Mini Reviews: The First Graphic Edition

The Earl and the Fairy, volume 1
by Ayuko

Book Description:
Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor,one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man!

Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces!

Quick Review: 

Okay. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  This one reads right to left which *always* throws me off, so I'm sure some of the problems I had were from that.  I got a little confused about some of the male characters motivations, too, but reading book two might help clear some of that up... 

Peanut 

by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe 

Book Description: 

Before you write me off as a delusional psycho, think about what it's like to be thrown into a situation where everyone knows everyone... and no one knows you. Sadie has the perfect plan to snag some friends when she transfers to Plainfield High—pretend to have a peanut allergy. But what happens when you have to hand in that student health form your unsuspecting mom was supposed to fill out? And what if your new friends want to come over and your mom serves them snacks? (Peanut butter sandwich, anyone?) And then there's the bake sale, when your teacher thinks you ate a brownie with peanuts.

Quick Review: 

I loved the way this was drawn and I thought the story line was easy to follow.  I got really frustrated with Sadie, though. I hated her continuous lying and ended up really angry as I was reading. This one's also a book for high school and up due to some mature themes. 

The Year of Beasts

by Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell 

Book Description: 

Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister Lulu are un-chaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test.

Quick Review: 

This book is half graphic novel, half regular prose.  I found it confusing at first because the two parts seem to follow very different stories and it's not until much later in the book that you realize how they intertwine.  Not my favorite book, but an interesting read. 

What's On My Hold List?

Welcome back to

"What's on My Hold List?"

This is the May 2013 edition!

One of the most beautiful things about working at our Library is that I know what's coming out and what we'll be getting and I can put the books on hold right away!

Boundless 

by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly, book three

Charmed Vengeance

by Suzanne Lazear 

The Aether Chronicles, book two

The Nightmare Affair 

by Mindee Arnett

The Elite 

by Kiera Cass

The Selection, book two 

*If you click on each title, it will take you to the book on

Amazon.com for more information. :)*

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...

what are YOU waiting for??

Review: The Peculiar

The Peculiar
by Stefan Bachmann

Book Description:

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Review: 

The world that Bachmann built here was very intriguing. I was impressed that the author is only a *teenager!* He managed to drop me into a world that felt very real, and very alien from our own. As a lover of all things fairy, a fan of the steampunk sub-genre and a murder mystery fan, this book hit just about every right note for me. Bachmann did an admirable job mashing several genres together while not overwhelming the reader.

I distinctly enjoyed both the new world and the concept for this book. At times, though, I felt slightly disconnected to the main characters. While I found Bartholomew to be a character I felt great sympathy for, at times he was hard to connect to, and when the perspective would jump to Arthur, I found that to be even more true. I was very interested in seeing how things unfolded. I wanted Bartholomew to save his sister. I wanted Arthur to uncover his government's corruption...

Essentially, I enjoyed this book a lot and I hope there might be another in the works... I hope in the second that I have an easier time connecting to the characters, though, too.

Review: Curses! Foiled Again

Curses! Foiled Again
by Jane Yolen
illus by Mike Cavallaro

Book Description:
Aliera Carstairs is back. This time she's got her cousin—and best friend—Caroline in tow, and the stakes are higher than ever. The realm of Seelie, the fairy kingdom of which Aliera is the hereditary defender, is under attack, and only Aliera and Caroline can set things right. Caroline, fragile and wheelchair-bound, may seem like more of a liability than an asset, but Aliera knows there's more to her quiet cousin than meets the eye.

Review: 

I really like the books in this series. I love Yolen's storyline.  Aliera is a strong main character. Even as she's bewildered and hesitant to become the "Defender," she still will fight for what she believes is right...and she's a total kick-butt kind of girl with a sword!! LOL. 

I love the illustration style, too.  Not only are Cavallaro's characters easy to recognize and the panels are easy to follow, but he does this neat thing where the "regular" world is black and white, but anything magical is in color.  Take a look: 

Okay, I have no idea why this posted sideways, but I think you get the idea anyway, right?? LOL. 

I just think it really stands out the way that the illustrated decided to highlight all of the magical beings and events through color. It makes them jump right off the page... very cool.  

I can't wait to see where the adventure takes us in the next book of the series! 

What's on My Hold List?

Welcome back to

"What's on My Hold List?"

This is the August 2012 edition!

One of the most beautiful things about working at our Library is that I know what's coming out and what we'll be getting and I can put the books on hold right away!

 

These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for:

 

Bluefish

by Pat Schmatz

 

Dust Girl

by Sarah Zettel

The American Fairy Trilogy, book one



 

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

by Jacqueline Kelly

 



Fever Moon: The Graphic Novel

by Karen Marie Moning

 

Framed and Dangerous

by Kim Harrington

Sleuth or Dare, book three

 

The Peculiars

by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

 

 

 

*If you click on each title, it will take you to the book on

Amazon.com for more information. :)*

 

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...

what are YOU waiting for??

Review: Dragonswood

Dragonswood

by Janet Lee Carey

Book Description:

Wilde Island is not at peace. The kingdom mourns the dead Pendragon king and awaits the return of his heir; the uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is strained; and the regent is funding a bloodthirsty witch hunt, hoping to rid the island of half-fey maidens.

Tess, daughter of a blacksmith, has visions of the future, but she still doesn't expect to be accused of witchcraft, forced to flee with her two best friends, or offered shelter by the handsome and enigmatic Garth Huntsman, a warden for Dragonswood. But Garth is the younger prince in disguise and Tess soon learns that her true father was fey, making them the center of an exciting, romantic adventure, and an ancient prophecy that will bring about peace between all three races - dragon, human, and fairy.

Review:
This book could be read alone, or as a follow up to Carey's Dragon's Keep.

It is a marvelous fantasy about a world where so much magic exists and the poor main character is abused and persecuted for even the thought of her practicing... Tess is a strong character that must go on the run. She finds out a lot about herself and her place in the world during her time in the Dragonswood.

This world contains both dragons and fairies...two of my favorite fantasy creatures!  The story is really well done and the creatures are cool and well integrated into the world. Love, adventure, heartbreak...the book encompasses it all. A new favorite fantasy!

*This was my selection for the March Meeting of our book club, Flippin' Pages. We did fantasy books this month! Next meeting is April 10th and we'll be talking about our favorite MYSTERY books.*

Artemis Fowl is coming to an end!!

The Last Guardian

by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl, book eight

Publication date: July 10, 2012

Seemingly nothing in this world daunts the young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. In the fairy world, however, there is a small thing that has gotten under his skin on more than one occasion: Opal Koboi. In The Last Guardian, the evil pixie is wreaking havoc yet again. This time his arch rival has reanimated dead fairy warriors who were buried in the grounds of Fowl Manor. Their spirits have possessed Artemis’s little brothers, making his siblings even more annoying than usual. The warriors don’t seem to realize that the battle they were fighting when they died is long over. Artemis has until sunrise to get the spirits to vacate his brothers and go back into the earth where they belong. Can he count on a certain LEPrecon fairy to join him in what could well be his last stand?

Can you believe it will all be coming to an end? I, for one, will miss my favorite evil genius.  

Review: Steampunk!

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories

ed by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant

Book Description:

Imagine an altrnate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships. Here, fourteen masters of speculative fiction, including two graphic storytellers, embrace the genre's established themes and refashion them in surprising ways and settings as diverse as Appalachia, Ancient Rome, future Australia, and alternate California. Visionaries Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant have invited all-new explorations and expansions, taking a genre already rich, strange, and inventive in the extreme and challenging contributors to remake it from the ground up. The result is an anthology that defies the genre even as it defines it.

Review:
I adore steampunk. It's old, it's new, it's mechanical and magical, full of adventure and romance. It is a brilliant sub-genre. Traditionally steampunk means that the book is set in London, while Victoria was Queen, and unlike real life, steam power became the predominant power source.  So lots of flying machines, steam-powered vehicles, and cool gadgets!

That being said, I loved the concept of this anthology. It's like...steampunk twisted. These are tales that all have strong steampunk elements, yet push beyond what we think of as steampunk to become even more. Not a one is set in Victorian London, either!

My favorites from this anthology were Libba Bray's story about girl thieves who use a device to stop time so that they can rob trains, Kelly Link's tale of a girl who is bound to serve fairies and is only somewhat mollified by their mechanized trinket gifts, and Dylan Horrock's story about a girl from another world, trying to find herself in a flatter version of her own life. Each of these tales literally *sparkled* at me from off of the pages. *grins* The other tales were really well done, as well.

Reading this book felt like traveling the world in a dirigible with dashing young lads and lasses hanging off of the anchor ropes... *whoops, just had a Scott Westerfeld moment there, lol.* Anyway, though I didn't read it all in one go, each tale was enthralling in it's own way.