Schwab, Victoria: The Near Witch

August 2, 2011
Hyperion Books
YA Fantasy, 282 pages
Acquired and read: Via the local library cooperative, and read within twenty-four hours

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
 These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

I've been looking forward to this for SO LONG, and I'm so happy that it's lived up to my expectations.

The writing is...for lack of a better word, scrumptious. The cadence and feel resemble a genuine fairy tale, but with enough of a modern edge that today's generation won't feel out of their depth. Lexi wandering the moors feels as familiar and chilling to my heart as searching in the woods for Baba Yaga and her chicken-footed hut, or Gerda following The Snow Queen's footsteps in order to rescue her beloved Kai.

Also, Ms. Schwab gets the action going right away. From the first page, we know what's going on and what's at stake. Children are missing. A new (handsome, of course) stranger has arrived in Near. Lexi instantly captivated me as a heroine who both loves her family and is willing to follow her heart - and when she's in trouble, she doesn't a) break down and cry, b) attempt to snag a sparkly, exsanguinated boyfriend who can fight her battles for her, or c) both of the above. Very refreshing. (I also loved Magda and Dreska - I understand why Lexi likes to hang out with them as much as possible.) All the factors melded together to make a flawless, breathtaking story that I know I will want to visit again in the future.

I was a fan of Victoria Schwab even before I read the book, but this has pretty much ensured I'll be a fan for life.

Warnings: None. Unless you find long-dead witches coming back for vengeance too much for your heart to take.

Final verdict: YES. (I should find some way to get a graphic of a red stamp so that it looks all official.)

Meyer, Marissa: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1)

Expected publication: January 3, 2012
Feiwel and Friends
YA Sci Fi/Fantasy/Fairy Tale Rendition, 400 pages
Acquired and read: Through Around the World ARC Tours in return for a fair, unbiased review; read within around three hours (I told you I love fairy tales)


Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future. 

Where my tween-aged self found a soulmate in Ella Enchanted, I seem to have found it in Cinder.

The whole Cinderella oddball meets Wonder Boy Prince Charming might seem a little overdone by now, but really, Ms. Meyer does an awesome job of keeping the basic details of the storyline alive with her own little twists. First of all, there's the whole sci-fi cyborg thing. Of course, who wants to live with that - especially in Cinder's world where being half-robot makes you subhuman - but how cool of a character trait is that? And then there's the evil queen that lives on the moon, an android with a smart-mouthed personality, and of course...the Prince.


Who is very, very charming.


Cinder holds her own as a heroine. Who can't love a girl who can detect lies, has a dark, mysterious past (though, I must admit, the mind-bending twist the author throws in the last five pages was a bit of a far stretch, even for me...) and is loyal to a girl whose mother tortures her every chance she gets? No self-suffering, "someday my prince will come" warbling for this girl. She's like a matured, street-smart version of Ella, and she has the nuts and bolts to prove it.


Maybe I should have written this review a few hours after the "gah I just read a good book" high wears off. Do I sound like I'm babbling? Okay, in summary...


Sci-fi + fairy tale retelling + charming prince + high-wired heroine = MUY BUENO. 


Go read. Right now.


Warnings: A heartbreaking character death (I'm not trying to give any spoilers, just letting you know that you might need a hanky on hand) and a sprinkling of innuendo here and there but NO PROFANITY. It's a miracle.


Final verdict: Yes. Yes. YES. (Why do all these books have to be part of a series?!)

Johnson, Maureen: The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1)

September 29, 2011
Penguin Young Readers Group
YA Mystery/Supernatural, 372 pages
Acquired and read: Courtesy of my most beloved public library (I was first on the waiting list - oh yeah!); read within approximately six hours

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

The Name of the Star is what you fear.

Except for the whole arriving in London just for the killing spree of the century, Rory's pretty much living the life any Anglophile would die for - living it up in a posh boarding school, a cool roommate, and the possibility of having her head chopped off by the Ripper himself.


Ahem. Yes, I'd take it all except for the last part.


Though I follow her religiously on Twitter, this was the first of Maureen Johnson's books I actually finished (started Suite Scarlett back in senior year, but you know how well that went) and I was absolutely hooked from start to finish. There was a bit of a lag during the whole information dumps about boarding school, but then again I know absolutely nothing about the British education system, so let's take that as a learning experience, shall we?


In any case, there's loads of cool accented words and slang (personal favorite: "I survived November 9th and All I Got was This Bloody T-Shirt"...I'm a future English major, I've got to love irony), rides on the Tube and, of course, Ripper-mania to keep the action going right up to the last page. And even after that, I went through the acknowledgments, admired the nice author photo on the flap, and drummed my fingers against the cover a few times waiting for a sequel to magically appear in my hands.


It didn't. Ah, well, you can't blame a girl for trying.

What I found particularly awesome about the book was how it followed along with the real Ripper's crimes...and believe me, I would know. (To make a long story short, some psychology classes seem to enjoy freaking their students out for life about venturing out at night...oh, and being a female in any major city? Watch out for your neck, my pretty.)


To sum it up for whoever didn't bother to read everything up there: 


Anglophile + interested about serial killers (just as long as you're not one) = have a go with The Name of the Star. You won't regret it.


Warnings (because I can't close off this review without 'em): Death. Gory, historically accurate, heartbreaking deaths. Please consult a physician if you have any conditions that might leave you with your hands over your heart and a book conspicuously falling to the floor. The Name of the Star is a book about a murderer, not a murderer itself. 


Also, there's quite a bit of macking, a little bit of profanity, and some other innuendo. This is a YA book, you know.


Final verdict: Yes. (I'm sparing you any more of my terrible British imitations. Just...yes.)

Cypess, Leah: Mistwood (Mistwood, #1)

April 27, 2010

Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins

YA Fantasy, 304 pages

Acquired and read: From public library; two hours (give or take)

Related books: Cypess, Leah: Nightspell

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court... until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart... and everything she thought she knew.

This is one of those sitting-the-fence reads that I'm really glad I took the chance on. Ever read a review by someone you really trust (ie. another book blogger) that wasn't really positive, but you REALLY like the way the book sounds? Yeah, that was my conundrum right there, and (with all due respect to the blogger, because she's awesome) I'm glad I didn't listen to her because I really would have missed out.

The cover evokes this Lord of the Ring-esque world in my mind, but in reality the story and its situation sounds more like a royal court intrigue from the medieval times - or maybe Henry IV. Nothing is as it seems. Isabel, famed Shifter, guardian of the line of kings, emerges from the forest at the behest of the man who should be her next protectee - but she doesn't remember anything about who she is, or her duties.

From the beginning, I was attached to Isabel. She's determined to stick to the role of the mythical protector, but in reality she's just as lost and worried about the resolution as the reader. To me, she felt the way that Katsa (Graceling, Kristen Cashore) should have turned out, without all the gratuitous "no need to get married, just run around and pray you don't get pregnant" trifle that was shoved in. I loved the fact that (for once) the protagonist's self-discovery wasn't just centered around the romantic plot and being dependent on a man.

Rokan was a bit of a harder sell. Honestly, at times he seemed like a bit of a milk sop. ("Oh Daria! She's so perfect. Wait, why are you here bossing me around? Oh right, you're my protector. Hey, you're kinda cute...") I was glad he grew a bit of a backbone at the end...a bit.

When I reached the end, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was relieved that it was a stand-alone book because - honestly, the endless series are becoming a bit much. On the other hand, GAH IT ENDS RIGHT THERE?! At least there's a companion novel, but that's little comfort considering that I'm pretty sure it won't be the same. Ah, well. I can't bash it before I try it.

Warnings: One instance of bad language that can be quickly passed over. Other than that, this is one of the cleaner YA books I've read this year.

Final verdict? Yes. A big, red-pen YES.