Book Recs

Review: Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt

LeeLeave a comment

Note:  This book has also been published under the name The Tale of Gwyn.

Everyone grows up with tales of Jackaroo, who rides on behalf of the people in times of greatest need, but everyone knows they’re just stories… As the innkeeper’s daughter, Gwyn is certain of her place in the world, but being stranded during a blizzard leads to a startling discovery and Gwyn begins to see the Kingdom in a new way. When Jackaroo rides out of legends to aid the people, he will change Gwyn’s life forever.

Rating:  ★★★★★ – it was amazing
Genre:  young adult fiction, young adult fantasy, non-magical fantasy
Pros:  well written, good character development, beautiful descriptive language
Cons:  needs POC

Jackaroo is the first in the loosely-connected Tales of the Kingdom series. Because they are “loosely-connected” all of the Kingdom novels can be read as stand-alone books, though I’m not sure why you’d want to skip any of them. I like that this is the first book in the series though, because it’s a little lighter than the next three and therefore an easier read and the perfect introduction to the world of the Kingdom.

This book is simultaneously a fantasy adventure about a Robin Hood-esque highwayman who shows up in times of need to serve the people, and a coming-of-age story about a young girl discovering her place in the world.

As with a lot of Cynthia Voigt’s characters I really love the way Gwyn thinks about things. She’s a somewhat steady girl, hard-working and strong. In the beginning she has a tendency to be a bit scornful of those around her, but she grows into a more understanding and insightful person as the story goes on, which is just one example of the satisfying character development to be found in Jackaroo.

Voigt’s world-building is subtle and immersive in a way one rarely finds in a fantasy novel. She lays out the Kingdom at the perfect pace, so that one never has too much information to keep track of, and always enough to understand what is going on in the story. Between that and her excellent use of descriptive language, the reader is swept up into the story and world with ease.

My only complaint about these books is the lack of POC. The closest it comes is having one character mentioned with “olive skin”, which is…disappointing. It’s not super surprising that a white author doesn’t think to put people of color in their story, especially in 1985 when this story was first published, but I can still wish it was different. It’s really the only thing I can think of that would improve this beautiful story.

I recommend this book, and it’s sequels, to literally everyone — but most especially to people who like fantasy, ya fiction, and coming-of-age novels, or anyone who is trying to read more backlist books.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Author’s Website

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

LeeLeave a comment

For fans of fairytale retellings and YA readers seeking #OwnVoices novels, I recommend adding Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao to your TBR!

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (FOTL) is Julie C. Dao’s debut novel and tells the story of the Evil Queen with an East Asian influence, which one imagines will add much needed depth as well as novelty to the story we all know.

The novel is set for release, in hardcover & kindle editions, in just under two weeks, on October 10, 2017, and is the first in a series (a duology or trilogy) entitled Rise of the Empress.

Bustle featured an article back in February with an excerpt from Chapter 1  of the upcoming novel, along with some other tidbits.

Personally, I’ve already submitted FOTL as a purchase suggestion to my local library, and am contriving to get my hands on a copy as soon as possible!

Goodreads | Amazon | Author’s Website

First Lines Fridays: February 24, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First Line:

The monster’s name was Izumrud, the great worm, and there were those who claimed he had made the tunnels that ran beneath Ravka.

Interested? Scroll down for the cover and summary!

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

The capital has fallen.

The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

Now the nation’s fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova’s amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling’s secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

I really need to get to work on this trilogy! I read the first book and then just forgot!

Feel free to send me your thoughts on Ruin and Rising.

Top 5 Wednesday: February 22, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

Books to Get You Out of a Reading Slump

Winter is a hard season for a lot of people and many of us are slumpy. Let’s talk about some books that are great for getting you out of a slump!
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

So normally, the key for me to get out a slump is to read a book I know I love, but not one that I’ve read so recently that everything is still fresh in my mind. So here I’m going to put some series/authors that can typically be counted on to pull me from a slump, regardless of which of the books from them I pick.

  1. The Tillerman Cycle // Cynthia Voigt
    She has several stand-alones that can be used if I’ve read this series too recently as well.
  2. Uglies series // Scott Westerfeld
  3. Robert Fulghum
    Any of his collected essays, such as It Was On Fire When I Lay Down on It, will do.
  4. Sarah Dessen
    Any and all of her books so far have the power to break a slump!
  5. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
    I had to put this one on this list since it’s actually the one that pulled me out of my most recent slump!

What books do you use when you are stuck in a slump? Comment or make your own T5W post!

First Lines Fridays: February 17, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First Line:

Mommy forgot to warn the new babysitter about the basement.

Interested? Scroll down for the cover and summary!

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost – and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won’t leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a “special home” for troubled teens. Yet the home isn’t what it seems. Don’t tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It’s up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House… before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

Have you read The Summoning? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

First Lines Fridays: February 10, 2017

Lee3 Comments

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First Line:

Dusty, empty shoe boxes, stacked taller and wider than her slim body, wobbled as she pressed her back against them, tucking her bony knees into her chest.

Interested? Scroll down for the cover and summary!

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

For some people, silence is a weapon. For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield. Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with the lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory faces a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.

If this is half as good as Don’t Look Back, I can’t wait to read it!

Have you? I’d love your thoughts.

First Lines Fridays: February 3, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First Line:

You will love him to ruins.

Interested? Scroll down for the cover and summary!

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The truth about Mara Dyer’s dangerous and mysterious abilities continues to unravel in the New York Times bestselling sequel to the thrilling The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

I’ve been meaning to get to this sequel for what feels like a year now…

Have you read it? If so I’d love to hear your opinions.

First Lines Fridays: January 27, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First Line:

“In all your life, your only choice,” Aunt Léonie said to her once, “is the path of needles or the path of pins.” Rachelle remembered that, the day that she killed her.

Interested? Scroll down for the cover and summary!

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)

I saw this one on someone else’s book blog and just from one quote I knew I had to read it!

Have you read Crimson Bound? If so I’d love to know your thoughts.

‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas

Lee1 Comment

Black People:
Have you ever been looking at Black Lives Matter posts or current events posts where yet another innocent black person has been gunned down by police, and thought that you wished non-black POC and white people could just understand what it’s like from the perspective of a black person?

White/Non-Black POC:
Do you read Black Lives Matter posts and current events posts and find yourself shocked and confused by the situation, wishing you could understand how those involved must be feeling?
Or do you perhaps read them and wonder what all the fuss is even about? Maybe you recognize that it’s sad, but you don’t quite understand why everyone is so up in arms over it?

If any of these things apply to you, I encourage you to get your hands on a copy of ‘The Hate U Give‘ by Angie Thomas.

‘The Hate U Give’ is a story from the point of view of a young black girl, Starr, who sees her friend, Khalil, get shot and killed by police officers. Starr struggles with what she has seen and with her life as someone straddling to worlds — a suburban high school where she works hard to not be seen as “ghetto” and the poor community that is her home.

I know there are some who would be deterred by the subject matter, thinking it too heavy or serious, or perhaps just thinking that this isn’t the type of book they typically enjoy. To you I implore: Please read it anyway. It is a YA novel, so it won’t take a very long time, and the subject is so important for everyone to read and understand.
Personally I try to stay away from books I know will make me sad, because books are my escape, but in this case I will be reading the book when it comes out regardless. I already support BLM and abhor the actions of police officers who senselessly murder black people, but being Latina (and sometimes white passing, at that), I still can’t completely understand the struggle of black people in my country because our struggles will always be inherently different (despite some similar problems).

Black people please encourage your white and non-black POC friends to read this novel, as well. As anyone who has tried to explain the problems faced by black people to others has realized, no amount of facts and figures can change someones mind if they cannot empathize with the people affected. And how better to create empathy than to experience it through the eyes of a black person going through it? I also think people will more readily engage with the protagonist and her point of view because it is a fictional group of characters, although readers should remember that the subject matter is entirely real and these characters are fictional representations of real people all over the country.

‘The Hate U Give’ will be released February 28th with both hardback and kindle editions. The movie rights have also already been bought by Fox with Amandla Stenberg (Hunger Games, Rue) set to play Starr.