Bitterblue

Cashore, Kristin.  Bitterblue.  2012.  Dial Books, New York, NY.

Hardcover, $19.99.  ISBN: 978-0-8037-3473-9.

Book Talk:

Bitterblue has been the Queen of her kingdom since she was 9 years old.  Now, at the age of 18, she has begun to realize that her kingdom might not be all that she thinks it is.  Her father, King Lcek, was an insane madman with the ability to control minds and wills of the people around him.  He has been dead for 9 years, but did his legacy die with him?

Slipping out of the castle one night, Bitterblue discovers life outside of her castle.  She walks the streets of her city, discovers the Story Rooms, and finds that her kingdom is not all that she imagined it was.  Things are not as beautiful, and not as perfect as her advisors have led her to believe. 

Determined to find out what is going on within her kingdom, and what her advisors are hiding from her, Bitterblue begins asking very uncomfortable questions.

When a duke attempts to kidnap her during a marriage proposal, Bitterblue begins to understand just how serious things are.

When someone attempts to kill her one night while walking the streets alone, she realizes that she has struck a nerve and is getting closer to the truth.

When she discovers a handsome young man, with laughing purple eyes who steals her heart, Bitterblue begins to realize that finding the answers is not as easy as asking them.

Will Bitterblue ever root out the cause of the evil that is gnawing at the heart of her kingdom?  Will she be able to recover the love and affection of the laughing, purple-eyed man?

Even more important, will Bitterblue ever be able to break the spell that King Leck left on his subjects and her most trusted advisors?


Author's Web Site:
http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/

Reviewer's Note:
This book is the sequel to Graceling, the companion book to Fire.

This is a stand-alone novel.  You do not need to have read Graceling or Fire to understand the story.  The characters of Po, Katsa, and Fire do appear in this novel.  However, their earlier stories are tangential stories to the main story line in this book.

I will say this: I was drawn into this book and unable to put it down!  I hit the midpoint of the book about midnight last night, and could not stop reading.  I am very, very thankful that I am on break for the summer right now, or I would be dragging through school today!  I did eventually finish... early, early this morning.   As with all of Cashore's novels, this is a danger.  She writes spellbinding novels that draw you into her world so completely that you are compelled to finish them. 

A word here.  It has been a while since I have read Fire and Graceling.  I remember some of the plot, but not all.  Cashore does a fantastic job of seamlessly reminding her readers of the importance and place of the recurring characters in her overall tale.  She very neatly ties up the loose ends and questions from Fire and Graceling during this novel.  Too bad for me, because I have a stack of books I wanted to finish this summer, and I thought I was making some serious progress through that stack until early this morning.  I've already been on the library website, requesting Grace and Fire.  There are questions that I have that I can only answer by going back and re-reading the first two novels. 

I believe Kristin Cashore's Grace is storytelling.

Here are my reviews from her earlier novels:
(Here's a bit of trivia - when I began this blog, I began it as a project for class.  The Graceling review was written as an assignment.  It's interesting to see how this blog has evolved over time!)
Fire:
http://librarynut-booksforteens.blogspot.com/2010/08/fire.html

Graceling:
http://librarynut-booksforteens.blogspot.com/2009/06/graceling-by-kristin-cashore.html

Sold

McCormick, Patricia.  Sold.  2006.  Hyperion. New York, New York.
Hardcover, $15.99.  ISBN: 078685171-6.

Book Talk:
13 year old Lakshimi lives on a hillside in a mountain village in Nepal.  

When her family runs out of money, her step-father sells her to a trader in the market place.

Lakshimi finds herself trapped in a situation from which there is no escape.  Smuggled across the border of Nepal into India, she is sold to a brothel where she is forced to follow the wishes of the woman in charge, or she will be killed.

This tale of true courage and strength of will of one young person will move you.

The true tale of human trafficking and the sex trade will leave you shocked and apalled.

Author's Web Site:
http://patriciamccormick.com/

Reviewer's Note:
Human Trafficking and the sex trade are growing at an alarming rate internationally.  Lured by the promise of easy money to support their families, young girls from poverty stricken villages across Eastern Asia find themselves lured into situations from which there is no escape.  Forced into prostitution at a young age, these girls are forced to serve hundreds of men a night until they either escape or die from a sexually transmitted disease.

I wish I could say that this horrible business only happens in other countries, but H.T. is a growing problem in the U.S., with young girls smuggled into the U.S. from other countries, or our own youth kidnapped or tricked into serving in this industry. 

The subject matter is matter is mature.  However, Patricia McCormick deals with a difficult situation in a loving manner.  No graphic details are shared, leaving your imagination free to fill in the details of the horrors these young women live through every day.

The Bridge to Never Land

Barry, Dave and Ridley Pearson.  The Bridge to Neverland.  2011.  Disney, Hyperion Books.  New York.

ISBN: 978-142313865-5.  Hardcover, $18.99.


Book Talk:
Sarah and Aidan Cooper live in modern day Pittsburgh.  They both loved the Star Catchers series of books when they were young children.  While playing under an antique desk their father has just bought, they discover a hidden clue to a secret located somewhere within London.

As the children seek for the answers to the mysterious clues they find, they discover that they are in the middle of an ancient struggle with an ancient power for posession of a golden box with magical powers.

Unwittingly trapped within the perils they don't understand, and with no one to help them out, Sarah and Aidan use their wits to evade the frightening Ravens that follow them everywhere and escape to the United States.

But, have they truly escaped?

Sarah and Aidan realize the horrible truth - that the mysterious trunk they discovered in London contains Star Stuff.  The books about the Star Catchers were real, and they are engaged in a struggle with Lord Ombra for control of the Star Stuff.  Laden with only the knowledge in the original books to guide them, they set out on a quest to get rid of the Star Stuff before Lord Umbra can get hold of it and use it for his own nefarious purposes.

Can Sarah and Aidan get rid of the Star Stuff before Lord Ombra gets ahold of them?


Author's Web Site:

Dave Barry:
http://www.davebarry.com/books.html

Ridley Pearson:
http://www.ridleypearson.com/

Reviewer's Note:
This is an enchanting tale, full of plot twists and turns. With the story set in modern day Pittsburgh, the authors have taken the opportunity to bring in new technologies (iPads).  I enjoyed the fact that the kids were smart, quick witted and intelligent.  I appreciated the fact that the adults are not moronic imbeciles incapable of functioning or understanding what is going on around them.  Thank you Mr. Barry and Mr. Pearson for writing a smart story that does not insult the audience!

It's been a while since I read the original series, and I was afraid I wouldn't remember any of the plot and would end up horribly confused by the new story.  I needn't have worried.  The authors seamlessly wove in plot from the original series into this book, reminding readers of critical plot lines in the old stories in a gentle fashion that was told as part of the new tale.  Nice job, gentlemen!