The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Title: The Wicked Will Rise
Author: Danielle Paige
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Rating: 5/5

Cover Impressions:  I love the entire concept of this cover.  Very dark and gritty.  The cut out showing storm clouds is fantastic and I love the shade of green for the title font.

The Gist:
In this dark, high-octane sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die, Amy Gumm must do everything in her power to kill Dorothy and free Oz.

To make Oz a free land again, Amy Gumm was given a mission: remove the Tin Woodman’s heart, steal the Scarecrow’s brain, take the Lion’s courage, and then Dorothy must die....

But Dorothy still lives. Now the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked has vanished, and mysterious Princess Ozma might be Amy’s only ally. As Amy learns the truth about her mission, she realizes that she’s only just scratched the surface of Oz’s past—and that Kansas, the home she couldn't wait to leave behind, may also be in danger. In a place where the line between good and evil shifts with just a strong gust of wind, who can Amy trust—and who is really Wicked?
 
Review:Having failed to assasinate Dorothy, Amy Gumm is on the run.  Alongside her is princess Ozma, former ruler of Oz and current space case.  All she has to go on is the Wizard's assurance that she can succeed in her task once she has collected the three most powerful objects in Oz.  With the tin man's still beating heart squirreled away in her satchel, Amy sets out to find the rest her compatriates, collect the Lion's courage and Scarecrow's brain, and finally kill Dororthy.

For those people new to the story, this is not the Oz we grew up with.  It is much grittier and features some truly dark characters.  There are gruesome deaths (usually at Amy's hand) and some scary moments that are not for the faint of heart.  This creates an action-packed plot that is near impossible to put down (even when it is past midnight and you know that your 3 month old will be waking in a few hours!) 

In this second book in the series, Danielle Paige has expanded to cast of characters and moved beyond those we may be familiar with.  We meet LuLu, the monkey queen with a past close to the crown, Bright, a beautiful but cowardly young man and Polychrome, the rainbow fairy who appears to have a great deal more going on beneath the surface.  Of course our old favorites reappear and we get to see a developing relationship between Amy and Nox.  Amy experiences a great deal of growth within this novel as she learns more and more about the magic of Oz and balances the line between good and wicked.  She is not your simpering, goody-two shoes character who whines about her lot in life and she never hesitates to do the dirty work - even when that involves beheadings!

We follow Amy and Ozma through several new, enchanting lands and get a glimpse of what Oz could have been without the influence of Dorothy and Glinda.  These worlds are truly magical and I only wish the book had been longer so that we could spend more time in these incredible places.  We also get to see a twisted, macabre version of the Emerald City and discover that the liberation of Oz has become even more complicated than we had previously thought.  In the end, we are left on a cliffhanger that had me thinking about the book all night long and pining for the release of the next in the series (2017? Say it ain't so?!)

If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and pick up this book.  And while you are at it, grab the novellas as well. They add an interesting dimension to the story and allow you to immerse yourself in Oz just that little bit longer.


Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age:  13 and up
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Knifeplay, Swordplay, Death by Beheading, Death by Strangulation
Inappropriate Language: Fuck, Dick, Shit,
Substance Use/Abuse: Smoking

The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill

Title: The Witch's Boy
Author: Kelly Barnhill
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Rating: 5/5 

Cover Impressions: The cover is super cute.  I love the tiny figures with huge shadows.  I worry that the colors are not bright enough to make it stand off a shelf and hope that it doesn't stop kids from picking it up.
I love the fairy tale feel of the book blurb and the fact that the main character's mother is a witch - which is a nice divergence from the traditional tale. 

The Gist: When Ned and his identical twin brother tumble from their raft into a raging, bewitched river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. Sure enough, Ned grows up weak and slow, and stays as much as possible within the safe boundaries of his family’s cottage and yard. But when a Bandit King comes to steal the magic that Ned’s mother, a witch, is meant to protect, it's Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community.

In the meantime, in another kingdom across the forest that borders Ned’s village lives Áine, the resourceful and pragmatic daughter of the Bandit King. She is haunted by her mother’s last words to her: “The wrong boy will save your life and you will save his.” But when Áine and Ned’s paths cross, can they trust each other long enough to make their way through the treacherous woods and stop the war about to boil over?

Review:

Having lost his twin brother in a drowning accident as they ventured out to find the sea, Ned never feels completely whole and is unable to do many of the things that he had previously taken for granted.  He has been plagued by the assumption that his father had saved the wrong boy.  His mother is a witch who uses dangerous magic and Ned is constantly faced with the townspeople who love her when they need her and loathe her when they don't.  He retreats into himself, rarely speaking and avoiding interaction with anyone, even his grief-stricken parents.  When his mother's magic is threatened by outside forces, Ned is the only one who can protect it and he is sent on a perilous journey to save himself, his family, and his village. 

The Witch's Boy is written in a beautiful style that is reminiscent of classic fairy tales.  The author displays a unique and clever sense of wit that kept me smiling to myself. 

King Ott; benevolent ruler of the Kingdowm of Duunin (of course he was benevolent! It said so on banners and placards and all of the money! He even required his generals to tattoo it on their forearms with an outline of his smiling face hovering above), was in a bit of a snit. 

There is an exchange between the bandit king and the king of Duunin, as the later calls the executioner and the former merely smiles, that had me in stitches.  At the same time, the author regularly comments on the magic, delight and power of words which is bound to warm the heart of any lover of books and reading. 

A word is a magic thing.  It holds the essence of an object or an idea and pins it to the world.  A word can set the universe in motion.  

I love middle grade stories that do not shy away from important themes and deep symbolism.  The Witch's Boy is one of these.  There is a continuous thread throughout the novel the reminds of there could not possibly be NOTHING on the other side of the mountain (in fact nothing is a very important word and becomes a refrain repeated by several characters).  The author does a beautiful job of extending this metaphor to show that there is never "nothing", even in death.  The soul never disappears, it simply moves to the next place - the other side of the mountain.

"There is no death," the Stone said.  "There is only the next thing.  A mountain gives way to a river and becomes a canyon.  A tree gives way to its rot and becomes the ground.  We will let go of our unnaturally elongated lives and embrace something else."

The characters also have a magic all their own.  By the end of the novel, we see such remarkable growth in Ned as he learns his own power and the strength of his own desires.  The magic itself also makes for a very fun character.  It has a fantastic voice as it speaks inside Ned's head.  It doesn't seem to have the same sense of morality or guilt that a human character would, which makes it much more unpredictable and enjoyable to read.

(Having been asked to heal a bandit) 
We are certain that you meant to say, "painless death."  We can say it together: "painless death." Or painful, if you prefer.  It's up to you.  Please tell us that you simply misspoke.

The plot moves at a decent pace, and is helped along by the changing of viewpoints from Ned to Aine to the King, to the Bandit King, to the Stones and so on.  There is a great deal of action that will keep any reader interested and a beautiful thread of friendship that will keep them satisfied.

Bottom Line: The Witch's Boy is wonderful.  A phenomenal addition to any middle grade library and well written enough to be enjoyed by older audiences as well.       

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 10 and up 
Sex: None
Violence: Death by drowning, Death by arrow, Swordplay
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Use/Abuse: None

ARC Book Review: House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

Title: House of Ivy & Sorrow
Author: Natalie Whipple
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions:  Very pretty.  I love the title, though it is a little misleading.  I do feel like the cover is missing some focal point and I find myself trying to figure out if there is some pattern to the image behind the writing.

The Gist: Josephine Hemlock is a young witch in training living with her grandmother in their mysterious and powerful house.  The last of the Hemlock line, she is constantly in fear of the curse that took her mother and the witch that cast it.  When a mysterious stranger comes to town covered in a darkness Jo has never seen before, she realizes that it is time to stop hiding and time to start fighting.  But, the spell is stronger than she ever realized and fighting it may not only put her in danger, but also all the people that she loves. 

Review:

First off, a disclaimer.  In order to enjoy this novel, you have to realize that, despite the gothic title and the fanciful cover, this is not a dark and sorrowful tale.  I believe this was poor marketing as it is setting readers up for one type of story and leaving them disappointed when they get another.  If you can accept that this is not an author attempting to give Poe a run for his money, you can settle in and enjoy a fun story with some interesting world building and enjoyable, if not all that well developed, characters.

The best part of this novel was the world building.  It had an interesting take on witches and magic where nothing came without a sacrifice.  This led to some pretty gruesome scenes where characters yanked out handfuls of hair, chopped off pieces of flesh or even (YUCK!) pulled out their own fingernails.  I really liked how the witches had to sacrifice for what they wanted and that it made them think about how much they were willing to give up, as opposed to many other books where the witches cast spells willy nilly. 

I also really enjoyed the relationship between the three girls.  So many books today show the catty side of teenage girls and allow the story to get bogged down with nastiness and jealousy.  I was happy that in House of Ivy and Sorrow Jo, Kat and Gwen showed an intense loyalty and a willingness to sacrifice for one another. 

While the novel was relatively fast paced, with one disaster following another, it did suffer slightly in that I didn't quite understand how the curse worked and the twists were a tad predictable.  Where it really got waylaid was in the puppy love between Jo and Winn.  Their sweeter than sugar romance became more than a little nauseating as the novel wore on and I could never see (other than the fact that he was handsome) what Jo actually saw in Winn.  There was also the fact that Jo was constantly being proclaimed as the most beautiful creature in the entire world and that everybody immediately wanted her.  I believe we could have gotten a more well rounded character and relatable character if we were not told over and over again how drop dead gorgeous she was, as if that one defining characteristic eclipsed all others.  

I actually liked this book and had a fun time reading it, despite its downfalls.  I don't think that this is meant to be a series, but I would definitely pick up a sequel if it were offered, if only for the interesting witchy world that this one presented. 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Girls
Sex: Kissing, Making out - nothing particularly racy.
Violence: Self mutilation: removal of hair, skin and fingernails
Inappropriate Language: Piss, Shit, Bastard
Substance Use/Abuse: None

Audio Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia
Publisher: Brown
Release Date: Dec 1, 2009
Rating: 3/5

Cover Impressions: The cover has some beautiful elements but, for me, it feels like it is missing something.  The script is stunning, the trees create a fantastically creepy atmosphere, but I keep looking for something else to rest my eye upon and there just isn't anything.  If I were designing this cover - I would have added a full moon so we at least had a focal point. 

The Gist: Ethan Wate is counting down the days until he can escape the small town of Gatlin.  He spends his days barely tolerating his classmates and his nights struggling to hold on to a girl that he has never met.  When Lena Duchannes arrives at Stonewall Jackson High School, everyone can tell she is different.  Ethan finds himself seeking her out and will soon discover that they have a mysterious and powerful connection.

Review: 
I have encountered this book (and the others in the series) off an on throughout my forays through the world of YA.  In reading the synopsis, however, the whole mysterious romantic connection turned me off from picking up the book.  Then I encountered the trailer for the movie to be released in 2013 and it looked so good I just had to give the book a shot and decided to try the audio version.

Let me tell you, it was loooooooooong.  Normally, I find audiobooks make my commute better and make dealing with traffic a heck of a lot easier (just more time for the book!).  But this one left me frustrated.  I found myself yelling at the characters as they whined about their lives.  Boo hoo, my home town is boring (Ethan) Wah Wah my life is weird and full of magic (Lena).  I swear, if I heard Lena say "I am going to go dark" one more time I was going to throw my ipod under the wheels of a semi.  It was even more irritating because the underlying plot was great.  It had lots of mystery, great settings and interesting characters.  But it seemed that just as I was getting some answers and seeing the plot progress, we would revert to moody Lena, queen of complaining.  I really wanted to shake her - you have super-fun powers, DO SOMETHING WITH THEM!  While Beautiful Creatures had a wonderfully creepy setting and some fantastically exciting scenes, there was just too long in between them and I got tired of waiting.

I was not a huge fan of the narrator, though he was competent enough.  However, at one point, the narration switches to Lena and a female voice.  I did not like her at all!  This new narrator displayed little to no emotion and it completely pulled me from the world that the author had created.  Because this occurred during a particularly important and action-filled section of the book, it was incredibly jarring and ruined those emotional moments for me.

This book is also guilty of perpetrating one of my pet peeves: the uncaring school.  As a teacher, I take a real offense when I encounter books that feature teachers and administration who turn a blind eye to the blatant bullying that occurs in their school.  I take a special offense when the teachers and administration become and active part of the problem.  Yes, there are bad teachers out there.  Yes, there are bad principals out there.  But the majority of us did not get into this profession so that we could ignore the obvious distress of our students. 

The ending of Beautiful Creatures left me unsatisfied.  There were just too many questions left unanswered and, while I want the answers to them, I am just not willing to read/listen to the next book just yet.  Especially as other reviewers have noted that it is even more angsty than the first.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Fist-fighting, Magical attacks, Stabbing
Inappropriate Language: Bitch, Piss (there may be others but I forget)
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage drinking, cigar smoking

ARC Book Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Title: Unspoken
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Rating: 4/5
 

Cover Impressions: OOOOOOOHHHHHH PREEETTTYYYY!  I really like this cover.  The silhouette effect creates a sense of mystery and the font adds a fantastical charm.  I cannot wait to see if/how this theme continues with the next book in the series.

The Gist: For as long as Kami Glass can remember she has heard a voice in her head.  She has lost friendships and the other citizens of Sorry-in-the-Vale avoid her gaze but she has never been able to give up her imaginary friend.  When the mysterious Lynburn family returns to town, Kami is faced with the realization that Jared is not so imaginary and that if their connection could be real, perhaps Sorry In the Vale might also hold more sinister secrets. 

Review:  Unspoken is based on a really interesting premise.  Kami and Jared have been able to hear one another since birth, but have convinced themselves that the other was not real.  When they finally discover each other, one might think that they would fall in the ultimate insta-love and proceed to sicken us with their every move.  BUT Brennan would not do this to us.  No, No, instead she wrote characters who recoiled at the thought of a real, physical person knowing their every intimate secret (who wouldn't?!).  To complicate matters, Kami is investigating the return of the Lynburn family, whom the townspeople speak of with both awe and fear and the sudden violence that has erupted in Sorry-in-the-Vale. 

The true strength of Unspoken lies in its characters.  There are no one dimensional characters here.  Each and every person, from Kami, to her friends, to her parents and brothers and the Lynburns, have unique and interesting qualities.  My favorite has go to be Angela, Kami's outspoken best friend.  She loathes nearly all people and covets a laziness that can only be matched by her brother, Rusty.  Angela has a quick wit and says whatever is on her mind.  This often leds to moments that have me literally laughing out loud such as:

"Angela spared a glare for Kami and then resumed her marathon glaring session at Jared.  'I'm not calling you that,' she announced flatly.  'It's too weird.  I'm going to call you Carl.' Jared scowled.  'I don't want you to all me Carl.'  'That's interesting, Carl,' said Angela, cheering up."

I also had a special place in my heart for Holly, the girl who hit puberty a little too hard and found herself shunned by most of the girls her age.  She is incredibly sweet and it is clear that she has tried to make friends with Kami and Angela for quite some time.  Even she gets a few great lines:

"'Right,' said Holly, 'Well.  If the unicorn is pink, about two feet tall, with a sparkly mane, we'll know my imaginary friend is real too.'"

Believe me, there are LOTS more examples of this fantastic dialogue, in fact, a number of quotes from Kami's dad can be found in the Notable Quotables section below.  In fact, in writing this review and reading others I have seen quote after quote after quote and hardly any repeated.  THAT is how good the dialogue is.

The plot of Unspoken moves smoothly as secrets are revealed and the danger heightens.  The story was not bogged down with the typical insta-love and love triangle that could have happened if Brennan when the easy route.  I did feel that Kami made some stupid decisions (creating a few "What, what, what are you doing? moments) and a few things could have been fleshed out further (such as the encounter with Henry Thornton) but overall, the action was exciting and suspenseful.  

I feel I must discuss the ending.  ABANDON HOPE OF NOT BEING SPOILED, ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE:  Kami's ultimate decision was unexpected in terms of the actions of most YA heroines, but was completely in line with who she is as a character.  Jared's reaction surprised me and broke my heart a little.  Endings like these are frustrating in that I feel unsatisfied.  Secrets have been revealed, plots uncovered and bad guys identified, but nothing has been solved.  That being said, it also accomplishes the author's purpose, which is to create in the reader a voracious longing for the next book!

Yes, yes, yes! to reading the next book the moment I can get my hands on it! 

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 13 and up
Gender:  Both
Sex:  Kissing
Violence:  Knifeplay, ritual sacrifice, murder
Inappropriate Language: Asshole, Hell 
Substance Use/Abuse: None 

Notable Quotables:

Note: There are TONS of awesome quotes from this book but I thought I would pick a few from Kami's dad because parents hardly ever get the great lines in YA.

"Kami, I know all the other kids are throwing themselves down wells right now, but your mother and I have a firm policy of no danger sports until you're eighteen."

"'Why are you putting on lip gloss, my daughter?' Dad asked.  'Trip to the library?  Trip to the nunnery?  I hear the nunneries are nice this time of year.'"

"'Wearing that?  Wouldn't you fancy a shape-less cardigan instead?  You rock a shapeless cardigan, honey.'" 

Unanswered Questions:

Kami and Jared seemed to be able to block each other at times, so why doesn't Kami employ this strategy during awkward moments, such as when she is on a date with someone else?

ARC Book Review: The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

Title: The Blood Keeper
Author: Tessa Gratton
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Rating: 2/5

Cover Impressions: On it's own, this cover might have been ok.  The imagery is nice, the colors work well together and the runes invite further examination.  But when compared with the cover for its predecessor, it is less than impressive.  I do not like it when the covers of a series do not fit with each other and this certainly does not fit with the gloriously gothic and unique cover for Blood Magic.

The Gist: Mab Prowd has been raised to be the Deacon of her family's blood land.  Magic to her is as natural as breathing and she has dedicated her life to the practice.  When she stumbles across Will Sanger and inadvertently allows him a glimpse into this world, Will finds both beauty and terror and Mab finds herself embroiled in the fight of her life.

Review: During the first half of The Blood Keeper I was disinterested but I couldn't quite pin down why.  The characters were ok, the writing was ok, the premise was ok.  As I continued, the fact that I neither loved nor hated ANYTHING got to be more and more annoying.  When I read Blood Magic, I was a little underwhelmed, but I gave points for originality and willingness to be a little more dark and delve into the nitty gritty of sacrifice in exchange for power.  However, with the second book in the series, these things are simply not enough.  This time, I expected strong characters, an exciting plot and some serious magic.  I did not get these things.

The Blood Keeper does not follow the same characters as Blood Magic.  Instead, we meet Mab - a child raised to be keeper of the land and master of magic and Will - a regular kid from a nearby town.  That's right, that is all I have to say about Will.  There is really nothing special about him that I could see and the time spent developing his family drama bored me to tears.  His family is suffering from the loss of their middle son to a car crash and the return of their oldest from Afghanistan.  This is the perfect backdrop for some moving scenes and serious character development.  However, that is not what we get.  Instead we have to suffer through Will's whining about how everyone wants him to join the Marines and his incredibly tame arguments with his parents.  Mab is only slightly more interesting, though she spends an inordinate amount of time discussing her love for the land and mooning over Will.  I did enjoy her quirkiness and lack of concern with how she is viewed by the more mainstream families (and teens) in town.  

While this is not exactly a sequel to Blood Magic, I would have appreciated some re-cap so that I could remember who the other characters were (they appeared as minor characters, popping in and out of the story).  As it was, I actually went back and re-read the last few chapters of Blood Magic and found that that helped me re-orient myself.  The narration switches between Mab, Will and Evelyn.  Evelyn's story is told through letters to Arthur, the former Deacon, and the change in narration style is a little jarring.  For their part, Will and Mab blended a little too well.  If I was away from the book for a time, it was difficult to tell who was speaking without going back to the beginning of the narration change.

The plot seemed to be split between three problems 1) The repercussions from Will's encounter with Mab's spell 2) Will's issues regarding his parent's desire for him to join the marines and 3) Lucas' curse from his father.  Both 1 and 2 seem to be resolved by the end of the book but 3 simply got a band-aid solution.  It bothered me that there wasn't further momentum on this issue, but perhaps it will be further explored in a third book?  I also felt that the plot seemed to get bogged down in ridiculously long magical preparation, from planning, to gathering ingredients, to prepping the area - only to culminate in a lackluster spell with very little in the way of excitement.

By the end of this book, I found myself skimming the pages.  I cared enough about the characters that I wanted to see what happened to them, but not nearly enough to put up with pages and pages of Gratton's flowery prose.  The Blood Keeper did not provide the emotional or entertainment pay-off that I was expecting and I do not think I will hang in there for a third in the series.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and up
Gender: Female
Sex: Kissing
Violence: Bloodletting, Knifeplay, Poisoning, Violence towards animals
Inappropriate Language: Dick, FUBAR, Bullshit, Bitch, Douchebag, Shit
Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking

Book Review: Chime by Franny Billingsley

 I have a soft spot for witches.

I have always been fascinated with witch stories. Simply spying the word in a book blurb can make me sit up and take notice, (oddly enough, the word Werewolf usually makes me stop reading a blurb with disgust - an instinct that I should have listened to when I picked up Shiver. Damn you Stiefvater! Also, damn you for having a name that I have to check for spelling every time I want to curse you. But, I digress).

Briony is a witch. At least, she tells you she is a witch. However, she doesn't actually DO anything witchy. At the beginning, this brings out minor annoyance in me, prompting me to tell Briony "Come on, talk to the old ones, write their stories, do a spell - it's not so bad, you'll like it!". About halfway through the book, my irritation gives way to anger at how much of my time this book is wasting and my pleas get a little more dark: "Oh, you don't like that chick? Let's kill her!" and get more and more desperate "Come on, Just kill her! Maim her? Give her Boils? .... Hives? ... One, little, pimple?"

"DO SOMETHING"

The writing itself is strange. Just when I think I have a handle on what is going on, Billingsley throws out something that leaves me flicking pages trying to figure out what I missed. She goes off on random tangents that have nothing to do with the storyline and only serve to add to my annoyance (see above). The plot points that are supposed to stun and shock me only leave me shaking my head and asking "You're just figuring this out NOW??? Where were you 100 pages ago?!"

The only character that I enjoyed was Rose, and there was far to little of her. Briony's self hatred made me feel like I was reading a 13 year old's emo poetry and Eldric's constant fidgeting was more irritating than endearing.

The word that came to mind throughout this entire book was Tedious. I found myself forcing time to read it when I would much rather be doing something more enjoyable like, oh I don't know, taking a bath in a tub full of razor blades.

Teaching/Parental Notes:

Age: 15 and Up- if the reader was patient and liked quirky books
Gender: Girls
Sex: There is an ALMOST sex scene but it is not graphic.  There is also talk of the witches being naked.
Violence: Attacks by magical creatures resulting in cuts, bruises, broken bones and a lost limb
Inappropriate Language: None
Substance Abuse: Discussion of characters using arsenic recreationally


This review can also be found on Goodreads