Book Review: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue, the daughter of a psychic, has always been told that she will kill her true love. Gansey, a rich boy from the private school of Aglionby, is on a personal quest to find magic in the world. When the two are thrown together through a series of events, they find that their lives are intricately connected by forces that are beyond their control. Stiefvater once again works her own magic in creating the mysterious atmosphere and the very unique characters of the town Henrietta. While the plot moves fairly slowly and there are more questions than answers, it is the compelling characters that pull you along.  The Raven Boys is beautifully written and a wonderful start to a new trilogy.

Rating: ★★★★

Storytime Book: "Press Here"

Press Here

by Herve Tullet

Goodreads Summary: Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about the power of imagination and interactivity will provide read-aloud fun for all ages!

Thoughts: This is an absolutely delightful book to read during small group settings.  It works best with a smaller group, so reading it during everyday storytime might not work well if large numbers are expected.  I would also say that it's definitely geared for the preschoolers and it might work for 3 year olds, but not any younger.  I've read this book twice during my library's Story Stop (which is an informal, 15 minute storytime we offer), and the kids loved it both times.  It also draws the kids who are a little bit shy because they really want to see what happens on the next page.  There's not a whole lot of vocabulary or narrative building skills, but it's a very fun book that I think kids would love to read again and again.

Book Review: "The Body Finder"

The Body Finder

by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose has a special ability to feel "imprints" left behind by the dead, especially those who were killed violently.  As her junior year starts, her ability is the farthest thing from her mind as her feelings for her best friend, Jay, begin to change.  However, when Violet stumbles upon a dead girl in the lake and other young girls go missing, she begins to realize that her ability could help catch the killer.  While well written, The Body Finder is definitely a book that is more suited for teens than adults.  The plot was alright and moved along at a good pace, but the climax was fairly anti-climactic.  The characters, especially the side ones, were one dimensional and the romance was predictable and juvenile.  What eventually docked the overall rating for the book were the jokes that occurred throughout the books.  Some of the jokes told were crude and offensive, and didn't have any place in the book.  They did nothing to further the plot or develop the characters, and are not jokes that teens should think are okay to make.  However, the book was decent and I would most likely recommend it to teens that enjoy mysteries with a paranormal twist.

Rating: ★★

Support Your Local Library!

Do you know what kind of awesome services your library offers every day? Check out this link for some great information and stats about libraries in America!

Book Review: "Bewitching"

Bewitching

by Alex Flinn

In this delightful re-telling of Cinderella with a twist, we meet Kendra, the witch - or fairy godmother - behind most of our beloved fairy tales, and Emma, the girl she is currently trying to help.  Told in alternating voices between Kendra, Emma, and some of the people Kendra has tried to help, we learn that sometimes things don't always go the way we want, especially when there is magic involved.  Similar to her previous novels, Alex Flinn has once again taken something that we thought we knew and changed it into something more.  Bewitching is a fun tale, filled with misadventures in romance and characters you love to hate.  The short stories that are interspersed can be distracting, especially when it interrupts Emma's story, but it's entertaining to see familiar tales from Kendra's perspective. 

Rating: ★★★

Book Review: "Shadow of Night"

Shadow of Night

by Deborah Harkness

 

When Diana and Matthew journey from the present into sixteenth-century England, they realize that their goals of finding the Ashmole 782 and obtaining a teacher for Diana won't be as easy as they initially thought. Soon, they are embroiled with the intrigue and politics of Elizabethan England, and as they begin affecting the past in ways they never imagined, they must use their wits in order to return to the present unscathed. Harkness's second book in her All Souls Trilogy transcends many genres; not only does it have the fantasy/paranormal elements of witches, vampires, and daemons, but it can also be classified as historical fiction as well as romance. Unfortunately, the first half of the book reads slowly due to all the extraordinary details about the era.  Harkness's concept of time travel was also confusing and there are some plot holes that are caused by mixing time travel with vampires.  Nonetheless, Shadow of Night is a fine follow up to Discovery of Witches, especially with the danger and action that is hinted to come in the final book. 

Rating: ★★★

Book Review: "The Sweetest Spell"

The Sweetest Spell

by Suzanne Selfors

Emmeline Thistle is an outsider, both to the world and to her village.  While her village believes that she is unnatural, the rest of the world sees her and her people as nothing more than barbarians, descendants of those who tried to invade the country and therefore banished to the Flatlands.  When tragedy strikes, Emmeline unexpectedly survives and discovers that she has the ability to make chocolate, a power that has been lost for ages and that is even more precious than gold.  Soon, Emmeline is thrown into a whirlwind adventure as she sets out to save her father and the rest of her people.  Beautifully written, the story is reminiscent of other teen fantasies such as "The Goose Girl", "The Princess Bride", or "Ella Enchanted".  Emmeline is kind, but still spunky and brave.  The romance that blooms is sweet and the book doesn't fail to mix in a some adventure and action.  The alternating viewpoints were a bit disconcerting at first, but once both characters are introduced, it gets less confusing.  Overall, the book was extremely delightful and charming, and will have the reader craving for chocolate by the last chapter!

Rating: ★★★

This book was obtained as an eGalley from Bloomsbury Children's Books.  The expected publication date is August 21st, 2012.