Book Review: Cybele's Secret

A companion novel to Wildwood Dancing, this book takes place six years after the events of its predecessor and is told from the viewpoint of Paula, one of Jena's younger sisters. The scholarly Paula has been chosen to assist her father on a business trip to Istanbul to obtain a long-lost yet valuable artifact known as Cybele's Gift. Upon arrival, Paula and her father learn that one of their business associates has been killed, possibly in connection with the artifact--they aren't the only ones who want it, and apparently some bidders are prepared to pay any price to obtain it. Number one on Paula's list of suspects is the dashing pirate Duarte Aguiar, a man of ill repute in the city. Paula's father entreats her to hire a bodyguard to keep her safe during their stay, and she eventually hires a man named Stoyan. Stoyan is muscular and well-built, an excellent bodyguard. His previous employer, however, was the business associate that was murdered while Stoyan was away, so Paula questions his motives. While trying to learn whether she can trust Stoyan, Paula is invited to the house of a wealthy independant woman named Irene. It's not safe for women to walk the streets of Istanbul alone, so Paula must have an escort to get there-- either Stoyan or Irene's steward, the eunech Murat, while her father tends to business. The quest for Cybele's Gift is filled with danger, and Paula and her friends will be tested to their limits. Who can Paula trust? Who will stop at nothing to obtain the precious artifact? And why does the pirate Duarte seem so interested in Paula? The story that unfolds is interesting and exciting, but nowhere near as good as its predecessor. It's still a good story, however, and I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. [424 pages.]

Book Review: Wildwood Dancing

What would happen if a well-known fairytale were given an unexpected twist? That's exactly what happens in this amazing book, which is based on The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and is suprisingly set in...Transylvania. There's something here for everyone, but the plot remains cohesive and intriguing. There's a Beauty and the Beast element, vampires (known in this story as the Night People), and the interesting setting of the Carpathian Mountains. Jena is a strong heroine, likeable, well-imagined, and easy to relate to. She is surrounded by equally strong characters: her sisters, Tatiana, Iulia, Paula, and Stela; Gogu, her best friend; and Cezar, her disagreeable cousin, who makes a very satisfying antagonist. (Don't be daunted by the unusual names-- there's a pronounciation guide in the back of the book.) Jena and her sisters have been making regular monthly trips to the Other Kingdom by way of a secret portal, where they dance until dawn. When the Night People come to visit the Other Kingdom, Jena fears for her sister Tatiana, who seems to have fallen in love with one of them, the handsome Sorrow. Jena knows that a relationship with one of the Night People is not possible, and attempts to persuade her sister otherwise. With wise advice from her friend Gogu, Jena will have to learn the meaning of true love, and how love can come in many forms. The rich descriptions of the Other Kingdom are breathtaking and spellbinding, and overall the tale is excellent. I had to read it again immediately after finishing it, it was so good! I am rarely able to give a book this rating, but this one has earned it. 5 out of 5 stars! [400 pages.]

Book Review: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras

I recently read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield for the first time. It's commonly known as a trilogy, but in reality there are four books in this exciting teen series. The first three are about Tally Youngblood, while the fourth book gives a fresh perspective into the world created by a beauty-obsessed society. It may be science fiction, but it's believeable because it draws from the world in which we live today. Each book also has an exciting climax, and then climaxes again near the end so that you can't wait to find out what happens next!

Book Review: Along for the Ride

Light enough for the beach but filled with characters that are fleshed out just enough to leave you wanting more, Along for the Ride is a good lighthearted read that's perfect when you just want to relax.

Auden West is a teenage academic pro and the daughter of Dr. Victoria West, English professor extraordinaire, and Robert West, an "in the works" writer. Her parents are divorced, and her father is remarried to a twentysomething young thing named Heidi. Auden's summer begins with an invitation from her stepmother to come visit them and the new baby, a girl named Thisbe. (It's from Shakespeare, Auden's dad explains. He likes names with character.) Uncharacteristically, Auden decides to visit, realizing that this could be her last chance to connect with her dad before college starts, and later, her life as an adult.

By the end of the novel, she's learned a lot about relationships with people (and not just the boyfriend kind-- her family and new friends as well). I liked this book because you get to see the main character grow as a person, but you also see the people around her grow as well. Most of the characters in this book started off being complete jerks, but as the novel progressed, they learned a bit from their mistakes and tried to become better people. As Adam and Maggie have taught her, it's worth it to keep trying.

Book Review: Airborn

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel is my very first venture into the steampunk genre. (I've known of steampunk for several years, but hadn't been interested in it at all--until now.) The book is set on an airship called the Aurora, which gets its lift from the fictional gas hydrium. The main character (and narrator), fifteen-year-old Matt Cruse, is the ship's cabin boy. He is an extremely likable character--funny, daring, and easy to relate to. This last point deserves a bit more attention, as your average fifteen-year-old probably isn't a cabin boy, and he certainly wouldn't one on a luxury airship. Oppel has done an especially good job with this particular character, as well as the other main and support characters (I enjoyed the Captain and crazy Chef Vlad in particular).

It's been long time since I've read a new book that appealed to me as much as this well-written adventure. It's fast-paced, with action scenes in just the right places, and the technicalities of the airship aren't done to the point of incomprehension. The excellent way that Oppel has penned Airborn makes Matt Cruse's story completely believable, as well as a must-read (and for me, a must-own!).

Book Review: Prom Nights from Hell

Prom Nights from Hell features five mediocre stories about proms gone paranormally wrong. A couple of the stories were entertaining, but most fell extremely short of the mark. This book might be okay if you're looking for something light (read: vapid) to read around Halloween, but it's hardly even worth the time. Overall, the stories weren't particularly well-crafted or even interesting.

Book Review: Boys That Bite

This is a vampire book told from an unusual point of view, and it worked really well. Sunshine and Rayne are identical twins who got their names from their ex-hippie parents. Both girls are blonde, but Sunny likes to wear flip-flops, tank tops, and jeans, while Rayne's all about the Goth thing. Told from Sunny's perspective, Boys That Bite utilizes situational humor to poke fun at vampire novels in general. This book made me laugh a lot (sometimes out loud), and I really enjoyed it.

It all starts when Rayne invites Sunny to go with her to a Goth-style (alcohol-free) club called Club Fang. Rayne's supposed to get a "love bite" from her future vampire mate, Magnus, so that she can become a vampire, but unfortunately Magnus gets the wrong girl and bites Sunny instead. But Sunny isn't the one who wants to be a vampire. What follows is a quest to "unvampirize" Sunny and a surprisingly sweet, romantic storyline as Sunny and Magnus find themselves... together.

Book Review: Blood and Chocolate

If you've seen the movie version of this... I'd recommend that you forget you ever saw it! Hollywood didn't seem to have read the book (and if they did, they completely missed the point). I've never really cared for the title-- it doesn't fit in well with the book, and it usually makes my stomach churn (but it comes from a quote from Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, which I have not read). That aside, the book itself is much better than its title suggests, though it does have its problems.

Vivian is a young loupe-garou (werewolf) whose pack-family is divided. Her father, the pack leader, died in a fire some time ago, and it's taken some time for the group to recover as far as they have. Which isn't much, Vivian realizes. With so much going wrong at home, Vivian seeks other companions and becomes romantically interested in a human boy at school named Aiden. The rest of the pack members-- especially the Five, the young male werewolves that are Vivian's age-- are not happy about her choice. As her relationship with Aiden progresses, she longs to tell him that she's really a loupe-garou. When she does, he laughs at first, but when she shows him her true form, he (understandably) runs. Vivian wishes he could see how beautiful she knows herself to be, and is upset with him for making Vivian hate herself. By the end of the story, however, she's found the one who appreciates her for herself, and embraces her new role in the pack.

Overall, the book has a pretty good storyline, but I felt that a few of the elements detracted from the point it was trying to make. There's some mild innuendo and sexual content that was unneccessary, and a few darker themes run through the storyline as well, marring an otherwise excellent book.

Book Review: The Silver Kiss

Similar to Twilight in ways but written in 1990, this has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager. Unfortunately the Twilight Saga may have already pushed this book into oblivion, because the slight romance element in the book that makes it exciting has been far more thoroughly explored in the Stephanie Meyer books. Nevertheless, I still like this one.

Zoe's mother is dealing with cancer, and it seems to be a losing battle. Her father isn't home much because he's usually at the hospital with Mom, and Zoe's best friend Lorraine is moving to Oregon. Everything seems to be going wrong, and Zoe is lonely and having a hard time dealing with the idea that her mother may die. It takes the eventual friendship with a handsome vampire named Simon to help her deal with these issues and learn that life is about more than death.

Book Review: A Taste for Red

I first heard about this book on a blog I regularly follow, Miss Print, and it sounded really good. However, when I read it myself, it turned out to be somewhat disappointing. (Sorry, Miss Print. Sorry, Mr. Harris.)

Svetlana is a really fun character to listen to-- smart-alecky and hilarious-- with a preference for eating only red foods, sleeping under her bed, and wearing black. Because of these things, she thinks she's a vampire. (I wish she'd turned out to be one in the book, instead of... what she did turn out to be.) I enjoyed the beginning of this book quite a bit. As it progressed, I felt that it wasn't living up to its inital promise and potential.

Overall, I thought the book had a good and unique idea, if perhaps a little short on plot towards the ending. It's not the worst-written book I've ever read, by far... but it's not really the best of the best, either. Instead of being a book I felt like I must add to my personal library (as I was hoping), it turned out to be one I can live without. (Worth checking out at the local library, though.)

That said, I will say this: This is Mr. Harris's first book, and I've seen FAR WORSE books by more experienced authors, and been left wondering why the publisher let it go through to the printing press. This is not one of those books, and I am eager to see what Mr. Harris will produce next. He has a unique, funny, attention-grabbing writing style that's sure to be appealing with young adults. It's not what I'd call a 'must-read,' but it is at least 'worth reading.'

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

The only good thing I observed about this book was its format, which was unusually clever. Author John Green utilizes a unique "before-the-event/the event/after-the event" structure to tell the story of a group of teens, who they were before a life-changing event, and who they became afterwards. Unfortunately, the story is peppered with graphic sexual content, pornography, lewd references to both genders, smoking, drinking, cursing, and little to no consequences for poor actions made by the characters.

I'd previously read a short story by John Green in the book Let it Snow (book review coming in December), and had thought at the time that that particular story wasn't too bad overall. When I picked up Looking for Alaska randomly from a library shelf, I thought, "Oh yeah, John Green, this should be okay." However, I was extremely disappointed with my findings. First of all, the sexual content is far too graphic for Green's target audience (which, he writes, is high schoolers). I skipped over the worst parts, hoping that the story would manage to redeem itself in the end, but it didn't do that either. The event that becomes the turning point of the story is the death of a main character, and afterwards her friends are left wondering 1.) whether it was an accident or suicide, 2.) the meaning of life and why things like this happen, and 3.) whether there's any point to living life at all. The book then attempts to answer the meaning-of-life questions with a jumbled and unsatisfactory mix of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, which results in an overall feeling of hopelessness and drudgery. This is one of the few books I've read that I truly felt was a complete waste of time.

Book Review: Swords for Hire

If you enjoyed The Princess Bride (either movie or book version), you'll probably enjoy Swords for Hire. Written in equal parts sarcasm and humor, this book made me laugh quite a bit. It parodies your typical fantasy adventure-- dynamic sword-wielding duo rescues princess and overthrows bad guy-- so it isn't particularly original, but the material is familiar enough (and funny enough) that it's not really a disadvantage. Instead, it's more like seeing an old friend again. Overall, I thought that this was a book worth reading, and it made me wish that its author, Will Allen, was still alive. I'm sure he would have made a mint with books like this, and I wish there was more where this came from. (It was written in 1979 by Will Allen when he was twenty-two. He was terminally ill with melanoma.) The characters in the book are actually based on Will and his family members, and their portraits are on the cover!

If you can't find this book and think it sounds interesting, more information is avaliable here.

Book Review: Beauty

This version of Beauty and the Beast is possibly one of the best-written books I've ever read, as well as being a perennial favorite of mine. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast is a fresh, more detailed take on the classic story, full of vibrant color and rich descriptions.

Book Review: Gamer Girl

If it's possible to have a crush on a book, I think I have one on Gamer Girl! After picking it up off a library shelf at random, I tore through its 224 pages in three hours and forty-five minutes, because I just had to know what happened next. It's not that it's packed with action; it was just such a refreshing change from the average young-adult fare that I couldn't help but enjoy it.

Maddy is a skater/emo girl who loves manga (Japanese comics), drawing, and recently for her, video games. Her parents have just divorced, and she's going to a new school. Unfortunately, things at her new school take a bad turn on the very first day, and she has a hard time making new friends. She also won't get to see her dad as often due to the divorce, so for her birthday, Dad gives her the game Fields of Fantasy so they can hang out in the virtual world. However, Dad doesn't seem to be able to hang out much there either, and so Maddy (alias Alora in the game) ends up hanging out virtually with a kid named Sir Leo. Sir Leo is a lot of fun, and before Maddy knows it, Sir Leo is also Maddy's best (and only) friend.

The book is good with this, too, however. Maddy's dad tells her not to give out too much information to strangers online, pointing out that he could be anyone-- not neccessarily the sixteen-year-old guy he says he is. And later, the book points out the dangers of gaming too much when Maddy's dad ditches her for his online gaming buddies. Maddy clearly sees that there is a difference between being a gamer and being a computer addict. Conquering her fear of the bullies at school, she learns to stand up for herself, makes some new friends, and discovers Sir Leo's true identity.

The book, published in 2008, is written very much in the "now"-- you'll find references to things like Facebook, Myspace, cell phones, and actual manga titles like Fullmetal Alchemist. This part of it was especially well-done. Too often, name-dropping feels like an advertisement, but in this book, Mari Mancusi makes it work, adding to the feel that Maddy could very well be someone you actually know. I also felt that Mancusi did a good job with the 'internet dangers' part, making sure that her readers know to watch out, without lecturing. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and felt that it was refreshing and well-written.

Book Review: Beastly

Ever wonder what it was like for the Beast? When I first started reading this book, I planned to write a review describing it as "a refreshing, modern-day retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast' from the Beast's point of view." While that's essentially accurate, after finishing it I'm much more inclined to tell people that it's simply one of my "new favorite books." Alex Flinn is a new author to me, and I was fairly pleased with the way she handled this take on a classic story.

The son of a wealthy news anchor, Kyle Kingsbury is one of the "Beautiful People" at his high school. He's just about to be elected prince of the ninth-grade dance, and most people--including himself-- seem to think that he deserves it. He's gorgeous, after all. Unfortunately, Kyle is also a jerk. He asks a "fat girl" named Kendra to be his date to the dance-- all the while planning to embarrass her by ditching her when he shows up to the dance with his real date, Sloane Hagen, the hottest babe in school. Sloane is all for Kyle's ditching goth-chick Kendra, and is happy to go along with it so that Kendra will actually show up. Both girls want corsages: Sloane wants a purple orchid to go with her barely-there black dress, and Kendra wants a white rose. "For purity," she says. However, when the night of the big dance comes, the new maid has messed up and gotten just a white rose. Sloane is seriously ticked and refuses to wear it. Unsure what to do with it, Kyle gives it to the girl selling tickets at the door. (She's thrilled.)

Unfortunately for Kyle, Kendra turns out to be a witch-- and extremely good looking, even if she does have green hair. To teach Kyle a lesson, she transforms him into a beast. Since looks are all he values in people, he needs to learn what it is to be beautiful on the inside. Kendra tells him that because he performed one small act of kindness--giving the rose to the girl at the ticket booth-- that he can have a second chance. To break the spell, he must find a girl within two years that can look past the fur and claws and love him for who he is (and kiss him to prove it), and what's more, Kyle has to truly love her back.

When I first picked up Beastly, I was just planning to read the first few pages to get a taste of what I'd be in for. However, the presentation of the story was so intriguing and new to me that I couldn't put it down. (I think I finished it in about 3.5-4 hours, straight through.) I'll have to read it again to be sure, but I think I just might have to buy a copy of this one.

Book Review: Dragondrums

It's been about three years since the last book, and Piemur's voice is changing. Having lost his famous soprano voice, Masterharper Robinton decides it's time to put Piemur to good use with his other abilities. Piemur's primary other talents include picking up important snippets of information and putting them together to see the whole of whatever's going on, and dissembling. So Master Robinton secretly makes Piemur his new apprentice, and assigns him to the drumheights (the primary message center). This way, Piemur will be in a position to send and recieve messages, as well as covertly perform any other tasks the Masterharper might wish.

This is my least favorite book in the Harper Hall trilogy. I like Piemur, but as the other two books are about Menolly, I would have expected her to be more important in this book than she actually turns out to be.

Book Review: Dragonsinger

The second book in Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall trilogy, Dragonsinger, chronicles Menolly's eventful first week as a harper apprentice.

Menolly and her nine fire lizards have come to stay at their new home, the Harper Hall. Initially she is put in the small cottage with the other girls--paying customers--but most of the girls make life miserable for Menolly because of their envy. It doesn't help that the cotholder Dunca hates the sight of Menolly and fears her fire lizards. When a message to Menolly about her classes is withheld by Dunca, Menolly is given a room of her own within the male-dominated Harper Hall and becomes Masterharper Robinton's apprentice.

After a few initial trials and tribulations, Menolly is befriended by the mischievious young boy Piemur and Master Robinton's journeyman, Sebell. Piemur's clear soprano voice earned him a place as an apprentice harper at an unusually young age, and he proves a true friend to Menolly (and not just because he wants a fire lizard of his own someday).

Book Review: Dragonsong

This book is a longtime favorite of mine, and for quite awhile I was not aware that it was actually part of a trilogy. It can be read alone, but works fairly well with the other two books also.

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsong is about a girl named Menolly who lives in Half-Circle Sea Hold on the planet known as Pern. Menolly's one true joy in life is music. She has talent, and was singled out and taught by the Hold's harper Petiron. In this society, songs are used to teach Pern's history and school the children, among many other things. After Petiron's death, Menolly is the only one able to sing and play properly, and must take over schooling the children until the new Harper arrives. However, her strict, tradition-abiding father, Yanus, is the Sea Holder, and anything musical is considered "harper's business" and therefore a man's job. (Traditionally, only men can become harpers.)

After an unfortunate accident and the increasing unfairness of her parents in denying her music, Menolly leaves the Hold-- a daring and dangerous thing to do, because of something known as Thread. When a wayward red star passes close enough to Pern, it drops deadly spores that eat through anything living. Metal and rock are the only things that stop Thread, so one must have shelter during Threadfall. The inhabitants of Pern have come up with a way to combat Thread: huge dragonlike creatures are ridden by specially chosen human beings--dragonriders--and together, they char Thread into ash midair. Menolly's leaving her Hold and living without shelter is dangerous, but she finds a cave in time. Inside the cave, a clutch of fire lizards (similar to dragons, but much smaller) are about to hatch, and from there, all her adventures begin...

Book Review: Dragon and Liberator

The sixth and final book in the Dragonback series by Timothy Zahn finally wraps everything up neatly-- and excitingly! Who is friend? Who is foe? The answers may surprise you...

Book Review: Dragon and Judge

A quick stop on the planet Semaline turns into a prolonged adventure. Jack ends up serving as a judge to a group of aliens, and while doing so discovers who his parents were and just what happened to them the last time they were on Semaline. The fifth Dragonback book by Timothy Zahn.