Review: Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

Published: 2013, Harper

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

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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.

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 Handbook for Dragon Slayers 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.

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Review: The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Published: October 14, 2014, Amulet Books

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction, Paranormal

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

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Olivia Mead’s life in 1900 Oregon is slowly but inexorably undergoing a sort of social turmoil. A number of states have already granted women the right to vote, and, although a recent vote again repudiated their hopes for suffrage, the fact that the presidential election is upcoming and women from other states have equal rights has kept the campaign going strong. Livie is interested in the efforts, but doesn’t necessarily consider herself to be a full-blown suffragist.

That all changes when her father, after hearing how easily she was hypnotized at a local show, hires the hypnotist to transform her into the perfect domestic woman. But the hypnotist slightly alters her father’s request; instead of giving Livie the ability to see the world as her father and anti-suffragists think it should be, he tells her to see the world as it truly is. Now Livie has the ability to see the good and evil in people, and to see how the lack of women’s rights is causing her fellow females to literally fade away. Far from turning Livie into a model woman, her father’s wishes make Livie a rebel who is no longer content to allow things to remain the way they’ve always been.

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Review: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, #1

Published: 2014, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Source: Purchased

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Margot would say she belongs to herself. Kitty would say she belongs to no one. And I guess I would say I belong to my sisters and my dad, but that won’t always be true. To belong to someone—I didn’t know it, but now that I think about, it seems like that’s all I’ve ever wanted. To really be somebody’s, and to have them be mine.

Lara Jean’s family is at a good place. But nothing good lasts forever, and Lara Jean is dreading the day her older sister Margot goes off to college in Scotland. Margot, who has held their family together ever since their mother died back when they were little. Margot, who has taken care of Lara Jean, their younger sister Kitty, and their father for so many years now. Lara Jean knows that it’s now her turn to take charge, but she’s not looking forward to her sister and best friend leaving her.

And, to make matters even worse, Lara Jean discovers that somehow the letters she’s written to her crushes over the years have actually been sent out. Those secret crushes? Not so secret anymore. Her most unfortunate crush was the one that Lara Jean harbored (and perhaps still harbors) for Margot’s now ex-boyfriend Josh. To save herself from further humiliation, Lara Jean makes a deal with another one of her letter recipients, Peter K. “Dating” Peter K. is the perfect plan: Josh will think Lara Jean’s truly over him, and Peter K.’s ex-girlfriend Genevieve will get so jealous she’ll come crawling back into Peter’s arms.

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Review: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Published: 2006, Vintage (Originally 2005)

Genre: Adult Literary Fiction, Science Fiction

Source: Library

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It had never occurred to me that our lives, which had been so closely interwoven, could unravel with such speed. If I’d known, maybe I’d have kept tighter hold of them, and not let unseen tides pull us apart.

Kathy H. is proud to admit that she’s a really good carer. So good, in fact, that she’s been doing the job for over eleven years now, long after her friends and peers have moved on to the next stages of their lives. But being reunited with her childhood friend Ruth has helped Kathy to reminisce about their past, back from when they were classmates at the idyllic and isolated private school, Hailsham, in an alternate 1970s England. There the students were given a solid education and rewarded for their creativity, yet kept separate from the rest of the world.

As Kathy’s memories progress through time and become intertwined with her current relationships with Ruth and their friend Tommy, she slowly reveals the truths about their education, their lives, and their futures.

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Series Review: The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu

Opening Thoughts

Lu’s debut trilogy hadn’t really been on my radar until two coworkers decided to establish an impromptu readalong. Because when do I ever say no to an additional chance to read and discuss books?

I wasn’t overly impressed with Legend and would have been content to end reading the trilogy there, but shortly thereafter I had the opportunity to borrow the remaining two books and took it. And I’m actually glad I did so. Overall, the story got better as the series progressed.

Although I will try to focus here on my general thoughts of this series, this review will contain some spoilers for Legend. I will try to limit spoilers for Prodigy and Champion.

Legend by Marie Lu

Series: Legend, #1

Published: 2011, Penguin

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian

Source: Library

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June Iparis has achieved the practically-impossible score of 1500 out of 1500 on the government-mandated Trial each citizen must take at the age of 10. She’s considered to be a prodigy and the Republic of America’s most valuable asset.

Day received a failing score on his Trial, which means that his “inferior” genes are not wanted by the Republic as it continues to wage war against the Colonies, another governmental system developed in the ruined wasteland that once was the United States of America. Day was experimented on and then was supposed to be sent to a “work camp” (in actuality a death camp), but he escaped and has been actively working to thwart the Republic ever since.

The Republic, which has worked so hard to turn June into a model soldier and place Day behind bars, is ultimately responsible for bringing the two of them together. And once together, they discover that neither is able to return to his/her old life ever again.

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Review: The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman

Published: 2014, Delacorte Press

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Source: Purchased

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No, it was best not to look straight at the truth of the thing. Only sometimes, truth has ways of revealing itself.

The Glass Casket is essentially a work of Gothic fiction, replete with a naive young heroine, a doomed romance, deaths that hint at the supernatural, and an isolated provincial town. Well, a work of Gothic fiction that traverses far past the line of being probably supernatural, instead becoming undeniably supernatural.

Rowan Rose and her scholarly father live in the quiet village of Nag’s Head. Nag’s Head is a town isolated from the rest of the kingdom, whose people rely on superstitions and centuries-old beliefs to drive their actions. Practical, scientifically-minded Rowan and her father don’t quite fit in with their neighbors, but it is where they call home.

Being in Nag’s Head has helped them lead safe, if uneventful, lives since the death of Rowan’s mother shortly after Rowan was born. But then changes start happening to their village - changes that threaten their underlying sense of safety, of certainty. First, five royal soldiers journey past Nag’s Head into the mountainous, wintery forest and are found dead shortly thereafter. Then, a man, a woman, and a girl Rowan’s age move into the village, claiming to be Rowan’s relatives. Because the deaths of five of its soldiers cannot go unnoticed, the crown sends the queen’s brother, along with his young ward, to aid the town in some investigation into the incident. With the influx of new people, a loss of the village’s anonymity, and an unspoken terror that comes ever closer, Rowan knows that things can never be the same.

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Review: Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Series: Shattered Sea, #1

Published: 2014, Del Rey

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

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A wise minister weighs the greater good, Mother Gundring always said, and finds the lesser evil. Surely a wise king could only do the same?

In a world where a leader’s worth seems to be determined by his fighting skills, Prince Yarvi of Gettland had the misfortune of being born with a crippled hand. Due to a considerable degree of mental acuity and the fact that he’s only the second son, Yarvi has found a way out of the constant pain and harassment of being seen as half a man; instead, he’s been training for years to become a minister, an advisor for the people.

All is as it should be until shortly before Yarvi is poised to take the test to become a minister, when he learns that his father and brother have been murdered in one fell swoop, effectively leaving him as King Yarvi. It’s a position that no one wants for him, least of all Yarvi himself. Determined to make the best of his situation, Yarvi pledges to avenge his father and brother. The act of vengeance, however, is no simple task, and soon Yarvi finds himself far away from home, with seemingly insurmountable obstacles barring his path.

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Review: Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog, #1

Published: 2014, Balzer + Bray

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction

Source: Library

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A dull buzzing sounds in her ears. If she and her people were mistaken about the Jews, then they were mistaken about everything. Without that screw, the entire machine would eventually break down. She felt a sob rise in her throat, and had to swallow it down. Uncle Dolf and Papa couldn’t be wrong, could they?

The past decade has been a pretty charmed one for Gretchen Müller. After witnessing first-hand the hunger, insecurity, and hopelessness that pervaded the German people following its defeat in World War I, Gretchen’s family started regaining hope through the efforts of the up-and-coming National Socialist Party, led by her father’s war comrade. Their loyalty to this new party came at a cost - her father’s life - but, ever since Gretchen’s father died in service to Adolf Hitler, the Müllers have been take care of and respected. Gretchen lovingly refers to Hitler as her uncle and is proud to support his causes.

Until suddenly she finds that she’s not. Her awakening starts with the sight of her brother and his friend brutally attacking a Jewish man simply for being present, and continues as she meets a young Jewish reporter and realizes that he isn’t all that different from her after all. Soon Gretchen realizes that all the truths she’s held dear are little more than a lie, and she’s determined to no longer contribute to the National Socialist Party’s cause. But deciding to rebel is one thing - actually rebelling is a whole other challenge.

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