Personal List of Cities I Must Visit (in real life, not just in a book)

Marrakesh.  Budapest.  Venice.  Barcelona.  Dublin.  Mexico City (check).  But above all, Prague.  Prague in the Czech Republic you say, what is so interesting about a city stuck behind the Iron Curtain after WWII for forty plus years? Well, I must admit that my father's claim that he was 1/4 Czech, making me 1/8 Czech, seemed very romantic to me as a kid, and the more I learned about the former Czechslovokia--more than 2,000 castles are still standing, gorgeous mountains basically surround the country, and Franz Kafka was Czech (you remember, cockroaches, The Metamorphosis)--the more I fell in love.

Now, let's get back to the BOOK that brings this lovely place to life.  Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone is an amazing tale that includes a somewhat unbelievable but eventually totally believable romance, bizarre characters who pull their own teeth out for a wish, a restaurant with coffin chairs and tables that serves goulash, portals that open to awesome cities around the world until a handprint is burnt into them, a quirky artist with permanent blue hair, and an epic war between Seraphim and Chimaera.  If that's not enough to make you put a hold on it, the audio book is incredible as well--lots of words I have never known how to pronounce pronounced and beautiful, exotic accents all for your listening pleasure!  And the best part for an admitted series addict?  The sequel, Days of Blood & Starlight, is ready and waiting for you.

(Stupendously) Bad Trip

There are some people who are fantasy people. There are some people who are sci-fi people. Then there are people like Platte F. Clark who have decided why not have both? In the same book. At the same time. Which is one reason why "Bad Unicorn" has to be one of my top book picks this year.

Middle school is hard enough when your mom doesn't understand your gaming obsession and you have to watch out for a bully called the Kraken, but then Max Spencer discovers the weird book he's had for years is magic. Like, real magic. And he's the heir to the greatest sorcerer of all, Maximilian Sporazo. It gets even worse when he accidentally transports himself, his friends Dirk and Sarah, and his local gaming store owner Dwight hundreds of years into the future... Meanwhile, a sorcerer in another realm is looking to get a hold of Max and his book. He recruits Princess, the most feared unicorn in the realm, to help him. But how can you track someone who's time traveled? And how exactly does one get back to the right time let alone fight a carnivorous unicorn (in the past AND the future), especially when you've only just discovered you can do magic?

With a bad tempered zombie duck, man-eating unicorns, golf-worshipping monks, more zombies, scary dragons, robot reality TV, and a talking sentient centipede game, "Bad Unicorn" is hysterical and awesome in so many amazing ways. Go read it. Now.

The Time-Traveling Fashionista

Middle school is the perfect time for a departure from the usual. Louise loves fashion especially vintage clothing. While her friend looks for all the latest fashions in Macy's, she searches in the used clothing and vintages shops. Other kids makes comments about her old clothing but Louise does not care because she loves her out-of-date and old fashioned clothing. She is familiar with all the top designers and is always looking for that special piece. She is especially pleased but apprehensive when she recieves a personal invitation to a vintage sale.  The Time-Traveling Fashionista begins her adventure. Is it possible for Louise to change the course of history?

This is Bianca Turetsky's first novel which has great illustrations by Sandra Suy. The followup is titled The Time-Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie Antoinette.

TIMELINE

Michael Crichton is a very creative author as he writes about science and medicine in great detail. You may be familiar with Jurassic Park, probably his most famous book and the movie by the same name.  His book Timeline includes time travel and adventure during the middle ages which he writes about vividly.  He gives a new spin on time travel or at least different from what I imagined and his portrayal of the Middle Ages is more violent than I had ever envisioned.  But it is a great story that grabs you from the beginning and keeps you engaged.  This whole adventure starts out in northern Arizona. 

Unlike Crichton's Jurassic Park DO NOT bother with the movie - it is not even close!