Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen

Sarah's life is not what with think of as normal. They move a lot, whenever the cold gets especially sharp and the smell of wet dog gets especially strong.  But, her mom and dad seem to figure out how to make it work, until they don't- and her mom disappears.  That is when she chances to meet Alan, the beastkeeper in the little not quite forest behind her house, and life doesn't return to normal.

This is a dreamy, dark, story woven around a fire on a winter evening of old magic and curses and pain.  It is beautifully written - lyrical and sharp at the same time.

When I finished I wanted to start at the beginning again, because I knew I had not paid attention to the right threads in this story! I have a feeling this will be a book you hear more about!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

image from LibraryThing

I liked Mare and the premise of this book - a girl with no prospects becomes Someone (with a capital S).

But the Hunger Games vibe was incredibly strong - a little too strong for me in the beginning!!

Mare is from the Stilts (the lowest of the low) and she is a Red (meaning her red blood puts her in the serving class) held down by the Silvers (silver blood and special powers), the ruling class.  She has a deep commitment to Kilron, an orphaned friend from the Stilts, and is committed to his welfare at all costs.  And, she is falling in love with two men - who just happen to be brothers and princes - Cal and Mavern.

I can accept and even enjoy all those details. But, there was one detail that just pushed it over the edge.  She is also an unwitting revolutionary - operating without seeing the big picture - a pawn for both sides.  That was a little too Katniss-ish for me.

The theme is - making yourself someone when you have NO chances to be someone.  That is appealing to all of us middle of the class, miss average, invisible readers.  And there is LOTS of violence - swords and war and matches to the death and blood and gore - which appeals to a different part of the reader's' psyche.

My overall
feeling - it was an intriguing and fast read. It is the first of a series and even with my doubts I would like to know what happens to Mare, so I would read the next one!

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson

I LOVED the first books in this series - the Mortal Instruments.
I liked the Infernal Devices series.
I am just tired of them now.

Here is my pet peeve.

I read the books years ago - they have very detailed and intricate story lines. Magnus is an important character - but honestly I have forgotten most of the details of his part.

Now this book comes up and it makes me feel like I am on the outside of the cool kids inside jokes.  I wish there would more background - or more connections or something.

So - I did enjoy most of the later stories - the first few really fell flat. But the very last story was by far the most frustrating for me. I can't remember anything of the events.
I didn't like this book nearly as much as I did the others.
Shucks - I really wanted to because I liked Magnus!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

image from LibraryThing

I am still not completely sure how I liked this book.  It was hailed as a great alternative to Harry Potter.  I am not so sure I would agree with that description.  I think it is more a bored teenagers' bored view of magic and the disillusionment that can come when you get what you wished for.  Now - that doesn't sound very Harry Potterish.

Plus I feel truly sorry for any book compared with Harry - it just isn't going to measure up in my reading world.  Harry was for all ages - The Magicians seems mostly for out of sorts teens.

Even though I was not in love with the book I could not stop reading it. I wanted to know what happened in Fillory, what happened at Brakebills, what happened to Quentin.

So the basic story is a hidden magical school in upstate NY.  Quentin, a very anti-social, anti-excitement, anti-everything sort of teen gets in to his shock and hidden awe.

The book chronicles his life in Brakebills, his love for Alice and his ongoing escape into the fictional world of Fillory.  So - Fillory is a book that he loved as a kid and keeps returning to as if that is the seat of all magic. Every magical moment seems to be compared and found lacking to Fillory.

So I thought his schooling would build to a big ah ha moment - but it built to a creepy secret graduation ceremony that included personalized demons and secret codes from the head of the school.  And the book continued.

So - what does a graduated magician do in the real world - absolutely anything they want and you can imagine the problems that causes.

Then there is a quest - sort of  - and a horrible battle - way gruesome - there are deaths and there are survivors.

But - this book lacked the undertone of good vs. evil.  This was just magic for magic sake and the questions that Quentin and his friends bantied around were the meaninglessness of magic in a world where there was no need.  I found it all rather depressing and anti fun.  That is what magic brought in other stories - fun.  I know there is often a down side - but there was joy and positive energy.  That does not exist for the Magicians.

The end was a bit of a shock to my system.  Not what I expected.  But - it did make me want to pick of the next book and start reading.  So even though this was not my favorite - I have hope for Quentin!!

The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

image from LibraryThing

I am always intrigued at the way imaginary lands creatures carry over from one story to another. This series by Julie Kagawa is an excellent example of that.

image from LibraryThing

The first book - The Iron King - takes place partly in the our world and partly in the world of Faery - where King Oberon has had a half faery daughter named Meghan who figures out on her 16th birthday when she figures out her 4 yr old brother has been switched with a changeling.  As the Faery sight begins to emerge she realizes that her great friend Robbie is actually her protector Puck or Robin Goodfellow...sound familiar?  It's Midsummers night dream tied in to today's world.

But that isn't the only twist - the faery world of NeverNever is slowly dying due to a strange new fey of iron. Iron is the killer of all faery creatures - one touch is deadly.  Who knew?!   And there is a king aiming to take over the entire world of NeverNever.

image from LibraryThing

Meghan crosses path with Ash, the hunter from the winter court and sworn enemy of Puck and Grimalkin the Cait Sith (that is a fancy way of calling him the cheshire cat from Alice). This group comes together to defeat the Iron King and in so doing Meghan finds a part of herself she had no idea existed.

Iron Daughter picks up right where Iron King ends.  I love books that do that! 

image from LibraryThing

But - I really felt like each of the next books didn't have quite the build up the first one did. As a reader, the excitement Meghan felt as she was discovering her identity was gone. Instead, it was a slow smoldering romance. I wasn't as interested...but I can't seem to stop in the middle of a series. I wanted to know how Meghan overcomes the obstacles that her father and Mab the Winter Queen throw in front of her. I wanted to know if her relationship grows with Ash and if he decides what his real priorities are and if he and Puck continue the feud.  And probably most importantly I wanted to know how Meghan defeats the false Iron King.

And that took us through the next two books. 

The Iron Knight was completely different. Ash was the main character on a quest to become human so he could be with Meghan and the Iron Fey.  When I started this one I just wanted it to be over. It felt like the final season of ER - I just really didn't care anymore - but I had put enough time in that I didn't want to quit.  At least that is how I felt at the beginning. It did draw me in. I did care about Ash and Puck. I really didn't like Ariella though.  But - my favorite characters were Grimalkin and The Big Bad Wolf.  They were great!  

So - I really liked these books. I thought they were interesting and a new twist on the fairy tales we know. Great ideas!

The Enchantress by Michael Scott

cover image from LibraryThing

This is the final installment in Nicholas and Pernelle Flamel's adventure to save the world with the help of Sophie and Josh Newman.

And I have to say - I really liked it.
It is a hard thing to finish off a series you have built over years.  I have read final installments that left me frustrated and empty and wanting more.

This wasn't that way.  There was just enough detail to keep me until the end. But, in the spirit of the series - I really don't understand it all.  I LOVE that!

I also love the old enemies became allies to fight a bigger enemy.  That some of the characters didn't make it - and some did.

Excellent!

My only complaint is that it's really hard to pick up a series a year after you have read the others.  All the new readers are at a huge advantage - they can read these back to back. I know I lost details and understandings because I just didn't remember all the past details.

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

cover image by LibraryThing

I loved the earlier books in this series  - Graceling and Fire and this is the final book.

It begins after the end of Graceling - after the evil King Leck is killed and his little daughter Bitterblue is ready to rule the kingdom of Monsea.  The reader was left with a happy feeling -all is well.

But as Bitterblue begins you begin to realize that life did not move along as happily as we readers expected.  Instead, Bitterblue is the too busy princess trapped behind a mountain of paperwork as her kingdom slowly disintegrates around her without her even knowing it is happening.

And she is bored enough to try something a bit drastic, so she begins to sneak out of the castle at night, disguised as a common spy.

And she makes friends.

And she grows up.

What she discovers is a whole bunch of secrets and facades and a coverup that just doesn't end.

The book is about her discovering why things aren't as they seem and what she can do about it.  Sound a little bit like growing up???

I read the other two books several years ago - and in typical Beth fashion I just devoured them and can't remember most of the details.  So, it made it a little harder to completely understand all of this book. On the other hand it was more in line with the story  - since this was to have taken place 10 years after the end of Graceling.

A couple of my favorite parts...

I really liked Bitterblue. After the mind control of her graced father - she was a breath of fresh air.  But, I liked the memories of her mother even more. She was a woman doomed from the very beginning - yet filled with secrets.  In a great twist...Bitterblue discovers a code embroidered into the sheets and pillowcases her mother incessantly labored over. A code that was a diary telling of the atrocities of her husband and her inability to defend them.

My very favorite part though was Bitterblue's penchant for math. As her father worked to take over her mind her mother would remind her to practice difficult math problems in her mind. This practice calmed her and focused her and allowed her to defend herself from her father's devious attempts. It made me wonder if that might be helpful for some of us when our emotions and fears begin to take over.  To occupy your mind with the logics and patterned rules of math could calm and focus in a very interesting way...something to think about.

Finally - to continue to control the people of Monsea, the royal advisors have taken away learning from the subjects. Printing books and teaching one another to read is forbidden and an offense that means imprisonment.  Talk about oppression.  In our freedom we take that for granted - but the book plays out what happens when the people don't know.  Very interesting.  It is one of the threads that Bitterblue discovers - and most kids won't really get.  But, adds so much!

I would recommend this book.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

Loved, loved, loved these!
This is the way I started my summer this year. My old favorites - YA fantasy! And these did not disappoint. Well, actually they did only because there is one more book in the series due out next year. A whole year!!!

Anyway, I am ahead of myself. For those of you who are Harry Potter fans - in the first Harry Potter book the Sorcerer's Stone is owned and hidden by Nicholas Flamel. A man who was an alchemyst and discovered the secret of immortality via the stone. At least that was the story in Harry's world. Well, it turns out there was a real alchemyst named Nicholas Flamel. He really lived! Is that cool or what. This is how he is described on Michael Scott's official website Michael Scott

Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel both existed. Nicholas was
born in France in 1330, and not only do his diaries and writings
exist, his house at 51 rue de Montmorency still stands in
Paris today.

In his diaries he writes extensively about discovering the
Book of Abraham, and his long quest to translate it. He claims
he discovered the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone – how
to turn base metal into gold – and also the secret of eternal
life.

From being a poor bookseller, he became extraordinarily
wealthy and founded schools, churches and hospitals in Paris.
In recognition for his charitable works, there are two
streets named after him and Perenelle.

He lived simply and when he died in 1418, his tomb was broken
into by thieves looking for his vast wealth.

His tomb – and that of Perenelle – were both
empty.

In the centuries that followed, there were several sightings
of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel across Europe.

I think that is my very favorite part of this whole series. It started with a real person. Then Scott does a Percy Jackson thing and uses real characters and mythological beasts.

So - let me start at the beginning. The story if of twins - Josh and Sophie. Josh works in a bookstore for the summer and Sophie works across the street in a coffee shop as their archeologist parents are away on a dig. One morning Sophie watches a car pull up in front of the store and has a bad feeling...the evil Dr. John Dee - attacks the bookshop to steal the Book Of Abraham which provides immortality to Flamel and his wife Perenelle. Josh is able to rip out the last few pages of the book before Pernelle is kidnapped along with the book.

That is the beginning. From here Sophie and Josh witness the downfall of ancient worlds and legendary leaders as Dee tries to return the world to the Elders. Through the process Sophie buys into the flawed process of saving the world that the Flamels have embarked on via a bit of a prophesy- rescuing twins and giving them ultimate power to defeat the Elders only to have them die in the process. But, Josh questions the real motives of the Flamels and eventually sides with Dee.

There are many twists and turns and the fate of the world rests on the understandings and decisions of a pair of teenagers. But, I really liked them. I especially liked Pernelle - an amazing sorceress and an equally wise woman. The love between Pernelle and Nicholas is so sweet - made even sweeter because the lack of the Book of Abraham is causing their accelerated death. The death of an immortal is not an easy thing!

I can't wait for the final book! And I do have to wait - until next summer!

Storm Glass and Sea Glass by Maria Snyder

These are the first two books of the Glass series about Opal Cowan ( the final installment is not due out until the fall of 2011)
Opal is a glass magician in the country of Sitia. That means she is a magician who is able to insert her magic into glass objects - something no one else in the country is able to do. The glass statues she makes are able to transmit magical thought from magician to magician over distances - sort of a glass telephone. That should make her proud and confident. But, Opal is anything but that. She second guesses herself constantly, misreads those around her and basically exudes naiveté. She is especially embarrassed that she is unable to do the basic magical tasks of lighting a fire and is certain she is a one trick pony.

But, the citizens of Sitia - at least the evil ones - see the potential in her and are constantly trying to kidnap, torture her and take her skills for their own use. She remains oblivious to most threats - but is constantly buffeted by one or another controlling force...her family, the Council of Magicians, her boyfriend Ulrick, an evil magician who has captured and tortured her more than once (Devlen) and her embarrassment.

By the end of the first book Opal has discovered and learned to control an incredible talent - she can 'steal' another's magic and seal it up inside a glass orb. The transfer of this magic turns it into diamonds...powerful and beautiful diamonds.

The second book follows her maturing from a ditzy pawn into a powerful magician trying very hard to control her own destiny. The Council feels she is too dangerous to be free - she could steal any of their powers. The villains of the country want her blood - it augments their own magic and makes them invulnerable to her own, she feels controlled and responsible for providing glass messengers to the citizens of Sitia and she is sick of it all.

She gets herself into the ultimate showdown and ends up vulnerable, naive and almost dead.

The series is clearly not over. The story leaves you hanging and wondering about several loose ends. I like Opal - but the constant kidnapping and harm get a bit old. Mostly, I want to just shake her and tell her to get a grip - she clearly is an important person, why doesn't she understand that...

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

image from LibraryThing

Oh my goodness!!

That's about all I can say about this book.

Our book club is reading Midwives or Double Bind for the March book and oh my goodness!

This is the story of Laurel, a young woman brutally attacked by two men while riding bike in Vermont. She graduates from college as a social worker and begins working at BEDS a homeless shelter/low rent housing facility in Burlington, Vermont, very close to the town of her attack. An older man, Bobbie, dies and in his things is a box of photographs of famous people, houses and a blurry young woman riding a bike on a road in Vermont.

So begins Laurel's quest to figure out who Bobbie was, why he ended up homeless and why in the world he had a picture of her...

I can't say more - because it is so fragily woven it would unravel in my retelling.

Suffice it to say I would strongly recommend this one. It's a typical Bohjalian - a little hard to read - a little wordy - a little plodding at parts - but so worth the end.

The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer

image from LibraryThing

The next book in the Artemis Fowl series. Artemis Fowl is an ultra rich genius 14 year old Irish boy who has discovered the world of fairies and how to communicate with them. In his early books he is a devious self-absorbed twit who only wants the fairy gold and knowledge that they hold. In the last book he began to evolve into a much more humane character. This book he is actually self-less...I like that - but I enjoyed the twit as well! :)

I have recommended these books to different 4th graders over the years - and a few have really seemed to enjoy them. The copy of Lost Colony I read was actually from one of my former 4th graders - he bought it and knew I would enjoy it - so he loaned it to me!! Thank you Jackson!! I did enjoy it! :)

This installment introduces two new characters - demons and Minerva. Neither the demons or the girl are what we expect. The demons are much easier for Artemis to deal with than Minerva - the cute 12 year old genius who crosses his path. It turns out the the demons were expelled from the world 10,000 years ago after the battle between people and fairies. Demons are actually a type of fairy and they were sent into limbo land via a time spell. But, that spell is unraveling and both Artemis and Minerva are racing to intercept these reappearing demons for very different reasons.

In a typical Fowl display of technology and logic the demon entry is planned perfectly, but intercepted by Minerva rather than Artemis. The Fowl followers including Holly Short (Fairy recon spy) follow the captives - recapture - are double crossed - end up in limbo and help to save the land of the demons.

The story ends with a mature Artemis reflecting in a very un-selfish way! And with a huge foreshadowing for the next book!

I enjoyed this - the description of fairy technology is always intriguing and amazing. Colfer draws the new characters with as much personality as the ones we already know. Who would imagine a demon caring about others???

The Book of Flying by Keith Miller

image from LibraryThing

This book is not for the faint of heart or the hater of the quirky books!
So - I totally loved it!

This is the story of Pico, an orphan librarian poet living in a city of nonreaders. His eyes are the only ones who ever view the pages of the beautiful books in his library. But, that is not what breaks his heart. Instead, it is Sisi, a winged girl whom he saved from the sea. Sisi belongs to those who can fly, Pico belongs to those who can't. The worlds do not mingle. But his heart has been securely tied to Sisi, so he pines away writing poems to her, dreaming of flying while sending solitary irises out onto the sea.

The chance discovery of a letter buried under the flagstones in the library, sends Pico on a quest for the morning town of Paunpaum and to find the Book of Flying so he can join Sisi.

His quest takes him to characters filled with love for their fractured lives. Until they meet him. Pico shares his stories while gathering theirs. And neither remain the same after their encounter. He meets the Robber queen, a Minotaur bridge keeper, a talking rabbit, a town dedicated to pleasure that ends in unimaginable death. In each of his stops he is invited to stay, yet the image of Sisi and his undying love drives him on...

As I followed Pico I was drawn deeper and deeper into his world. His love of words and stories is hard to stray from for one who loves words as well. But, I could not agree with Pico all the time. His story was completely his own as were his choices.

Some parts of this story were rather distrubing. This is not the sweet Disney fairy tale quest - but much more brother's grimm. There is gore and cannibilism and a more than a little skin.

Even so, I loved it!!! As a dreamer of flying - I wonder if I could have completed this quest! I'm certain I couldn't!

Thanks Amanda, for the recommendation!!!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Well - I finished it!! And I have to say it's as wonderful as I expected. There are so many pieces tied up - things that I only 1/2 remembered. As those ends are mended - you see Harry and his friends grow and change and grow again!
I completely loved it!!!!

I've read all the books outloud to Rod and we finished number 6 on Saturday. I am now reading Deathly Hallows to Rod. It's even better the second time around. I'm already making more connections...

I also spent a little time reading Harry blogs. Several things made sense that I had missed. But - it's a little disconcerting - people are so into these books. It makes me a little concerned for them - they need to get a life!!!

That's all I can say - but if you've read it and want to comment - I'd love to chat! :)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

cover image from LibraryThing

I started reading the Harry Potter books out loud to my family (my husband, 15 year old and 10 year old daughters) this summer when we were on vacation. We had almost finished this one when the summer was over - so we put it away and forgot about it. This weekend we made a 4 hour trip to Omaha and brought the book out again.

These books are great read alouds. There is enough action to keep the story moving and the same characters keep visiting the story. But, more than that we connect with the characters and want to watch them grow and win.

So - on the way to Omaha we finished this story. We heard Harry battle Voldemort as the young man - Tom Riddle. We squirmed together as the Basilisk haunted Hogwarts. And dreaded his return to the Dursleys after the school term.

This is the 3rd time I’ve read the book - once to myself and twice aloud - once to my husband and once to the whole family. And I would happily read it again to my grandchildren in the distant future!!!

11/06