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!

Curveball

Sonnenblick, Jordan.  Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip.  2012.  Scholastic Press, New York, NY.

Hardcover: $17.99.
ISBN: 978-0545-32069-6

Annotation:
Peter Friedman begins his Freshman year in a kind of nightmare.  Having torn out his elbow in a baseball game, he has been told he will never pitch again.  On top of that, his grandfather has been acting more and more strange.  As Peter struggles to figure out what is going on with his Grandfather, and adjust to high school, he finds his own way into the world with photography.

Book Talk:
Peter Friedman is the star of the baseball team.  He lives, eats, and breathes baseball. His world unexpectedly falls apart when he tears up his elbow pitching during a game. 

When he is told that he will never be able to pitch again, Peter begins to despair.  How is he going to function in high school when he can no longer play baseball and will never be the star of the baseball team?

His OTHER lifelong hobby - photography - comes to save the day.  Peter and his Grandfather have been taking pictures together his entire life.  Where Peter loved baseball, his Grandfather loved photography.

When he enters his photography class on the first day of school, he finds that not only is he in class with possibly the cutest freshman in the world, he is thrown for a bit of a spin when they are assigned to work together.  And then, when he finds out that they are assigned to work together on assignments for the yearbook, Peter is... stunned.

There is one other fly in the ointment.  Peter's Grandfather has been acting different.  Forgetting things.  Losing himself in time and place.  When he mentions this to his mother, she refuses to believe him.  But, every time he sees his grandfather, Peter realizes that they've lost a little more of him.

WILL Peter's life ever come back together?  Will he get the girl?  (and keep her)  Will he ever tell his best friend that he can't ever play baseball again?  Is something seriously wrong with Peter's grandfather?

Find out in Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip.

Reviewers Note:
Jordan Sonnenblick is one of my favorite YA authors.  Once again, he hits a home run, tackling a difficult subject with love and compassion.  Watching someone you love, who is your hero, go through the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease is frightening.  When you read of Peter's struggles to figure out what is going on with his grandfather, and feel the underlying love of Peter and his Grandpa... he takes a subject that can be difficult to deal with and puts it into words and phrases that we can all understand and relate to.  I highly recommend this book to everyone.  Mr. Sonnenblick did an awesome job of capturing the uncertainty that accompanies the beginning stages of Alzheimer's Disease.

Author's Web Page:
 http://www.jordansonnenblick.com/

Trafficked

Purcell, Kim.  Trafficked, a novel.  2012, Viking Press, London, England.

Hardcover, $16.99.
ISBN: 978-0-670-01280-0.

Annotation: 
Hannah finds herself sold into domestic slavery on the black market.  Struggling to stay safe in a land where she doesn't speak the language, and has no rights, she searches for a way out.

Book Talk:
Hannah comes to the United States with the promise of becoming a nanny to two young children.  She is looking forward to learning English, studying to become a doctor, and earning enough money to send home to her grandmother so she can have eye surgery.  Little does she know that she has been sold on the black market and is about to find herself locked into a house, forced to work as a domestic slave, with the constant threat of being sold as a prostitute if she doesn't cooperate. 

Cut off from her family, in a land where she doesn't speak the language, and denied access to the outside world, will Hannah ever be able to escape?

Reviewer's Note:
This book is completely appropriate for teens in high school.  The girl in the story has been sold into domestic service.  While some of the scenes imply more that could have happened, the author is careful to keep the book out of territory that would make it questionable for teens.

Human Trafficking is rampant in the United States.  Illegal immigrants from countries around the globe are finding themselves sold into domestic service, the sex trade, farm labor, and so much more.  The author does an excellent job of raising awarness of Human Trafficking. 

Author's Web Site:
http://www.kimpurcell.com/

Steampunk!

Link, Kelly and Gavin L. Grant.  Steampunk!  An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories.  2011.  Candlewick Press, Somerville, Mass. 

Hardcover, $22.99
ISBN:  978-0-7636-4843-5.

Annotation:
A collection of short stories that are all written in the STEAMPUNK literary style.

Book Talk:
Steampunk literature is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction.  Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used.  Steampunk literature is usually set in Victorian England or the Wild West United States. 

The book STEAMPUNK is a collection of short stories, all written in the Steampunk style, by some of the best known authors of today:  M.T. Anderson, Holly Black, Libba Bray, Shawn Cheng, Cassandra Clare, Cory Doctorow, Dylan Harrucks, Kathlees Jennings, Elizabeth Knox, Kelly Link, Garth Nix, Christopher Rowe, Delia Sherman, and Ysabeau S. Wilce have each contributed a new story to this collection.

Come along and rob trains with the time stopping Glory Girls.  Check out the Clockwork Fagin who runs a London orphanage.  Find out more about the Colonial Era Finishing School.

Each story is a unique contribution by each author.  This fascinating mix of Graphic Novels and traditional written stories will appeal to anyone who enjoys Steampunk Literature, or is looking for something new and different to read!

Book Web Site:   http://strangeandfascinating.com/

The Throne of Fire

Book Talk:
Sadie and Carter Kane are your average, ordinary modern day teenagers who just happen to be from an ancient bloodline that dates back to the Egyptian Pharaohs.  A year ago, they discovered that they were members of the House of Life, and are powerful magicians who have a direct line to the gods of ancient Egypt. 

Sadie and Carter have discovered that they have four days.  Just four days before the Spring Equinox.  Four days in which they must defeat the most powerful enemy they have ever faced - Apophsis - the chaos snake.  If they don't defeat Apophsis before the Spring Equinox, he will break free, destroy the earth, and devour the sun. 

But first, they must have an ally.  Only one god is strong enough to defeat Apophsis and banish him back to the underworld.  The sun god Ra.  The problem is, Ra stepped down amidst an ancient battle with Isis, and no one has seen Ra since.  Somewhere, there are three scrolls that give the ancient clues to find Ra. 

Join Carter and Sadie as they search for the ancient scrolls in a desperate race against time in The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan.

Reviewer's Note:
I tried to find one passage that stuck with me.  I love to read a little bit of the book out loud to give the listeners a chance to hear the book and decide whether or not it's worth the read to them.  The problem is, the book is so full of excellent passages, it's hard to choose just one.  Here are three of my favorites:

The brilliant Sadie, running through London with two of her school mates in tow, destroying Waterloo Station.
 
Bes, giving people his ugly and screaming "BOO".  I love the scene of him, scaring demons away with his ugliness while wearing his Speedo.

Carter, desperately working to save Zia and fending off evil mages in the Egyptian desert by the Nile River

I could go on and on, but I'd give away the entire story if I kept going.  Trust me, it's a good book.  If you liked the first book in the series, you'll love this.  If you enjoyed the Lightning Thief series, you'll enjoy this series, too.

Author's Web Site:
http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx

The Kane Chronicles:
http://disney.go.com/official-sites/kane-chronicles/index

*Teachers and Parents, take note.  Mr. Riordan has put up an activity kit on the Kane Chronicles website that ties in with The Throne of Fire.

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