tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41600669046653472912024-03-12T21:21:18.425-05:00Late Nights with Good BooksAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.comBlogger442120tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-74591239154098060712016-05-11T08:00:00.000-05:002016-05-11T08:00:27.354-05:00I'm Attending BEA!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's been an embarrassingly long time since I've last posted here. Only two months shy of a full year, actually. All I can say is that life's been busy. Good, but really, really busy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I plan on <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">writing</span> about the past year at a later date (both in terms of my bookish life and actual life), but for now this quick post is to announce that I'll be attending Book Expo America (BEA) this <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thursday and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Friday</span></span>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over the past few years, I've read again and again about what an amazing experience BEA <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">is<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> for book<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> lovers</span></span></span>. An event dedicated to professionals and those with a vested interest in the book industry? I mean, how appealing does that sound? I never managed to make the trip to New York City, unfortunately<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, but</span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">n</span></span>ow that it's in Chicag<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">o<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> -</span> a </span>mere few hours away<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> -</span> a</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> good friend and I <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">decided to <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">be first<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-time attendees tog<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ether.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will not be attending BEA as a book blogger, however; in December I graduated from my MLIS program and this <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Janua<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ry</span></span> I started a full-time position as a children's librarian. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">While</span> I plan on attending a good amount of the conferences and sessions devoted to children's literature and librarianship, I do hope to squeeze in some time for books and author signings that are of a more personal interest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">looking forward to what is sure to be a<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">n exhausting<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and craz<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">y but f<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">un-filled <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">few days<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Any suggestions <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or recommendations you<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> might have </span>for a firs<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t-time BEA attendee <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">w<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ould be much appreciated!</span></span></span></span></span></span> </span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-11668649264127633272015-07-28T18:00:00.000-05:002015-07-28T18:00:00.511-05:00Top Ten Fellow Book Nerds<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week we're looking at some characters that I can easily relate to: fellow readers and lovers of books. And what's better than allowing a bookworm to explain their own love of books?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A.J. Fikry</b><br /><i>You know everything you need to know about a person from the answer to the question,</i> What is your favorite book?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18293427-the-storied-life-of-a-j-fikry?ac=1">The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</a></i> by Gabrielle Zevin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Beauty</b><br /><i>They went out every day upon parties of pleasure, balls, plays, concerts. &c. and laughed at their youngest sister, because she spent the greatest part of her time in reading good books.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">―"Beauty and the Beast" in <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/314420.The_Classic_Fairy_Tales?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">The Classic Fairy Tales</a></i> by Iona & Peter Opie</span></span></div>
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<br /><b>Catherine Morland</b><br /><i>"Oh, I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it, I assure you."</i><br /><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">―<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50398.Northanger_Abbey?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">Northanger Abbey</a></i> by Jane Austen</span></div>
<br /><b> Celaena Sardothien</b><br /><i>"I can survive well enough on my own -- if given the proper reading material."</i><br /><div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">―<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7896527-throne-of-glass?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">Throne of Glass</a></i> by Sarah J. Maas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hazel Grace Lancaster </b><br /><i>Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">The Fault in Our Stars</a> </i>by John Green</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hermione Granger</b><br /><i>“I’ve learned all the course books by heart of course. I just hope it will be enough – I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone</a> </i>by J.K. Rowling</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Jo March</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The dim, dusty room, with the busts staring down from the tall bookcases, the cozy chairs, the globes, and best of all, the wilderness of books in which she could wander where she liked, made the library a region of bliss to her.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1934.Little_Women?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">Little Women</a> </i>by Louisa May Alcott</span></div>
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<b>Klaus Baudelaire</b><br /><i>When you read as many books as Klaus Baudelaire, you are going to learn a great deal of information that might not become useful for a long time.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">―<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65118.The_Hostile_Hospital?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">The Hostile Hospital</a></i> by Lemony Snicket</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Tessa Gray</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside of them, for words have the power to change us."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>―<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7171637-clockwork-angel?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr">Clockwork Angel</a> </i>by Cassandra Clare</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And there you have it: <strike>ten</strike> nine of my favorite bookworms, as well as some of their best quotes.</span></div>
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-30114567780206717342015-07-24T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-24T08:00:00.295-05:00Review: Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BBnSx3kl3PM/VbDpZgBq84I/AAAAAAAADFw/ne_4KpBlYS0/s1600/Devoted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BBnSx3kl3PM/VbDpZgBq84I/AAAAAAAADFw/ne_4KpBlYS0/s320/Devoted.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devoted</span><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb19-3fe7-9d0c-d5678d077670" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb19-3fe7-9d0c-d5678d077670" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jennifer Mathieu</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb13-4682-3d89-132f942920c1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2015, Roaring Brook Press</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb13-4682-3d89-132f942920c1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Realistic Fiction</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audience:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Young Adult</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Source:</b> Library </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find It: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22718682-devoted">Goodreads</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb13-4682-3d89-132f942920c1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have this one life that’s mine, stretching out before me like the smooth, dark water of the sea, and God is inviting me to hold my breath and slide through the waves, my arms outstretched, my feet kicking, my soul headed for points unknown.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb13-4682-3d89-132f942920c1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rachel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he tells me,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> dive in</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb18-f3cb-7108-8652564254ef" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rachel Walker’s life has always been one of certainties. As a female of the Calvary Christian church community, she is the responsibility of her father until she comes of age. She is expected to help her mother take care of her many siblings in preparation for the day when she will marry, where she will then become the responsibility of her new husband and have the task of having her own children. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4330e60a-bb18-f3cb-7108-8652564254ef" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rachel is seventeen -- a mere year away from marriageable age -- and the more she helps her own overstressed mother, the more she observes her older sister Faith’s life -- the less certain she is of the life she’s expected to live. When local pariah Lauren, who left Calvary Christian (and her family) a number of years ago after refusing to submit to its demands, returns to the area, Rachel’s curiosity is piqued. What really caused Lauren to leave, and why did she decide to come back to the area? Through illicit email contact, Rachel forms a tentative friendship with Lauren and comes to realize there’s so much more to life, if she’s willing to forsake what her family and church have planned for her.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It would not be incorrect to assume that </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devoted</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a novel that explores the place of religion in a teen’s life. It would not be an entirely accurate assessment, however, either; </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devoted</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is about so much more than religion, and Mathieu’s sophomore novel sensitively and respectfully discusses the challenges associated with the clash of personal desires with the responsibilities imposed upon a person by others. Rachel’s struggles with her faith and her journey towards discovering what </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> wants in life is one that teens struggling with any previously-established life certainties will be able to relate to.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The struggles that Rachel undergoes with regard to her faith feel very real and very relatable. There’s no sudden epiphany that her family and her church community are wrong, but neither is Rachel willing to continue to accept all they tell her to do. Rather, Mathieu gives Rachel a series of small steps towards establishing a new set of convictions. During Rachel’s gradual transformation, she’s plagued by many doubts, and everything is far from resolved at the end. Like Rachel, however, readers can take comfort in the fact that by the end she’s in a much better place than she was initially.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nowhere are Rachel’s struggles more apparent than through her relationships with others. She feels sympathy for her mother and older sister Faith, who have willingly chosen to remain in their oppressive lifestyles, but it is her relationships with her younger sister Ruth and friend Lauren that best illustrate Rachel’s doubts. Ruth is still very much a believer in all Cavalry Christian and their family expects from young women, while Lauren is very much the opposite. They stand at opposites sides of who Rachel once was, and who she can be, but neither is presented as superior, and Rachel cares for both of them equally.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps the best aspect of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devoted</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that Mathieu does not demonize any particular character for his or her beliefs. Rachel’s family and her church community may be misguided in how they attempt to control the lives of their youth, but that doesn’t make them bad people; they’re simply following what they believe to be true. The same can be said for Lauren and her utter abhorrence of everything religious-based, and the Treatses and their more quiet acceptance of religion. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mathieu’s novel presents a respectful look at extreme religious groups, demonstrating how gray areas can be found on all sides. Rachel’s struggles are poignant and relatable. The only issues I found within this novel is its length (it appears that Mathieu enjoys writing shorter, succinct novels) and Rachel’s tentative relationship with local high school boy Mark Treats, which is beautifully tentative but also feels a bit too perfect. Those minor complaints aside, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devoted</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a quietly powerful book and highly recommended.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4 stars</span></b></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-45702505653050843942015-07-22T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:33:27.554-05:00Review: The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-83ZSr-onlNo/VZSPexlpYzI/AAAAAAAADCw/dDMIZVpkHMw/s1600/The%2BScandalous%2BSisterhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-83ZSr-onlNo/VZSPexlpYzI/AAAAAAAADCw/dDMIZVpkHMw/s320/The%2BScandalous%2BSisterhood.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Julie Berry</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2014, Roaring Brook Press</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Historical Fiction, Comedy </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audience:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Middle Grade</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Library</span></span><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find it: </span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18885674-the-scandalous-sisterhood-of-prickwillow-place?ac=1">Goodreads</a></span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The seven students of St. Etheldreda’s School for Young Ladies thought that their Sunday dinner was like any other. They expected to eat their poor meal of buttered bread and hot beans while their headmistress and her brother ate veal. But this Sunday does not turn out as expected, as, upon eating the veal, both Mrs. Plackett and Mr. Godding fall to the ground, dead.<br /><br />The unexpected turn of events has left the girls in an anxious state. Rather than being concerned about the fate of their headmistress and her brother, or even about who would have poisoned them and why, the girls instead worry about their own situations. Once the village of Ely and their parents find out about Mrs. Plackett’s demise, they’re sure to be sent away to their homes or other boarding schools, never to see each other again. So the girls make a pact: they’ll bury Mrs. Plackett and Mr. Godding and find a way to keep the school going with no one the wiser. <br /><br />To put it simply, <i>The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place</i> is a farce. This is a story of exaggerations and is frequently tongue-in-cheek. The story takes place in Ely, England in 1900 and focuses on the absurdity and hilarity that ensues as seven friends try to cover up their headmistress’ murder. The seven leading ladies of this tale are: Dear Roberta, who is both sweet and genuinely good, Disgraceful Mary Jane, who enjoys the power of seduction, Dour Elinor, who fascinated with all aspects of mortality, Dull Martha, who is a bit slow on the uptake, Pocked Louise, who harbors a love of science, Smooth Kitty, who is the leader of their little band, and Stout Alice, whose heart belongs to the stage. <br /><br />Underlying improbable situations, however, are some worthwhile messages, including that of sisterhood. As one of the girls points out, none of them have any sisters. The friendships they’ve formed with each other are therefore that much more powerful, that much more important to them. Theirs is a sisterhood formed not simply by blood, but by choice, and it’s one they’re willing to do just about anything to keep intact.<br /><br />Woven within the farcical elements is a more typical murder mystery story. Who killed Mrs. Plackett? Why? Are the girls themselves in danger? Despite the small town atmosphere that Ely has, Berry has created a story full of red herrings, where nothing is cut and dry, and where each person remains a suspect until the big reveal. The mystery aspect is very well done, and combined with the humor it makes for a very readable, entertaining book.<br /><br /><i>The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place</i> is a delight to read in novel form, but it is something I could see becoming even stronger if told on the stage. The characters could become more distinct, the humor more pronounced, the wit that much more apparent if made into a play. <br /><br />As a book, though, it still provides an absolutely memorable reading experience. Berry has created a story that believably pulls together elements of historical fiction, farce, murder mystery, and sisterhood. It’s absolutely worth reading.<br /><b><br />Rating:</b> 4.5 stars</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-4c4a29cd-4c50-a0df-357c-bf83fc2b00e8" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-45867131032195403232015-07-17T17:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.322-05:00Ready to Become a Fan of... Jo Walton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MQqGuMYPONU/VajvCT287UI/AAAAAAAADFQ/ICcOhPVrdRw/s1600/Ready%2Bto%2BBecome%2Ba%2BFan%2Bof.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MQqGuMYPONU/VajvCT287UI/AAAAAAAADFQ/ICcOhPVrdRw/s1600/Ready%2Bto%2BBecome%2Ba%2BFan%2Bof.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d7f8b897-9be5-d87c-0fa7-7ac895763ed1" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />Ready to Become a Fan of... focuses on those authors new and old whose works I have every intention of eventually reading, but haven't been able to devote the time to just yet. By discussing authors and their works that I'm sure I'll love, given the chance, hopefully I can be more easily compelled to take the next step in not simply acquiring one of their books, but actually take the time to read it.<br /> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d7f8b897-9be5-d87c-0fa7-7ac895763ed1" style="font-weight: normal;">This month I'm putting on record that I am ready to become a fan of Jo Walton.<br /> </b></span></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>About the author:</b></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d7f8b897-9be5-d87c-0fa7-7ac895763ed1" style="font-weight: normal;">Jo Walton has published twelve novels, three poetry collections and an essay collection. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002, the World Fantasy Award in 2004 for <i>Tooth and Claw</i>, and the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2012 for <i>Among Others</i>. (<a href="http://www.jowaltonbooks.com/about-jo-walton/">Source</a>)</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Work I'm most looking forward to reading:</b></span></span></span></b></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k58oKJyh2ao/VajvxfGsm8I/AAAAAAAADFY/HthOXaFcsvE/s1600/Among%2BOthers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k58oKJyh2ao/VajvxfGsm8I/AAAAAAAADFY/HthOXaFcsvE/s320/Among%2BOthers.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d7f8b897-9be5-d87c-0fa7-7ac895763ed1" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Among Others</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d7f8b897-9be5-d87c-0fa7-7ac895763ed1" style="font-weight: normal;">Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled--and her twin sister dead. (<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/title/among-others/oclc/648922858&referer=brief_results">WorldCat</a>)</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>Why This Author & This Work:</b></span><br />The short answer to this question is that I've heard good things about Walton, I own a Kindle edition of this book, and I want to make an effort to start reading more books on my Kindle. I recently decided to publicly shame myself into e-reading more by making a Goodreads list of all my purchased but unread ebooks, which helped me remember I had purchased <i>Among Others</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The longer answer has to do with the fact that recently I've been craving more literary adult novels. I'm not quite at the point of YA or children's lit burnout (hopefully that never happens!), but I have been gravitating towards sophisticated books written for an older, more mature audience. I've decided that, as much as possible, I should embrace my cravings for specific types of stories. After all, I want view reading as both a hobby and a passion, but never as an obligation (with the exception of school and work books, of course).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I believe that <i>Among Others </i>is Walton's most well-known book, and certainly her most critically acclaimed, having won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. And with the recent publication of <i>The Just City</i>, I figured it was time to finally familiarize myself with Walton's stories.<br /><br />For those of you who've already read some of Jo Walton's works, I'd appreciate hearing what you think about them. For those who also haven't read her works yet, let me know what's been holding you back!<br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ready to Become a Fan of... is an original feature of Late Nights with Good Books.</span></i></span></span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-66591996684910741452015-07-15T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:33:59.429-05:00Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQPjvAj_pLM/VZUsyONz51I/AAAAAAAADDA/QC1QzYHEo7E/s1600/Nimona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQPjvAj_pLM/VZUsyONz51I/AAAAAAAADDA/QC1QzYHEo7E/s320/Nimona.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nimona</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Noelle Stevenson</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2015, HarperTeen</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fantasy</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audience: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Young Adult</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source:</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Library</span></span><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Find it:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23131088-nimona">Goodreads</a></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lord Ballister Blackheart didn’t ask to become the villain of the kingdom, but he’s since accepted -- and even come to embrace -- his role. Neither did he ask for a sidekick -- and certainly not a sidekick quite like Nimona. When Nimona reveals her shape-shifting abilities, however, Blackheart realizes she may indeed become a valuable asset in his vendetta to prove that the ruling Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics -- and its star hero, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin -- isn’t quite as heroic as it claims to be.<br /><br />On the surface, <i>Nimona</i> appears to be more or less your typical good vs. evil story, albeit one that is told through the perspective of the villains. It isn’t long, however, before all conceptions of good and evil are turned on their head, transformed, and erased; Blackheart and Nimona perform undeniably evil acts, but so do Goldenloin and the agents of the Institution. The people of their quasi-medieval world suffer for the sake of keeping face, personal gain, and self-righteousness. Through the actions and beliefs of the “heroes” and “villains,” Stevenson spins a tale that intelligently examines the morality, responsibility, and culpability of all sides in this conflict.<br /><br />In the midst of all the moral ambiguity stands Nimona herself, perhaps the greatest enigma of them all. She’s a shapeshifter and a bit too eager in her pronouncements for the destruction of everything. But who, exactly, is Nimona? And what benefit does she gain through an alliance with Blackheart? These questions are as central to the story as Blackheart and Goldenloin’s conflict (and their implied relationship).<br /><br />From Nimona’s punk-inspired main form (which is wonderfully curvy), to the Inquisitor’s long, serpentine frame, Stevenson’s cartoonish, goofy illustrations generally work well with the text. At times the illustrations feel a bit too cartoony, however, and on occasion detract from the story’s intelligent, thoughtful examination of morality.<br /><br />The format, illustrations, and emphasis on a heroes vs. villains conflict give <i>Nimona </i>an unsurprisingly comic-like feel, which may dissuade certain readers from this story. Those willing to look past the format, however, are in for a treat. <i>Nimona</i> is a story for those who like their morals gray, their rivalries bitter, and their resolutions open-ended.<br /><b><br />Rating:</b> 4 stars</span></span><b id="docs-internal-guid-52a16f10-4eb7-2fcc-be6f-6aac16124c31" style="font-weight: normal;">
</b>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-64694629169494759242015-07-14T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.395-05:00The Last Ten Books That Have Come Into My Possession<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This week I'm taking a look at the last ten books that have recently come into my possession and noting where they came from and why.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22718682-devoted">Devoted</a> </i>by Jennifer Mathieu</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: <a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/07/top-ten-books-on-my-summer-2015-tbr-list.html">This is one of my summer TBR picks</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7159898-foiled?ac=1">Foiled</a> </i>by Jane Yolen & Mike Cavallaro<i> </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: Pure curiosity! I fenced competitively in high school, but as far as high school sports go, fencing is definitely one of the least represented. So it was pretty cool to find this graphic novel. (If you know of other books that feature fencing, let me know!)<i><b></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18952341-the-grace-of-kings?ac=1"><i>The Grace of Kings</i></a> by Ken Liu<i> </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/07/top-ten-books-on-my-summer-2015-tbr-list.html">This is one of my summer TBR picks</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875451-the-royal-we"><i>The Royal We</i></a> by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan<i> </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/07/top-ten-books-on-my-summer-2015-tbr-list.html">This is one of my summer TBR picks</a>. (Unfortunately, I already returned this one, so it's not pictured.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18293427-the-storied-life-of-a-j-fikry"><i>The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</i></a> by Gabrielle Zevin<i> </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/07/top-ten-books-on-my-summer-2015-tbr-list.html">This is one of my summer TBR picks</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29127.The_Last_Unicorn?ac=1"><i>The Last Unicorn</i></a> by Peter S. Beagle</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Barnes & Noble </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: I had a 15% off coupon and hadn't purchased anything from my local B&N in a while, so I felt like supporting it. Plus, I had read and loved this book years ago and had been looking for a copy to call my own. This edition is gorgeous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3685.Black_Beauty?ac=1"><i>Black Beauty</i></a> by Anna Sewell </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: My younger sister</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reason: I recently decided to start building some classics collections, and I love how affordable and adorable these Puffin Classics editions of children's literature are. My sister just had this book sitting around in her bedroom and so kindly allowed me to take it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23167703-cupcakes-and-cashmere-at-home?ac=1"><i>Cupcakes and Cashmere at Home</i></a> by Emily Schuman</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: I've recently become a big fan of Emily's blog, <a href="http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/">Cupcakes and Cashmere</a>. She discusses everything from fashion, beauty, home decor, and more, and I've been gravitating towards those sorts of blogs in the past few months. Needless to say, I was very eager to get my hands on a copy of her new book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8889785-unbroken"><i>Unbroken</i></a> by Laura Hillenbrand</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: Every since I gave my dad a copy of this a few years ago (which he loved, and subsequently pushed on others), I've had to listen to so many family members and friends rave about it. The audiobook was currently in at my library, so I decided to give it a try. (Not pictured because it's in my car.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23604559-my-grandmother-asked-me-to-tell-you-she-s-sorry?ac=1">My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry</a> </i>by Fredrik Backman (trans. by Henning Koch)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Acquired from: Library </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Reason: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/07/top-ten-books-on-my-summer-2015-tbr-list.html">This is one of my summer TBR picks</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">What books have you recently acquired?</span><br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-38026152655825818072015-07-10T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.298-05:00What I Learned from Taking a YA Literature Class<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-18ada4d9-68f3-fefd-b1d0-2e8a36ec3724" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-18ada4d9-68f3-fefd-b1d0-2e8a36ec3724" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was only a year and a half ago that I eagerly asked a friend for all the details of her YA lit class, down to the syllabus requirements and required reading. I was jealous that as an aspiring youth services librarian she got to take a class entirely devoted to YA literature. At the time, I was convinced that I would be working with adults -- or at least that my primary responsibilities wouldn’t include working with children, despite loving all forms of children’s literature.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hindsight, as they say, is indeed 20/20. This past fall I realized that I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">did </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">want to work with children, and this past spring saw me taking the same class I had been so envious of my friend for taking the year before.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Upon starting the class, I found myself in a rather unique position. Because I’d actively been part of the book blogosphere for the past few years and read almost exclusively YA literature, I think it’s fair to say that I was familiar with a lot of the current trends and more popular books being written for teens. Anything that I had learned about YA literature had essentially been self-taught, however, through observation and research and reading. I was curious to see what the class could teach me -- and I’ll admit that I enjoy learning and was looking forward to gaining some academic knowledge on this topic.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this class was how it contextualized YA literature both in terms of the general history and trends in literature, and also within the history of literature for children. For my undergraduate degrees in English and Spanish, I had mostly studied the classics and the history of literature in America and Britain, as well as a bit about Spain and Central/South America, and for my thesis I delved into the history of children’s literature; prior to this class, however, I had never looked into the specifics of literature for teens.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My class also discussed book reviews, and how to write the most valuable, professional reviews possible. We read from Kathleen Horning’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From Cover to Cover</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which I highly recommend. Horning is the current director of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), which is kind of a big deal in the field of children’s lit. Her book is broken down into chapters on how to interact with different types of books for different age levels, as well as suggestions on the review-writing process and is definitely something I plan on referring back to for both blogging and professional development.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each week of the class was broken up into a genre or theme, which was helpful for someone like me who has a few preferred genres. Because the book selections did skew a bit on the older side (in terms of publication date), I had the opportunity to read classics such as Judy Blume’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forever…</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and Robert Cormier’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Chocolate War</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Weekly themes ranged from hi-lo lit (which I hadn’t known much about prior to this class), to nonfiction, to illustrated books (which are different from graphic novels), and more. Over the course of the class we also read a bit about adolescent development.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, what I really enjoyed was the opportunity to become familiar with new authors and stories. Some of my favorites included M.T. Anderson’s</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Kingdom: The Pox Party,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Markus Zusak’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I Am the Messenger</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Gene Luen Yang’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boxers & Saints</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> duology, Rainbow Rowell’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eleanor and Park</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and Vera Brosgol’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anya’s Ghost</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I definitely enjoyed having the opportunity to take this class, and to be able to take a more academic approach to a subject I already love so much. Many of the novels we read will stay with me, as will Horning’s book. Despite all that, there is something to be said about experiential learning and first-hand knowledge, and I have to say that I’ve probably learned just as much from reading and blogging about YA literature. It was nice to put everything into a bit more context, though, and I’m looking forward to taking a children’s literature class this fall.</span></div>
</b></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-48975899169200204912015-07-07T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.337-05:00Top Ten Books on my Summer 2015 TBR List<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago the topic was books that are on our Summer 2015 TBR (to be read) lists. Due to my blogging hiatus, I wasn't able to participate on the date this topic was originally scheduled, but I still wanted to have the opportunity to share my picks, so here's a rather belated list (which I may have already started, as summer itself started over 2 weeks ago now).</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Adult Picks</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910048-the-goblin-emperor"><i><b>The Goblin Emperor</b></i></a><b> by Katherine Addison </b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">—</span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I bought this shortly after its publication, having read one rave review after another, and it's currently on the 2015 Hugo Awards shortlist for best novel. Plus, Sarah Monette (Addison's a pseudonym) actually works at the library I'm interning for this summer.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23604559-my-grandmother-asked-me-to-tell-you-she-s-sorry"><i><b>My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry</b></i></a><b> by Fredrik Backman </b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I first learned about this book in an issue of <i>BookList</i> and promptly searched for more reviews and checked whether my library had a copy. (It does.) This magical realism tale sounds so charming and unique.</span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22875451-the-royal-we"><i><b>The Royal We</b></i></a><b> by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan </b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">—</span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This fluffy romance is supposedly based on/inspired by Prince William and Kate Middleton's real-life romance. I want to enjoy at least a little fluff this summer, and it can help me get in the wedding planning mood. </span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18952341-the-grace-of-kings"><i><b>The Grace of Kings</b></i></a><b> by Ken Liu </b></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">—</span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As with <i>The Goblin Emperor</i>, this is another fantasy I've heard nothing but praise for. I have a soft spot for sweeping, epic fantasy series, and this sounds like a promising start to a new one.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18293427-the-storied-life-of-a-j-fikry"><i><b>The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</b></i></a><b> by Gabrielle Zevin</b> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— <a href="http://modernmrsdarcy.com/2015/06/perfect-summer-reading-every-myers-briggs-personality-type-mbti/">Because Modern Mrs. Darcy told me to read this</a>. It's her recommendation for those who identify as ISTJ according to the Myers-Briggs personality test. Color me intrigued!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Young Adult Picks</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18798983-the-wrath-and-the-dawn"><i><b>The Wrath and the Dawn</b></i></a><b> by Renee Ahdieh </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
love a solid fairy-tale/fable retelling almost as much as I love
stories that focus on female agency. Ahdieh's debut sounds like it
should have both in spades.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51737.The_Truth_About_Forever?ac=1">The Truth About Forever</a> </i>by Sarah Dessen </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't love <i><a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-just-listen.html">Just Listen</a>, </i>but I do adore Dessen on Twitter and hope this one works out better for me. Plus, I've heard this is generally considered to be one of her best works.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24187925-these-shallow-graves"><i><b>These Shallow Graves</b></i></a><b> by Jennifer Donnelly</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love historical fiction and really don't see/read enough of it for YA audiences. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And this ARC is on loan from my internship library, so it needs to be read soon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22718682-devoted?search_version=service_impr"><i><b>Devoted</b></i></a><b> by Jennifer Mathieu</b> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I enjoyed Mathieu's <a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-truth-about-alice-by-jennifer.html">debut</a> but didn't love it necessarily. At first I was planning on passing this one by, but the combination of such a timely topic and strong praise have made me curious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18806240-bone-gap"><i><b>Bone Gap</b></i></a><b> by Laura Ruby</b> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I was so excited to receive a review copy at ALA Midwinter, certain that I'd love this. For some reason or another, however, reading this just hasn't happened yet, but it will soon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What books do you hope to read this summer?</span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-61044132640780635132015-07-06T08:00:00.001-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.382-05:00A Mid-Year Report<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-c40cf463-5e81-6d45-69c7-cb1233804ab3" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why hello there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s been a while. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While I didn’t necessarily intend to take an extended break from the blog, it ended up being a really good decision on my part. The confluence of so many life events and challenges made it very difficult for me to find time to blog, and I’ll admit that for quite a few months I simply had no desire to sit down and type up anything for this blog. It was the right break at the right time, but now I’m eager to ease my way back into blogging.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although my posts have been rather limited all year so far, the first six months of 2015 have been fantastic in terms of reading. As of July 1, I’ve read </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">65</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">books -- I’m far above any previous mid-year reading marks I’ve set, and I’m excited to think that I most likely will surpass 100 books read in 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A number of elements combined to help make this crazy reading productivity possible. First of all, this past spring I had a class on YA literature that required I read 2 books a week (stay tuned -- I will discuss the class in detail in an upcoming post). I also have embraced alternative forms of stories through reading graphic novels, nonfiction, and poetry, and by listening to audiobooks. The fact that I have longer commutes now (and that it is acceptable to read at work when I’m not busy) has also been tremendously helpful. And the lack of pressure to write reviews and keep a reading schedule has actually helped prevent me from entering into any reading slumps.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of the 65 books I’ve read, 11 were for an adult audience, 44 for a young adult audience (unsurprising, given my class), and 10 for a middle grade/children’s audience. Of those 65 books, 9 were audiobooks and 13 more were not your traditional prose narratives. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What really satisfies me are the many books I’ve read that were outside of my comfort zone, or those that I never imagined I’d pick up, much less enjoy. My ratings for 2015 haven’t all been positive (they kind of follow a typical bell curve), but for me the experience of reading all these different books has been worth it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No mention of reading stats would be complete without me listing some of my favorites. So without any further ado, here are the top books I read in the first half of 2015:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t have much to say about them now, other than that they’re all very, very good and I highly recommend them. Hopefully I’ll have the chance to review each and every one of them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Over the next six months, I’m hoping to better integrating my blog with my studies (I’m taking a children’s lit class in the fall) and my real-life work in the children’s department of two libraries. This summer I’m helping out with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">two</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> different Summer Library Programs -- let’s just say by the end of August I’m going to be well versed in superhero books. And hopefully these experiences will help give me even more inspiration for blog posts.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In other news -- my boyfriend and I are engaged! We celebrated our sixth anniversary earlier this year (it really doesn’t feel like we’ve been together that long), and later that weekend he proposed. It’s been months now since his proposal, and it’s still all so exciting (and nerve-wracking). I don’t think I realized quite how many aspects go into wedding planning. I’m fortunate that my mom is just as excited (if not more so) and has been so instrumental thus far in figuring things out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Between wedding planning, classes, work, and blogging, the near future looks pretty busy. But I couldn’t be more excited for any of it.</span></span></div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-88231485293866611452015-04-12T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.441-05:00Showcase Sunday #24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CgPQccl1WwU/VSB3IyqIMSI/AAAAAAAADB0/FbNPAJb8kCg/s1600/showcase%2Bsunday.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CgPQccl1WwU/VSB3IyqIMSI/AAAAAAAADB0/FbNPAJb8kCg/s1600/showcase%2Bsunday.png" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at <a href="http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.co.uk/info/showcase-sunday/">Books, Biscuits and Tea</a>. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Purchased:</span></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7295501-shades-of-milk-and-honey?ac=1"><i>Shades of Milk and Honey</i></a> (<i>Glamourist Histories</i>, #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal</span></b>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard this referred to as Jane Austen with magic. Enough said, am I right?</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16085457-shadow-scale"><i>Shadow Scale</i></a> (<i>Seraphina</i>, #2) by Rachel Hartman</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I mentioned that I received an eARC of this in my last Showcase Sunday, but I couldn't resist buying a pretty finished copy as well.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Borrowed:</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9615347-anya-s-ghost"><i>Anya's Ghost</i></a> by Vera Brosgol</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Read for my YA Lit class. This reaffirmed my love of graphic novels.</span>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17210470-boxers"><i>Boxers</i></a> & </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17210471-saints"><i>Saints</i></a> by Gene Luen Yang</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Read for my YA Lit class. So, so good. I need to read more Yang stat.</span>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20695981-texts-from-jane-eyre"><i>Texts from Jane Eyre</i></a> by Mallory Ortberg</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Very funny! Well, those stories/authors I was actually familiar with. The <i>Little Women</i> one was priceless.</span>
<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></i></b><br />
<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1303414.The_Wall"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain</span></i></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Peter Sis</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Read for my YA Lit class. Not much to say about this. An important story, but it is a picture book for teens told in a weird, cartoony style.</span>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9673436-the-invention-of-hugo-cabret"><i>The Invention of Hugo Cabaret</i></a> by Brian Selznick</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Read for my YA Lit class. An interesting combination of pictures and text, but ultimately not for me.</span>
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19319552-the-family-romanov">The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia</a> </i>by Candace Fleming</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And my interest in the Romanov family has been reignited. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.</span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1908064.Until_We_Meet_Again"><i><b>Until We Meet Again</b></i></a><b> (<i>Bluford High</i>, #7) by Anne Schraff</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To read for my YA Lit class. I'm pretty sure this is an example of hi/lo fiction (high interest, low reading level).<b></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What books have you recently acquired?</span>
</div>
Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-67095237368593717412015-03-28T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.411-05:00Ready to Become a Fan of... Ellen Hopkins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kS_7KsMec8w/VRTPg0cwVLI/AAAAAAAADBM/owQG7Y2hPsk/s1600/Ready%2Bto%2BBecome%2Ba%2BFan%2Bof.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kS_7KsMec8w/VRTPg0cwVLI/AAAAAAAADBM/owQG7Y2hPsk/s1600/Ready%2Bto%2BBecome%2Ba%2BFan%2Bof.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ready
to Become a Fan of... focuses on those authors new and old whose works I
have every intention of eventually reading, but haven't been able to
devote the time to just yet. By discussing authors and their works that
I'm sure I'll love, given the chance, hopefully I can be more easily
compelled to take the next step in not simply acquiring one of their
books, but actually take the time to read it.<br /><br />This month I'm putting on record that I am ready to become a fan of Ellen Hopkins.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">About the author:</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ellen Hopkins is a poet, freelance writer, and the award-winning author of twenty nonfiction titles and nine NY Times Bestselling young adult novels-in-verse, plus two adult novels. She has published hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from aviation to child abuse to winegrowing. Ellen mentors other writers through her position as a regional adviser for the Nevada chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She is a regular speaker at schools, book festivals and writers conferences across the US, and now throughout the world. (<a href="http://ellenhopkins.com/YoungAdult/vitale/">Source</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Work I'm most looking forward to reading:</span></span></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8sMNQ5pX93E/VRTPR-r1SeI/AAAAAAAADBE/wrbQizAaMx4/s1600/Crank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8sMNQ5pX93E/VRTPR-r1SeI/AAAAAAAADBE/wrbQizAaMx4/s1600/Crank.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Crank</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter, gifted high school
junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee
father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact
opposite of Kristina. Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And
what begins as a wild ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell
for her mind, her soul - her life. (<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/title/crank/oclc/56608998&referer=brief_results">WorldCat</a>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Why this author & this work:</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've been hearing praise for Hopkins' works since I was in college, if not before. My current class on young adult literature has gotten me thinking about genres/formats such as free verse and the major young adult authors found within those categories (and Hopkins is obviously at the top there).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm not sure I'd enjoy any of Hopkins' books, to be quite honest. All their synopses make them sound gritty, hopeless, and uncomfortable, to be quite honest. But I don't read purely to stay within my comfort zone; good readers should want to have their limits tested by great fiction, and from all I've heard of Hopkins' works, I'm pretty sure she can deliver on that front.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">NoveList recommends that readers start with <i>Crank</i> as an introduction to Hopkins' works, and as it's also her debut (a highly acclaimed one at that), I wouldn't want to start with any other book. I just got a copy of it from the library yesterday, actually.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
those of you who've already read some of Hopkins' works, I'd
appreciate hearing what you think about them. For those who also haven't
read his works yet, let me know what's been holding you back!</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><i>Ready to Become a Fan of... is an original feature of Late Nights with Good Books.</i></span></span>
</span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-59130810089319914802015-03-26T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.375-05:00Review: Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edRHdfvaDvE/VRN-ExHG11I/AAAAAAAADAc/qeFUimSdzFM/s1600/Handbook%2Bfor%2BDragon%2BSlayers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edRHdfvaDvE/VRN-ExHG11I/AAAAAAAADAc/qeFUimSdzFM/s1600/Handbook%2Bfor%2BDragon%2BSlayers.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Handbook for Dragon Slayers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Merrie Haskell</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2013, Harper</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Middle Grade Fantasy</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Format:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Hardcover</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Library</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13624404-handbook-for-dragon-slayers">Goodreads</a> </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Dragon-Slayers-Merrie-Haskell-ebook/dp/B009NFE4D2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=">Amazon</a> </span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/handbook-for-dragon-slayers-merrie-haskell/1112360863?ean=9780062008169">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5424-863c-61a5-528863c14d32" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-de60dbdf-5427-72b1-33cb-b1faa1e3abf1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tilda is not all that fond of the duties and responsibilities that come with being princess of Alder Brook. And she knows that her people are not that fond of the fact that their heir has a lame foot. What Tilda really wants to do is to be like her muse, the writer Boethius, and write great works that would have people remember her as a writer, rather than as the princess with the lame foot. </span></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Through a combination of circumstances, Tilda finds herself a fugitive, unable to return to her homeland, and also in the company of her two friends eager to prove themselves by slaying dragons. Tilda begins crafting the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Handbook for Dragon Slayers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the hope that it will establish her value as a writer. As for her lands, well, she figures she’s not a good princess anyway and is content to first travel with her dragon-slaying friends and then perhaps join a convent and devote her life to writing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Handbook for Dragon Slayers</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is an adorable, unique fantasy sure to delight younger and older readers alike. It contains powerful messages about love, duty, and responsibility. Best of all, it contains a nuanced heroine who has to learn how to create balance between her wants and the needs of others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The novel essentially essentially exists to tell the story of Tilda’s coming of age. At the beginning of the story, Tilda believes the only value she has is through her ability to read and copy novels, although she hopes to also write her own novels. She believes that if she wants to be remembered positively, it will have to be through her writing, because her lame foot completely defines her in person. It is only gradually that Tilda comes to realize that she’s much more than the sum of her parts, that she loses a bit of her self-depreciation and comes to accept that her intelligence, loyalty, bravery, stubbornness, and her good heart can also influence how others view her. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With such a heavy focus on Tilda’s growth, however, the characterization of the rest of the characters feels a little stunted. The villains are not given enough depth. Her friends Parzival and Judith are likable enough, but again rather superficially portrayed. The character that I most wish was further developed was Tilda’s mother. Her mother has a clear influence on Tilda’s expectations and attitude. Yet her mother is absent for basically the entire book. Tilda is left learning how to resolve her own needs with her mother’s expectations for a princess of Alder Brook on her own; of course, her mother doesn’t need to be present, but having that character would have propelled Tilda’s growth even more, I think. I suppose I can just hope that happens after the story ends.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The magical aspects of this novel primarily seem to serve as a means to help Tilda question the truths and assumptions of her world. More than a few parallels can be drawn between Tilda and dragons. And it’s hard not to appreciate the relationships she develops with the horses of the fairy hunt and a few dragons. After a lifetime of feeling not quite equal to her fellow humans, it is the magical creatures who act as the catalysts to draw Tilda out of her shell.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Haskell does not develop Tilda’s world enough for readers to gain a solid understanding, unfortunately. In some ways it feels like a typical fantasy world, the technological advances on a medieval level, with knights, dragons, and castles. But along with mentions of Boethius, the characters speak of Plato and the Roman Empire. Alder Brook and its territories are clearly based on medieval German lands, but the line between the fictional and the historical is blurred.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall I quite enjoyed this book. Tilda is a sympathetic heroine and one ultimately worthy of admiration. Haskell expertly blends her development and the magical aspects of the novel, which more or less makes up with lackluster secondary character development and a slightly confusing world. Still, for those not as picky as I (and even those who are) this is a delightful book.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3.5 stars</span></b> </b></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-86733181733677888032015-03-24T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.423-05:00Top Ten Childhood Books to Revisit<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. This week we're listing the top ten books from our childhoods that we'd love to revisit. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had a lot of fun digging through the boxes of books we keep in the basement. Seeing old favorites brings up so many happy memories. I was introduced to the ten books below when I was in elementary school (or maybe in early middle school). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not sure when I'll have time to read them, but it's comforting knowing that they'll be waiting for me whenever I have the chance to crack open their spines once more.</span><div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/310146.The_True_Confessions_of_Charlotte_Doyle?ac=1">The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle</a></i> by Avi</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205821.Caddie_Woodlawn?ac=1">Caddie Woodlawn</a></i> by Carol Ryrie Brink</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2998.The_Secret_Garden?ac=1">The Secret Garden</a> </i>by Frances Hodgson Burnett</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/735609.Voyage_of_the_Basset?ac=1">Voyage of the Basset</a> </i>by James C. Christensen</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/633270.The_Ear_the_Eye_and_the_Arm?ac=1">The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm</a></i> by Nancy Farmer</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17461.Misty_of_Chincoteague?ac=1">Misty of Chincoteague</a></i> by Marguerite Henry</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18131.A_Wrinkle_in_Time?ac=1">A Wrinkle in Time</a> </i>by Madeleine L'Engle</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9822.Mrs_Frisby_and_the_Rats_of_NIMH?ac=1">Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH</a></i> by Robert C. O'Brien</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24178.Charlotte_s_Web?ac=1">Charlotte's Web</a> </i>by E.B. White</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40412-little-house">Little House series</a></i> by Laura Ingalls Wilder</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you read any of these during your childhood?</span><br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-80302639588145775042015-03-18T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:35:02.460-05:00Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_CaWFzSx7cg/VQjznTNmYcI/AAAAAAAAC_0/HjymMpfsK-c/s1600/Beauty%2BQueens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_CaWFzSx7cg/VQjznTNmYcI/AAAAAAAAC_0/HjymMpfsK-c/s1600/Beauty%2BQueens.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beauty Queens</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Libba Bray</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2011, Scholastic, Inc.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Young Adult Realistic Fiction,<b> </b>Satire</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Format:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Audiobook</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Library</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9647979-beauty-queens">Goodreads</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Queens-Libba-Bray/dp/0439895987/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426650278&sr=8-1&keywords=beauty+queens">Amazon</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; 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color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></span></b></span></span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beauty-queens-libba-bray/1100171640?ean=9780439895989">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-98cebe3e-2af7-b4bc-2552-9305fe946ab2" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>“Maybe girls need an island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place
where no one’s watching them so they can be who they really are.” </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">En route to an island getaway where pageant contestants are to prepare for their big event, the plane carrying the contestants for the Miss Teen Dream beauty pageant crashes. The majority of the contestants die, as do all the adult sponsors, leaving about a dozen teen girls to figure out how to survive while they wait to be rescued.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beauty Queens </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">defies any easy classification. It is partially a survival story, as the girls learn to build shelters, fish, and (gasp!) eat grubs. It has dystopian leanings, as the world in which the girls inhabit is run by the totalitarian Corporation, which attempts to control all aspects of its citizens’ lives, especially the females. It has a tendency towards the fantastical, as the island comes alive with man-eating snakes, a mysteriously lighting volcano, and conspiracy theories galore. It is feminist through the depictions of its lead females and their actions, hopes, and needs. And it’s also pure satire, with all the Corporation propaganda and the comments on beauty and power.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Attempting to combine all of these elements could have been a complete disaster. Thankfully, however, that was not the case.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The narration switches between many different characters, the majority of whom are stranded beauty pageant contestants. From cynical Adina of New Hampshire to rule-following and fanatical Taylor of Texas, readers are introduced to a wide variety of girls with different interests, stories, and reasons they chose to compete. All of the girls can be seen as extremes in some way, and yet each also possesses her relatable qualities. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book is the strongest when focusing on the girls and their struggles to make the most of their situation. Learning how to live without their Corporation-mandated beauty products is challenge enough, but over the course of the novel the girls also learn to accept those parts of themselves they’d rather keep hidden. By and large this is an empowering story of their physical, mental, and emotional changes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although this is primarily a story about the growth of the girls, there are other threads and plot lines woven through. While these other elements have a major role in the story’s conflict and ultimate conclusion, for the most part they felt a bit distanced from the story as a whole. And frankly, in a story dealing primarily with female empowerment, they just weren’t as interesting. The way these aspects were resolved at the end also felt a bit too convenient, a bit too neat.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Libba Bray narrates her own story here, which was delightful to hear. Her accents may have been exaggerated from time to time, but having the story narrated by the person who actually wrote it, who knows what to say, when to say it, and how to say it, is a powerful thing indeed. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But it is important to note that the author here is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the same author as the one who wrote the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gemma Doyle</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trilogy or </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Diviners</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Well, yes, Libba Bray is the same person, but she’s showing a completely different authorial side here. And, by and large, it’s a very successful one. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recommended for those who enjoy a clever satire, and who don’t mind the tendency this satire has to go over the top in its messages. Because, despite the satire, this really is a positive, feel-good book about girls finding confidence in themselves and supporting one another.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 stars</span></b></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-12710009197961367172015-03-17T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.275-05:00Top Ten Books on my Spring 2015 TBR<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>. This week we're listing the books that have made it to the top of our Spring 2015 TBR lists.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>New & Upcoming Spring Releases:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18798983-the-wrath-and-the-dawn">The Wrath and the Dawn</a></i> by Renee Ahdieh</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— Because fairy-tale/fable retellings will always capture my interest. And is that a gorgeous cover or what?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22896551-none-of-the-above">None of the Above</a></i> by I.W. Gregorio</b> — It was delightful to hear Gregorio speak at a panel on diversity in YA lit, and I'm super curious to learn more about what intersex really is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses">A Court of Thorns and Roses</a></i> by Sarah J. Maas</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— Again, me and fairy-tale retellings just go together so well. The hype is exciting, as is the fact that this uses aspects of two of my favorite tales: "Beauty and the Beast" and "Tam Lin."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21853636-all-the-rage">All the Rage</a></i> by Courtney Summers</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— To be quite honest, I'm a bit intimidated by what I've heard about how gritty and dark this novel is. But I've come to expect that from the Summers works I've read, and rape is something we do need to keep discussing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20560137-an-ember-in-the-ashes">An Ember in the Ashes</a></i> by Sabaa Tahir </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— My ARC is currently on loan, but as soon as it is returned, I plan on devouring it. I finding new YA high fantasy series to love is as important to me as needing to breathe. Or something like that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Owned Older Reads:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910048-the-goblin-emperor?ac=1">The Goblin Emperor</a></i> by Katherine Addison</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— This book has definitely made my reading lists of shame many times now. If I don't get to it within the next few weeks, it will definitely be a priority for this summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17167166-crown-of-midnight?from_search=true">Crown of Midnight</a></i> by Sarah J. Maas</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I did not like <i>Throne of Glass</i>, but I recently read <i>The Assassin's Blade</i> (neither reviewed yet) and actually enjoyed it. I figure I better continue with the series while I still have momentum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8127.Anne_of_Green_Gables?ac=1">Anne of Green Gables</a></i> by L.M. Montgomery</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I got that adorable Puffin version over the Christmas holidays and really, really need to start this soon. I cannot wait to be finally introduced to Anne and Gilbert and Prince Edward Island!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1215032.The_Wise_Man_s_Fear?ac=1">The Wise Man's Fear</a></i> by Patrick Rothfuss</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I kind of still need to write my review for <i>The Name of the Wind</i> (which was fantastic and easily one of my top reads so far this year), so waiting for that before I dive into part two!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9591398-the-girl-who-circumnavigated-fairyland-in-a-ship-of-her-own-making?ac=1">The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making</a></i> by Catherynne M. Valente</b> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">— I don't even want to think about how many times this book has been on here now. Hopefully making my shame public on this will persuade me to read this one at some point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please be sure to let me know what books you plan on reading this spring!</span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-63504586837672709332015-03-15T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.389-05:00Showcase Sunday #23<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJPpEt3NnZA/VPO366o92AI/AAAAAAAAC9k/8pYFHVAsNy4/s1600/showcase%2Bsunday.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uJPpEt3NnZA/VPO366o92AI/AAAAAAAAC9k/8pYFHVAsNy4/s1600/showcase%2Bsunday.png" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; word-spacing: 0px;">Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicki at <a href="http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.co.uk/info/showcase-sunday/" style="color: #0d7d75;" target="_blank">Books, Biscuits and Tea</a>. Its aim is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.</span></span><span style="display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is a slightly belated haul of all my February books.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Received:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/02/ala-midwinter-2015-recap.html"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">See my ALA-MW haul</span></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1215032.The_Wise_Man_s_Fear?ac=1"><i>The Wise Man's Fear</i></a> (<i>The Kingkiller Chronicle</i>, #2) by Patrick Rothfuss</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This was my Valentine's Day present from my boyfriend (which I not-so-subtly suggested would make a good gift). I really enjoyed <i>The Name of the Wind</i> and this is his new favorite series so I'm looking forward to reading/discussing it with him.</span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16085457-shadow-scale?ac=1"><i>Shadow Scale</i></a> (<i>Seraphina</i>, #2) by Rachel Hartman</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Many thanks to Random House Children's and Netgalley! I freaking loved <i>Seraphina</i> and cannot wait to continue this series.</span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22318499-how-to-be-a-heroine"><i>How to be a Heroine</i></a> by Samantha Ellis</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Anniversary gift from my boyfriend! I like the idea of memoir nonfiction related to classical literature. But before reading this, I need to first read a few of the novels it mentions (<i>Anne of Green Gables</i>, <i>Franny and Zooey</i>, <i>A Room with a </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>View</i>, <i>Valley of the Dolls</i>, <i>Cold Comfort Farm</i>...)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Borrowed:</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/463780.A_Step_from_Heaven"><i>A Step from Heaven</i></a> by An Na</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80675.Forever_"><i>Forever...</i></a> by Judy Blume</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334024.Absolutely_Positively_Not"><i>Absolutely, Positively Not</i></a> by David LaRochelle</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44184.Monster"><i>Monster</i></a> by Walter Dean Myers</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/842087.Hole_in_My_Life"><i>Hole in My Life</i></a> by Jack Gantos</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15806994-the-chocolate-kiss?ac=1"><i>The Chocolate Kiss</i></a> (<i>Amour et Chocolat, </i>#2) by Laura Florand</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Reading so much YA recently has made m</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">e crave adult books. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">I had wanted this for Valentine's Day but </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">the hold didn't come in until</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;"> the end of February, unfortunately. Reading this one now (and so, so needing to visit some fancy bakeries).</span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/148769.The_First_Part_Last?ac=1"><i>The First Part Last</i></a> (<i>Heaven</i>, #2) by Angela Johnston</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250924.Make_Lemonade?ac=1"><i>Make Lemonade</i></a> (<i>Make Lemonade, </i>#1) by Virginia Wolff</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Read for my YA lit class.</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: middle; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20483085-poisoned-apples?ac=1"><i>Poisoned Apples</i></a> by Christine Heppermann</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Feminist, modern day fairy-tale retellings told in verse. How could I refuse?</span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What books have you recently acquired?</span></span></div>
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-9825427761232572302015-03-13T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-23T08:30:36.447-05:00Review: El Deafo by Cece Bell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lPXFgyMmHxg/VQGeTf85YKI/AAAAAAAAC-w/VcfMN0TosQ4/s1600/El%2BDeafo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lPXFgyMmHxg/VQGeTf85YKI/AAAAAAAAC-w/VcfMN0TosQ4/s1600/El%2BDeafo.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">El Deafo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Cece Bell</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2014, Amulet Books</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Middle Grade Memoir</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Format: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hardcover</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Library</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20701984-el-deafo">Goodreads</a> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/El-Deafo-Cece-Bell/dp/1419712179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426169894&sr=8-1&keywords=el+deafo">Amazon</a> </span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-f401-76cb-99bffb6ac0de" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/el-deafo-cece-bell/1118470624?ean=9781419712173">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-cdc5-e81b-51cc382d8370" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0edb57a7-0e55-cdc5-e81b-51cc382d8370" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she was four, Cece Bell was hospitalized for meningitis. Shortly after she was released, Cece’s parents began to realize that her infection had caused severe deafness. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">El Deafo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is Cece’s memoir of how she struggled with hearing loss during her childhood.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">El Deafo is the nickname/superhero persona that Cece gives herself. Cece is given regular hearing aids to wear while at home, but her doctors do not think those are sufficient for her to use at school, and so she’s also given a Phonic Ear. The Phonic Ear consists of a hearing aid box she straps across her chest, earbud-like cords that attach to her ears, and a microphone that her teachers wear. Cece quickly discovers that the Phonic Ear is not only extremely helpful in hearing all that her teachers say, but that if her teachers forget to turn it off during breaks, she can hear what they’re saying and doing all over the school. In a world where she can’t help but feel disabled (especially since everyone else is willing to propagate that perception in their treatment of her), the Phonic Ear has given Cece what effectively feels like a superpower.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A substantial portion of the book is devoted to Cece’s attempts to find the perfect sidekick for El Deafo. It’s not easy to search for a best friend, when the majority of people are unsure how to act around Cece. Although Cece not directly bullied, she still deals with some frustrating misconceptions. As the only person with hearing loss at her sign language class, she’s subjected to everyone wanting to practice their signing on her. Her peers view her with pity, misunderstanding, and even frustration themselves. In her head, Cece provides all sorts of explanations and comebacks for each instance that she’s subjected to a misunderstanding (often through El Deafo), but it’s understandably much more difficult for Cece to outright explain her situation and feelings to others.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cece undergoes quite a few false starts along the way as she searches for the perfect sidekick. But each instance gives her a bit more of an understanding of herself, of her wants and needs and of what she desires in a friend. And, really, her search for a best friend can ring true for anyone who has been in a position where they’ve had to start over.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps to better illustrate how different Cece feels from her peers, Bell chose to draw everyone as rabbits (the better to display Cece’s Phonic Ear cords). While that authorial decision makes sense, the illustrations by and large are not the most appealing. They look a bit too cartoony, a bit too goofy, especially given the more serious nature of this story.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, this is a sweet and empowering tale, if a brief one. Cece’s journey is far from over by the end of the novel, but she’s made some great strides in both understanding herself and helping others understand how she wants to be treated. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars</span></b></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-55209559114017025042015-03-03T14:00:00.000-06:002015-07-23T08:30:36.369-05:00Top Ten All-Time Favorite Books Since I Started Blogging<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and the Bookish</a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This week we're listing our all-time favorite books from the past three or five years. Since I started blogging mid-2012, I decided to list some of my favorite books read since I started Late Nights with Good Books.</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17297487-all-the-truth-that-s-in-me"><i>All the Truth That's in Me</i></a> by Julie Berry</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">All the Truth That’s in Me</span><span style="text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<i>hits every single right note for me as a lover of stories. Beautiful
and experimental prose, a realistic, well-written protagonist with a
host of emotional struggles, a subtle, sweet romance, situations that
delve into major life truths</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-all-truth-thats-in-me-by-julie.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span> <b> </b></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6137154-fire"><i>Fire</i></a> by Kristin Cashore</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>I didn't think it was possible for Kristin Cashore to create a companion
novel in the world of </i>Graceling<i> that I'd love just as much as
</i>Graceling<i>. I didn't think it was possible for me to love a new female
protagonist just as much as I love Katsa. And then I met Fire and became
immersed in a story about the political and societal intrigues of her world
beyond the mountains</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-fire-by-kristin-cashore.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13056868-vessel"><i>Vessel</i></a> by Sarah Beth Durst</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Vessel<span class="Apple-converted-space"></span><i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is
undisputedly one of the superior novels I've read this year. It
features a well-crafted storyline, detailed worldbuilding, and
three-dimensional characters. I would definitely recommend it to anyone
looking for a fantastic high fantasy stand-alone.</i></span>(<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-vessel-by-sarah-beth-durst.html">Read my full review</a>) </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i> </i></b></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/52715-eon"><i>Eon</i> duology</a> by Alison Goodman</b></span> </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>In </i>Eon<i>, Goodman has created an incredibly layered world and a
heroine worth admiring. </i>Eon<i> is more than a story about a girl who does
not wish to follow conventions, but rather about this girl's small part in a
society on the verge of many changes</i>.</span> (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-eon-by-alison-goodman.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12394100-seraphina"><i>Seraphina</i></a> by Rachel Hartman</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>This is such a subtle, well-imagined, and
intelligent fantasy. Yes, it features a world of dragons and magic, but those all
simply work to assist the bigger message. </i>Seraphina<i>
is all about acceptance and the characters learning to overcome stereotypes</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-seraphina-by-rachel-hartman.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/57115-lumatere-chronicles"><i>The Lumatere Chronicles</i></a> by Melina Marchetta</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Marchetta
deserves the highest possible praise for her characterizations; most of
her characters are downright unlikable at times, but they’re so
undeniably human, so very</i> </span></i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">real</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>.</i> (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2014/06/series-review-lumatere-chronicles-by.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20820994-i-ll-give-you-the-sun">I'll Give You the Sun</a> </b></i><b>by Jandy Nelson (or <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6604794-the-sky-is-everywhere"><i>The Sky is Everywhere</i></a>)</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>This<b> </b>is a story about learning how to heal and move forward with one’s life,<b> </b>and Noah and Jude’s struggles to do so are both realistic and ultimately satisfying</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2015/01/review-ill-give-you-sun-by-jandy-nelson_18.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></b> </b></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i> </i></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-and-bone"><i>Daughter of Smoke & Bone</i></a> by Laini Taylor</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>What ultimately made </i>Daughter of Smoke & Bone<i> such a powerful
read was that Laini Taylor has this ability to take things that could easily
become cliches and turn them instead into something incredibly unique</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-daughter-of-smoke-and-bone-by.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15751398-the-strange-and-beautiful-sorrows-of-ava-lavender"><i>The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender</i></a> by Leslye Walton</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Walton’s debut is indeed a strange and beautiful tale. It’s also one that I
thoroughly enjoyed reading. Amid so many young adult novels that feature similar plots, similar characters, and similar storylines, this is a welcome change indeed</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-strange-and-beautiful-sorrows-of.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span> </span></b></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12851538-code-name-verity"><i>Code Name Verity</i></a> by Elizabeth Wein</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Reading
this book made me experience such a wide range of emotions, not all pleasant.
But, reflecting back on my experience reading the book, I still retain a sense
of awe for such a wonderful story</i>. (<a href="http://latenightswithgoodbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-code-name-verity-by-elizabeth.html">Read my full review</a>)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"></span></b></span></span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b></b></i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let me know what some of your recent favorite books are! </span> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160066904665347291.post-87392690831998861342015-02-16T08:00:00.000-06:002015-07-23T08:30:36.429-05:00Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7FLaDmqo4pQ/VNzXSKmCq2I/AAAAAAAAC8c/kI5KOW8otjU/s1600/The%2BKiss%2Bof%2BDeception.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7FLaDmqo4pQ/VNzXSKmCq2I/AAAAAAAAC8c/kI5KOW8otjU/s1600/The%2BKiss%2Bof%2BDeception.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kiss of Deception</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Mary Pearson</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Series:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Remnant Chronicles</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, #1</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Published:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 2014, Henry Holt and Company</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Genre:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Young Adult Fantasy</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Format: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hardcover</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Source:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Library</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16429619-the-kiss-of-deception">Goodreads</a> </span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Deception-Remnant-Chronicles/dp/0805099239/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423872825&sr=8-1&keywords=the+kiss+of+deception">Amazon</a> </span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-25febc96-5a96-fc0b-bc5f-25fdc2b48921" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-71b8387c-11dc-b1f5-34e4-8d29c6ea4803" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ce0901b-e91f-0178-de44-d98cd180047e" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-e37d10ee-d98f-237a-3bd1-dcc0f8f56daa" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-b640de0b-abca-1c6e-7570-5bcffd532dc1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><b id="docs-internal-guid-d628c3ce-96b4-436a-4554-a2b4dfa58827" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-0b3d2f58-77f6-361b-c553-da13d41d37b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1ccb7cb1-25ef-f625-fd40-eb3d9f53b957" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f2e11b54-0714-513c-98bf-f9cf8b3b055b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a227ce4e-e1a1-7bce-d9e9-708c26b5ceaf" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-5a0b9a89-ceaa-a687-584b-186af2bec8ad" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26bca474-9ac4-bb83-3d39-266b904c9d6a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-9be354e9-8655-3777-2eae-cf2e714f710d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d3640e66-7741-c977-2d3c-e4f4fa79100f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>· </b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></span></b></span></b></span></b></span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kiss-of-deception-mary-e-pearson/1116931467?ean=9780805099232">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7ea9-18f1-44a7-68b0a42e8358" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered.</span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7eb5-9896-eb17-5aad4c8503bc" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Princess Arabella Celestine Idris Jezelia, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan - called Lia - has no desire to further her country’s political gains through marriage to the prince of Dalbreck. She’s grown up with brothers and has seen each of them take their relationships into their own hands and wants the same for herself. So on the eve of her wedding, Lia and her maid Pauline flee the nation’s capital and settle down in the seaside village of Terravin. There Lia works at an inn and plans to create a life of her own choosing.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-3a8a4732-7eb5-9896-eb17-5aad4c8503bc" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But choosing to forsake her own duty as a First Daughter doesn’t mean that others are content to let Lia ruin this potential alliance. Her father’s soldiers are out searching for her, there’s a bounty set for her capture, and two outsiders from very different backgrounds are also seeking out Lia: the jilted prince of Dalbreck wants to see just who Lia is, to think that she could run away from their marriage, and the northern Kingdom of Venda has sent an assassin after Lia, because a potential alliance between Morrighan and Dalbreck is the last thing they want.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only certainty readers can hope to find within the pages of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kiss of Deception</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that there is very little certainty. Lia wants to make her own choices in life, but she has no concrete idea how to accomplish that. She’s motivated by a fierce independence, while her two main antagonists, the prince of Dalbreck and the assassin, are motivated by perverse curiosity and loyalty, respectively. Lia’s sudden departure has put a wrench in literally everyone’s plans, but not necessarily in expected ways. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first half of the story is very much an unexpected sort of fantasy story. There’s a slow-building tension present, as Lia and readers navigate between safety and danger, between truth and lies. Readers learn that the assassin and the prince both locate Lia at the same time, and once they enter the inn and become casual acquaintances as they wait for their chances to confront Lia, their identities become jumbled. Which of the two is sent to kill Lia? And what exactly does the prince want with her? Pearson expertly keeps the tension high and descriptions vague so that readers have no clear idea which identity belongs to which character until the reveal, which is just so very fascinating.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unfortunately, the prince and assassin have their roles trivialized to some degree by both developing crushes on Lia. Now, Lia is a likable, empathetic character by and large. She is far from perfect in her actions and choices, but she’s willing to admit her mistakes and continue trying. At the end of the day, all she wants is a chance to have some authority in her own life. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But must both men fall for her? The love triangle here feels like an awfully convenient way for the first half of the story to drag out, allowing the focus to remain on Lia’s false sense of security, as well as her developing relationships with both the prince and the assassin. Perhaps the assassin’s character gains a bit more sympathy through his developing feelings for Lia, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that either the prince or assassin’s characters are really developed in the first half of the novel, since Pearson keeps their descriptions and thoughts as ambiguous as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The one bright spot of this love triangle is that Lia’s feelings are clear. One of the men she considers as a friend, and one she hopes to become something more. But through the eyes of the two males, Lia almost becomes lesser, and their characterization of her feels a bit trite.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once the identities of the prince and assassin are revealed, the second half of the story reads much more like traditional fantasy fare, and it’s well done. The story in general is well written and works well as the opening to a large, complex fantasy world. Enough knowledge of that world is given upfront, although readers will hope that the ending means that Pearson will expand the scope of the novel dramatically as the series continues.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Little is resolved in this book, which isn’t surprising given this is the first in an expected trilogy. Those who do not enjoy cliffhanger endings should probably wait for the second - or even third - installment’s release. Those who are willing to look past the cliches present with a love triangle may find there is quite a bit to enjoy in this book as well, and I for one will plan on reading the sequel. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rating: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 stars</span></b></span>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03052456915027241479noreply@blogger.com1