Book Review: School of Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Despite being a wanna-be princess and the daughter of a witch, Sophie and Agatha are best friends.  But when they're taken to the School For Good and Evil, Agatha is enrolled in the Good School and Sophie in the Evil School!  Is this a horrible mistake or is Agatha really Good and Sophie really Evil?  Or is this part of another plot entirely?

To complicate matters, there's a handsome prince, and fairy godmothers and villains as teachers, scheming classmates, and the School Master - a mysterious figure in a silver mask.  And while Agatha just wants to go home, she's going to learn a lot about friendship, love, good, and evil along the way.

The second book in the series is less about Good and Evil and more about Girls and Boys.  Here, once again, what you think you know will be turned on its head.  These books aren't about right and wrong, but instead about the ideas behind how we think of Good and Evil and Girls and Boys.  Which sounds like a lot of thinking, but don't worry, there's plenty of sword fights, magic spells, and twists and turns in these books to keep it interesting!

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  Universal Pictures might make a trilogy of films about these books and the third one in the series that's being written right now!  So read them now before the movie comes out!

Book Review: Firebrand by Gillian Philip

Firebrand is an amazingly thrilling tale about two brothers exiled from their home world.
This story starts with the main protagonist Seth telling his story: his mother is in a high place of power as is his dad. His mother and father split up for they are not connected in soul. In the realm Seth lives, the world of the Sithe a realm beyond the veil, marriage and love is thrown around. If you wish to marry you must be connected by soul otherwise you can live and mate with whomever you please; there is no "cheating on" in this world. Women in this world are also more battleborn: women tend to be warriors or blacksmiths. Our story begins with Seth living with his father who ignores him in every way. He has no friends at this time and his only companion is his brother Conal, the "good" brother for lack of a better word. The first few chapters are the story of Seth and Conal growing as people and the pain as well as love that grows between them. After some time, the real story begins when Conal is exiled from his world to the world across the veil, the Overworld, at the end of the sixteenth century. The Overworld is the world of mortals - a world of death, darkness and dismay as in this world Sithe are burned at the stake.

Firebrand is an amazing book full of thrilling action, enticing romance, and depressing sorrow. It is a fun thrilling book that will keep you at the edge of your seat for each minute you read it. The first time I started reading it, two hours and ten chapters went by before I realized what time it was. I recommend this book for anyone into fantasy or just looking for a good book to read.

-Zane the Awesome

Book Review: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

Liza lives in a world that has been ravaged because of a war between humans and fae.  Trees and other plants have a thirst for human blood, and during the night shadows that cut deeper than any thorn roam the land.  Humans live in constant fear of this magic, and when Liza's little sister is born with faerie pale hair and eyes, she is cast out to die before she can turn on her parents.  As if this isn't bad enough, Liza soon finds that she too has magic, and runs away before she can turn on her town.  A boy from Liza's town, Matthew, follows Liza and tells her that all children born after the war have magic, and not all magic is bad.  Matthew is proven right when he and Liza are taken to another town, and their lives are saved by Caleb and Allie, both of whom possess healing magic.  Soon, Liza, Matthew, and Allie are off on a quest to save Liza's mother from the remains of the Faerie realm.  Will they be in time to save Liza's mother?

I liked Janni Lee Simner's Bones of Faerie trilogy (Bones of Faerie, Faerie Winter, and Faerie After) for many reasons, including the rich and original plot and fantastic storytelling. I also liked Thief Eyes, in which Haley, a girl from Tucson, goes to Iceland following her mother's disappearance and becomes swept up in a spell cast by her many times great-grandmother Hallgerd.

Janni Lee Simner lives in Tucson, Arizona.  In addition to her books for teens, Janni has written a middle grade adventure story published under two titles: The Secret of the Three Treasures and Tiernay West, Professional Adventurer.  For more information about Janni, visit her website.

- Emily C.

Book Review: The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones

Aileen has failed her initiation as a Wise Woman, but she's still being sent on a quest to save The Islands of Chaldea by bringing down the transparent wall that blocks one of the four islands from the others and saving the captive prince held there.  She's not feeling up to the challenge, but when her famous Wise Woman aunt ends up under a curse, Aileen's going to have to make it work somehow.  Helped along by a odd crew, including a large pink cat that can turn invisible, a prophetic parrot, and a spoiled prince, she'll face the many plots against them and the evil magic worker behind it all.

I love that the animals have so much personality in this story.  And while you'll see some similarities between these islands and some real-life countries, the Islands of Chaldea are very much their own countries, filled with different magics and wonders.  This was the Godmother of Fantasy's last book and it had to be finished by Ursula Jones after Diana died.  Diana inspired countless children and adults alike with her books and she'll be missed.

~ Book Ninja

Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Although technically this book is considered "Adult Fiction", as many of Neil Gaiman's books go, the reading audience is much wider than the over 18 crowd.  If you haven't read "Coraline" or even his picture book "Crazy Hair", run into the closest Children's section of a library as soon as you can!  What makes him so enviably gifted I think is that you always hear the authentic voice of NG in whatever he has written.  He doesn't change his language or alter his world view to accommodate young'uns, tweens, minors OR majors.  While he can be many things, he is always recognizably himself, a rare talent indeed.   In "The Ocean at the End of the Lane", Gaiman gives us a dark fantasy with all his usual elements--a bit of gore (there's this worm...),wry humor (the Hempstock women) , unexpected terror (near drowning by parents) and the built-in compulsion to read all night because you have no idea how it will end!

Book Review: Jinx's Magic by Sage Blackwood (a.k.a. Yay Sequels!)

After reading Jinx by Sage Blackwood (and blogging about it), I was really excited about the upcoming sequel.  Sometimes I get too excited and then the sequel is a let-down.  But not this time!  Jinx's Magic is just as good, if not better, than I had hoped. 

The evil Bonemaster has been sealed away, but the seal won't last.  The wizard Simon goes off to battle him once more, but something goes wrong.  And now, in order to save Simon, Jinx has to travel to a land where using magic will get you killed and ... go to school.  He's really not happy about this.  On top of that, a former friend is now threatening the forest Jinx calls home, war is starting, and why is a spectacle-wearing werewolf following Jinx around? 

This is the second book in the trilogy and it works like most middle books: the action intensifies, the bad guys get badder, betrayal and intrigue abound, and the hero learns some cool new tricks.  The world around the forest of Urwald gets explored, fun new characters are introduced, and elves turn out to be terrifying.  All in all, I can't wait for the next book!

~ Book Ninja

If You Want to Be a Hero...

Then you need to check out The Hero's Guide To Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy.  Although this may be more of a "what not to do" guide. 

So it turns out that Prince Charming doesn't like to be called Charming.  None of them do.  They have names, you know.  Gustav, Duncan, Liam, and Frederick are the princes from the stories the troubadours tell - the stories named after the princesses.  They're not happy about being religated to a side note in the stories and they're not quite living happily ever after.  In fact, nothing seems to be going their way.  Which is a pity, since an evil witch has decided to cause a lot of trouble across all the kingdoms.  Even though they don't much like each other initially, the princes are going to have to band together and, well, save the kingdoms. 

This hilarious romp through fairy tales is a fun read.  The princes are flawed, but I couldn't help but like them anyway.  They do some growing up on their wacky adventures, but there's no high-handed moral lectures.  And the princesses are well-written characters in their own right - one is down-right bratty, but the rest are seeking adventure and trying to help those around them.  Also, the villians are fantastic, like the best kind of cartoon villians.  I love the Bandit King.  He's deliciously bad, but not in the ways you expect.  If you like this book, don't forget its sequel:  The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle.  Rumor has it that a third book is on its way as well!

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  Did I mention the fun pictures?  There's fun pictures!

The Perfect Halloween Book

A little scary, a little creepy, with a good dose of humor and lots of wackiness, Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez makes for good Halloween reading. 

Nessy is a kobold in charge of tending the castle of Margle the Horrendous and caring for all the beasts, ghosts, undead, and enemies that Margle has cursed into bizarre forms over the years.  Margle, in case you haven't guessed by now, is a wizard.  A greedy wizard with a inordinate love of revenge.  So when he dies, all of his odd (and occasionally gruesome) collections of both beasts and former enemies are thrilled.  Until they discover that the magics in the castle are unraveling in strange ways.

Nessy is the only one without a curse, so everyone's expecting her to save the day.  Nessy would much rather clean house (she prefers things tidy and orderly), but suddenly that's not so much of an option.  She and her friends (a bat, a disembodied voice, a purple people eater, and pieces of a wizard in a jar) are now frantically trying to outwit demons, an evil wizardess, and keep monsters on the loose from eating the other residents of the castle. 

If you find yourself waiting for Too Many Curses, check out one of A. Lee Martinez's other books.  Brew up some hot cider and curl up with some early Halloween candy and one of his books.  If you like wacky and a little creepy, you won't regret it. 

~ Book Ninja

Warriors: The Forgotten Warrior

Warriors: The Forgotten Warrior

This book is written by Erin Hunter, who also happens to be one of my favorite authors.  She is the author of the amazing Warriors series that is very popular here in North America and it is almost entirely rare to not ever see someone reading it or for it to not be in a library. This is the the type of book that someone who is interested in fiction and fantasy would want to read - even someone like me was able to read it, even though I don't read that often.

This book is confusing, but that's because its the sixth book in the series, so if you're interested in fantasy fiction I would recommend to start from the beginning of the series which is "Warriors: The Sun Trail."  This author also has two other series of books; one is called "Seekers" and the other series, which is as popular and well known as "Seekers" and "Warriors," is called "Surviors."

So to sum up the book without spoiling it (or telling you the main story which would spoil it for you), the book picks up where the previous book left off.  The Star Clan has divided and turned into different groups and when the Dark Forest Sprites start to gain strength, there is no Star Clan anymore so the Thunder Cats (which is one of the many clans in the series) has to step in and try to stop the sprites in the Dark Forest before it's too late.

- BOOK WORM

Fell by David Clement-Davies

Here is a credible story about a  black wolf, Fell, who has been rejected by his pack, wandering alone in the forest, and refusing to use his gift of reading the minds of others.  This adventure is very believable as we read about the thoughts of animals and their human connection.  As a very young child Alina is saved by Fell and when she grows up she is labeled as a changeling which refers to a child left by fairies.  She is an outcast and unfairly treated by the family that takes her in to their home.  She seeks her destiny and tries to stay away from those who mean harm.  Alina and Fell share a common thread of loneliness and uncertainty about their fuure.

David Clement-Davies wrote Fell five years after The Sight, which is a prequel of this book but Fell does stand on its own.  The setting is Transylvania and and there is a connection with another famous character from this region.  Read this if you like intricate and adventurous stories about animals interwoven with humans.

(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.

Magic and the Mafia

 White Cat, by Holly Black, is part mystery, part dark urban fantasy, part twisted romance, and part mob story.  I hope you like your fiction dark and bruised, because this story doesn't pull any punches.  It takes place in a world very much like our own, except everyone has to wear gloves to protect themselves from curses.  And our dubious "hero," Cassel Sharpe, knows a little more about working curses than your average Joe.

Cassel wakes up on the roof of his fancy high school dorm and nearly falls to his death. He's been sleepwalking again, and now the school is threatening to expel him as too much of a liability.  Was he really sleepwalking, or was he cursed? He dreamed of following a white cat....

Cassel is the only nonworker in a family of curse workers.  Since curse working was outlawed in the 1920s, most curse workers are employed by the mob.  At first, Cassel thinks he's only got to con his school into letting him back in.  Then he begins to think that the dream about the white cat might be related to the girl he loved when he was fourteen; the girl he killed. At least, that's what his two brothers told him after they dumped the body.  Cassel doesn't remember why he killed her, only that he was standing over her bloody body.  Now Cassel thinks his brothers are hiding something from him, something important.  To learn the horrible truth, he'll have to find the white cat from his dream. But the truth is a dangerous thing when the mob is involved, and Cassel finds himself caught between murder and treachery in the underbelly of curse worker society.

If you like White Cat, the curse workers series continues with Red Glove and Black Heart.

Happy reading.
~gothbrarian

Earth Angel

Angels are a hot topic in teen literature these days. In some books they're vicious, scary creatures bent of ridding the world of humans; in others, they're guardians who are fighting for the wellbeing of Earth. In Cynthia Hand's brilliant series, however, it's not exactly the angels who are the focus of the story--that title goes to the angel-bloods, the off-spring of angels and humans.

In Unearthly, Clara Gardner is one such angel-blood--she's a quarter angel, to be exact, and has received a vision of the "purpose" she has been put on Earth to complete. Unfortunately, her purpose involves saving a mysterious boy from a raging forest fire in Colorado. She has no idea when, where, or why this fire happens, but she does know one thing; if she doesn't get it right, someone could die.

More, Please!

I know someone who refuses to read a series until it's finished because he can't stand waiting for the next book to be written.  I have the opposite problem in that I read a good book and then hope and hope and hope for a sequel to be written.  Currently, I'm on tenterhooks hoping for another book from both Sarwat Chadda and Sage Blackwood.

Sarwat Chadda wrote The Savage Fortress, which features Indian mythology, archeology, and action adventure.  It may be a retelling of the Ramayana legend, but it reads like a combination of young Indiana Jones, a comic book, and an action movie - only with demons and homicidal godesses.  So good.  The sequel is coming out later this year and I have high hopes. 

Sage Blackwood's newest book is Jinx, about a young orphan boy taken in by a wizard of dubious character who lives in the middle of a dangerous enchanted forest.  And you may think to yourself, "This sounds like every fairytale or fantasy book ever," but it really isn't.  Jinx has some unusual talents, there are cursed children, witches who ride butterchurns, and a richly detailed world with a whole background story of politics, magic, betrayal, and wars.  And I need there to be more books in this world! 

So there you have it - two books that currently have me repeatedly checking the catolog to see if their sequels have magically appeared yet. 

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  Yes, they're technically Children's books, but don't judge me or the books by that, ok?  Just read them, they're so worth it.  Remember, Harry Potter is technically a Children's book too!

Bored with Teen Books? Try These!

If you normally stick with the teen shelves at the library, you might be surprised to learn that a lot of teens have favorite books from the adult or children's sections, too. Here are some that teens tell me they've loved, and that I might've snuck as a teen, myself:

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Yeah, teens usually say they're checking them out for a little brother or sister, but, busted! They're fun for any age. All the illustrations make them a really fast read, and a new book or movie seems to come out every couple of months, so you won't be bored.
• Jurassic Park (remember that movie about the dinosaur theme park that seemed like such a great idea, until they started eating people?) is a great mix of action, suspense, and science. And as a friend of mine put it, "Everything I know about chaos theory, I learned from Jurassic Park." Michael Crichton wrote some other books that are still popular, too, like The Andromeda Strain. 

Tucson Festival of Books Author: Heather Brewer

Halloween passed and I was finally finished reading all the zombie/vampire/evil creatures of the night books I had checked out. I had just vowed to take a break from the supernatural/horror genre when Off the Shelf was commissioned to spotlight some of the authors that will be here for the Tucson Festival of Books. One of the few names I recognized was Heather Brewer, an author known for her vampire books and spectacular orchid colored hair. "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" is a series I've been meaning to read for a while and after I read that she has a coffin couch, I was that much more excited about reading it.

The Age-Old Question: Book or Movie?

Movie adaptations of popular books have always been a Hollywood trend, and this holiday season is no exception. Here are a few titles of wildly popular books that you'll get to watch on the big screen:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is a classic story about love, justice, and salvation set in 19th century France. It follows Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to avoid recapture by the policeman Javert while taking care of the young Collette, the daughter of ill-fated prostitue Fantine.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy follows the titular Anna, a beautiful woman trapped in an unhappy marriage to Aleksei, a man twenty years her senior. Anna's fateful decision to relentlessly pursue an affair with Count Vronksy results in tragedy and heartbreak for nearly everyone she knows.

All Things Necromancer

How could I resist a book with the title, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer?!  Really, how could anyone?  In fact, I loved this book so much that I thought I had already blogged about it but NO--I checked and despite some gaps in my blog technology skills, it appears that I didn't!  So now I can lure you into reading it AND the sequel, Necromancing the Stone, both by Lish McBride.  Do I believe there is such a thing as necromancy?  No.  But these are the funniest books about teens I have read in a long time, and McBride does a fantastic job of giving the fantasy lover something unique, interesting, and hilarious (meaning she doesn't take herself as seriously as most fantasy writers)! 

Just Another Story About a Girl and Her Dragons

Menolly doesn't just love to play music -- she's really good at it. But on her world, only men are allowed to be musicians. Menolly's not good at things that are "women's work," but she's way better at playing the harp than most men. She hardly ever got to play, and at the beginning of the book, even that was taken away from her and she was forbidden from ever playing music again. Ever. I don't know about you, but I wasn't at all surprised when she ran away. I was surprised at what she found, though...Dragons!

Middle School Mayhem

I read so many books that sometimes it's really hard to think about what to write about for this blog; other times, the universe just seems to pull out a topic and advertise it in neon lights. With arrows. And a fog horn. I was talking with a middle school teacher the other day and she was saying how there are so few good books for middle school students. My library is also currently working on a program called Middle School Mayhem. So obviously my post needs to be some of my TOP middle school reads. Without further ado, my fave middle school reads: