The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, Book 1) Naomi Novik, 2020 Premise : El attends a school for magic-users. Only the school is probably trying to kill them, and it'll take more than dedication to learning to survive. Despite having enjoyed many of Novik's other books, I avoided this one for a few years. Anything where the opening pitch is "school of sorcerers" is getting some serious side-eye from me, and I figured it was YA-ish, and I find YA tedious or disappointing 90% of the time.  In this case, I ran across some more info about the protagonist on Tumblr that piqued my interest. El's name is really Galadriel because her mom is a hippie witch. She has a talent for dark and deadly magic so strong that it basically amounts to a curse. (As in, it's very difficult for her to, say, cast a spell to help a flower grow, but she would find it incredibly easy to poison an entire countryside.) She's trying to keep both these facts (her mom and her power) from be...

The Song of the Lioness Series Tamora Pierce, 1983-88 Premise: Four YA books about a young woman who disguises herself as a boy to become a knight. This is awkward, because these books were a staple of many of my contemporaries' childhoods. But not of mine.  I have read, and enjoyed, later books by Tamora Pierce, so I had this series on my shelf, snapped up some time ago at 0.50 cents a book. But I'd never read it. Until now.  These books are not, largely, bad books. They are fine, even good books burdened with bad/painful/awkward/dated parts.  My quick reactions: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983) This is fun. Some of the character introductions are clunky or weird, but it's easy to overlook. The characters are mostly fun, the structure of the story works. The gender-bending is fairly well done, although there's a bit much of "she'll always be a girl" for today's audience. It's fine if she's a girl despite pretending for specific reasons to be...

Shatter the Sky Rebecca Kim Wells, 2019 Premise: Maren always planned to travel the world with Kaia once they came of age, even though she would have been happy just living in their small village forever. But when Kaia is taken away, Maren will risk everything to go after her.  So... this isn't a bad book. I found the style compulsively readable.  It's just really, REALLY not for me. Or anyone looking for complex stories or characters. It's YA to the point of pain, for my taste.  Yes there's a twist at the end, sort of, but it's not really unexpected at all, and everything up until then is not even YA-caliber plot, it's middle-grade. The outside world the village elders teach Maren is evil? To my honest surprise, it's... evil, except for her super-special new friend. Huh. Everything is what it says on the tin. Characters who seem trustworthy are trustworthy. Characters who seem evil are evil. Hurting dragons is wrong, man! Because... it seems like it should ...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling, 2000 Hugo Winner - 2001 Premise: ... It's Harry Potter. Throughout this project to read all the Hugo-winning novels ( moving into its ninth year !) I have tried to read and review these books with care. I try to explain when I hit a book that I don't like but I can understand its importance. I try to bear in mind the books' historical and cultural context; in fact, understanding each book's context is a lot of the pleasure in this quest to read them all. At the same time, I try to take each book as a unique work of literature and evaluate what I see as its merits and flaws for today's reader. I was stumped by this book. Harry Potter is too ubiquitous. I know too much about the characters, the world, fan commentary, meta analysis, etc. to be able to read it with anything resembling an open mind. And I don't even seek out Harry Potter content. I just hang out on the geeky parts of the internet. Alth...

Graceling Kristin Cashore, 2008 Premise: Some people are born with a special skill; they are talented beyond normal mortals. This one is a singer, this one a dancer, this one can read minds. Katsa is a killer. I came at this book from the reverse direction from many readers because I already read and loved Jane, Unlimited , a much more recent book by the same author. (I remember hearing some dissatisfaction that the books were so different from fans of this series.) I knew this book had awards and lots of fans. I wasn’t looking for anything beyond an entertaining and relatively easy read, and I got that and a little more. I’ve been reluctant to read YA again recently after being burned a few times, but this was quite good. Katsa is a great character, both vulnerable and strong, thoughtful and determined. She almost unconsciously finds ways to care about people despite her own suffering and difficulties. The romance is well written and any sappiness is fully justified. The wo...

Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children, Book 3) Seanan McGuire, 2018 Premise: Cora is a new student at the Home for Wayward Children - the school and refuge for those young souls who traveled to other worlds and came back to Earth despite it no longer being their home. Sequel to Every Heart a Doorway . When is novella three a sequel to novella one? When novella two is a prequel. Beneath the Sugar Sky picks up plot threads from the first novella with mixed results, in my opinion. I still love the characters and the world(s), but I found the pace of this one much less compelling. It meanders, introducing characters and ideas and then moving on, almost a travelogue with a goal more than a quest. Cora is a great character, but she is underserved by the plot hinging so directly on previous events that she wasn't present for. It makes her feel like an extra in a story told largely from her perspective. Again, I still really enjoyed this read, but I wasn't nearly as blown...

The Blue Sword Robin McKinley, 1982 Premise: Angharad “Harry” Crewe lives with relatives on the edge of the kingdom after her father’s death. She is drawn to the rugged frontier land, but doesn’t think much of the tribes who live outside her civilization until she is chosen by their leader’s second sight. It’s so funny to read this book for this first time now. I know this (and the prequel, The Hero and the Crown ) were seminal fantasy reads for so many people I know. YA before YA was a genre, these books feature brave female protagonists who stand against great evil. This one also features an abduction that turns into a romance. It’s about as well-handled as the trope can be - the guy is drawn to her because of his innate magic and she is the destined recipient of a magical artifact (the blue sword of the title). Plus they gain each other’s respect as warriors before they admit any romantic attraction. Still, it bugged me a bit. It skews toward the fairy tale end of the...

All American Boys Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds, 2015 Premise: Rashad and Quinn live in the same town and go to the same school, but they don't know each other. Then one is beaten by a police officer and the other sees it happen. The moral of this book is on the nose, and it wears that fact openly. It's intended for a YA audience and comfortable with that. Happily, the style was strong enough to carry me through the first half, and the ending works very well. It's presented in alternating chapters between the two boys' perspectives. Both boys felt concrete and realistic to me in their various obsessions, casual macho posturing, impatience with parents, etc. Rashad is a good student who had never been in trouble, so it's easy for the reader to see that he's the victim of profiling. Quinn's place in the story is the white kid who learns racism is not only real, it's affecting his community. However, although some of the authors' early...

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, Book 1) Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, 2015 Read Harder 2018 Challenge: The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle-grade series Premise: When a remote mining colony is attacked, teenagers Kady and Ezra are among those picked up by a rescue ship. Before they can reach a civilized part of the galaxy, though, they'll have to not only outrun their pursuers but also deal with whatever is causing problems with the warship's AI. I really wanted to like this book. It's so pretty! The gimmick is that the book is a dossier put together after the fact, chronicling an "incident." Said incident involves an attack on a remote mining facility by a rival corporation. The documents follow the specific experiences of Kady and Ezra from their initial interviews after the attack to psychological assessments to their communications with each other and with others onboard their respective ships, and the story is expanded with other perspe...

Jane, Unlimited Kristin Cashore, 2017 Premise: Jane is grieving the loss of her Aunt Magnolia, the woman who raised her. She dropped out of college and doesn't know what to do with her life. Maybe that's why she accepts when an acquaintance invites her to stay at her family's creepy mansion. But eventually she'll have to make a choice. Wow. This was a very unique book, and very well-written, and intriguing. I didn't love all of it, but I did find it extraordinary and striking. I have to talk about the plot in order to explain. The first part of the book is lovely. It's dreamlike. Jane stumbles around the big strange house observing the strange behavior of its various inhabitants. There is clearly something going on. People sneaking around in the dead of night, oblique references and whispers in the walls, none of the family members or friends seem to like each other that much, a dog that won't leave her alone but doesn't like anyone else. ...

Of Fire and Stars Audrey Coulthurst, 2016 Premise: Princess Denna has always been preparing for her arranged marriage to the prince of the neighboring kingdom. She was reconciled to a boring life and relationship, until she met her fiancé’s sister. I intended to read a little of this book as a palate cleanser when I didn’t feel like anything serious, but I ended up finishing it quickly - it was difficult to put down. It’s a fluffy and delightful fantasy romance-adventure. Denna and Mare (both shortened forms of long flowery names) are enjoyable protagonists, and their growing affection toward each other, first as friendship, then as more, is compelling. On the other hand, I found characters' behavior and the politics of the fantasy kingdoms (and the failures of various politicians which justified the main characters’ actions) too predictable in most cases. It’s not bad, it’s just a little by the numbers. Modern numbers, that is. It runs against plenty of older fantas...

Lost Stars (Star Wars, Journey to the Force Awakens) Claudia Gray, 2015 Premise: Thane and Ciena grow up together, even though their families couldn't be more different and still be from the same planet. When they join the Imperial Academy, everything will change. I wanted to love this book. I heard nothing but praise for it. "It's a YA in Star Wars; it's great!" Unfortunately, for me, the combination of YA romance and Star Wars novel ended up accentuating the worst of each. To be fair, I quite liked the beginning, which followed the two characters growing up on a planet that is annexed by the Empire during their childhood. The way they didn't understand galactic politics as children felt realistic. They both work hard to enroll in the Imperial training school to get to fly starships. As the characters got a little older and started to fall for each other it was a little melodramatic but not bad. Then, however, the plot started to take turns ...

If I Was Your Girl Meredith Russo, 2016 Premise: Amanda is starting a new school year in a new town. She can't live with her mom safely anymore, not around kids who knew her before. She only hopes that she'll be able to get through high school without her new friends finding out her secret. This novel got a lot of love last year, and it deserves it. Amanda's story is both a touching, puppy-love, YA romance and a story of depression, attempted self-harm and assault, as well as about the love of both family and found family. It's compelling and an easy read. I think I flew through it in under a day. Amanda's pain and paranoia, followed by hope and tentative trust only to have the rug cruelly pulled out from under her -- it's easy to be swept up in this tale. The supporting characters are a wide range of small-town types, very few of whom are who they first appear to be. Everyone has secrets, but not everyone is in danger when their secrets are told...

Every Heart a Doorway Seanan McGuire, 2016 Premise: Nancy found the place she belonged. The place she loved more than anything. But she isn’t there anymore, and her parents have sent her to this school, because they don’t believe her when she tells them where she’s been. This fantasy-horror novella is lovely, both heartbreaking and uplifting. The story is about outsiders and belonging, about ideas of good and bad, about compassion and fanaticism. All in under 200 pages. Eleanor West runs a school for children who have returned from journeying in other realms. These latter-day kin to Alice and Dorothy don’t want to adjust to “real” life, they want to go back to the fairylands and underworlds. Each character is intriguing; they each have a reason they went traveling and were changed by their experiences. The ideas and abilities that followed them back to Earth are only part of what makes them different. Nancy can go still as a statue and subsist on little food due to her tra...

Lumberjanes: Volume Three: A Terrible Plan Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Carolyn Nowak, Maarta Laiho, et. al., 2016 Premise: Follows Friendship to the Max . Collects Lumberjanes #9-12. The major mystery of the summer is solved, so the girls get down to the real business of camp: telling scary stories, earning merit badges, and...getting trapped in alternate dimensions? This volume is plenty of fun, although it feels like a breather after the climax of issue #8. Regular series artist Brooke Allen must have had other projects, as 10-12 are drawn by a new team, and 9 has a whole passel of guest artists. Issue 9 finds the girls telling scary stories. Each story is done in a different style, and both the story and the style each say something about the teller. I think the art for the framing panels is a smidge feminine for Lumberjanes, but this is a solid, enjoyable issue. Issues 10-12 follow two plots over the course of one day: Jo, April and Ripley try to earn a bunch...

Lumberjanes: Volume Two: Friendship to the Max Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen, 2015 Challenge Book! Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2016 - Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years Premise: Follows Beware the Kitten Holy . Collects Lumberjanes #5-8. Counselor Jen and the girls of the Roanoke cabin are still trying to figure out why supernatural things keep happening around them. But Jo is hiding the artifact she found, and another camper is taking an interest in them… Dinosaurs! Mythical Beings in Disguise! Capture the Flag! It’s all just part of the camp experience. This volume completes the initial plot arc, and while I can’t say that I expected the directions that the plot went in, I still very much enjoyed it. The writing and art tighten a little for these issues, and the great blend of humor, pathos, and action from the first volume continues. I laughed out loud fairly often. Really, it’s all about teamwork and friendship. Jo a...

Penryn & the End of Days (Angelfall, World After, End of Days) Susan Ee, 2012, 2013, 2015 Premise: Six weeks ago, the world ended. Or, at least, a series of catastrophes and an army of angels decimated the human race, which amounts to about the same thing. Penryn is 17. She only wants to keep her little sister safe, and her schizophrenic mom alive. When her family is separated, she will do anything to get them back. Even make a deal with an angel. For a series that, if you emphasize certain parts of the plot, falls squarely into many Paranormal YA tropes, this had some serious bite. The action was fast and furious, the story fascinating in its twists and turns. I'll say up front that there is a romance and I didn't hate it by the end, because it ended up tying into the plot in a really interesting way. If it had ended up being a romance for the sake of angst or for the sake of romance itself it might have driven me crazy, but I actually think all the relations...

Batgirl (Volume 1: The Batgirl of Burnside) Cameron Stewart, Babs Tarr, 2015 I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of review. Premise: Babs moves to a new neighborhood for a fresh start, a new look, and a new outlook. Reviewing this book is really hard. I think I'm too old for it. (For what it's worth, I am 33.) I like the art; I like the humor. In principle I like the lighter take and I liked aspects of the story. But for me, it's not my Batgirl, without quite being a brand new Batgirl. In this volume, they did a soft reboot. The character gets a new outfit, new friends, a new neighborhood to protect, and the protagonist has been called (both affectionately and not) "hipster Batgirl". She does live in a Brooklyn analogue, and is making dumb mistakes the way young people in their early twenties do ... although it bothers me a little that at the same time she's struggling with, not college, but her dissertati...

Wintergirls Laurie Halse Anderson, 2008 Premise: Lia has a problem. She thinks it's that her father and mother hate each other or that her stepmother is always on her case. Or that her best friend is dead. The way Lia looks at food and sees numbers, the way she gets around adults plans for her, that makes her strong, right? This isn't the type of book I generally read. If you'd told me that I would be swept away utterly by a book which portrays the mental state of someone suffering from anorexia, I might not have believed you. But this book is amazing. The style is evocative and appropriately chilling. Lia is completely sympathetic and her feelings are comprehensible, even while the reader despairs of her decisions. She lives in a world more and more unconnected from reality. And then she starts to see things. Maybe. Maybe not. In Cassie's words: “You’re not dead, but you’re not alive, either. You’re a wintergirl…” Lia eventually has to decide whether ...