My Faire Lady

by Laura Wettersten
published: Simon & Schuster; 2014
pages: 352

Rowena's ex-boyfriend is a dirty rotten cheater, a cheater that she would have to see practically every day during the summer if she kept her job at the mall.  So when she comes across a job opportunity an hour outside of town, she jumps on the chance to get away from him.  Doubling as a face-painter and a bar wench, Ro finds herself navigating the summer in the Renaissance Festival.  It helps that she has set her sights on an incredibly attractive knight that could help her take her mind off of her ex.  Will she find what she's looking for, or will her simpler summer turn out more complicated than she planned?

I haven't had this much fun reading a book in quite a while.  It was light and cute, but it also dealt with topics that so many teens deal with: parental pressure and passion.  We see the Rowena struggle with balancing what she wanted and what she knew her parents wanted.  It was quite believable.

Even though I had this story mapped out in my mind within the first 50 pages, I enjoyed reading this so much.  Granted, there were twists and turns that I did not account for so there definitely were some surprises for me.

The characters were so much fun to read.  I love Suze and Ro's relationship and the ease in which they fell into being friends.  It is dynamic but it shows the fragility of new friendships.

I absolutely love Renaissance Festivals, so when I first heard about this book I was extremely excited to read a book with this fairly uncommon setting.  I used to dream about working at a Renaissance Festival, so it was fun to live my childhood/teenage dream out through this book.  I wish I had read this closer to festival season though because now I have a hankering to go! 

I sure hope Laura Wettersten writes many more books in the future because I will definitely read them.

Star: 4.5/5

Praise:

"Sharp, funny dialogue is mixed with thoughtful resolutions of relevant teenage topics--love and lust, admitting fault, the mettle it takes to pursue a passion.  The rich backdrop of the fair, with its vivid description and appealing characters, is icing on the cake.  Verily, fine fare."
     --Kirkus Reviews

"Wettersten provides a playful, fresh setting for her YA debut, and summer fun abounds amid the jousting, mead-drinking, and evidence that chivalry is indeed not dead...[a] light touch and solid characterizations make it a satisfying read."
     --Publishers Weekly

"Wettersten offers a whimsical setting, engaging characters, and plenty of summer romance, making this an easy sell for teens."
     --School Library Journal

A Full House Reading Challenge 2015 book. 

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell
published: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013
pages: 433

Cath, like the rest of the world, is a fan of Simon Snow.  She always has been and always will be.  In fact, thousands of people think she is an incredible fan.  Cath and her twin sister, Wren, are going to college and Cath is bringing along the fanfiction she's been writing or two years in anticipation of the last Simon Snow novel.  Wren has decided not to room with Cath, leaving Cath with a surly roommate who has an omnipresent, overly cheery boyfriend and an intimidating world she's not sure she can handle by herself.  Cath is also really good at worrying.  Will she be able to juggle everything or will all her worrying cause her to lose sight of what's really going on and what's important?

I absolutely could not put this book down.  It was hysterical and beautiful and it made me want to start reading fanfiction again.  There's so many layers to this novel it's crazy.  It's a story about a girl who loves a story so she writes fanfaction about that story.  They talk about the fanfiction quite a bit in the story and at the beginning I was curious to know if we'd get to read any of Cath's stories.  And we did! It's great that we actually get to read some of the fanficiton that Cath wrote.

This book places us in a refreshing setting, college.  Most YA I read is set in high school and I don't mind it, but I loved reading about Cath's transition into college.  It can be a hard transition and Cath's college experience feels so real.  Her feelings about going into this big new and scary situation are on par with how I experienced the beginning of of school. She has introverted tendencies and when she builds up a wall about certain things, I completely understand.   I have so much empathy for Cath.   Despite her concerns and all the other stuff going on in her life he manages to make friends even if they don't understand why she writes fanfiction.

All of the characters in this book are incredibly relatable.  I've been in each character's shoes at some point in my college career and that makes me like them all, even when they are being unbelievably irritating and dumb.  One thing I find so entertaining about this book is that fact that Simon Snow feels so much like Harry Potter and Cath feels the same way about Simon Snow as I do about Harry Potter.  That's grounds for many relatable moments.

I was told that I would love Rainbow Rowell and I do, I love her writing and her characters and her stories and how she took an idea and brought it to life with words.  I cannot wait to read her other books!

Stars: 4.5/5

Praise:

"A deliciously warm-hearted nerd power ballad destined for greatness."
     --New York Journal of Books

"A funny and tender coming-of-age story that's also the story of a writer finding her voice."
     --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Rowell manages to capture both the wildly popular universe of fanfic and the inside of an 18-year-old's head.  Consider me a fangirl of this charming coming-of-age tale."
     --Entertainment Weekly

A Full House Reading Challenge 2015: You heard about the book online
A Alphabet Soup Challenge 
A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Book Challenge book. 

Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro
published: Vintage Books, 2005
pages: 288

Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grew up together in a prestigious boarding school called Hailsham where their guardians constantly reminded them that they were special.  It never occurred to them to question the rules or the mysterious behavior that some of the guardians showed.  Now Kathy looks back on their days together and begins to unravel the mystery of Ruth, Tommy and her special childhood and how that knowledge will shape the rest of their lives together.

This story stuck with me for days after I finished reading this book.  I find I still think about now, (it hasn't been all that long.)  I keep thinking about the characters, their lives and their whould'ves, could'ves, should'ves, knowing there really was no other way their story could go.  This is a story that will sit with you long after you've closed the book.  It'll make you wonder about the potential of humanity and the desperation of others.

The storytelling is hauntingly reminiscent and beautifully thought-provoking.  When Kathy speaks, it's as if we are having a conversation in which she is divulging her deepest secrets.  I may be a donor and she might be my carer.  There is a sadness in her storytelling that is evident while reading this book.  It's almost as if she's smiling through her sadness, like she's discussing her life unsentimentally.

Kazuo Ishirguro has been awarded for his writing in past books and I can see why.  He has a unique take on storytelling and the voices he shares with us.  I will most definitely be reading more of his work in the future.

4.5/5 Stars

Praise:

"A Gothic tour de force.... A tight, deftly controlled story.... Just as accomplished [as The Remains of the Day] and, in a very different way, just as melancholy and alarming."
     --The New York Times

"Elegiac, deceptively lovely....As always, Ishiguro pulls you under."
     --Newsweek

"Superbly unsettling, impeccably controlled...The Book's irresistible power come from Ishiguro's matchless ability to expose its dark heart in careful increments."
     --Entertainment Weekly

This is an Eclectic Reader 2014 Challenge Book!

Scarlet

by Marissa Meyer
published: Feiwel and Friends, 2013
pages: 454

Scarlet's grandmother is missing and nobody seems to care. But she knows that her grandma would never just leave without telling her where she's going.  Scarlet decides that if the police won't do anything, she's going to find her.  With the help of a mysterious stranger,Wolf, she finds clues about her grandmother's whereabouts and uncovers secrets that she has kept from Scarlet.  In the midst of all this, Cinder is now running for her life, unsure what to do next.  Will she fight the evil Queen Levana or will the pressure of who she is be to much to handle.

I love fairy-tale retellings in any form of media and I loved Cinder, so I had high hopes that Scarlet would be just as excellent, if not more.  And it was.  I thought the way Marissa Meyer incorporated the story of Little Red Ridding Hood was a great addition to the overall story of Luna and the Earth.  It's a little easier it hide Cinderella in a story because the rags to riches theme is quite common but Little Red Ridding Hood is very distinct and quite often very noticeable when retold.  However, Meyer hid the story quite well.  The highlights complimented the plot and did not overwhelm the story at all.

I think my only complaint about this book is in regards to the characters, in that there are so many of them.  Well, actually there aren't that many, but they all have a moment in the spotlight.  The point-of-view changed quite frequently and while that wasn't really a problem, it sometimes felt like there was too much going on.  Specifically, Scarlet and Cinder primarily split this novel, so there was less time to see Scarlet and the characters in her story develop.  Whereas, Cinder had an entire book to herself and then her story continued in this book.  This makes me curious as to how much the future books will be split and hopefully the character development will be balanced well.  But I'll have to wait for that.

That being said, I cannot wait to see what happens in the next installment.  I'm ready for more Scarlet, Wolf, Cinder, Prince Kai and the new arrivals.  I loved reading this book and I'm still incredibly impressed by the way Marissa Meyer weaves the fairy-tales into the world she has created.  I don't want to wait until February, but the anticipation is fun!

Stars: 4.5/5

Praise:

"The author has stepped up the intrigue and plot from the first novel, and readers will be eagerly awaiting the next."
     --School Library Journal

"The sci-fi elements are stronger than the fairy-tale allusions this time out, but the story remains just as absorbing...Readers will be thrilled to discover that this steampunky fairy-tale/sci-fi mashup promises two more installments."
     --BCCB

"Returning fans of Meyer's Cinder will gladly sink their teeth into this ambitious, wholly satisfying sequel."
     --Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Graveyard Book

by Neil Gaiman
published: HarperCollins, 2008
pages: 312

Bod Owens leads a completely normal life, apart from growing up in a graveyard where most of his friends are ghosts and his guardian, Silas, belongs neither among the living or the dead. Sometimes Bod wishes he could leave the graveyard, but knows that if he does, he will no longer be under the protection of it.  When the mystery of why Bod lives in a graveyard surrounded by ghosts instead of the living starts to unravel, Bod finds out information about his birth family and why they were killed.

This story is a most interesting one.  I never would have thought that a boy growing up among the dead would interest me, but if you put Neil Gaiman's name on it, I will try it out.  I have said this many times recently, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

Mystery in this book is enticing.  It seems to be Neil Gaiman's style of writing, only sharing enough of the world so that the reader isn't confused.  Other non-crucial details aside are mysteries to infer from the story.  I really enjoy this way of writing because it allows extra imagination on the part of the reader.

The characters are incredibly interesting and alluring.  We never find out exactly what Silas is, but from context clues we can gather that he's probably a vampire.  I really like that this isn't spelled out for us because it adds to the aforementioned mystery of the novel and the characters.  None of the characters in this book are completely divulged.  I feel like everyone has a secret that they are unwilling to expose, which, for me, makes them that much more realistic.  It would make sense to know a character's every whim if the story was being told in first person, but here it's third person and the characters work.  Everything seems to be quite seamless without needing all the information.

Neil Gaiman has secured his name on my read-anything-this-author-has-ever-written list.  I cannot wait to pick up another one of his titles.

Stars: 4.5/5

Praise:

"Wistful, witty, and wise - and creepy.... Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod's innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child."
     --Kirkus Reviews

"An utterly captivating tale... this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages."
     --Booklist, starred review

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer
Published: Feiwel and Friends, 2012
Pages: 390

There's a reason Cinder is great mechanic, she's also a cyborg.  When the young Prince Kai, starts to show interest in the sixteen-year-old mechanic, Cinder has no reason to believe that a prince would be remotely interested in her.  Besides, he is busy looking for a cure for the plague that inflicts hundreds of people in New Beijing and around the world, including his father.  So when Cinder suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic conflict, she has to uncover her murky past to save the planet's future.

This retelling of Cinderella is great!  I love fairy tales and Cinderella is one of my favorites.  Knowing the story of Cinderella, I knew what was going to happen, but finding out how it happened was the best part of this book. I thought Marissa Meyer very cleverly intertwined the classic story into her post World War IV sci-fi technological age.  I was intrigued by the characters, settings and the society.  It was fascinating to read!

What I loved about the characters was that they felt completely new, despite being shells of a popular fairy tale. Cinder is an awesome cyborg, who makes a living fixing machines and androids, but on top of that she has a brilliant personality.  She is independent and smart, but she still struggles with fitting in like any teenager might.  It is very easy to relate to her and the other characters too.

I am a self-professed slow reader, but I flew through this story in three days!  I cannot wait to read the second book in The Lunar Chronicles to see where Cinder goes from here.  I will be very sad to have to wait for the rest of the story, I'm sure.

Stars: 4.5/5

Praise:

"Author Marissa Meyer rocks the fractured fairy tale genre with a sci-fi twist on Cinderella"
     --The Seattle Times

"...this series opener and debut offers a high coolness factor by rewriting Cinderella as a kickass mechanic in a plague-ridden future.
     --Kirkus

"There's a lot of moving parts in this fresh spin on "Cinderella," the first in a four book series."
     --Booklist