Tag Archives: young adult

August 30, 2013 · 7:47 am

The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love

147866Title: The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love
Author: Rosie Rushton
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Although nothing to write home about, this modernization of Sense and Sensibility was a cute, fun read.

Like the book, this review is going to be a quick, easy read. The plot is almost exactly that of Sense and Sensibility, just a modernized version. My first reaction was disappointment that the author didn’t even try to copy Austen’s beautiful prose or understated humor. Once I got past that, I was better able to enjoy the book for what it was. Elinor and Marianne were both updated very nicely. Like the actions of Austen’s characters, the update wasn’t predictable but just felt right. Of course Elinor would be good at academics! Of course Marianne would act! I was also impressed by the way the update translated events with no modern equivalent. For instance, some of the social constraints on the original characters’ actions have no longer exist, but the author managed to come up with suitable substitutes. Continue reading →

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Tagged as , , , contemporary, , , , , , , ,

August 17, 2013 · 9:18 am

Bookends About Awaken

13061500Title: Awaken
Editor: Meg Cabot
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Series: Abandon|Underworld|Awaken
Review Summary: As usual, Meg Cabot has written a fun, light read about an admirable and unique protagonist.

Earlier in this Persephone/Hades myth based trilogy, John (Hades) and Peirce (Persephone) made a decision that has imbalanced the forces ruling the underworld. Having finally (mostly) worked out their relationship, Peirce is suddenly faced with the possibility of losing John because of this imbalance. As she tries to rescue him and restore balance to the underworld, she’ll have to take advantage of all the connections and cool powers that come with being the queen of the underworld. And it will be awesome. Continue reading →

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Filed under Fiction, Re-telling, Young Adult

Tagged as , , , female author, greek mythology, hades, Meg Cabot, , persephone, re-telling, ,

July 15, 2013 · 10:15 pm

Thorn – A Fairy Tale Re-telling

14059999Title: Thorn
Author: Intisar Khanani
Source: from author for review
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: This book was darker and more violent than I expected from the pretty cover, but I was pleasantly surprised when the main character turned out to be a strong heroine you could really root for.

As I mentioned in my previous review of a Goose Girl retelling, the basic gist of both this book and the original fairy tale is as follows. A princess is sent to marry a prince in a foreign land and on the journey, her maid uses some form of magic to take on the princess’s identity. Once they reach the foreign capital, the princess becomes a goose girl and must decide if and how she wants to regain her place as a princess.

Continue reading →

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Filed under Fiction, Re-telling

Tagged as , books book review, fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, fairy tale retellings, , Intisar Khanani, , , the goose girl, thorn, , , young adult fiction

July 14, 2013 · 9:48 pm

Bookends About The Goose Girl

179064Title: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Source: library
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: I really liked how true this book was to the style of a fairy tale and how well it fleshed out the original story.

I picked up this version of The Goose Girl planning on using it as an original to read before another re-telling. Further research suggests you’d need a children’s book (or the wikipedia page) to get the most original story, since the original is far too short for a book. The basic gist of both this book and the original fairy tale is as follows. A princess is sent to marry a prince in a foreign land and on the journey, her maid uses some form of magic to take on the princess’s identity. Once they reach the foreign capital, the princess becomes a goose girl and must decide if and how she wants to regain her place as a princess. Continue reading →

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Filed under Fiction, Re-telling, Young Adult

Tagged as , books book review, fairy tale, fairy tale retelling, fairy tale retellings, , middle grade, , , shannon hale, the goose girl, , , young adult fiction

June 3, 2013 · 12:00 am

Scapemaker

scapemaker

Title: Scapemaker
Author: Steve V Cypert
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review Summary: The plot was creative and interesting, but the writing was a somewhat stiff and the ending fell a little flat for me.

Scapemaker takes place in a world were some people, known as “Dreamscapers”, are born with the ability to enter a dream world in which monsters and myths are real. Although Matthew’s father teaches dreamscaping, Matthew is unaware of the existence of Dreamscapers until his father’s mysterious descent into a coma forces him to learn. He quickly finds that his father’s coma was caused by events in the dreamworld, events which have left a powerful talisman his father was guarding unprotected. Now Matthew must act as guardian and try to free his father before it’s too late. Continue reading →

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Tagged as , , , fantasy. book, middle grade, scapemaker, ,

May 12, 2013 · 7:02 am

Bookends About The Obsidian Mirror

Title: The Obsidian Mirror
Author: Catherine Fisher
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: A fun, light adventure story without a really great protagonist but which works because of the mysterious setting with potential for some great world building.

The many characters in The Obsidian Mirror are all drawn together by one thing – the mirror’s amazing ability to bend time and space, allowing the user to travel forward or backward in time. Jake desperately wants to find out what happened to his father, who he believes was murdered by the mysterious recluse currently in possession of the mirror. Others want to own the mirror to gain power, others to destroy it, and others for reasons yet undiscovered. Unfortunately, they can’t all get what they want… Continue reading →

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Tagged as , , , catherine fisher, , middle grade, sci fi, science fiction, time travel,

May 11, 2013 · 5:32 am

Bookends About After the Ending

Title: After the Ending
Author:  Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey Pogue
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: ★★★★★
Review Summary: By far one of the best fiction books I’ve read  this year! You’ll have to read the review for more, because there were far too many good things about it to fit here.

After a virus kills nearly everyone they know, best friends Dani and Zoe are stranded on either side of the country and working their way towards each other. They quickly discover that those not killed by the virus are developing side effects, from murderous rages to unbelievable new abilities. In order to survive the frightening new world, they’ll have to develop their own new abilities and learn to fight to survive. Continue reading →

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Tagged as , , , dystopian, , indie, post-apocalyptic, sci fi, science fiction, ,