Book Review: The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl

Premise: Alba has graduated from high school. Now it's her last summer with her friends, who are all moving away. But Alba doesn't want to go. She wants everything to stay the same. And then, the weirdos start showing up in her town claiming that the world is about to end and only this town will survive.

Title: The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
Author: Melissa Kiel
Length: 294 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content Appropriate For: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: unique, nerdy, slow

So, I'm definitely not the right audience for this book. But, I'm sure high school students everywhere will be happy to have a protagonist who is thoroughly confused, and possibly terrified, about what's next after high school. There are lots of things that I liked about Cinnamon Girl, but all that "What am I doing with my life?" got really old for me.

Things I Liked - 
* It's really really Australian. They have Christmas in the summer! And there was lots of great Aussie slang. It totally captured regular life in small-town Australia.... not that I've ever been there, but it just felt accurate.
* Alba is a Real Girl. She isn't some skinny-mini, fashionista. Alba has her own interests and personal style. She's a real girl. Yay for real girls!
* Alba is a nerd. She's into comics and  drawing and baking. Alba is smart, and her dialogue is witty and full of comic book references.
* The last 50 pages were intense. They kind of snuck up on me. I was surprised at how invested I had become in these characters.

Things I Disliked -
* It's normal Realistic Fiction. From the cover and title, I was expecting more elements of fantasy or sci-fi. But, no.
* The build-up was slow and tedious. All that character development and internal conflict just about killed me. Can we get some plot in the first half please?!
* So much angst! I'm definitely not the target audience!

3.5 stars

Book Review: Breakthrough

Premise: The story of how heart surgery was invented by a team of very intelligent, but overlooked surgeons. 

Title: Breakthrough!
Author: Jim Murphy
Length: 144 pages
Genre: Nonfiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content appropriate for: Grades 7-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: interesting, lacking, thought-provoking

Breakthrough! explores the invention of heart surgery by three scientists. I loved that the text really demonstrated how science is collaborative and how failure and creative problem solving are critical to the process. Of course, it was also lovely that one of the three scientists was a woman, and one was African American. Murphy took a  wonderfully explicit approach the issues of discrimination faced by these scientists.

Compared with other books by Murphy, though, Breakthrough! lacked some depth. It is extremely narrowly focused, and could have benefited from fleshing out more of the people and setting. This story of discrimination, tenacity, risk-taking, and scientific exploration didn't quite reach it's potential for captivating narrative.

This book is probably best suited for older students, as it uses medical and anatomical terminology with little explanation.

Book Review: These Shallow Graves

Title: These Shallow Graves

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Length: 496 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Content Appropriate for: Grades 9-12

Three adjectives that describe this book: dark, complex, believable

Murder mystery set in 1890s New York. Fun to read with a very conflicted main character who helped this historical setting come alive. Even though I had the murderer pegged early on, it was still fun to figure out how all the pieces fit together. Additionally, I enjoyed the way Donnelly crafted the setting and how she portrayed several different classes and how they interact with one another. Overall, a bit slow at the start, but with intriguing characters/setting.

3.5 stars

Book Review: Lair of Dreams

Premise: Diviner and object-reader, Evie O'Neill, is now a radio-superstar and media darling. As she and her friends struggle to move on with their lives after successfully stopping The Pentacle Killer, another mystery terrifies the city. People have gone missing. Others have fallen asleep, won't wake up, and eventually die. The Diviners must work together to solve the mystery from within the dream world.

Title: Lair of Dreams
Author: Libba Bray
Length: 624 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 of The Diviners trilogy
Content appropriate for: Grades 9-12
Format: eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: dark, gritty, complex

I gave book one in this trilogy, The Diviners, an awesome 4.5 stars. I loved the way Libba Bray wove a complex, chilling tale while setting it solidly in 1920s New York City. The dialect, dancing, and speakeasies were a stellar backdrop. What kept me so captivated was the frequent chapters that followed particular murder victims. The danger and horror of it was so palpable, but Libba Bray never made it campy.

Lair of Dreams was almost as good as the first one. The premise and mystery were really creepy. I loved the idea of the dream world, and traveling there with Henry was really captivating. But the chilling murder scenes were less frequent, and somehow less scary. Sadly, the opening third dragged for me.

This one was a bit more character-driven than The Diviners. Each character got a lot more depth, especially Henry and Sam. I was surprised to find myself really drawn to both of those characters. Well done, Libba Bray! I found myself equally turned off by Evie, and I'm pretty sure Libba Bray did that on purpose. She did not handle fame well, at all! She got so self-centered and her drunkenness was irritating. 

A massive conspiracy-theory, cover-up, paranormal show-down is set for Book 3 and I'm ready! I can't  wait to see how she wraps it up and I'm holding out hope that Evie gets to redeem herself.

4 stars

Sunbolt Review: Just Read it Now!

Premise: Orphaned at a young age, Hitomi has learned to hide her magical aptitude. Most of all, she must conceal her role in the Shadow League, an underground movement working to undermine the powerful and corrupt mage, Blackflame. When Hitomi finds herself captured, it will take everything she can summon to escape with her life. ~ From Goodreads

Title and Author: Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani
Length: 142 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1
Content appropriate for: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: unexpected, intriguing, intense

I have a major thing for world-building. I love to read Brandon Sanderson and Hugh Howey precisely because they invent super creative worlds and develop them completely with carefully placed details that create the world without boring exposition. Sunbolt does this too. But the amazing thing about it is that the author richly developed this world and these characters in under 150 pages. That is some seriously talented writing!

And the plot? Sunbolt is chock full of fight scenes, creative magic, strong women, and scary nonhuman villains. The plot also twists and turns, so that at first it seems like a political intrigue book and then a vampire story and finally a magic powers story. I need book 2 now!

Book Review: Black Dove White Raven

Premise:  Em and Teo are the children of two female American stunt pilots, and they're sort of brother and sister now that Teo's mother has died in a plane crash. When they move to Ethiopia expecting a peaceful life free of racial discrimination, they find themselves in the midst of a war with Italy.

Title: Black Dove White Raven
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content Appropriate For: Grades 7-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: interesting, slow, disappointing

I loved Elizabeth Wein's previous books, Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire, but this one lacked the emotional heft and believability of those novels.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book. I learned so much about a time and place that I had never really thought about before, Ethiopia in the 1930s. The League of Nations politics were fascinating! And the Ethiopian landscape and people were lovingly and accurately depicted since Wein has traveled there several times.

However, this book didn't hold my interest like Wein's previous works and I truly considered abandoning it. I probably would have if I hadn't read and loved Code Name Verity, which taught me to be patient with Elizabeth Wein because all is not as it seems.

The problems come down to three areas:

1. Pacing - The first half (or maybe 3/4) was dreadfully slow. Almost no plot happened for huge sections of text.

2. Characters - I didn't connect well to the main characters. Em was awfully self-centered. She complained and bragged and generally annoyed me. On the other hand, Teo's quiet self-consciousness irritated me. And I kept wondering how he felt being in a white family and how he managed to skip right past grieving for his mother and accept Rhoda as "Momma." speaking of which, why wasn't this book about Rhoda and Delia? They were fascinating!

* Format - Like Wein's other books, this one is told through letters and journal entries. She also added in school essays and some character-written fiction. Unlike her previous novels, this format didn't work very well. My initial problem was that the character voices sounded too much alike. As I read on I became frustrated with how the writing was way too advanced to be believably written by young kids with little education.

Overall, I'm glad I finished this book because the historical setting was fascinating and completely new to me, but it did not live up to my expectations based on Wein's previous works.

Book Review: Shadow Scale

Premise: Seraphina's secret half-dragon parentage is out and now the kingdom of Goredd has found itself in the middle of a dragon civil war. She must travel to neighboring kingdoms in search of the other half-dragons, for they share a connection that might be used to fight the dragons more successfully.

Title: Shadow Scale
Author: Rachel Hartman
Length: 608 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Series or Stand Alone: Book 2 following Seraphina
Content appropriate for: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Random House Children's via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: complex, gripping, twisty

Oh man! So much goodness here. This sequel is certainly worthy of its predecessor. Rachel Hartman had her own big shoes to fill, and she filled them marvelously. Where Seraphina was largely character-driven, Shadow Scale is largely plot-driven. And that plot? It was deliciously complex, with the reader never really sure who could be trusted.

Book 1: Seraphina

As a huge fan of world-building, I love how Rachel Hartman showed us more of Seraphina's world. We travel to all the different kingdoms, meeting people of various cultures. Each culture has a slightly different take on both dragons and religion, so it was really interesting to experience that spectrum. Rachel Hartman has clearly invested a lot of creative energy in developing this world, its foods, customs, clothing, geography, politics, and religion.

Another really cool element is that we spend a lot more time with dragons in this book. The first book really focused on Seraphina, so we didn't get to know many dragons. In this one, though, not only do we spend more time with dragons, but we also get to experience a Quigutl society. It was absolutely fascinating. Plus, we learn a lot more about the powers of half-dragons. It turns out, that they all have some sort of ability and Seraphina's mind garden is key to the whole thing.

This book totally met my needs for political intrigue. The characters are constantly scheming and plotting. The humans and dragons are split into several camps, some working together, some fighting one another, and others manipulating each other. I loved how Seraphina was constantly circling her nemesis in this one, they were like wrestlers at the start of a match, sizing each other up.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to fans of Seraphina. And if you haven't read book 1 - do it now!

4.5 stars

Classics Review: Maniac Magee

Premise: Jeffrey Lionel Magee, called Maniac, is on his own in a town that's divided. Along the way, Maniacs gain epic status as a master knot-untangler, baseball hitter, and football catcher. He also discovers caring families of all shapes and colors.

Title: Maniac Magee
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Length: 184 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content appropriate for: Grades 4-7
Format: Audiobook narrated by S. Epatha Merkerson

Three adjectives that describe this book: complex, fun, memorable

I read this book as part of the Classics Club challenge to read 50 classics books in 5 years. My list is comprised entirely of children's books.

Even though Maniac Magee is a school classic, required reading in 4th and 5th grades, I had not read it until now. I chose to read Maniac Magee as an audiobook, and S. Epatha Merkerson's narration was exceptional.

Much of the novel was written as a tall tale. For instance, at one point he faces a pitcher who has struck out every single batter. Yet Maniac hits the first pitch, and continues to hit every single one afterward - even when the pitcher hurls a frog instead of a baseball.

This narrative style makes the story fun, but it also raises the complexity of the text. When my 5th grade students discuss Maniac Magee, it's clear that they see these events as actual, rather than exaggerated. I wish Spinelli had made the tall tale aspect more explicit.

As the story progresses, some great things emerge. Maniac spends time with wonderful families, and some that are struggling. I love that Jerry Spinelli explored both ends of this spectrum.

Some other things I loved:
* Explicit discussion of racial issues
* Both positive and negative figures that are both black and white
* A fascinating father-figure who is homeless
* Learning is highly valued both in and out of school

Overall, I can see why Maniac Magee is loved by teachers everywhere. Many students love it too, but others find it lacking in action.

4.5 stars

Book Review: Airman by Eoin Colfer

Premise: Conor Broekhart, a boy obsessed with flight. He dreams of designing a flying machine and taking to the skies himself. But when Conor witnesses a murder, he is imprisoned by the murderer to keep him silent. In prison, Conor faces brutal conditions, but survives with a relentless focus on escape and revenge.

Title: Airman
Author: Eoin Colfer
Length: 424 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content appropriate for: Grades 6-12
Format: Audiobook from the library

Three adjectives that describe this book: action-packed, intriguing, exciting

Eoin Colfer does outstanding historical fiction in this thrilling adventure. Not only was Airman fast-paced and thoroughly gripping, but it was set in a fascinating time and place. Set on the Saltee islands off the coast of Ireland in the late 1880s, Airman is complete and complex with whole and believable characters. The time and place are impeccably developed, with careful and subtle world-building - no annoying info dumping here.


I loved how the story was divided into 3 equally-interesting acts:
* Conor's life, sword fighting, scheming, murder
* Prison, bad guys, scheming, escape
* Flying, adventure, revenge

The inclusion of flight-science was seamless and terrifically interesting. We follow the characters as they theorize, design, build, and test various gliders and planes. So cool!

I wish I had older students so that I could recommend Airman to them, but instead I'll settle for recommending it here.

Book Review: Code Name Verity

Premise: A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a shot at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun. When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. (from Goodreads)

Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Length: 447 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 with a companion
Content appropriate for: Grades 7-12
Format: Audiobook (free download via Bolinda Publishing and the summer YA program from SYNC)

Three adjectives that describe this book: gripping, memorable, complex

This is the story of two British women during World War 2, one a spy and the other a pilot. I read this as an auidiobook and MAN that is the best format for this one. The publishers chose to use two readers since Part One is narrated by one character who is Scottish, and Part Two by another who is English. The women (Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell) who read this book were simply incredible. The emotion in their voices added so much color to the story, especially since it's not very action-packed. They also used an array of authentic accents and even sang some sections.

Code Name Verity is a powerful story. It starts with the premise that one character has been captured by the Gestapo, and then tells her story up to that point. How did she get captured? How did she end up in the war at all? Interspersed with this narrative we hear about the treatment of the prisoners, how she and others are being tortured. But the author also humanizes the Nazi agents, as we get a glimpse into their inner struggles with their jobs and who they were before being drafted.

My favorite thing is that the second part of the book sheds completely new light on the first half. I'm planning to listen to it again with all this new information/perspective in mind. Sweet!

I enjoyed Code Name Verity. If you can get the audiobook, that's the way to go!

Classics Review: A Wrinkle in Time

Premise: The Murry children haven't seen their father, a physist, in years. Then Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, along with their friend Calvin, meet a strange old woman named Mrs. Who. Soon they are swept up in an adventure across time and space to save their father, and also the entire world, from a terrible evil.

Title: A Wrinkle in Time
Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Length: 241 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 in the Time Quintet
Content appropriate for: Grades 6-12
Format: Audiobook from the digital public library

Three adjectives that describe this book: complex, captivating, nerdy

This science fiction classic was really cool. The good versus evil theme is explored across the universe, the alien planets are interesting, and the protagonists are complete and well developed. Charles Wallace made a brilliant 5 year old! I also appreciated the terrifying mind control employed by the book's antagonist. Once the group gets to the planet of Camazotz things get very very creepy - like Pleasantville, but way worse.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator (Hope Davis) did a terrific job. The voices of the Mrs. Ws were especially great.

I was a little weirded out by the random God references, though. They were forced and overly preachy. Hence the 4 stars instead of 5.

This review is part of my Classics Club challenge. It also qualifies for the TBR Pile Challenge, Audiobook Challenge, and the I Love Library Books Challenge.

Book Review: Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis

Premise: Nolan longs for a life uninterrupted. Every time he blinks, he's yanked from his Arizona town into Amara's mind, a world away, which makes even simple things like hobbies and homework impossible. He's spent years as a powerless observer of Amara's life. Amara, a servant tasked with protecting a cursed princess, has no idea he's there until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she's furious.

Title: Otherbound
Author: Corinne Duyvis
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content Appropriate For: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Amulet Books via NetGalley
Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Three adjectives that describe this book: unique, intriguing, dangerous

I was intrigued by Otherbound. I love reading the worlds that authors create, and in this book Corinne Duyvis had to create two vastly different worlds. I was eager to see how she would manage the switching back and forth between worlds, and if it would be confusing as the reader. The short answer is that the switching between worlds was smooth and easy to follow, but the world development had a few holes.

Book Review: V is for Villain

Premise: Brad's famous brother, Blake, is a superhero, but Brad doesn't have any awesome powers like strength or flight. Brad's only power is that he's really smart. Someday, he'd like those awesome powers to appear - then he can destroy villains like his father and brother. But Brad's newest friends have different ideas about who the real heroes are. And Brad might not be as under-powered as he thinks.

Title: V is for Villain
Author: Peter Moore
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone (as of now)
Content appropriate for: Grades 8-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Disney-Hyperion via Netgalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: action-packed, easy-to-read, gritty

V is for Villain is a fast-paced superhero novel. It has many tropes of the genre, so that makes it fairly predictable, especially in the beginning when Brad is feeling terrible about himself and his lack of appropriate powers. I enjoyed how V is for Villain delved into how these superheroes came to be. Much like the X-Men, there's quite a lot of talk about genetics, DNA, and computer programs.

However, one thing sets this book apart from others like it: The protagonist is actually a bit of an anti-hero.

Peter Moore does a terrific job of transitioning the reader toward a stance that almost takes pity on the villains, and sees arrogance in the heroes. As Brad begins to ally himself with "the enemy," we're not so sure that's the wrong decision. Moore really embraces fuzzy morals, and that makes V is for Villain quite intriguing.

The thing that brings this book down for me, other than some of the cliche teen elements, is that the world of the book was pretty underdeveloped. Since it was told from inside the elite world of superheroes, a lot of explanation was missing. For instance, it wasn't really clear how the Heroes interact with "Regulars."

3.5 stars

Review: We Were Liars

Premise: Four teens, part of a wealthy American family, spend every summer on the family's own island. They are the best of friends. Then, the summer when they are 15, something happens. Cadence isn't sure what it was... but she was discovered half-naked in the ocean with no memory of the event. Two years later she hasn't heard from her cousins and she's freaking out. Now she is dedicated to figuring out what happened.

Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Length: 240 pages
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Content Appropriate For: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Random House Children's via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: mysterious, intriguing, strange

This book is definitely getting a lot of buzz right now. And this might be a case where the buzz actually hurts the book. The author makes it clear right up front that there is a big twist at the end... and the buzz is confirming that.

The problem with that tactic is that the reader is on the look-out for the twist from the very beginning. You spend the first three-fourths waiting for it and feeling frustrated that it isn't there yet. And when it comes, it might not be quite as effective because all you can think is, "Oh! That's the twist."

But the twist really did surprise me. I knew it was coming, but I was still surprised. So I guess that's something. When I finished We Were Liars I was thinking, "5 stars!" The ending packs a powerful punch.

But then I remembered the choppy writing style. 4 stars?
And that only the protagonist was developed beyond simple caricatures. 3.5 stars?
And that the first three-fourths was so slow.... 3 stars?

So let's try some pros and cons -

Book Review: Scan by Sarah Fine

Premise: Tate's father is an inventor of weapons and tech gadgets. When Tate takes one of his father's strange devices to school, a deadly battle for the scanner begins. Both sides have nefarious intentions, both are prepared to kill. One side is human. The other side is aliens... who look like humans.

Title: Scan
Authors: Sarah E. Fine and Walter Jury
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Series or Stand Alone: Book 1 of a new series
Content appropriate for: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Penguin Young Readers via NetGalley

Three adjectives that describe this book: fast-paced, gritty, intense

This is a seriously action-packed YA alien thriller. Scan focuses on a device that reveals who among us is human and who is alien. The story is complicated by a romance between the protagonist (a human) and his hot girlfriend (an alien). Both characters hold their own with explosives, traps, and fight scenes.

Scan is populated by a great many chase scenes, gun fights, and explosions, alongside awkward teen romance, no-one-understands-me angst, and overly convenient MacGyver skills. Trapped in Walmart with a team of murderous aliens after you? No worries - we teenagers can make some explosives in just 5 minutes. And they will work perfectly.

You might be wondering - Who are these aliens? How did the human families find out about them and keep their blood "pure?" Why do the aliens look just like humans? Even though I have finished the book, I'm still wondering all of these things, too. In short, the action was plenty actiony, but the world was very very flat.

This action-packed book will make great summer reading for the high school set (lots of cursing and making out), but the plot holes and thin world development left me unsatisfied.

Abbreviated Review: Larklight by Phillip Reeve

Abbreviated reviews are just shorter, free-form versions of our regular reviews ~ because we like to keep things loose here at Books Aplenty.

Premise: The subtitle of Larklight should tell you everything you need to know:

"A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space"

But, if that's not sufficient for you, this summary should work:

Arthur (Art) Mumby and his irritating sister Myrtle live with their father in a huge and rambling house called Larklight that happens to be traveling through outer space. Living in an alternate 19th century, Britain has colonized the solar system and their house is under attack by elephant-size-space-spiders. Before long Art and Myrtle are off on an adventure to the farthest reaches of space, where they will do battle with evil forces in order to save each other — and the universe. (from Scholastic, slightly edited by me)

Victoria Space Pirates! Huzzah! I don't think of myself as a fan of Steampunk, but Phillip Reeve has crafted such a fun, outrageous world that I think almost anybody would love this book. In Reeve's outer space, the black is actually aether, a substance people can swim about in and even breathe a bit. There are creatures that swim about in the aether, you can catch some for dinner, and native sentient inhabitants of Mars, Venus, and Jupiter's moons.

While this imagined version of physics took some getting used to, and quite a bit of suspension of belief, the romping tone of Larklight made the alternative science really fun. The action was pretty nonstop, and the villains were sufficiently creepy and tended toward ridiculous monologues.

Reeve's writing really shines in Larklight. Just when a moment is feeling dull, he throws in some subtle humor. For example, I laughed out loud when he rattled off the names of Mars's mountains: Mount Ghastly, Mount Horrible, Mount Vile, and Mount Absolutely Beasty.

And have I mentioned the illustrations!? David Wyatt's line drawings give this book the perfect extra ambiance. I found them really helpful for picturing Reeve's totally unique space creatures, planetary settings, and space-worthy vessels. Here are 3 images from the book:

A British Navy space vessel

Myrtle shoves the Queen!

Inside the rings of Saturn

I absolutely loved this book and nearly gave it 5 stars, except that some of the characters are frustratingly flat. Particularly the primary protagonist, Art. I loved the voice of his sister Myrtle, but Art told the story as a storyteller so we just didn't get to know what makes him tick. Hopefully, his character will be more developed in Book 2.

Reeve uses invented spellings and footnotes throughout Larklight, which lends the book to an older audience than you might otherwise think, say ages 12+.

4.5 stars

Classics Review: White Fang

My overall takeaway from White Fang is, "Wow! That book is violent!" Since the first 30% or so takes place in "the Wild," I didn't mind all the throat ripping - this was animals hunting for food, after all. This opening third of the book brought to mind National Geographic documentaries ~ Cue voiceover: "The wolf waits silently, hidden by the snow, for the unsuspecting squirrel to emerge from its tree."

Then, suddenly, the entire tone of the book changed. When White Fang begins to live with humans he is beaten by stones, sticks, and clubs. Rather than cast these 100+ pages of beatings as cruelty toward animals, Jack London explains that this treatment is laudable in White Fang's eyes. It's the only way he knows to obey a human.

Some might argue that White Fang ultimately learns that life is better with kind humans, but still... 100 pages of unquestioned brutality from humans was over the top for me.

The worst scenes for me were when White Fang began to kill for fun.

He slaughtered innocent, weaker dogs simply because it was his nature (according to Jack London). Once again, this period of his life was treated as commonplace. REALLY?

And what's the deal with describing white people as "superior" to Native Americans? Is this just an indication of the time in which the book was written?

Don't get me wrong, Jack London's writing is great. It's just that the content is so questionable.

My 5th graders love White Fang, but they read the abridged version (like the one on the right). They make a lot of changes in the White Fang abridged versions to make the story more palatable for young children. It seems like they want itto be a fun-loving dog story.

I would rather my students hold out for the real deal. Because this is so violent, and the vocabulary is incredibly dense, I recommend this book (in its unabridged form) to the 13+ crowd.

I read this book for The Classics Club, The TBR Pile Challenge, and the Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge.

The Well's End by Seth Fishman

Premise: Mia Kish's elite boarding school is put under quarantine when a deadly virus sweeps across campus. In an attempt to escape the virus, Mia and her friends head out into the snow, pursued by soldiers in hazmat suits, seeking answers at an underground facility where Mia's father is the director. Where did this virus come from? Can it be stopped? And how is Mia's father involved?

Title and Author: The Well's End by Seth Fishman
Length: 352 pages
Series or Stand Alone: Cliffhanger ending indicates a possible sequel
Content appropriate for: Grades 9-12
Format: Digital ARC provided by Putnam Juvenile via NetGalley
Publication Date: February 25, 2014

Three adjectives that describe this book: adventurous, strange, unexpected

The Well's End is not easy to classify. At times it felt like 4 different books:
1. The first section of the book reads like your typical boarding school drama: There are cliques. There's a party with lots of drinking and making out. There are antics.
2. The second section feels like a medical thriller: There are symptoms and dead bodies. There are creepy people in hazmat suits. There's the desperate desire for a cure.
3. The largest portion of The Well's End is a run-for-your-life escape story. The characters are being pursued through treacherous terrain and deadly cold. They must escape, and survive, and escape some more.
4. The last quarter of The Well's End was a science fiction info-dump. We get all kinds of reveals and background information thrown at us in long expository tellings. People are explaining things!

While reading this book I had a lot of conflicting experiences. At first I found it really annoying. I started highlighting all the times the author mentioned alcohol, drugs, intimate encounters, and brand names. I highlighted over 20 places. The whole boarding school section was overdone. It definitely had the feel of an adult writer trying to appeal to teens. Later, as the characters were escaping the school, I was drawn into the action. The plot filled with adventure and life-threatening moments. Then came the info-dumping at the end and I found myself checking out again.

This book was all over the place.

The good: A unique premise, fast-paced adventure, unexpected reveals
The bad: Uneven pacing, flat characters, awkward (fake?) romance
The neutral: A cliffhanger ending that was SO cliffhanger-y it seemed lazy, as though the author couldn't figure out how to end it so he just stopped writing. I'm sure he is hoping for a sequel, and some people enjoy a cliffhanger, but I found it frustrating.

Overall, when I first finished The Well's End I had really mixed emotions. There were times that I loved its action packed mysteriousness. But other things really annoyed me, and the plot was uneven. Still, I think a lot of people will like this book. TeenReads recommended it, and some people have called it a favorite. It just didn't work well for me.

3 stars

Castle Intrigue Genius ~ The Queen's Thief

Over the last year I've realized that my favorite genre may be "castle intrigue." This is my own term for it-- is there an actual term for this genre? You know, set in a land with royalty and peasants. Where the characters scheme and plan and grab for power. As I studied my completed books for 2013, I was surprised to find 20 castle intrigue books.

So far my favorite castle intrigue series is The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

For this post I have organized abbreviated reviews for the first 4 books of the series. Turner has indicated that two other titles are in the works.

Book One: The Thief

For a book called The Thief, there just wasn't much thieving. The first half was excruciatingly slow, full of traveling, camping, and stilted dialogue. Once the thieving started the story got more interesting, but I consistently struggled to imagine the action and events. This was a 2 star book for me until the last 40 pages which included a satisfying twist.



Book Two: The Queen of Attolia

Wow! Where book one, The Thief, annoyed me with its slow pacing, little action, and even less thieving, this one, was SO much better. It was a little slow to get going, but that's because the characters are all playing various long-cons, which means the last third of the book is fever-pitch awesome.

Book Three: The King Attolia

I'm so glad that I continued this series! Books 2 and 3 are so strong. I love the way the king and queen manipulate people's perspectives, lure them into false confidence, and get them to show their hands. These two characters make a better team than I had imagined. The intrigue here was less about power and more about gaining loyalty. It was a cool change of pace, and totally appropriate for a new king.




Book Four: A Conspiracy of Kings

Although the sneaky maneuvering of the previous books isn't as prevalent in this installment, I continue to be impressed by Turner's ability to create distinct voices for her characters. This one uses a totally different voice/narration style. It didn't quite grab me in the same way as the others, but the style totally fit this novel's central character. The intrigue and scheming were front-and-center, just the way I like it! Please publish a fifth book!




The scheming in this series is so stinking fun! It reminds me a lot of how the show, Leverage, is organized - with a major long-con that is revealed at the end of each episode.

If you're interested, I recommend that you at least read the first 2 books since book one is only meh. Still, that first book is critical for understanding the rest of the series. So don't be afraid - dive in, muddle through The Thief, and LOVE the rest.