-tales intriguing, and the characters well-drawn.
What I liked about this book was how the fairy-tale characters regarded the Wild. It had an interesting perspective I’d never heard before, accented by a warning on the back:
Beware of the Wild.
It bites…
The Wild takes hold and doesn’t let go. Just like this book.
09.30.08
Cybele’s Secret-Juliet Marillier
by Juliet Marillier
Paula is accompanying her father on a trip to the city of Istanbul to aquire a certain special artifact. Paula knows, from her extensive research, that the Cybele’s Gift is a special antique of the ancient goddess, Cybele, rumored to be able to bring fortune and luck to whatever family owns it.
Of course, Paula and her father are not the only ones seeking Cybele’s Gift. There are many merchants in the race, all hoping to be able to collect it. When they arrive in Istanbul, they discover that Salem bin Afazi, Paula’s father’s colleague, has been murdered, the killer unknown. Suddenly, they must watch their steps more carefully than they ever have before.
This is one of those books. Addicting and lovely. Ever since I read its prequel, Wildwood Dancing, I’ve been excited for this book, and it didn’t let me down.
Paula was an exciting narrator. The ending was kind of predictable, even if I couldn’t precisely tell how it was going to come about, but I liked the unexpected, uncertain events that happened before everything was resolved.
09.13.08
Princess Ben- Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Benevolence (Ben) is the niece of the king of Montagne. But when the king and Ben’s mother is killed in a mysterious attack, and Ben’s father disappears, Ben becomes the heir to the throne, because Queen Sophia, her uncle’s wife, has not produced any children.
The conninving Queen Sophia becomes the queen regent, and Ben, being the heir apparent, is subjected to torturous princess training.
But Ben, locked up in a tower at night, discovers a secret room, where she teaches herself magic. She is certain that her father and mother where attacked by the Drachensbett, the neighbors and enemies of Montagne. And she will avenge her parents.
Initially, when I started reading, I had a strong feeling this was just another novel about a tomboy princess. But it wasn’t. I was pleasantly surprised.
I loved the way the story mixed in elements from fairy tales. And I really enjoyed Ben’s first-person’s narrative. It’s one of those old-fashioned-y narratives that include words not used very much anymore but not quite archaic yet.
Ben was fun, this book was fun. I really enjoyed reading it.
08.23.08
Nobody’s Princess-Esther Friesner
by Esther Friesner
She’s Helen, princess of Sparta, destined to become the queen. But Helen finds the tasks women are supposed to do-weaving, embroider, etc.,-boring. Instead, she wants to learn how to fight, how to battle, like her older brothers.
So Helen sets out to do what she wants, counting on sheer determination rather than her looks or the gods. And while her attitude may alienate some, they also earn her some invaluable friends.
This book is about the girl who would become Helen of Troy, the girl who would eventually bring about the destruction of a great city with her beauty.
I found a few faults with this book. One, I think, is because this Helen was different from what I’d expected. The Iliad basically portrays Helen as nothing more than a pretty face quickly overcome by Paris with Aphrodite’s help. The Helen of Nobody’s Princess, by contrast, was intelligent and fierce with a big temper. So maybe I was prejudiced, but Helen of Nobody’s Princess didn’t seem to be able to become the Helen of the Iliad.
Another thing might be because I’m a little bored of princess who want to do the stuff boys do. While it’s been some time since I picked up such a book, and this book was definitely unique, I still found a rebellious princess like Helen a little bit of a cliche.
So I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone tired to such princesses, like me. And now that I think on it, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone one very pious because of the easy use of Greek gods in this novel. But to someone who likes those adventurous, girl-power novels? This book was descriptive and fun. I’d say, “Go for it!”
