In My Mailbox {1}

From the library...

The Season by Sarah McLean

Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued — in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet. When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband?

The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott

Spoiled, beautiful fourteen-year-old Eugénie de Boncoeur is accustomed to outrageous privilege. The French Revolution may rage around her, but Eugénie's luxurious lifestyle is only improved by visits from her brother, Armand, especially doting since the two were orphaned. What Eugénie doesn't know is that their guardian has promised her in marriage to the wealthy, vengeful Le Fantome, a revolutionary nursing a secret grudge against her family. As the Revolution becomes increasingly violent, Eugénie is shipped off to convent school. Finally, there is no place in France that is safe for her. Eugénie dusts off her lightly used brains and rises to the challenge of survival; and soon she is in the thick of turmoil and romance, confronting spies, secret agents, and double-crossing suitors in her quest to get out of France alive.

Squire (Protector of the Small, #3) by Tamora Pierce

In Book 3 of Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small sequence, 14-year-old Keladry of Mindelan is ready to begin training as a squire after undergoing four grueling years as the first girl to be officially educated as a page. 


Theodosia and the Eye of Horus by R.L. LaFevers 

Being able to detect black magic isn’t all tea and crumpets — and for Theodosia Throckmorton, it can be a decidedly tricky business! When Sticky Will drags Theo to a magic show featuring the Great Awi Bubu, she quickly senses there is more to the magician than he lets on, setting in motion a chain of events she never could have bargained for. 

Kindle...

Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (free on Amazon!)


Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible and eccentric guardian - provided she marries one of his great-nephews... No sooner does Kitty arrive in London then the race for her hand begins, but between confirmed rakes and bumbling affections, Kitty needs a daring scheme ...


The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Think vampires are romantic and powerful? Think again. Vampires are dead. And unless they want to end up staked, they have to give up fanging people, admit their addiction, join a support group, and reform themselves.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. 

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home. 

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. 

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war.


The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis  

Eleven-year-old Sallie March is a whip-smart tomboy and voracious reader of Western adventure novels. When she and her sister Maude escape their self-serving guardians for the wilds of the frontier, they begin an adventure the likes of which Sallie has only read about. This time however, the "wanted woman" isn't a dime-novel villain, it's Sallie's very own sister! What follows is not the lies the papers printed, but the honest-to-goodness truth of how two sisters went from being orphans to being outlaws—and lived to tell the tale!

What are you reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

(hosted by vampyre girls book club)

 

 The Art of Fiction by John Gardner

"Every true work of art...must be judged primarily, though not exclusively, by its own laws."

Fruits Basket, vol. 7 by Natsuki Takaya

"She went to such lengths...to save a kid to whom she owned nothing."

 

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier 

I've heard it said that girls can't keep secrets. That's wrong. We'd proved it. 

Summertime, and the Living is (Relatively) Easy

 

(Recognize the cartoon and I'll give you a virtual cookie.)

 Yes, it's that time of year again - the time when sweaters aren't mandatory, you can actually go out with sandals without getting your toes frozen off, and...yes, the most important part...books are a very necessary accessory for all those times you head out to soak out the sun.

And I aim to take full advantage of all this warm, wonderful reading weather.

Yes sire. No more Miss Disorganized Scrambling to Find the Right Title on library days. Implementing a little "book-list" notebook that slides easily into my tote has helped a little bit, but stepping into a world of so many books still seems to overwhelm me from time to time. 

That being said, and with so many new and exciting titles making their debut, I have made it easier all around by typing up my very own Summer Reading List 2011. Of course, this hardly means I will stick to it, or that I will manage to polish off all the titles by the time school rolls around (one can only hope), but it adds structure, and that's always a good thing.

The list's document will be accessible in the sidebar, because I have a feeling putting all those titles will swamp any available space. If any suggestions or recommendations are thought of, I'd really appreciate it. You can never have enough books!

Friday Finds {1}

 Hosted by Should Be Reading

What new books did you discover this week?

It's 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows--a fascinating boy who's not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary's sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies--Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for nearly ninety years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.

  So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was feeding on her, Will's world is about to change forever. The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagi--a headless monster that feeds through the mouthfuls of teeth in its chest--and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Now, Will and the doctor must face the horror threatening to overtake and consume our world before it is too late. 

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back. 

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. 

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure.

Bradbury, Jennifer: Wrapped

May 24, 2011
320 pages, Athenum 
Historical Fiction/Adventure/Suspense

Agnes Wilkins is standing in front of an Egyptian mummy, about to make the first cut into the wrappings, about to unlock ancient (and not-so-ancient) history. 

Maybe you think this girl is wearing a pith helmet with antique dust swirling around her. 

Maybe you think she is a young Egyptologist who has arrived in Cairo on camelback. 

Maybe she would like to think that too. Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. 

An unwrapping. 

This is the start of it all, Agnes’s debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It’s also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn’t just a mummy. It’s a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain. 

 This, right here, is the type of book I want to write when I grow up.

With a seamless mesh of humor, authentic historical facts and adventure, Bradbury weaves the story of Agnes Wilkins, a young girl living in the heart of the Regency Period (one of my loves that I could not help but squeal when I realized Ms. Bradbury loves it just as well), obsessed with Jane Austen novels - though at the time they were penned by "A Lady" - and, at the very moment in which the story begins, standing with a knife in preparation to cut into a mummy.

Not in the sweltering heat and dusty lands of Egypt, mind you. Right at home in jolly old England, at the party of a certain Lord Showalter who may or may not be interested in making Agnes his next acquisition, and under the eyes of a suspicious young man who might or might not be a spy.

And then, right after Agnes guiltily ferrets away a particular find in her foot of wrapping - a small amulet that doesn't seem that valuable - a murder is announced.

And British society will never be the same.

Agnes is an endearing and strong heroine with a habit of translating A Lady quotes into other languages when she gets agitated - an unusual find in the recent deluge of Bella Swan knock-offs and boy-obsessed Juliets, and something which made me even more enraptured with the tale.

And of course, there's Caedon Stowe, museum apprentice, daring sidekick and a scholar of all that is ancient and decrepit. Don't you just admire a smart boy?


Warnings: Two brief and forgettable instances of vulgar language, and, for the faint of heart, mentions of dried out cadavers and murdered corpses. Be sure to have your smelling salts on hand.

And let's tally up the rating points!

5 - Strong heroine

4.5 - Likeable love interest (although he does have his moments of typical exasperating male behavior)

5 - Authentic historical facts, without coming off as a presumptuous prig (and a fine British aura to boot)

5 - Brilliant supporting cast, from the romantic French ladies' maid to the annoying older brother with his own secrets to hide

5 - No sudden bouts of the paranormal. Always worth a point in my opinion.

-1 - Cliche criminal mastermind that I totally saw coming.

Conclusion = A pretty spot-on tale. Definitely worth the read.

"Waiting On" Wednesday: The Scorpio Races

(Hosted by Breaking the Spine)

The Scorpio Races 

Maggie Stiefvater

October 18, 2011

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shiver and Linger comes a brand new, heartstopping novel.

With her trademark lyricism, Maggie Stiefvater turns to a new world, where a pair are swept up in a daring, dangerous race across a cliff--with more than just their lives at stake should they lose.

Seriously, if I had the chance, I'd love to sit in with Maggie's writing group. The speed and accuracy at which she writes her novels is mind-blowing to me - especially since I am still sadly trudging through the last six chapters of my first novel.

Ah, well. Maybe reading them will rub off on me.

I enjoyed Shiver and Linger, in spite of the now-cliche werewolf aspect to them, and a bit of language issues. I'd been following her tweets about "a secret project", but didn't take them seriously until I happened to see the cover for this on GoodReads last night.

And now...I am so excited to learn more about this! It's disappointing that the blurb is only one sentence.

Ibbotson, Eva: Journey to the River Sea

Read it once, retain fond memories.

Read it twice, and feel the love be rekindled.

That's pretty much what I went through when I "rediscovered" this little gem from my elementary school years. For ages, I'd passed it by on the library shelves, always putting it on the reread list for when I had time - and a lack of new, shiny titles to discover. It wasn't until I discovered that our library had gotten rid of BOTH COPIES (I mean, who does that to classic children's literature!) that I took the initiative to revive my childhood memories.

And what memories they are.

Journey to the River Sea is centered around Maia, a sweet young orphan who finds herself abruptly shuttled from her peaceful life in a British boarding school into the hands of unknown relatives, the Coopers, dwelling within exotic, untamed Brazil.What at first seems like a blessing in disguise - a new family, cousins to be played with and an entire new culture to absorb - soon turns out to be something quite different. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, each with their both hilarious and slightly disturbing obsessions, need Maia simply for the money her parents have left behind. The twins are self-absorbed and quite nasty, and as a result of contact with the despicable Coopers, the locals are sullen and quite unwilling to open up to newcomers.

And of course there is Miss Minton - the stern-faced, unusual governess with an authentic replica of a Viking spear for a hatpin.

The story hardly ends up there, however. Maia isn't one to let her misery keep her from adventure. A young actor in dire straits due to impending puberty, an heir on a mission to escape the shackles of wealth waiting for him back in England, and two persistent crow-like investigators, not to mention the late author's constant dedication to research and beautiful detail - make each page literally breathtaking. It might be marketed for children, but believe me, if you are young at heart and like a good tale of kind hearts and determination winning over...well, not evil, but not very nice people either...this book will not disappoint you.

This is definitely one book that's going on my wish list to share with my children in the future.

Tolerance Has Its Limits.

There are times when you just can't look the other way.

Take this book. Yes, this one right here on the left-hand side. Take a good look at it. Look up its summary, if you have to. Or better yet, let me do the work for you.

Lucy Wickwright, hardworking maidservant to Lord Cant's daughter, does what she's told, never lies, and always takes the blame for the whims of her mistress. But Lucy's eagerness to please leads her to become an unwitting ally of a mysterious rebellion that threatens to shake the foundations of the Barony and forever change her life in Castle Cant. When Lucy discovers a shocking secret at the heart of the revolution, will she choose to foil the forces that would exalt her, or betray the one she loves most in the world?

Sweet. Innocuous. You might be thinking that the author who wrote this must be a kind-hearted man, possibly a parent himself. If you went by the brief blurb on the book jacket, you'd discover a man who enjoys solitude, apparently has a sense of humor and even volunteered at his local library's children's room.

All nice, All-American, yes?

No.

K.P. Bath was recently arrested on charges of holding child pornography. In an interview, he went so far as to freely admit he condones child molesters - like himself - and "[he wants] nine-year-olds. This coming from a man who writes for nine-year-olds."


Do you know what your child is reading?

In my opinion, there is a time when tolerance can only go so far. Despite the fact that the...I can't even call him a man...is currently spending his seven years in jail, this book remains on the shelf of the public library where I recently picked it up and took it home, only to chuck it right back at them when I found out the sordid background. His own publishers rejected his last manuscript after this drama. Why won't the library, an organization that claims the best for the children of our community, remove a book from their shelves written by a man who only wishes to exploit them?

Okay, I fully understand that the library cannot discriminate according to orientation, race, gender, et cetera, et cetera. However, keeping a book by a child molester is another issue entirely. I suggest reading the blog post on Librarified where a librarian touches on this very issue:

My professional values demand that I treat his books as I would have before his arrest and conviction. Normally I feel like my own values and my profession’s values are a good match, but I really struggle with this case. I know that as much as we want it to be or might claim it is, our collection development isn’t objective. I want social justice to be a part of librarianship. But intellectual freedom is at the core of librarianship and is the defense for some controversial things that happen in youth librarianship. If we start making compromises, how can we continue to defend controversial books being on our shelves? If we make exceptions and remove KP Bath’s books from our collections, then how do we retain the works of other felons or of anyone–atheists, gay people–whom someone in our library’s community might think immoral?

Honestly, though, I can't take the idea of this guy getting away with his books staying on the shelves. Yes, I know there are other authors who may have gotten away with the same sort of charges (or worse) - scandals hidden on the shelves that I stay blissfully ignorant of - but if you don't stand for something, where will you get in this world?

Wynne Jones, Diana: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, vol. 1

In this multiple parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic—and to hold the title Chrestomanci... The Chants are a family strong in magic, but neither Christopher Chant nor Cat Chant can work even the simplest of spells. Who could have dreamed that both Christopher and Cat were born with nine lives—or that they could lose them so quickly?

f i n a l   t h o u g h t s

Though I'm pretty sure that Howl's Moving Castle will remain my favorite of Diana Wynne Jones' series (may she rest in peace in that great castle in the sky), Chrestomanci is quickly becoming a fast second.

I didn't know until I checked this volume out that it contains the first two books of the series - Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant. What's cool about it is that we're introduced to the current Chrestomanci, or head magician, in the first book, and then you get to read his back-story in the second volume.

I figured out pretty quickly that any assumptions you might have coming into a Diana Wynne Jones story should be kept silent. It's like running through a maze: you turn every corner, get a little lost, and then think you know the way out, only to be met with another new twist.

Only it's much cooler.

And less scary than getting lost for real.

my verdict. five stars. a must-read, even if you think you're too old for children's lit.

Another of Those Memes

...What a relief to find out that I'm not the only person who feels this way.

I have a feeling this is the sign of a truly talented author: when you get so attached to a character, you can actually feel their emotions and get caught off by the force of them. And people wonder how RPG forums and cosplaying came about.

The last time this happened to me was when I was reading House of Many Ways by the very talented (and much missed) Diana Wynne Jones. When Howl makes his entrance as the utterly infuriating child Twinkle - long story - I had to put my finger on the page and let a bit of Sophie's embarrassment out. It was that bad.

Bookbag

"There are thousands of words, all different from ours. Chrestomanci's world is the one next door to us, and the difference here is that magic is as common as music is with us..."

The Chants are a family strong in magic, but neither Christopher Chant nor Cat Chant can work even the simplest of spells. Who could have dreamed that both Christopher and Cat were born with nine lives—or that they could lose them so quickly?

 


A dead sleep came over me, and from my horse I fell...

Polly has two sets of memories...

One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was ten and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.

But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love -- and perhaps Polly herself -- will be lost.

 
 

 Because she was a princess, she had a pegasus.

 Because of a thousand-year-old alliance between humans and pagasi, Princess Sylviianel is ceremonially bound to Ebon, her own Pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Humans and pegasi both rely on specially-trained Speaker magicians as the only means of real communication.

But its different for Sylvi and Ebon. They can understand each other. They quickly grow close-so close that their bond becomes a threat to the status quo-and possibly to the future safety of their two nations.

   

It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.




 

  "I had a sister once."

 The war between humanity and Faerie devastated both sides. Or so 15-year-old Liza has been told. Nothing has been seen or heard from Faerie since, and Liza’s world bears the scars of its encounter with magic. Trees move with sinister intention, and the town Liza calls home is surrounded by a forest that threatens to harm all those who wander into it. Then Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see—into the past, into the future—and she has no choice but to flee her town. Liza’s quest will take her into Faerie and back again, and what she finds along the way may be the key to healing both worlds.

 

A genius. A criminal mastermind. A millionaire. And he's only twelve years old.                                                                                                                                                                                                       Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. With two trusty sidekicks in tow, he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn't foolish enough to believe in all that "gold at the end of the rainbow" nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of them and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action, he doesn't count on the appearance of the extrasmall, pointy-eared Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--and her senior officer, Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.

It could only be one thing. Something dead was down there.

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. 

What's in your stash right now?

Based off In Your Mailbox by The Story Siren. 

When Education Actually Is Fun: Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose

Okay, so I must admit that sometimes, it's hard for me to enjoy my favorite subject (coughliteraturecough) when faced with the dull possibilities of a textbook. I usually skim the passages, re-read when I realize my attention's been lagging, get up to find a snack - the usual procrastination techniques perfected by students everywhere.

However, I do make an exception - or at least try to - when it comes to writing books, and since this particular title was highly recommended by a respected author in the business (Maryrose Wood), it wasn't actually that hard to make myself get past the first few pages.

The thing is, Ms. Prose doesn't make it hard, or dull, or preachy. You can tell from just reading her book that she loves reading, writing and everything relating to it - even stuff that another writer would feel trivial, such as sentences or the length of a paragraph.

Not only that, I could really see the difference for myself right away. In case no one looks at the little GoodReads box on the side, I just started Persuasion by Jane Austen (one of my great writing heroes), and I could understand her intricate layers of characterization - using just one or two paragraphs of description - just from reading that chapter of Ms. Prose's book in which she points it out.


So yes. Really good stuff here, and definitely helping with some of the questions that were bothering me.