Summary from Goodreads:
The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope. Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda. The Sno-Isle Libraries Teen Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/snoisleteens Twitter: @dontkillabiblio Tumblr: http://booksandthebeasts.tumblr.com/ Alise has her own channel for acting! https://www.youtube.com/user/lilylixi
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Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose? There is always more to lose. Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children. There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land. This is possibly my favorite book of all times.
Brom is a gothic fantasy artist and had drawn the picture for the cover and all the illustrations throughout the book, including the glossy character pages in the middle and they're all absolutely beautiful. They add to the story and help the reader imagine just how horrific and beautiful the world he builds really is. This is definitely a more plot-driven than character-driven novel. Still, each character is built, serve their purpose, and there's a favored character for everyone from the crazy Redbone, the strong Sekeu (my personal favorite), the confused and angry Nick, and the ever so beguiling Peter. The plot itself is intricate and the first half of the novel's chapters go back and forth from telling the current story and Peter's flashbacks that explain the current circumstances. Yet, Brom is able to not leave any plot holes as far as I can see. The Child Thief is classified as an adult horror fantasy retelling of Peter Pan, but it definitely also qualifies as YA so it's open to a wide range of readers even though it has some mature content. Read more for a discussion of the themes! -Alise You may not have heard of it before, but steampunk is a sub-genre of science-fiction (and sometimes fantasy) that usually features steam-powered machines rather than the more modern advanced technology. There's also stonepunk, dieselpunk, etherpunk, cyberpunk, and more that I don't even know about, but steampunk is definitely the most popular. This genre has definitely been picking up steam (get it?) in the last couple years in media, movies, games, and of course books. As of late, it's become a fashion-style for cosplayers and fans of the genre too.
Interested? Well, you're in luck! I recently went to the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle (dressed in the steampunk style of course) and attended a steampunk writing panel of mainly YA authors. When I asked them what books would they recommend to start a reader on their journey into the world of steampunk, this is what they said... My mother always called it the eventuality. Not the maybe, or the probably. ‘It’s going to happen,’ she would tell me calmly. ‘I even know when. It’s a twist in my stars. It’s written there, and we have to accept it. My mother, Joanne Nielsen Crowe. She has a name, she’s not a was. Avicenna Crowe’s mother, Joanne, is an astrologer with uncanny predictive powers and a history of being stalked. Now she is missing. The police are called, but they’re not asking the right questions. Like why Joanne lied about her past, and what she saw in her stars that made her so afraid. But Avicenna has inherited her mother’s gift. Finding an unlikely ally in the brooding Simon Thorn, she begins to piece together the mystery. And when she uncovers a link between Joanne’s disappearance and a cold-case murder, Avicenna is led deep into the city’s dark and seedy underbelly, unaware how far she is placing her own life in danger. Goodreads Summary NOTE: Australian YA fiction is beginning to become popular in America!
Rebecca Lim is an Australian-based author and as of late, Australian YA novels are permeating into the mainstream flow of popular YA and I can see why. Though it's not one the best books I've ever read, The Astrologer's Daughter is definitely intriguing. The author weaves the complex layers together to keep the reader interested and wanting to know how the mystery ends up. There's a constant atmosphere of danger and mystic that makes the book appealing, yet the confusion with all the characters almost ruins it for me. Because it's a mystery with a lot of layers, there are constant characters that are constantly coming and going and there's never something prominent about the character that helps the reader remember who is who. Avicenna and Simon, Avicenna's love interest and probably the second most important character in the book, aren't developed as thoroughly as I thought they should have been. Consequently, their decisions were always unexpected and not necessarily in a good way. Since the book obviously advertises that it incorporates astrology, it does, but beware if you don't know a thing about astrology. Fortunately, I do know some astrology. Even so, I wasn't able to note the significance as Avicenna explained star charts to clients since their "harsh aspects between Mars and the sun conjunct Venus, between Mars and the ascendant, between the moon and Jupiter, between both the luminaries and Mars... Couple those stars with multiple afflictions to natal Mercury..." You get the picture. The author never teaches you anything about astrology or explains any technical aspect to it (sorry if you're disappointed). Thankfully, she does explain the characteristics that are created in the person by their star chart so something does come out of it, but the rest is almost extraneous. But if you can keep track of the characters and their names, I do suggest this book for you because underneath all it's flaws, it really is an intriguing book. Read on for spoilers and more discussion of the characters! -Alise Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George. Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. Summary via Goodreads I've been a huge fan of Julie Kagawa's books since The Iron King (highy recommend that book if you like the Fey btw, it's fantastic) and Talon did not disappoint. Published in 2014 by Harlequin Teen, Talon is a great novel about romance, rules, and dragons (plus dragon killers). The characters are lovable (but a little predictable) and the story flows along very nicely. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has previously read a Julie Kagawa book, or for those of you looking for a good read that involves dragons. This book does dwell a little more on the romance aspect than the dragon aspect, but overall it's still a very good book and I'm eager to read the second book.
A little more discussion below the cut, so if you've finished the book then continue reading! -Talia We reviewed the The Winner's Curse which has the sequel The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski which we also reviewed!
The Winner's Curse summary from Goodreads: As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. Alise has her own channel for acting! https://www.youtube.com/user/lilylixi In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met. On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love. The Kiss of Deception is the first book in Mary E. Pearson's Remnant Chronicles, published in 2014 by Henry Holt. Summary via Amazon So going into this novel, I had no idea what to expect. The summary had sounded very intriguing and I thought that I would give it a try--after all, I adore romances and royalty. I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, I was pleasantly pleased and love the way the plot was set out. For me, it worked out to my advantage but for others (like my friends) it ended up confusing them.
Mary tells the story in a specific way-- we know there's an assassin out to kill Lia, and there's the stunted prince who's out to find Lia. We meet both these men at the same time, but are never told who is who, only their names and descriptions. I adored this part of the story line and although I had made a guess as to who was who and hoped I was right (I was), I almost changed my mind multiple times because of Mary's very, very specific wording. As for the characters, I really liked both of the male leads (until a certain point and I definitely had my favorite a quarter of the way into the book) and I actually really liked Lia. Normally, I would have considered her a coward for running away from her wedding--in the end, I couldn't think of her as one. It takes a certain kind of bravery to follow your own heart after all. Lia did end up having character development (oh thank you so much) and I loved her interaction with the boys. I couldn't end up hating her and her willingness to drop her princess status and work for something actually made me like her even more. She was so determined to do a good job, but still managed to stand up for herself like the princess she was. She was contradicting at times, but it worked for her. Once we hit the second half of the novel, things really start to get heated and pave the way for the second book. Overall, this was an enjoyable novel and I'm really looking forward to reading Heart of Betrayal, which comes out in July 2015. Some spoilers below the cut. Continue reading and then discuss with me what you thought about this book! -Talia Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love. The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret. As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them. Summary from Goodreads Didn't read the The Winner's Curse, the first book? Check out our video review of it here!
The first one of this series was amazing so thankfully this one was not disappointing. It brought in elements that weren't seen before in the first novel. The Winner's Curse had mainly taken place in the Valorian controlled Herranian territory up until we get a glimpse of the capital at the end when Kestrel speaks with the emperor and then returns to the Herranian peninsula. But in the Winner's Crime, Marie Rutkoski takes us all over her world as the characters travel. Kestrel herself mainly stays in the capital of Valoria with the emperor and the prince while Arin travels the realm visiting the "savage" eastern kingdom of Dacra, returns to Herran, and of course spends time in the capital with Kestrel. Some people think that the romance between the two was really heavy in the first book, so they'll be happy to hear that the romance in the sequel is much lighter. For the romantics out there, the struggles in Kestrel and Arin's relationship ARE REAL AND THEY HURT. We get to see the dynamics of their relationship change, for better or worse, and it's still realistic. Kestrel's not throwing away everything she has to be with Arin nor is he shirking his duties to steal away in a corner with her. They're still both trying to figure out where their loyalties lie and if their choices are going to harm more people than necessary. To be truthful, this book felt more like a filler book to me. The first one had its giant plot twist that made it a true story but this sequel was more of a development in the story than a crucial plot twist (not until the very end, that is). Rutkoski takes the time in the Winner's Crime to develop Arin and Kestrel's relationship and characters and build the plot and world around them by introducing new characters (killing them most of the time), building subplots and situations, and making readers and characters question themselves. For a sequel, The Winner's Crime was a thrilling read and leaves the reader waiting anxiously for the third one. Continue reading if you want to know more about this! |
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