Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

This book is a little younger that what I usually read (the main character is 12), but it definitely falls into that rare and very special category. The writing is such that it feels all ages can read it, and it also seems to carry a hint of magic through it's lilting tones. While it covers serious subject matter, it also softens the blow with different characters. It's heart wrenching and warming, and kind of reminds me of a proper story. A story that fills you with a wide variety of emotions for all the right reasons, and also has some unexplained elements that are fitting to the narrative. ....Is this too much hype, or not enough? Dun dun dunnnn

An amazon summary, "It's been five years since the Sweep disappeared. Orphaned and alone, Nan Sparrow had no other choice but to work for a ruthless chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She spends her days sweeping out chimneys. The job is dangerous and thankless, but with her wits and will, Nan has managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again.
 When Nan gets stuck in a chimney fire, she fears the end has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself unharmed in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature—a golem—made from soot and ash. Sweep is the story of a girl and her monster. Together, these two outcasts carve out a new life—saving each other in the process. Lyrically told by one of today's most powerful storytellers, Sweep is a heartrending adventure about the everlasting gifts of friendship and wonder." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE


The story begins with the Sweep and Nan; a flashback to what Nan's life used to be like with the Sweep in it. They were struggling to survive, but the Sweep spun everything into something more fanciful for Nan. However, five years ago the Sweep disappeared and Nan went to work for "The Clean Sweep" aka Wilkie Crudd. Nan sweeps out chimneys, which is a dangerous job, but as she says, she has soot in her veins. The sweep left behind two things for Nan; his hat, and a piece of char. A Sweep's hat is their most important position, but the piece of char is always warm. Nan keeps the char with her wherever she goes.

There are other children working for Wilkie Crudd and they all sleep in a coal bin. The other children have dreams about the Sweep when they sleep near Nan, but Nan tries to keep her distance from everyone. Newt is a new sweep and asks to go up his first chimney with Nan, but Nan refuses, she sweeps alone. Nan is hired to sweep out the chimneys of a school where they are very small (and someone such as Newt would be very useful as he's rather small) and Nan gets stuck. When a sweep gets stuck, their master is supposed to get them out... but instead, Roger comes (who is also a sweep, but kind of evil) and decides to get Nan out with the devil's nudge.... which means he lights the fireplace on fire.

Nan screams and starts to burn up...but then wakes up in the attic of the school next to her char. She listens to hear that they think she is dead, but cannot find her body. Unexpectedly, Nan's char has come to life, and has begun to kind of talk. Nan escapes to save her own life, but to also try to discover what the char really is and why the sweep left the char for Nan.

That's enough summary.

Okay, so first of all, the amazon summary reveals the char is a golem. This book is 344 pages long, and they figure out the char is a golem on page 112. That's roughly 33% of the way into the book. SPOILERS MUCH, AMAZON?! Which really means, I'm yelling at the publisher because really the publisher is writing those summaries as it's also printed on the inside flap, but whatever, yelling needs to be had!

...anyways.

I really loved the characters within the book, the parallels between what the reader was shown and also what the characters were discovering, and the world building was fantastic. I also really liked that the book showed us the terrible working conditions of the sweep, but also presented it as their day to day life. Then, when things happen later in the book, that really comes full circle and makes a lot more sense.

I also adored Toby and how his whole story played out within Nan's story. It was a nice note of connecting different lives together in the smallest, but also most significant ways.

Then there's the char; the char was very interesting as far as "monsters" and abilities go, but also the demeanor and attitude. I would definitely say the char humbled the book and was really the reassurance and support that Nan needed to comprehend where the Sweep went.

I don't want to say anything else, because no spoilers. I just really loved this book!

Happy reading!

The Reader

The Reader by Traci Chee

I think this cover art is kind of, odd. I was hoping it would make a little more sense once I finished reading the book, but no such luck. The gold lines are an open books with pages springing upwards, but I don't understand the blues and greens. I'm going to assume the woman depicted is supposed to be the main character, Sefia. Perhaps the blues and greens with the vague plant patterns and land patterns are supposed to be from different scenes of the book? I don't know. The star pattern on the bottom is interesting too, but again, I'm not sure what they're related to.

Cover art aside, an amazon summary, "A stunning debut set in a world where reading is unheard-of, perfect for fans of Inkheart and Shadow and Bone

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible.
With overlapping stories of swashbuckling pirates and merciless assassins, The Reader is a brilliantly told adventure from an extraordinary new talent." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

The story begins when Sefia is older and on the run with her Aunt Nin. Sefia went into the marketplace for supplies, but when she tries to return to her Aunt Nin, she witnesses the kidnapping of her Aunt Nin instead. The books leaps into a flashback of Sefia's childhood. Sefia grew up in a small village with three people in her life; her mother, her father, and Aunt Nin. Her mother died from an illness when she was younger. Sefia never saw anyone outside of these three people, and her existence was kept hidden from the world. She actually lived in a secret room under the house that could only be accessed by a hidden door near the fireplace. When finds her father murdered in the house, she goes into her hidden room, and escapes through the other hidden doors to get outside. When she opens one of the doors, an object falls out. Sefia scoops it up and manages to get outside. She finds her Aunt Nin who immediately takes them on the run, making sure the object is safely hidden in their packs.

Then, we get a different narrator; Lon. Lon is someone who is an apprentice to the Librarian. He was picked up by the librarian from the streets where he had been using a second vision to read people for coins. The librarian makes him his apprentice to help uphold the values of the library, and to eventually someday read The Book for himself.

Back to Sefia. Sefia is trying to track down her Aunt Nin, but along the way she discovers a camp of people who have the same mysterious mark on a crate as she does on the object (which is a book, we know this earlier, but I didn't want to say anything until now) she has kept hidden since her escape from home. Desperate for answers, she pries open the crate to find a young man inside. He doesn't speak, and she realizes he is probably one of the boys captured and forced to fight. She frees him from the camp and tries to free him to the world, but he chooses to stay with her.

That's enough summary.

I found this book to be a very bizarre reading experience. I found it hard to follow along and to fit the clues together that were periodically presented. I think the book is working itself towards a giant metaphor of dissecting the human experience by having each character and situation be a representation of an aspect of humanity.

...but I don't want to read the sequels. I believe this is book one in a trilogy, and based on what I read, there are only certain aspects of the story I'm actually curious to know how they resolve. Frankly, I don't care about Sefia and the young man (Archer). I didn't find them to be very relateable characters, and I found a lot of their knowledge about their world to be very frustratingly lacking. I assume this is because the readers are learning about the world as the narrators do, so it gives more of a depth of understanding about not only the characters and what conclusions they draw about the world as they learn it, but also to slowly reveal the tapestry of the world as the guard molded it.

Speaking of the Guard, I'm going to go into spoiler land. So if you don't want any aspect of this book ruined, I would consider to stop reading this review right now. Cool? Cool.

So the Guard. It's revealed towards the end of the book that the librarian and assassin we've been periodically reading about are part of the Guard. The Guard wants the book back so they can see the past, present, and future, and help guide the kingdoms to peace. ...can you see why I asserted this book is probably a giant metaphor for dissecting the human experience? Hmm? Anyways. The Guard does a lot of harm in the name of good, trying to work towards this peace. This is a plot device that deeply upsets me. I strongly dislike these kind of plot devices that people with higher levels of experience, knowledge, and skills are working in the shadows to control the world and everything they do may seem evil, but it's for the greater good. Trust them. In this book, that takes the form of targeted murder of groups of people, young boys being stolen to fight in the cage fights, and also that the world exists as a result of the Guard's guidance. So really, if this group of people is supposed to be powerful enough to shape the world, why did they let it go to crap in the first place?  If they are all knowing, why didn't they stop everything to begin with? I suppose if I read books 2 & 3 I would learn about the history of the Guard, why they came to be, what their deeper motivations are, but I don't think I would be satisfied with any answer. Which brings me back to the metaphor. I presume this book is using the Guard as the metaphor for people trying to play 'God' and screwing it up. Without reading the sequels, I have no way to confirm or deny this theory I'm asserting....but I also don't care enough to find out. I feel like this book is trying to be a thinking, contemplative book about the existence of people and how we all impact each other. If that is the case, I would expect more philosophy, less magic, and less survival elements throughout the story. I don't know, I'm just grumpy about this book. I just don't think it did anything particularly well, including explaining the mysterious symbol that Sefia was using to track down her Aunt Nin. Which again, I assume I would discover these answers in the future books, but what this book failed to truly do is make me care enough to read the sequels. ...grumpy, I know.

Happy reading!

The Girl King

The Girl King by Mimi Yu

This book will be published on January 8, 2019. The version I read is advance uncorrected proof. There will undoubtedly be differences between the version I read, and the published version.

This is definitely a book I picked up with the thought process of, "The Girl King? Is that a nickname? Is there some young woman going to be king? IS THIS GOING TO BE A FEMALE EMPOWERMENT STORY???" and now here we are.

An amazon summary, "Two sisters become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor in this richly imagined, Asian-inspired fantasy for fans of Renée Ahdieh and Sabaa Tahir.

Sisters Lu and Min have always known their places as the princesses of the Empire of the First Flame: assertive Lu will be named her father's heir and become the dynasty's first female ruler, while timid Min will lead a quiet life in Lu's shadow. Until their father names their male cousin Set his heir instead, sending ripples through the realm and throwing both girls' lives into utter chaos.

Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu has no choice but to go on the run, leaving Min to face the volatile court alone. Lu soon crosses paths with Nokhai, the lone, unlikely survivor of the Ashina, a clan of nomadic wolf shapeshifters. Nok never learned to shift--or to trust the empire that killed his family--but working with the princess might be the only way to unlock his true power.

As Lu and Nok form a shaky alliance, Min's own hidden power awakens, a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set's reign . . . or allow her to claim the throne herself. But there can only be one emperor, and the sisters' greatest enemy could very well turn out to be each other.

This sweeping fantasy set against a world of buried ancient magic and political intrigue weaves an unforgettable story of ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

This story is told in alternating narrators between the two princesses; Lu (Girl King) and Min, but also Nok, who belonged to the Ashina clan. 

Lu (the Girl King) is the first daughter to the emperor. She's kind of insisted she be raised as if she were a male heir for most of her life, and constantly seems to have the ire of her mother. She wants to be the next emperor very deeply, and will do whatever she can to be on the throne.

Min (younger sister to Lu) is the second daughter to the emperor. She's grown up under the very watchful eye of her mother who has strictly molded her into the expectations of a traditional woman of court. She will marry, she will manage the household, and she will be beautiful for her future husband. Min is kind of resentful towards Lu sometimes since Lu is very headstrong.

Nok |(from the Ashina clan) lives in a small village with an apothecary. The apothecary took care of him when he was very nearly dead. Now he works with the apothecary and tries to keep a low profile. The Ashina are often captured and forced to work in labor camps for the empire.

Anyways.

The emperor makes a declaration of who will be his next heir. Unfortunately, he declares Lu's cousin Set as his heir. Lu is furious and comes up with a plan to win the title of heir to the throne. She challenges Set to compete the way emperor's of old traditionally competed, by having trials. The first trial is a hunt in the woods. Min is very angry with Lu for defying tradition. Min is also kind of a fan of Set, but Set is kind of off. He has an adviser known as Brother, who allegedly helped him defeat his addiction to poppy tears. Brother also seems to have some sort of mystical powers or perception on the world. Min has a dream where she kind of has an out of body experience, and well it kind of snowballs from there.

Back to the trials. Lu and Set go out to perform the hunting trial, and Lu is betrayed by the emperor's guards sent out with them. Set is the favored person to be heir to the throne, so he's started to convince the court (and the guard) to go against Lu. Lu, flees from the trial, and runs into Nok.

That's enough summary. I feel like I'm going to accidentally reveal some plot points that should only be uncovered by reading the book (especially since this is an advanced reader's copy I read).

There's going to be a sequel to this book with how it ended. there has to be. That being said, I'm very discontent with where the book left off. I wish a little more of the story had been revealed so it felt like a more complete ending.

Overall, I liked most of the characters, except for the narrators. I found a lot of Min's passages to be really obnoxious because not only was she innocent/ignorant, she seemed a little too invested with wanting to know more about the world, but ALSO remaining ignorant. I thought Lu lacked a purpose besides becoming emperor. There was some vague allusions to things she might like to do when she was emperor, but it seemed that she wanted to become an emperor because well what else what she want. Not because she wanted to maintain her lifestyle, do things with the kingdom, or anything like that. It seemed to just be BECOME EMPEROR. Throughout the story, I think she started to kind of figure out what she wanted to do? I just find it vexing that she had been working towards becoming emperor her whole life and only when she had a chance of becoming emperor did she start to wonder what she would actually DO as emperor.

Then there's Nok. I find it difficult to talk about Nok, because they're not the normal male character I'm used to reading about. He seemed very thoughtful, very aware of the consequences of his actions, cared deeply about his clan, the apothecary, and the family he has lost. He also seems much more caring about those around him, rather than about himself at all. I understand we were presented with the circumstances of his life so that it would make more sense how he turned out like this, but there was something about him that just felt fragile. I kind of liked it, but at the same time, I didn't really know when to cheer for him, or be sympathetic. He seemed to be the character that was mostly finding himself, and trying to understand his place in the world in regards to the history of his clan, but also his present day situation. It was kind of, well, a perplexing but fascinating reading experience.

At this point, I don't know if I'd pick up the sequel, and that's got a lot to do with the mechanics of the world. I felt like there were a ton of magical aspects that all the narrators were baffled by, or didn't understand, and I find that difficult to navigate this very well built world when the narrators are kind of clueless. The world building was SO on point though. There were a lot of passages where it almost felt like I was really there, and I had a great sense of everything going on and how it related to everything else.

It's kind of one of those that I read where I'm like, "I really liked all of THESE aspects, but I could have really done without THOSE aspects." So, that weird middle ground of like a constant, "Hmmmm".

Happy reading!

Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone

I thought this was a sequel for the longest time, then my good friend told me it was NOT the sequel... and here we are.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

An amazon summary in which I skipped over the praise at the end, if you want to see all the reviews and praise, click the amazon link of JUSTICE, "With five starred reviews, Tomi Adeyemi’s West African-inspired fantasy debut, and instant #1 New York Times Bestseller, conjures a world of magic and danger, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir.

They killed my mother.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

The world USED to be full of magic. 10 different kinds of magic, that the diviners (maji) were able to use...until the magic disappeared. The diviners who were old enough to wield magic were murdered in the raid, and those who were too young to tap into their magic were left with broken homes, broken families, and broken hearts.

Zelie is a diviner who grew up alongside her brother, Tzain, and they keep careful watch over their brokenhearted father. Their mother was murdered in the raid. They both do things they help them feel somewhat in control of their lives as they suffer under the cruelty of the monarchy.

Meanwhile, the princess, Amari, grew up in the castle where she also suffers from the monarchy. The king is merciless and expects everything from his children. One day in the palace, Amari overhears the king speaking with one of his subordinates, and they present her servant, Binta who is a diviner,  to the king. Binta is Amari's best friend, so she's in awe when Binta is forced to touch a scroll, and a beautiful light emits from her hands. ...then Binta is immediately killed. In shock, Amari hides, but watches where the scroll goes, and steals it.

As Amari flees with the scroll, she runs into Zelie in the marketplace. A crazy escape scene happens.

Then there's Inan, Amari's brother. He's the successor to the throne and has been tasked to retrieve the scroll... only the King and Inan know Amari is the thief.

DUN DUN DUNNNN

That's kind of enough summary, but basically an adventure is about to happen where magic is involved. Okay now I'm done.

The world is very, very rich with details, history, and culture. There's so much content presented in this alternate world that there is a lot to unpack from each chapter. Which, of course makes it very hard to talk about without accidentally revealing spoilers from later aspects of the book. So let's talk about some characters.

The story switches narrators between Zelie, Amari, and Inan, just for reference.

I liked Zelie overall; she was fierce, strong, but also flawed. I thought her character flaws made her a more sincere character that felt more realistic based on the events she's presented with. How she carries herself, and how she also experiences her kind of coming of age moments just feels more authentic even though she's in the midst of magic, and well magic. Did I mention magic?

Tzain was an interesting character that I really wish had been a narrator. I kind of wish Tzain had been a narrator instead of Zelie, because his perspective on the story probably would have been the most fascinating since he essentially, followed his sister into chaos. But, what we did get to see of him was great.

I understand the value of Amari's voice and perspective, but I wasn't entirely thrilled with the depth of her character.

I liked the story overall, but it did start to feel a bit drawn out towards the end.

...I also didn't really care for Inan. I know how they were most likely supposed to come across? But I found them very aggravating to read. Probably because the monarchy was BAD. BAD. 

I'm also not really fond of how the book ended, I know it's leading into a sequel. However, it had one of those weird kind of surfacing sensations of an ending. Like the calm in the eye of a storm of plot, and suddenly the storm is just over, presumably to resume in the sequel. I've only seen a handful sequels that have actually successfully picked up where a book one like that has left off. I'm willing to be tentatively hopeful. Hmm....

Happy reading!

Two Dark Reigns

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

This is the third book in the series. I previously reviewed book one, THREE DARK CROWNS, the second book, ONE DARK THRONE, and the bonus side stories, QUEENS OF FENNBIRN.

So if you haven't read the first two books, the bonus side stories are pretty optional (interesting, but optional), I would recommend skipping this review.

...then if you have read these books, I foolishly got excited that this was the final book in the series, but it's not. So there will be another book. I'm just excited for the conclusion. I know, in my last review of One Dark Throne, I mentioned there was going to probably be two more books in the series...but sometimes I just get excited.

Anyways, an amazon summary, "Queen Katharine has waited her entire life to wear the crown. But now that she finally has it, the murmurs of dissent grow louder by the day. There’s also the alarming issue of whether or not her sisters are actually dead—or if they’re waiting in the wings to usurp the throne.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are alive, but in hiding on the minland and dealing with a nightmare of their own: being visited repeatedly by a specter they think might be the fabled Blue Queen. Though she says nothing, her rotting, bony finger pointing out to sea is clear enough: return to Fennbirn.  

Jules, too, is in a strange place—in disguise. And her only confidants, a war-gifted girl named Emilia and her oracle friend Mathilde, are urging her to take on a role she can’t imagine filling: a legion-cursed queen who will lead a rebel army to Katharine’s doorstep.

This is an uprising that the mysterious Blue Queen may have more to do with than anyone could have guessed—or expected." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

So, a super quick recap of the end of One Dark Throne, Katherine has been crowned queen (by permanently having a black crown tattooed into her forehead), Mirabella and Arsinoe have fled to the main land with Billy, Joseph is dead, and Jules is hiding out on the island after it's discovered she is legion-cursed.

Sidenote: I still have personal suspicions that since Mirabella and Arsinoe are still alive after all the times they should have been dead, it seems like the island has more planned for them... or all three are going to rule. Maybeeee this is why I want the books concluded so bad, JUST CONFIRM OR DENY MY SUSPICIONS. Also, this is a sign of good story telling.

Anyways.

So book 3 begins with a scene from the past when four queens were born to a war-gifted queen. The first three triplets were disposed of in correspondence to their gift, but the fourth queen is the blue queen, the chosen one to rule. For the record, the first three queen borns were Leonine (naturalist), Isadora (oracle), and Roxane (elemental). The fourth queen is Illiann (elemental). I want to spell this out now, because I feel like this will be one of those weird things that will come back into play later on in the series in very specific ways because they're giving us these very specific facts about an old event. (Reader senses.)

...anyways.

Mirabella and Arsinoe are on the mainland, and they're trying to adapt with being off the island, without their gift, with no longer really being queens. Billy is there to help, but Arsinoe sees the shadow of the Blue Queen while she's visiting Joseph's grave. Soon, she starts having dreams about the Blue Queen. dun dun dunnnnn

Meanwhile, Queen Katherine has changed out three of her council members, and is starting her rule on the island. She sends out people to search for the bodies of Mirabella and Arsinoe (as the queens are not allowed to the leave the island because magic), but the people sent out to search...show up in the mist and they're all dead. Some of the bodies are torn apart, others look like they've been dead for weeks rather than a day or so. The mystery of the mist begins, just as Jules is learning more about her war gift.

Jules has been taken in by Emilia, who is hiding her but also training her in her war gift. Emilia believes Jules is the true Queen of the island as her naturalist gift and war gift are on the same levels of the queens. Jules is reluctant at first, but once Emilia exposes her to a group of people in a bar and they start to show hope that Jules can stop the poisoner's rule. They also are hopeful she can get the Undead queen off the throne (Undead queen is Katherine's nickname).

That's enough summary.

I liked this book the best out of all the books so far. It gave me everything I had been looking for in the past books, and I also felt it was much more grounded into the era it's supposed to take place in. I thought a lot of the character development was on point, the islanders were better represented, and the story seemed to shift focus into more about how the island was affected or evolving by the queens antics/power struggles.

...I'm on board for another book, I just hope there's a sense of a complete revolution as all of these different story threads conclude.

Happy reading!

Girls Made of Snow and Glass

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

This book was published on September 5, 2017. I read an advance reading copy, so there will undoubtedly be some differences between the version I read and the published edition.

To be honest, I read this book at the same time as another reading friend I have. If they hadn't also been committed to finishing the book, I probably would have given up on this book.

That being said, here's the amazon summary without all the reviews in the beginning, "Sixteen-year-old Mina is motherless, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone―has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do―and who to be―to win back the only mother she’s ever known…or else defeat her once and for all.

Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything―unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

First things first, there is past/present storylines in this book. You see present day Mina, and also sixteen year old Mina. From the description, I thought Mina was going to be the sixteen year old stepmother of fifteen year old Lynet. That's not the case. 

Second things...second, I just don't like how many intricacies of the plot is revealed in the description, while they gloss over mentioning important character. Like the surgeon, or the huntsman... anyways.

Mina has been ostracized by the villagers in the southern part of the kingdom for being the magician's daughter. The villagers don't really like the magician, but they tolerate his presence because he can help them with what ails them. Word of his abilities has reached the king in the northern part of the kingdom, so the magician is summoned to heal the queen. The magician doesn't manage to save the queen, but does manage to save her daughter, Lynet. Mina also fell very ill as a child, and her father managed to replace her heart with a glass heart. She has no heartbeat, and her father also told her without a real heart, no one could love her and she could not love them in return.

Lynet has grown up within the walls of Whitespring as a rather rambunctious child. She is frequently climbing trees, sides of the castle walls, and dodging every kind of class she's been forced to take. A new surgeon, Nadia, comes to Whitespring and out of curiosity, Lynet begins to follow Nadia around. They meet, and after a few times, Nadia reveals that Lynet was crafted out of snow by the magician by the king's orders. Lynet is supposed to look exactly as her mother did. The king (Lynet's father) is very protective of Lynet, and often tries to persuade her that she will become more like her mother with time... but Lynet has her doubts and doesn't really want to be like her mother.

That's enough summary.

Why did I almost give up on this book? There was a lot, a lot, of just EMOTIONS running rampant in this book. I usually like that, but there were times I felt as if I could skip an entire page or two and I wouldn't have really missed out on anything besides the characters' internal turmoil. That was pretty much my number one reason. I also thought Lynet came across as anywhere between 8 and 19 depending on what part of the story was happening. Not in the time leaping sense, but just in the present day sense. There were times in the story where Lynet was legit young (3-4?) but those were the past passages.

There were also aspects of the story that felt like they were inspired by Snow White, and also The Snow Queen. I wouldn't say this was a retelling of either story, but I think there was definitely some inspiration drawn from those stories.

I also disliked how the magic was presented to function. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER, but Lynet is able to control the snow, Mina can control glass, but neither of them are required to shed any sort of blood like the magician is to manipulate their elements. Likeeeeeeeeee, what? I think there could have been some passage, some quip somewhere about why blood is required sometimes but not other times. It's entirely possible I missed that passage.

Spoilers over.

I thought the King was a pretty one note character, and kind of Mina's father as well.

In the version I read, there's a map of the whitespring castle, but there's not a map of the kingdom. I just thought that was kind of funny. Like I, the reader would need help understanding where the north and west towers are in relation to each other, but not the north or the south kingdom. Or where the frost line might be.

...I don't know, I just wasn't that impressed. The ending was not particularly inspiring either.

Happy reading!

The Supervillain and Me

The Supervillain and Me by Danielle Banas

Full disclosure, I read a lot of comic books (well graphic novels, and even comic books I read the trade paperback form; so yeah). A lot of them are about superheroes but I dabble in other stories as long as they seem to promise a good plot/story.

That being said, I usually prefer reading about superhero stories in the comic book/graphic novel format. I tend to not pick up books about superheroes, since they're not really the format I prefer those stories. But you know, exceptions crop up. Like this one.

An amazon summary with some reviews ommitted at the end because this is forever long, "As witty as it is heartpounding, this fresh take on the beloved superhero genre is all about finding your own way to shine even when it seems everyone else around you is, well... super.

Never trust a guy in spandex.

In Abby Hamilton’s world, superheroes do more than just stop crime and save cats stuck in trees―they also drink milk straight from the carton and hog the television remote. Abby’s older brother moonlights as the famous Red Comet, but without powers of her own, following in his footsteps has never crossed her mind.

That is, until the city’s newest vigilante comes bursting into her life.

After saving Abby from an attempted mugging, Morriston’s fledgling supervillain Iron Phantom convinces her that he’s not as evil as everyone says, and that their city is under a vicious new threat. As Abby follows him deeper into their city’s darkest secrets, she comes to learn that heroes can’t always be trusted, and sometimes it’s the good guys who wear black.

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Supervillain and Me is a hilarious, sweet, and action-packed novel by debut author Danielle Banas that proves no one is perfect, not even superheroes." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Abby's brother, Connor, is the Red Comet. The Red Comet is a very famous superhero in Morriston, where crime is on the rise despite Red Comet's best efforts. Red Comet also works with Fish Boy, and together they do what they can to keep the city safe.

One night, Abby is headed home, and she's almost mugged...except a guy with powers in black spandex shows up and saves her. He doesn't really have a name, but he makes sure she's okay.

A few days later...the same guy is on the news for setting fire to city hall. It turns out Abby's hero, may actually be a supervillain; something Morriston hasn't seen before. The news dubs him, the Iron Phantom.

Meanwhile, Abby is trying out for the lead in the school play. She's super passionate about theater, it's her senior year, so she wants a lead role. She also kind of wants to give her Dad and her brother something to see that's special about her. More, something to set her apart from her brother. So much of their lives revolve around Connor and his powers that Abby just wants a little slice of their family life for herself.

The Iron Phantom shows up in Abby's bedroom with a plea for help. She's the daughter of the mayor, so Iron Phantom is kind of hoping that she'll be able to do some sleuthing for him. ...but she's not sure if he's a hero or a villain.

That's enough summary.

So, I kind of loved the exploration of the gray area that heroes/villains function within. It also helps that there was a lot of Abby's normal life, a balance of her best friend at play, and tons of humor throughout. For a superhero plot, I thought it was a great balance of action, events, but also a hint of a mystery. If there were more books written like this about heroes, I would probably start reading the more.

I was a little hesitant about Abby's relationship with Iron Phantom because he saves her, but then shows up in her bedroom. I just find that a very odd way to begin any kind of...well anything. It felt very reminiscent of Twilight and Edward getting into Bella's bedroom.... so it kind of sketched me out at first. But then...Abby took some...precautions (like keeping a knife under her pillow) so I was pretty reassured that her sense of self preservation was intact.

I did appreciate how the story concluded as I could easily see this being a standalone novel, or the start of a series. I kind of super appreciated how the characters stories concluded, but I don't want to reveal any spoilers. So I'll leave it at that.

Happy reading!

The Good Demon

The Good Demon by Jimmy Cajoleas

This book contains topics of religion, demons, the occult, drug abuse, graphic violence, childhood trauma, and sexual themes. So, if any of that makes you uncomfortable, I would skip on this book.

That being said, I think a lot of those topics covered are done in a respectful manner and in relation to the events within the story. I will say that there was no deep dive into each of the topics, but I still think they used them well. The book definitely carries a very dark theme overall, but there are enough normal settings/situations in play that I don't think it's overwhelming.

An amazon summary to give you a better idea of what's in store, "It wasn’t technically an exorcism, what they did to Clare. When the reverend and his son ripped her demon from her, they called it a “deliverance.” But they didn’t understand that Clare and her demon—known simply as Her—were like sisters. She comforted Clare, made her feel brave, helped to ease her loneliness. They were each other’s Only.

Now, Clare’s only comforts are the three clues that She left behind:
Be nice to him
June 20
Remember the stories 

Clare will do anything to get Her back, even if it means teaming up with the reverend’s son and scouring every inch of her small, Southern town for answers. But if she sacrifices everything to bring back her demon, what will be left of Clare?" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

So the book literally begins about a month after Clare's demon, referred to as Her, has been exorcised from her body by the Reverend Sanders, and his son, Roy. She's crushingly lonely because her best friend has been taken away from her. Right away, we know that her stepfather, Larry, and her Mom get along but they don't have the best of relationships due to some substance use issues. Roy stops by to visit the house for no particular reason and kind of picks at Clare's latent interest.

Clare bikes down to Uncle Mike's Used and Collectible, which is essentially a very elaborate thrift shop, where she spots a book that used to be her Father's, and it was one of her favorites. She grabs it off the shelf and finds a note inside, distinctly in Her handwriting:
Be nice to him
June 20
Remember the stories

And Clare gets the book back from Uncle Mike (while shoplifting a couple other items), and sets off to figure out the clues Her left behind.

So that's enough summary because this book is pretty intricate, and as I mentioned before, covers a lot of different topics. I really like this book, it's very gothic, but it's also a really good take on a coming of age story.

I mean, for a book about getting a demon book, it feels very authentic to the small town setting, chaotic family dynamics, and also dealing with a pretty traumatic childhood event. The honest voice of Clare as she considers different aspects of her life, especially reminiscing about her Father, made her a very relate-able character as she strives to solve the clues left behind by Her, but also solve the clues of what previously happened in the town, also maybe involving Her.

It was such a good story. There were a few moments where I got the heebie-jeebies, or shivers, chills, whatever you want to call them, and that was more on the scenes of graphic violence. I would also say the graphic violence can be a little clinical/factual in description, so it is still bearable to read, just creepyyyyyyyy.

I still loved this book.

Happy reading!

The Creativity Project

The Creativity Project by Colby Sharp

I really like the concept of this book.

Essentially, Colby Sharp asked 40 artists to provide some kind of story prompt, whether it be photo, drawings, poems, prose, etc. Then Colby took all of those prompts, and sent two back to the 40 artists. They picked whichever one they liked best, and made a response to it.

An amazon summary, "Book advocate Colby Sharp presents more than forty beloved, award-winning, diverse and bestselling authors and illustrators in a creative challenge!

Colby Sharp invited more than forty authors and illustrators to provide story starters for each other; photos, drawings, poems, prose, or anything they could dream up. When they received their prompts, they responded by transforming these seeds into any form of creative work they wanted to share.
The result is a stunning collection of words, art, poetry, and stories by some of our most celebrated children book creators. A section of extra story starters by every contributor provides fresh inspiration for readers to create works of their own. Here is an innovative book that offers something for every kind of reader and creator!
With contributions by Sherman Alexie, Tom Angleberger, Jessixa Bagley, Tracey Baptiste, Sophie Blackall, Lisa Brown, Peter Brown, Lauren Castillo, Kate DiCamillo, Margarita Engle, Deborah Freedman, Adam Gidwitz, Chris Grabenstein, Jennifer L. Holm, Victoria Jamieson, Travis Jonker, Jess Keating, Laurie Keller, Jarret J. Krosoczka, Kirby Larson, Minh L?, Grace Lin, Kate Messner, Daniel Nayeri, Naomi Shihab Nye, Debbie Ohi, R.J. Palacio, Linda Sue Park, Dav Pilkey, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Dan Santat, Gary Schmidt, John Schu, Colby Sharp, Bob Shea, Liesl Shurtliff, Lemony Snicket, Laurel Snyder, Javaka Steptoe, Mariko Tamaki, Linda Urban, Frank Viva, and Kat Yeh." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

I'm going to keep this review short and sweet since this is inherently a collection of short stories. Do the stories take on different forms, yes, but they are all essentially a story.

I really like this idea, and I loved the prompts at the end to get people to engage in making their own stories.

...however.

I struggle a little bit with short stories. I usually like to see the full story rather than a series of open endings. If it's a book of tales, and I know that going into it, I'm usually fine. Some of these stories felt a little too unfinished to me, so I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have.

I did really enjoy the different interpretations or responses the artists created, and I wrote down some authors whose responses I enjoyed more to go check out some of their work.

I also appreciate the sheer creativity encased in one book. There was a lot of brilliance contained within the pages, and I have great respect for that.

Overall, I did enjoy it, but now I just want to read more books. Haha...BOOK LIFE!

Happy reading!