Weekend Recommendations #10

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or higher) that I would recommend to friends! So, here are this week's two picks:

Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: fiction

Part of a Series: No

Rating: 5 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys, fourteen and up, great for fans of stories with the isolated, ancient British Isle feel - and horses!

Why I Like It:

I love stories that take place on obscure, isolated British Isles, and I love stories that incorporate creatures from Celtic legend - in this case, kelpies. And I also happen to really like horses. Add to that some super awesome characters, and you have the sort of book that I positively drool over. Sean Kendrick is an "old soul" - he embodies the heart of the spirit of the little island of Thisby, and he understands the water horses in a way that few do. He's quiet and reserved, but he has tremendous passion. While Puck Connolly at times grated a tiny bit on my nerves due to her temper, I never disliked her. She's tough, confident, and without Attitude. And the romance in this is very slight - double win! The "villains" of the piece are also super-fun to hate, so there really wasn't anything about this book that I disliked.

 Title: The Raven Boys

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: fantasy/supernatural/adventure

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 3 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys, seventeen and up (due to lots of strong language), fans of The Scorpio Races.

Why I Like It:

The only reason this book didn't get a five-star rating is because it had a ton of strong language, and I couldn't ignore that when it came to its final rating. But aside from that, I adored this book. Filled with lots of great characters, all with distinct personalities, and with a very intriguing storyline, I was hooked the moment I opened this book. Gansey, Adam, Noah, and Blue all struck a chord with me. And though Ronan wasn't my favorite out of the four boys, I still appreciated what he brought to the story itself, and in the end I really did end up liking him in my own way. Blue was a great girl character; she managed to be "one of the boys" without having an Attitude. And the plot . . . the plot was just amazing. 

Weekend Recommendations #9

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or higher) that I would recommend to friends! So, here are this week's two picks:

Title: Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer

Genre: science fiction/fairytale retelling/futuristic

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 3 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys alike, fourteen and up, fairytale retelling fans looking for a new and original twist on the Cinderella story, as well as science fiction fans - and cyborg fans!

Why I Like It:

When Cinder first came out, I thought it was going to be one of the weirdest - and probably the silliest - book I had read that year. I mean, Cinderella as a cyborg? Forget that - a fairytale retelling coupled with science fiction? (can you see my eyebrows raising yet?) So it took a while before I finally decided to give it a try. When I did, I was completely astounded. Quite possibly, no other Author could have gotten such a concept to work as well as it does in Cinder, but Marissa Meyer can. Thus, we Readers are presented with the most original - and exciting - Cinderella retelling ever. Cinder is an awesome protagonist, the world is intriguing, the classic Cinderella elements are cleverly blended in, and we are given not only a classic commoner-falls-in-love-with-prince story, but also a plot steeped in politics, mystery, invading armies, and even humor. Never has a book surprised me as much as this one did. (It's sequel is even better!)

Title: Code Name Verity

Author: Elizabeth Wein

Genre: historical fiction

Part of a Series: No

Rating: 4 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys alike, sixteen and up, great for fans of WWII fiction, and very strong female protagonists without The Attitude.

Why I Like It:

I love WWII novels, especially ones about the S. O. E. - British spies. I'm also a big fan of strong female protagonists who don't have The Attitude. The girls of this novel have spunk and sarcasm, but they don't have an Attitude, and they are very classic WWII-era British girls. While some of the circumstances are not entirely believable (like the rather lenient Gestapo agent), and I wasn't a big fan of narration style (I did get used to it, though), the story itself is a great one, with lots of historical detail, great characters, and a bittersweet ending that left me both pleased and crying my eyes out. You can't write about the S. O. E. without something tragic happening to someone.



Weekend Recommendations #8

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or higher) that I would recommend to friends! So, here are this week's two picks:

Title: The Academie
Author: Susanne Dunlap
Genre: historical fiction/romance
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 3 out of 5
Who'll Like It: Girl-read, fourteen-and-up, great for fans of historical fiction set in boarding schools.

Why I Like It:

I happen to be a fan of boarding school stories, especially historical ones. The Academie has a wealthy of different characters, many of whom I started out hating, but then grew to like as the story progressed and they grew with it. The present tense narration isn't my favorite, but it isn't horrible, and I love how each chapter switches perspectives between the four main girls.

Title: Babylonne

Author: Catherine Jinks

Genre: historical fiction

Part of a Series: Yes, but it's also a stand-alone

Rating: 4 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys alike, fourteen-and-up, great for fans of historical fiction, the Crusades, and Catherine Jinks' Pagan Chronicles.

Why I Like It:

Babylonne is a spunky, no-nonsense protagonist who has quite a sharp wit without having The Attitude. She's constantly getting into trouble, but it's not her fault - trouble just seems to find her. I am a huge fan of the Pagan Chronicles, so it was awesome to read a story about Pagan's daughter (Babylonne), who has definitely inherited her father's disposition. And amazingly, it works for her. She's also a character with deep emotional trauma, but she doesn't dissolve into a puddle every time someone looks at her wrong. She grows a lot in the story, and it's a journey that as the Reader took quite an emotional toll on me - but in the best way possible.

Weekend Recommendations #7

This is a weekly feature, where I get to go all fannish about two randomly-picked favvies (which may not actually be favorites, but got a rating of 3 or higher) that I would recommend to friends! So, here are this week's two picks:

Title: Ripper

Author: Stefan Petrucha

Genre: historical fiction/mystery/steampunk

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 5 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Guy-read (and girls who like guy books), best enjoyed by ages thirteen and up, great for Victorian mystery fans who like a dash of steampunk!

Why I Like It:

Quite honestly, I don't think there's anything not to like about this book. It's got terrific pacing, it's exciting, it's mysterious, Carver is a great protagonist, the steampunk gadgets are awesome, Hawking is a really fun "older mentor" character (he likes Detective Dupin!), and this book has some of the best twists ever. One of the twists is extremely obvious by page 5, but the bigger, more dramatic twist, is so amazing. This is definitely one of my top five favorites.

Title: Leviathan

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: alternate history/steampunk

Part of a Series: Yes

Rating: 3 out of 5

Who'll Like It: Girls and guys, fourteen-and-up, great for fans of steampunk and alternate history (more specifically, WWI)

Why I Like It:

Deryn is a spunky female protagonist who can actually pretend of be a convincing boy. More importantly, Deryn can do all of this without having The Attitude, and even when she develops a crush on Alek, she keeps her mind on what's important and doesn't let her emotions get the better of her. The alternate history is very interesting, and I love the steampunk gadgets, though I am not a huge fan of the half-animal/half-machine creatures - the "beasties" - that the British use for warfare. It's just disturbing. Despite that, this is a great adventure with great characters.