Moonlight by Ann Hunter. Young adult fantasy.
A retelling of the classic Irish folktale The Children of Lir. No review, because I know the author and reviewing the work of friends is strictly against my blog policy. That said, if you like fairytale retellings, please support an independent author by purchasing her inexpensive e-book and checking out her blog!
… >> Read moreEvery day Aowyn could see Ciatlllait growing hungrier.
The Subtle Beauty by Ann Hunter.
A retelling of Beauty and the Beast. No review here, because I know the author and reviewing the work of friends is strictly against my review policy. That said, if you like fairy tale retellings, please support an independent author by trying a free sample of her e-book (no e-reader required) and checking out her blog!… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Graceling by Karen Cashore. Young adult fantasy.
One of the best works of young adult fantasy I’ve read. The plot is fairly straightforward, but what makes it great is Katsa, the main character. The single fantasy element of the universe is that certain people have Graces, which you can think of as superpowers if you like. Katsa has the killing Grace, discovered when she killed a man with her bare hands at age eight.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Young adult.
Junior, a Spokane Indian, realizes that he will never escape the reservation unless he does something drastic. So he decides to go to the rich white school instead. You can probably guess that what happens will be both funny and sad. You would be right.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Young adult.
I have to confess that I have a bit of a crush on both John Green and his brother Hank. Given that my last (and incidentally first) crush – circa 1998 – was on Mr Spock, who, as one might note, is not even a real person, this is saying something.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Young adult science fiction.
Hmm. This has gotten lots of bad reviews. I can see why. The first two-thirds or so are a lot of…talking. Way too much talking, for a series as action-packed and emotional as this one has been. While Allegiant read quickly, there was too much explaining of “he was working for her but she said she was doing this when she was really doing this but halfway through this other guy found out and….” You get the idea.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for The Eagle of the Ninth (aka The Eagle) by Rosemary Sutcliff. Young adult historical fiction.
Ah. It’s hard to write reviews when you read a couple of amazing books in close proximity, because you want to convey how each one moved you without repeating yourself or resorting to meaningless hyperbole. (OMG JUST READ IT ALREADY. Etc.) Well, a few chapters into The Eagle of the Ninth I realized that it was going to be one of my favorite books of all time.… >> Read more
Thumbs up for The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Young adult.
I would not have gotten snookered into reading this just by its presence on every single “best of the year” list, if not for the fact that it is also by the genius pen of John Green. If you can read this book and not cry, then – …no, you can’t.… >> Read more