Public Service Announcement: Great Books coming out today!

Posted on by
Reply

For those of you not stuck in Blizzard Juno (Is it really necessary to name winter storms?) There are some really good books coming out today.  Two I’ve already mentioned and one I’m really looking forward to reading (though I wish it wasn’t a prequel)

Featured imageI was Here by Gayle Forman.  I wrote about earlier this month.   I do not stress enough.  Keep your tissues close while readiing. Also Gayle Forman fans, she has opened an online store with really great t-shirts and tote bags.  You should check it out.  Gayle Forman’s All. The. Feels. Shop

Featured image

The Mime Order is finally out so go out and read it.  Oh Warden, you are just so wonderful. You won’t be disappointed in this sequel.

Featured imageI haven’t talked about Fairest yet.  It’s one I haven’t had a chance to read.  It’s a prequel to the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer.  That would be Cinder, Scarlet and Cress.  I love love this series.  It’s a retelling of the fairy tales, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel but set in the future and with Aliens from the Moon!  The last book, Winter was supposed to come out now but Miss Meyer had to push back the release because Winter with all of it’s characters and stories overlapping, it took longer to write.  So we must make do with Fairest. The prequel about the big bad Lunar Queen Levana.  I’m not sure if I really care that much about Levana’s back story but I need to read something to hold me over until November when Winter comes out.

So there you go.  Three great choices to read while it’s awful outside.  What will you be reading this week?

Tennis, Anyone? The Academy Series by Monica Seles

Posted on by
1

For those who know me, I love the sport of tennis.  I actually love sports.  I think they are one of the real dramas in life. They are unpredictable and entertaining.  They happen live so no edits or rewrites. Almost nothing can unite a group of people, city, state or country the way sports can.  So yeah, I love sports but I really love tennis. So two years ago, when tennis legend Monica Seles decided to write a teen novel, I was so on it. So in honor of the Australian Open currently being played, here’s the skinny on The Academy Series.

Featured imageI once described the first book in the The Academy Series, Game On, to friends as Gossip Girl meets Bollettieri’s.  For those not in the know, Bollettieri’s is a tennis academy in Florida that has produced such great champions as Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Maria Sharapova and Seles herself. In Game On we are introduced to Maya, a tennis player who dreams of playing professionally.  She has earned an scholarship into the prestigious Academy that will hopefully set her on her way to tennis glory.  There are two ways into the Academy, scholarships or just being filthy rich and buying your way in.  At the Academy Maya meets many different people.  There’s Cleo, her roommate, who hopes to make it in Golf to support her family in China.  Nicole, already a tennis star, who is threatened by Maya.  Renee, a swimmer, who’s rich family has sort of dumped her there even though she doesn’t really have much athletic ability and Travis and Jake, sons the of Academy owner.  Travis, the golden son being groomed for Football glory and Jake, the bad boy living in his brother’s shadow.  I think you get the picture.

Featured imageNow, these are not the greatest books but I don’t think anyone who picked them up were looking for them to be.  They are fun beach reads with not a lot of substance but a whole lot of drama. It turns out that Maya has more to worry about than just her tennis. She also has to contend with possible endorsement deals, internet gossip, jealous rivals and boys’ fickle affection. Life at the Academy is a lot harder than Maya thought it would be.  The best thing about Game on and it’s sequel, Love Match is the friendship between Maya, Cleo and Renee.  Renee is clearly in the Haves and Maya and Cleo, the Haves-not but they make it work.  You don’t always get books with good female friendships. (You don’t really get it in movies or TV for that matter either.)  Girls are often rivals for grades, boys, beauty, etc. I really dug the friendship of these girls.  They are vastly different.  Cleo is a free spirit and a lesbian.  Renee is super rich and beautiful and Maya is your average American girl from Buffalo.  They are constantly supporting each other and pushing each other forward.  They sometimes get jealous of each other but they do always find ways back to each other.  Oh and they talk to each other.  What a concept!  What I don’t really like about the series is the lack of tennis. Maya is determined to make it as a player.  It’s her dream but tennis often falls to the back burner as soon as she has an opportunity to pose for an ad campaign or audition for a movie or Travis or Jake start to show interest in her.  It’s not until one of those things falls apart that she recommits herself to tennis.  Promising to focus on tennis from then on or until, you know, the next thing pops up.  Not exactly the best message for young girls.

So basically, if you are looking for a book about girls and sports, this really isn’t it.  It definitely has it’s problems but I do think fans of Gossip Girl and the like will like it.  At the moment, it’s only the two books.  Seles definitely left things open for a third book but I haven’t been able to find any news of a third book coming out.  I have to admit that does disappoint me because there are some story lines that would like to see how they unfold but those are the breaks.

Bonus: For more on The Academy, here’s Brian Phillips of Grantland.com’s hilarious review of the series.

From Another Perspective: Five Novels and One Play about Supporting Characters in Our Favorite Stories

Posted on by
2

Earlier this week Beth asked what if our favorite stories were told to us from another perspective. Whose perspective and what stories would we like to hear again? Turning a tale on its ear is a pretty popular literary theme, so with the help of some discussion (both on and offline!), I’ve come up with this list of stories from a supporting character’s perspective.

Gertrude and Claudius

This was suggested by a friend and now that I know it exists I can’t wait to read it. Updike has said, “[he]sought to narrate the romance that preceded the tragedy.” This a prequel that tells us what was happening in Denmark prior to the arrival of the ghost-seeing Prince. Context is everything.

Wicked

Ah, the novel that everyone has been singing for a decade. This is the tale of The Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the witch. In all honesty, I’ve not read this one. Or, seen the musical. But, I do know this: When we tell stories about “good” and “evil” we are make assumptions about what “good” and “evil” actually are. We know that Dorothy sees the Wicked Witch of the West as evil, but how can we know that Dorothy is telling us the whole story?

Lamb

This is the first novel on this list that takes a new perspective on the bible. We know a lot about the infancy of Jesus (stables, running from Client Kings, Wise men, etc) and we know a lot about the lead up to the crucifixion (fishing for men, flipping tables and beating money lenders, getting arrested, etc) but what do we know about the intervening years? The ones that aren’t really discussed in the new testament? Well, this novel attempts to fill that in providing tales from those missing years from the perspective of Jesus’s childhood friend Biff. Basically everything you need to know about this book is in this phrase: Jesus’s childhood friend Biff.

I’m not a fan of Jane Eyre, I’ll just admit to that now. I think Jane is kinda boring and Rochester is a horrible and stuffy human being. (Sometimes, it’s tough to say which of those is his biggest flaws.) But, my dislike of Rochester boils down to one key fact: Dude keeps a woman in his attic. Wide Sargasso Sea tells the story of Antoinette Cosway, the woman who will eventually become that woman in Rochester’s attic. Set in the Caribbean and drawing on the childhood memory of the author this tale attempts to give the Crazy lady in the attic a little more dimension.

The Red Tent

This is the tale of Dinah and it takes a look at ancient womanhood by exploring the lives of women referenced in the book of Genesis. Everybody knows the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But, what do we know about their wives and daughters (aside from who they married and who they birthed)? This is an interesting take on a religious text.

I hesitated to include this because I’ve already included Gertrude and Claudius but it is too enjoyable to give it a pass. This is the entire tale told in Hamlet from the perspective of two minor (and utterly bewildered) characters. Of course, we know from having seen Hamlet that this will all end in tragedy, but there’s a lot of comedy on the way to those two open graves.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight came up in the comments so I felt that this needed to be mentioned. Stephenie Meyer posted a partial draft of the first part of Twilight from Edward’s perspective. I have such mixed feelings about these books that it is hard to comment on them. But, this one is up online for free, so that might be a point in its favor.

Do you have a favorite book that re-tells a tale from the perspective of another character? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Review: Talon by Julie Kagawa

Posted on by
Reply

Featured imageWhen I first read the description of Talon, I thought it sounded very familiar to another Teen series, Firelight by Sophie Jordan.  They both feature a protaganist who are dragons or a form of dragons, that can blend in with humans.  A human boy love interest, who is also a form of Dragon hunter/slayer and another boy dragon to complete the love triangle.  As Talon progresses the similarities start to fade.  Not completely, though.  Readers of both will see them but it’s not the same.

Continue reading →

Review: The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

Posted on by
2

Featured imageOn Tuesday, the second book in the Bone Season series, The Mime Order comes out.  If you have read the other posts you know that Kate and I loved the first book, The Bone Season and a certain character, Warden.  So we both were anxiously waiting the sequel.  I already had a chance to read The Mime Order.  There are a few perks of being a bookseller. Having the opportunity to read books before they are officially released is just one of them.  The problem with reading books before the release is that when I’m done, I can’t talk about them because no one else had read them.  I know, I know.  I’m probably not getting much sympathy out there so I’ll stop complaining.  I am very happy that it will finally get to be released so Kate and our cousin Sarah, who suggested The Bone Season to us can finally read about it so we can discuss it. Finally!

So without giving too much away, The Mime Order is a worthy sequel.  It opens up, exactly where The Bone Season ends.  Paige and the other voyants have escaped Schoel 1.  .  Knowing what she now knows on who really runs Scion, she can’t just go back to living her life like nothing happened, can she?  That’s exactly what Jaxon wants her to do.  Soon after she comes back there is a big shake up in the Syndicate and Paige sees this as an opportunity to push for change against Rephaim.

Admittedly, it starts off slow.  I feel like as a reader you just have to expect that from a sequel.  Paige’s indecision on what to do next and how to motivate the Syndicate against the Rephaim sort of bogs down the pacing but once she formulates a plan and yes Warden finally returns, the book really starts to pick up.  A lot and I mean a lot happens in this book and the ending that made me scream for it not to end there! I can not wait for the next book.

What if?

Posted on by
7

Featured imageBuzzfeed reimaged Harry Potter as if Hermoine Granger was the main character.  And it was awesome! It got me thinking.  If you could change the main character of any story, who would it be and why?  I mean, what if it was Peeta, the Golden Boy instead of Katniss, the Girl on Fire? Or if Dr. Watson was the detective who solved the crimes and not Sherlock Holmes?  What if Twilight’s main couple was Alice and Jasper, instead of Bella and Edward and Jacob?  What if it was Annabeth Chase and the Olympians instead of Percy?

So tell us, which supporting characters, would you promote to the main character and why? How would it change the story? Let’s hear it.

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Posted on by
Reply

Featured imageHolly Black is no stranger to Fairies.  This is her third foray into the world of the fair folk.  She first co-authored the Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi and then went solo on Modern Faerie Tales, Tithe, Valiant and Ironside. She knows her fairy mythology.  The Darkest Part of the Forest is a return to her fairy roots, so to speak.

Sister and Brother Hazel and Ben live in a strange town of Fairfold, where humans and fairy live side by side.  They have sort of agreement where the fairies leave the townspeople alone but can do what they want to the tourists.  Nice, right? In the center of the wood, lays a glass casket that has an attractive horned fairy inside, sleeping.  Never waking.  Both Hazel and Ben are in love with him and one day are going to wake him and save the town.

Hazel knows to fear the fey.  They may seem harmless but they are not.  She and Ben used to hunt faeries.  Ben has a gift for music, blessed and cursed by a fairy when he was a baby. Ben would lull the faires with his music and Hazel would strike them down.  The Bard and the Knight.  All went well until Ben couldn’t control his gift and got scared.  Hazel makes a bargain with the Alderking, who rules the fairies in the forest.  If Ben gets a scholarship to a music school in Philadelphia, she’ll give seven years of her life to them.  Ben did but things didn’t turn out as planned, as often it does with fairy bargains.  Back in Fairfold, Hazel throws herself at boys to distract her from troubles, while Ben desperately tries to escape Fairfold and be normal.  Everything changes when the mysterious horned fairy boy is freed from the casket and awakes.  Hazel and Ben must finally face all of their secrets and fears and do what they did as kings. Hunt down fairies and save the town.

I liked this book but it wasn’t my favorite.  I don’t know how to explain it but it seems to not have the spark of her other books.  Or maybe since I loved her last book, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown that I just expected more.  The characters are all likable. The most likeable is Jack, the changeling boy who is also Ben’s best friend and Hazel’s long time crush.  I liked how that Ben is gay but it doesn’t define him. It’s not a obstacle he has to overcome or come to terms with, it’s just a fact and accepted.  Or the fact that Jack is a changeling.  People just seem to accept him as is, until things start to fall apart of course.

So really the story isn’t about fairies at all but about finding yourself and being honest with yourself and others. In like most novels, the conflicts could have all been avoided if they didn’t keep secrets from themselves but I guess that wouldn’t be much of a story.  All and all, it was a good but not great.