Total read in March thus far: 16
Monday, March 9, 2020
Sunday, March 8, 2020
What am I reading today?
Total read in March thus far: 13
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Friday, March 6, 2020
Book review - Wicked as You Wish
Author: Rin Chupeco
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
Rating:
 |
| an impressive feat |
Summary (provided by publisher): Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left desolate and encased in ice when the evil Snow Queen waged war on the powerful country. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in…Arizona.
Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is in hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn’t even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them. Tala doesn’t mind—she has secrets of her own. Namely, that she’s a spellbreaker, someone who negates magic.
Then hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, and Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.
My opinion: The story of the Snow Queen has been increasingly explored in recent years, though is probably one of the more unique takes that I've read. It certainly includes an impressive number of classic tales into the world. Magic combining with technology along with racial and social issues. All of the magic has rules that must be followed; spells that exact costs with few exceptions (and those exceptions seem t o hint more of secrets to be revealed than of genuine rule breaking). There's a vast cast of characters, each with at least a small degree of complexity. It's almost too much, too big and complex. With curses and prophecies all over the place it's easy to lose track of the details. This is not a series to tackle when you're looking to relax, but rather when you have time to mull and absorb and consider.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Book review - Justice in a Bottle
Author: Pete Fanning
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
Loving Vs Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell
Rating:
 |
| should get a kid thinking |
Summary (provided by publisher): All thirteen-year old Nita Simmons has ever wanted is to be a journalist, but when she flubs a piece for her middle school newspaper, she becomes a laughingstock at school and risks losing her coveted membership to the Junior Journalists Club. Nita’s confidence is at an all-time low when Earl Melvin, her reclusive neighbor and the town’s most notorious criminal—picks that day to speak to her.
Mr. Melvin offers Nita a story—some old books he refers to as his memoirs. Nita can’t help but read the books, and what she finds is not violence but a tale of secret love and heartbreak in the Virginia back roads. Still dealing with her recent failure, Nita can’t believe that no one’s ever questioned such injustice in her own town. Sensing redemption, she dives into the research, getting to know the neighbor her mother warned her about.
My opinion: Middle grade fiction has been increasingly realistic regarding every day life during the Civil Rights Movement. While previously we'd seen books largely focused on lunch counter and bus protests, modern authors are looking more at other injustices especially regarding unjust laws that saw people imprisoned for years. Fanning explores marriage laws here, showing us all of the ways that lives were ruined by bad laws and narrow minds, some of which continued to be affected by public perception decades later. It's heavy, complex fare for a middle grade novel but Fanning handles it delicately. Not only is the vocabulary carefully selected for the target audience but the exploration doesn't go too deep. It's an introduction to historical (and by extension, current) inequalities in our justice system. The secondary elements of responsible journalism are worth discussing as well, as they may help young readers in understanding and evaluating the stories they read/hear. While the final scenes are a bit fantastic, it's overall a worthwhile read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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