This is one of the early classics of fantasy literature, with a huge influence on writers of the genre as a whole. The story is familiar – a mortal man marries a fairy princess – but it continues well past the “happily ever after,” and the writing and language are lyrical and haunting. A truly beautiful and timeless book!
Archives: Book Reviews
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Junior librarian, Lazlo Strange, knows many stories, but only one story fills his dreams both at night and every spare waking moment. This is the story of Weep. A city not only lost to the desert for over 200 years, but a city that has also lost its very name. Nobody can remember its true name and only knows it as Weep.
Lazlo dreams of one day unraveling the mystery of what happened to the city and why its name was plucked the minds of every person in the world, but he knows that as penniless junior librarian he will never get the chance. Everything changes when myths come to life and a warrior from Weep called the Godslayer visits Lazlo’s library looking for the best and the brightest. He needs the help of outsiders to remove a mysterious “shadow” from his city. Lazlo finally has the chance to make his dream come true in ways even he has never imagined.
Laini Taylor is a gifted storyteller. She has created a magical and highly original world. It pulled me in from the first chapter, and as I read more, the more I started to share Lazlo’s dream. I wanted to know what happened to Weep and the shadow that still haunts it, and every answer you get leads to even deeper mysteries in the best possible ways. This is one of those books you kind of regret reading right when it comes out because now you have to wait for the next book in the series. Highly recommended for teens and adults who enjoy fantasy, mysteries, and suspense. Also, highly recommended as an audiobook.
The Silence of Medair/Voice Of The Lost, by Andrea K. Host
What if you were the hero promised by legend – and then failed? Medair an Rynstar was supposed to be that hero, but a critical error at what should have been her moment of triumph means that she has awoken 500 years after the invasion she was meant to stop. Now, the country she loves is run by the descendants of the invaders she hated – and is threatened once again by yet another group of invaders. The resulting story is a lovely exploration of so many things – betrayal, loss, survivor’s guilt, revenge, forgiveness, love – all wrapped into a compelling plot in a beautifully imagined world.
Read these two books together – they are really two halves of the same work (Also one of my favorite works of fantasy of the past decade, but no pressure…)
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Pashmina is the first graphic novel wholly created (written and illustrated) by an Indian American. It is a beautiful feminist coming of age story about a teenager who learns about her mother’s difficult choices in India. Full of magical realism (the pashmina transports her in full color images to a legendary India), this story is also the first full length graphic novel Ms. Chanani has written, so not all the transitions, not all the narrative elements work perfectly. That said, I LOVE that Priyanka comes to more deeply appreciate her mother and her mother country, India. I would highly recommend it to girls (and boys) 5th grade through high school — and to adults, too. Relatable, beautifully illustrated, touching on single parent families, self confidence, finding your voice, and being open to the nuances of other cultures, this is a great book!
The Nutcracker in Harlem by T.E. McMorrow
Here’s the perfect holiday book for girls who love the Nutcracker story or ballet. A young girl during the Harlem Renaissance learns (while dreaming of the Nutcracker) to stand up and join in the music making by playing the drum! The illustrations by James Ransome are gorgeous and bring this period of history to life. Made me want to dance with the Nutcracker! The author was, in his youth, a stage hand for the Dance Theater of Harlem, so watched the company rehearse. He creates in this story a joyous reminiscence of another time.
Accident! by Andrea Tsurumi
Talk about a book packed with surprising humor, Andrea Tsurumi’s chaotic, surreal, and joke-a-second Accident! has page after page after page of comical mayhem with visual puns galore. An animal named Lola stumbles quite literally over the title of the book, causing a mess that makes her race to the library to hide. As she runs down the street she encounters other disasters that grow wilder and wilder. Tsurumi’s graphite (on Bristol vellum with digital color) drawings and her deranged hand lettering make the reader want to flip through the pages quickly. However, as the ensuing accidents magnify, the pages brim with gags that beg the reader to stop and explore each spread. The more readers investigate, the more rewarding the journey is. Also, the book’s action-packed vocabulary adds to the excitement. This hilarious book is a perfect example of comic timing at its best, with each page turn revealing a wildly funny bunch of new visual jokes.
Musnet: The Mouse of Monet by Kickliy
This lovely graphic novel set in the mid-19th century, is reminiscent of E.B.White’s animal adventures, particularly Stuart Little. The unnamed (until the very end), orphaned main character mouse is looking for work and a home and unintentionally winds up on Monet’s estate in Giverny, France. Also on the property is a friendly mouse family who takes the main character in and a cantankerous, old artist squirrel name Remi (cough, Rembrandt) who the main character apprentices with. You will root for Musnet as he works hard, has adventures and falls in love with making art (in an impressionist style very much like Monet’s). This is a great graphic novel for children still enjoying nightly storytimes with parents as well as those reading on their own. Perhaps after reading this fun first book in the Musnet series, your children will feel inspired to visit the Chicago Art Institute! This is a story to be enjoyed just as much for the art as for the story. For Grades 2 and up. –JI
Warcross by Marie Lu
Hacker and bounty hunter Emika Chen is short on cash and options. When she hacks into the world championship game of Warcross, an online game everybody plays, she can’t pass up an opportunity to grab a power up equal to her monthly rent payment. It was grand opportunity, but once she grabbed the power up the whole world, including Warcross founder Hideo Tanaka, knew she had hacked in. Instead of finding the police banging on her door the next morning, she instead has a phone call from Hideo asking her to come to Tokyo for a meeting. Turns out someone else is hacking into Warcross and Hideo needs Emika to track that person down. As part of her cover Emika is drafted on to a Warcross team, and has to dig into her team mates personal lives. As she digs Emika begins to realize that the Warcross plot goes far deeper and is more dangerous than she dreamed.
Vanilla by Billy Merrell
“Vanilla and Hunter have been dating since seventh grade.
They came out together,
navigated middle school together,
and became that couple in high school
that everyone always sees as a couple.
There are complications and confusions, for sure.
But most of all,
they love each other.
As high school goes, though,
and as their relationship deepens,
some cracks begin to show.
Hunter thinks they should be having sex.
Vanilla isn’t so sure.
Hunter doesn’t mind hanging out with loud, obnoxious friends.
Vanilla would rather avoid them.
If they’re becoming different people,
can they be the same couple?
Falling in love is hard.
Staying in love is harder”
Vanilla is a traditional fiction novel told in verse about the struggles of falling in, and out, of love; and the pressures put upon you by both your friends but by your own expectations. I love this book and will cherish my copy forever. This is the first book-in-verse I have ever read and the poetry is expertly handled by Merrell. It is clear, easy to follow, and very evocative. I would recommend this to any person who loves queer love stories.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
This book swept the major science fiction awards when it came out, winning the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, BSFA Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award and Locus Award – and all of them well-deserved. It’s a terrific concept, and executed to perfection. The world-building is comprehensive and engaging, and the author’s ability to convey the experience of Breq, a character who used to be a sentient spaceship that saw through the eyes of thousands of bodies (her “ancillaries”), and is now confined to the body of one survivor, is impressive. This was the Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Discussion Group selection for April 2015.
Also available as an audiobook and an eBook.