A Soldier's Secret: The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds.

Moss, Marissa.  A Soldier's Secret:  The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, A Civil War Hero.  2012.  Amulet Books, and imprint of Abrams Books, New York.

ISBN: 978-1-4197-0427-7.  Hardcover, $16.95.

Book Talk:
Masquerading as a boy, Sarah tried desperately to enlist in the Civil War and help her country win the war.  Unfortunately, since she looks to young to enlist (no beard, voice hasn't changed), she has been continuously turned down as a recruit.  Months before the Battle of Bull Run, she finds a recruiter who will let her sign the paperwork to become a nurse as Frank Thompson of Company F, Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry of the Army of the Potomac.

Living the life of an army recruit in a military on the march against an enemy, and sharing a tent with a man, Sarah quickly realizes that keeping up the ruse of being a man is going to be more difficult than she had ever imagined.

How long can Sarah continue to masquerade as a man?  Will she be discovered?

Based upon the real-life adventure of Sarah Emma Edmonds, who masqueraded as Frank Thompson and served the Unions Army as a soldier, a nurse, and a spy during the Civil War.

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

Stanley, Diane.  The Cup and The Crown.  2012.  Harper Collins, New York.

ISBN: 978-0-06-196321-6.  Hardcover, $16.99.

Book Talk:
Molly has visions of a beautiful goblet.  Made of silver, and gilded with gold, she believes this loving cup was created by her Grandfather, a gifted Silver Smith who lived in a country far removed from where Molly lives now.  But, what of the boy she sees in the vision who holds the cup?  This boy looks just like a boy vision of Molly.  But, who is he, and why is he holding the cup?

Molly is sent on a quest by the King of Westria to find a Loving Cup created by her grandfather which will forever bind him to his one true love.  The powerful magic contained within this loving cup will protect the love of the king and queen, and all of their children for generations to come.

When Molly ventures to Faers-Wigan to find the home of her murdered grandfather, she discovers that her grandfather came to Faers-Wigan from another place, a mystical place not marked on any map, nor spoken of in any legend.

Undeterred, Molly takes off to find this mysterious city that her grandfather left behind.  Knowing only that Harrowsgode lies to the North, in a valley surrounded by mountains, Molly and her friends are led by a raven into this mysterious city.

When Molly finds Harrowsgode, she discovers a land that is cut off from the outside world, removed from all contact with others.  Since the people of Harrowsgode keep no army, they fear that any outsider will tell of the riches of the city and bring people in to attack them and steal their wealth.

With the arrival of Molly and her friends, the council finds themselves facing an unprecedented situation.  Here is a young woman of great power, who is obviously one of their own, and her four friends, outsiders who must never be allowed to return to the outside world where they can tell tales of the riches of Harrowsgode.  Molly finds herself imprisoned within the city, and her friends sentenced to death.

Can Molly use the gifts she has only now discovered, as well as her intelligence and quick wit to save herself and her friends?

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

Dragon Run

Matthews, Patrick.  Dragon Run.  2013.

Hardcover, $16.99,  ISBN: 978-0-545-45068-3.

Book Talk:
Come to a world where mortals were created by dragons to gather magic for them.  Since time immemorial, the mortals have been branded according to their worth to the dragons.  Every person is branded with a number, from 1-7, that denotes their value to the dragons.  A high number means that lucky person will be able to own land, and handle magic directly.  The lower your number, the lower your place in society, with 1's being the lowest value.  Any person with a one becomes an outcast, and struggles to find work, housing, and food.

Al is twelve years old, and he is going to his testing day.  Today, he will learn what his number is.  He will discover what kind of life he will be able to live, and he will begin his apprenticeship when the day is finished.  Al is hoping to be a 3, or even a 4.  He will be able to own land, and continue to farm with his parents.

Before the day is over, Al finds himself shunned by society.  His parents have disowned him, claiming that they had found him and raised him as their own.  Even worse, the Cullers have set out to find him, determined to "thin the herd" and eliminate the useless mortal (and his family) who is incapable of gathering magic for the dragons.

As Al runs for his life, he finds himself swept into an adventure much older than him.  Brave enough to stand up to the Magisters, brave enough to fight the Cullers, Al is the one person who can change the course of history and stop the tyranny of the dragons.  But, with the mark of a zero on him, Al is a hunted teenager, constantly on the run from his enemies, as well as his friends.

As Al runs for his life, he discovers the mysterious feather society - but has he found them in time to save the world, or to doom it?

Author's Web Site:
http://www.pat-matthews.com/

Reviewer's Note:
Dragon Run marks the first YA Book I have read since January, when I sat down and vowed to finish my Master's Degree.  What a fantastic return to the world of Young Adult literature this has been!  Mr. Matthews weaves a tale full of unexpected plot twists and turns, and tells a story with a character that is compelling and delightful.  I enjoyed reading this book!  I started it in the parking lot while waiting for one of my children to get out of an activity, continued to read it at a science fair while children and activities swirled around me, and finished it late last night.  Truly, the book is a page turner.

Dragon Run is Mr. Matthew's first published novel.  I hope he publishes many more books.  He is a gifted storyteller!

THE HOBBIT Trailer - 2012 Movie

I went to see The Hobbit this past week with my family.

I have been a fan of The Hobbit, as well as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy since I first stumbled across those dusty paperbacks in 1983 at a used book store in Blacksburg, Virginia.  They looked like a fantastic escape from the drudgery of my coursework.  And they were.  I was immediately swept into the land of Middle Earth, and spent the entire weekend reading the books.  Unfortunately, I missed out on some homework I should have been doing instead.  BUT, a lifetime love of Fantasy Fiction and especially of Middle Earth was born.

I went in to see The Hobbit with mixed emotions.  I wasn't sure how I felt about Tolkien's beloved work being broken into three distinct movies, in three distinct sections.  The Hobbit is not as dark of a book as the Lord of the Rings.  It was written as a children's novel, and I wasn't sure how well the story could be pulled off in three parts.

While the movie is not absolutely true to the book, it does keep within the guidelines of the book.  The movie breaks at the point where the Eagles rescue the company from the goblins on the slopes of the Misty Mountains.

I did enjoy how the history from the other Tolkien Books- from The Simarillion to the Appendices of all 4 of the Hobbit based books is weaved into the story.  I enjoyed the foreshadowing.  I loved the singing of the Dwarves as they met together in Bilbo's house.  It was an enjoyable romp.

I was fortunate to see the movie in 3D, and I'm glad that I did.  The movie took on an ethereal, other world quality with the 3D graphics that I'm not certain would have carried over into a 2D screening.  There were several parts of the movie that looked as if they had been specifically orchestrated for the 3D film.

One word of advice, though.  If you have a child/friend/significant other who yells at the screen when the movie veers away from the book, or when the movie doesn't follow the text in the book exactly, you will want to make certain you see this movie in an off time.  (I only say this because my 20 year old son had conniption fits over the scene in the Misty Mountains with the Goblins.)

All in all, excellent movie! 

Doctor Who

Are you prepared for the British Invasion?

Doctor Who is a Time Lord, who travels through space and time in his Tardis- which is cleverly disguised as a Police Telephone Box- keeping the universe on track, defeating evil dudes, and keeping the universe a safe place for all of humanity.

This series, produced by the BBC, is Science Fiction/Fantasy at it's best. With historical fiction tossed in for some fun, you will be charmed by the Doctor and his companions in their adventures around the universe.

Fans of the original BBC series will enjoy this regeneration of the Doctor. With up to date special effects and modern story lines, today's Doctor is just as charming as the Doctor we remember!

Note From the Reviewer:
I do understand that Doctor Who is not a book!  I am a fan of the Doctor, I joined in the fandom when I was in college 20+ years ago.  This series is different from the old series that we remember.  The special effects are awesome, and the Tardis is a solid, sturdy time machine that benefits from modern special effects.

Doctor Who is a hot commodity among the teenagers again.  With the clever mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and a solid story line that is true to the original vision of Doctor Who, this series is smart, funny, and intellectually challenging television series that will appeal to those who love smart television.

The entire collection of Doctor Who is available in many libraries, on some PBS channels, on BBC America, and some episodes are available on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0132324

Changeling

Gregory, Philippa.  Changeling.  2012.  Simon Pulse, New York.


Hardcover, $18.99.  ISBN: 978-1-4424-5344-9.

Book Talk:

Luca Vero has been imprisoned by the church for daring to question the authenticity of some of the relics that the church is claiming to be authentic.  Facing a certain death at the hands of the Inquisition, Luca is offered a reprieve.

Intrigued by his inquisitve nature, a mysterious stranger offers him a chance at freedom.  After being trained, he will be allowed to go out into the world and record the strange and unusual things that are happening in the world that appear to be the work of the devil or the end of times.

Lucas' first mission into the world is an inquiry at a nunnery north of Rome where terrible things have been happening.  The Lady Abess in charge of the nunnery was forced into the position in order to keep her from claiming the inheritance from her father.  The nuns are experiencing horrible dreams and visions, walking in their sleep, and are experiencing unexplained bleeding wounds.

The guilt seems to fall on a plot laid out by the Lady Abess to drive the nuns mad.

As Luca digs deeper, he finds a deeper plot, driven by greed, that puts the life of every nun in danger.
Will Luca discover the culprit before all is lost?  Will the Lady Abess ever regain what is rightfully hers?

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

Reveiwer's Note:
I completely enjoyed this book.  I found myself swept back in time and found it hard to re-enter the world of the 21st century when I had finished the book. 

This book is Book One of the Order of Darkness series.  While the main characters in the story are not based upon any particular historical figure, they are accurate to the time that is depicted. 

I think sometimes we forget that the world was a very different place than it is now, and the things that we now understand to be science, that follows rules and patterns were misunderstood and used by people with bad intentions to influence and even terrorize the common people of the time who had little or no education. 

Blogscaping

If you've been checking in on the blog after being gone for a while, you'll notice I've made some changes.  I'm engaging in some "Blogscaping" this week.

I've reviewed a lot of books since I began keeping this blog for class several years back.  While I've always kept posts tagged, I was noticing that it's hard to find books.  Even though I keep a list of tags on the side of the blog, if you're trying to look back for something, or find a related title, you are going to have a hard time finding anything with this arrangement.

So, I'm switching things up a little.  I will continue to review books in the regular blog stream.  No change there.

I'm adding tabs across the top of the page by genre.  Each page will include a list of the books I've reveiwed in that genre, with a perma-link to the original post. 

I'm trying to make the list alphabetical for easy access, but as I'm tacking this in possibly the most inefficient way in history, you'll see the lists appear first in the order that I find them as I search back through the posts.  Then, when I get time, I'll come back and alphebetize the lists in order to make it easier to find books.

I do read a lot of books over the course of a month.  Some of them are adult fiction.  Since this is a young adult page, I don't review them here unless if I feel they are a worthy crossover book that older teens might enjoy reading. Some are children's books.  While I enjoy those immensely, I'm not going to review those on a young adult blog, either.

Any book that I've posted in here, I've read from cover to cover, and I enjoyed reading it.  I feel it's worthy of drawing someone's attention to this book.  I'm hoping that someone else will find the same value and enjoyment of the book that I did.

I'm currently debating whether or not to keep the list of tags down the side of the page.  That list is getting long, and unwieldly, and I'm not sure it's worth keeping the list...  Only time will tell whether I keep that little fixture!

-Bettina