Review: The Prince Who Fell From the Sky by John Claude Bemis

Title: The Prince Who Fell From the Sky [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: John Claude Bemis [Website|Facebook]
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic
Published: May 22nd, 2012 by Random House
Format: Kindle edition; 272 pages
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

In Casseomae's world, the wolves rule the Forest, and the Forest is everywhere. The animals tell stories of the Skinless Ones, whose cities and roads once covered the earth, but the Skinless disappeared long ago.

Casseomae is content to live alone, apart from the other bears in her tribe, until one of the ancients' sky vehicles crashes to the ground, and from it emerges a Skinless One, a child. Rather than turn him over to the wolves, Casseomae chooses to protect this human cub, to find someplace safe for him to live. But where among the animals will a human child be safe? And is Casseomae threatening the safety of the Forest and all its tribes by protecting him?

Middle-grade fans of postapocalyptic fiction are in for a treat with this fanciful and engaging animal story by the author of the Clockwork Dark trilogy.

Anyone who’s been reading my reviews for a while now has probably realized that I love when a book puts a spin on my traditional way of thinking.  I don’t always agree with the spin, but I like knowing it’s out there affecting the way people think about things.  The Prince Who Fell From the Sky was one of those books.  I was worried on more than one occasion that it would cross the line into ‘big message’ territory and make me groan, but it didn’t!  John Claude Bemis weaved his tale with a deft hand in a way that made me think without making me feel like I was being judged.  Not completely easy for a story about post-apocalyptic earth where the humans live no more and animals pass down stories of the Skinless Ones’ cruelty to the Forest.

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky was an interesting weave of native mythology, animal fantasy, and the currently popular post-apocalyptic setting.  The main character, Casseomae (or Cas for short), is an aging bear with the instincts and desire to be a mother.  Unfortunately, all of her cubs have been stillborn.  As a result, she feels very protective of all those in need, saving each member of the band repeatedly throughout.  When the Skinless Ones fall from the sky (presumably in some sort of space craft) and a child emerges, Cas refuses to let the hierarchy of the Forest kill him, despite the risk.  The only memories creatures of the forest have of the Skinless Ones are of killing and destruction. She sets off with the companionship of a somewhat knowledgeable rat, a Faithful dog, and the ‘cub’ in tow.

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky is the story of unlikely partnerships between animals of different standing and relation to humans.  It seems that each type of animal has their own stories and myths about humans, and I loved to see the alternate takes that the animals had.  The greatest humor of the book sprouted from Dumpster, the rat who begrudgingly journeys alongside Cas in search of his Mischief and the Havenlands.  He is the Memory for his Mischief, the one who is supposed to remember all of the stories and history.  As such, he considers himself the authority on all things human, but of course, at least half of his ideas are laughably ridiculous and nonsensical to our human minds.  For example, the idea that people had fire escapes on buildings so they could escape fire on the ground and run up to safety.

The relationship between Cas and the ‘cub’ is powerful.  Despite a language barrier (and I honestly loved that the human and animals couldn’t talk with one another), she manages to impart wisdom and respect for the Forest into him.  This, she hopes, will make him a part of the Forest and unlikely to cause the destruction that all of the animals fear he portends.  The ending of The Prince Who Fell From the Sky is unequivocally perfect.  It’s realistic, heartwarming, and sad all wrapped into one.  Plus I have to say, that I totally dig this cover.

While I obviously have many kind things to say about John Claude Bemis’s The Prince Who Fell From the Sky, I will admit that this story didn’t really grab me.  It was well done, unexpected, and made me think from a new perspective, but at the same time it was very easy to put down, and didn’t have me longing for more.  I feel descriptions of this one as a post-apocalyptic Jungle Book are fairly on the nose, though that is another story I was never enraptured by.  Personally, I could take it or leave it, but I do feel that it will be a better fit for many young readers.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  This was my first John Claude Bemis, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t fall madly in love and am not sure I will be picking up the Clockwork Dark trilogy.

Recommended for: They’ve pitched this one more to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, but I personally feel it’s a better fit for fans of animal fantasy such as Redwall, Wattership Down, The Jungle Book or the Warriors series.  Nice crossover appeal! 

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Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

  Title: Howl’s Moving Castle [Amazon|GoodReads]
  Author: Diana Wynne Jones [Website|Facebook]
  Standing: First in the Castle trilogy, can be read as a stand alone.
  Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
  Published: April 22nd, 2008 by Eos (first published April 14th, 1986).
  Format: Paperback; 429 pages.
  Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Sophie Hatter is certain she is doomed to a boring life.  As the eldest child, she is bound to fail while her younger sisters go on to happiness.  This inevitability seems to come to fruition when their father dies.  Lettie, her middle sister is sent to apprentice at the town’s bakery where she is likely to catch a fine husband, and Martha, the youngest, is sent to Mrs. Fairfax to apprentice the witch and learn her spells and power.  Sophie, fatefully enough, is stuck managing the family hat shop with her step-mother.  Resigned to her woeful inheritance, Sophie breaths life into her work, creating hats of beauty that bring in business from all corners.  Intrigued in her skills, The Witch of the Waste pays a visit to the shop, where she ends up cursing Sophie with old age, while ensuring that she won’t be able to tell a soul.  Sophie determines that there’s little point in staying around, and decides to strike out and seek her fortune.  As her fortune would have it, she ends up at Howl’s door.

This book.  I loved this book.  It was so much fun, full of fantasy and wonder, I honestly don’t have a bad word to say about it.  This is the kind of book that makes me cry over not having read it as a child, and I want to push it into the hands of anyone and everyone I know who loves middle grade and fantasy, no matter their age.  Diana Wynne Jones’s writing is so very whimsical and smart.  I love middle grade authors that are so utterly intelligent.  I feel like too many times the age group gets written down to, but not in this case.  In fact, the characters in Howl’s Moving Castle aren’t even middle grade themselves!  Sophie is eighteen (or about 90, respectively), Howl is in his 20s; in my mind Howl’s Moving Castle brilliantly includes characters of all ages, managing to write them faithfully to their differences and similarities. 

Sophie is timid, and lacks confidence as a young woman, but almost instantly upon becoming 90, she sheds the uncertainties and delicacies of youth.  She doesn’t have to be self-conscious of the things a teenager does, and so Sophie allows herself to be the hardened, nosey, insistent woman she really is.  I love it.  I love that Sophie is constantly doing things she knows will upset Howl, but she never lies about them when he confronts her, she just owns up.  Howl, of course, is a wonderful character.  What he appears to be on the surface, and what he really is underneath don’t quite line up, but yet he manages to be completely himself at all times.  They’re both rather saucy really.

The other characters in the castle, Michael and Calcifer, are equally wonderful.  Michael is the 15 year old apprentice boy, and Calcifer is the fire-demon who helps to power Howl’s moving castle.  Calcifer entreats Sophie to stay (and she very much wants to, because honestly, where else would she go?) and break the contract locking him and Howl together.  Michael, obviously annoyed with Sophie initially, quickly softens and begins to take to her.  So many of the characters in this book seem to have such large hearts, despite their appearances (and possibly their intentions). 

The story of Howl’s Moving Castle is full of magic, whimsy, and spectacle.  I loved that while the story stayed strictly tacked on to Sophie, it was very clear that everyone else was having marvelous adventures as well.  I find it enchanting that we get to know this, to glimpse these other stories, without really being privy to the details.  Also, I found Howl’s Moving Castle to be pleasantly unpredictable.  I was never sure quite which way the story was going, and I loved that Sophie and the others seemed to figure things out before I did.  I hate always being the first to know!  I really couldn’t recommend Howl’s Moving Castle more, and I’m certain I’ll be reading it again in years to come.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Even though Howl’s Moving Castle can be read as a standalone, I already can’t wait to read more stories from Ingary.  I’ll be picking up Castle in the Air next time I pillage the tween stacks.

Recommended for: Anyone who loves MG, fantasy readers, people who enjoy whimsy and hats.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  While I absolutely adore the movie Spirited Away, and really liked both Ponyo and Princess Mononoke, I’ve never actually watched Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle.  Consider that remedied as soon as I finished this book!  I also haven’t seen Castle in the Sky, which apparently has nothing to do with Castle in the Air despite the similarities…will have to check it out as well.

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Review: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Title: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Christopher Healy [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Illustrator: Tod Harris
Standing: First in a series, but can be read as a stand alone.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Published: May 1st, 2012 by Walden Pond Press
Format: Kindle edition; 419 pages
Source: ARC from publisher via Edelweiss.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

Prince Charming is afraid of old ladies. Didn’t know that, did you? Don’t worry. There’s a lot you don’t know about Prince Charming: Prince Charming has no idea how to use a sword; Prince Charming has no patience for dwarfs; Prince Charming has an irrational hatred of capes. Some of you may not even realize that there’s more than one Prince Charming. And that none of them are actually named Charming. No one is. Charming isn’t a name; it’s an adjective.

For anyone who’s ever thought:

• Why is ‘Prince Charming’ such an ambiguous title?
• Does it really have to be ‘true love’s kiss’, or would any old kiss do?
• Why’s it always the damsels in distress?
• Why aren’t there enough fairy tales staring the men?
• Beavers have the potential to be truly terrifying.  Okay, maybe this last one is just me, but ever since I learned that there were six foot beavers back in the day, I’ve been much more leery of the animal in general.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy is the book for you! 

Welcome to the League of Princes!  Princes Charming that is.  Not to be confused with Prince Charmings.  Prince is the noun, after all, it’s what gets pluralized.  Like Attorneys General or Culs-de-sac.  Actually, the later is French and I sucked at French for the one semester I took it, so I can’t tell you if ‘cul’ is a noun, but I can tell you that the plural of cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac and not cul-de-sacs as is often said.  *Sigh.*  *Removes Grammar Nazi hat.*

Ahem.  Anyway.  The Princes Charming, as you know them, are better known in their own circles as Frederic (that’s Cinderella’s prince), Gustav (that’s Rapunzel’s prince), Liam (that’s Sleeping Beauty’s prince), and Duncan (that’s Snow White’s prince).  Unfortunately for them, the bards didn’t give two licks about their fame, and composed the songs all about the ladies, completely leaving out any identifying markers and causing the ambiguous ‘Prince Charming’ title.  They’re all a bit put out about it (and rightly so), but they each have some bigger issues to contend with.  Frederic is afraid of, well, everything, Gustav is always one to fight first and ask questions later (or never), Liam’s head is getting a bit big what with all the hero work and praise, and Duncan is, for lack of a better term, weird.

Ella (that’s Cinderella’s real name) wants adventure, Rapunzel wants to help people, Briar Rose wants to marry her Prince Charming (but she is absolutely horrid and needs to learn that you can’t always get what you want even as a princess), and Snow White just wants some ‘me’ time.  Thus, feeling alone, cast out, or on the run, the Princes Charming come together to save the day and put names to their fame.  Of course, this means battling the evil witch Zaubera, destroying her Supreme Scheme for Infamy, and putting a stop to her Grand Finale of Doom.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is about as much fun as anyone can or should have reading a book.  The villains are dastardly, the heroes are flawed, and quite frankly any author who pushes foreshadowing on over into the spoiler territory gets a win in my book.  It’s not quite like Shakespeare flat out telling you how Romeo and Juliet is going to end, but it does paint an interesting picture when you’re starting out. 

All of the characters in The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom are wonderful.  I loved them all.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Okay, I hated Briar Rose, but I loved Zaubera (I mean come on people, she has a thesaurus spell so that she can insult people more creatively), The Bandit King, and Reese.  I love that Healy points out (repeatedly) how silly the notion is that you could love someone you’ve never even met, that his damsels are not in distress, and that his hero’s heroics are questionable.  Ella, Rapunzel (I’m hoping to see more of her in the next book!), and Lila (Liam’s little sister) are all strong young women who aren’t afraid to save themselves.  The princes, with the exception of Liam, are all victims of circumstance more than anything else.  Liam, the one true ‘hero’ among them, isn’t perfect either, he has a lot to learn about utilizing others’ assets and diplomacy.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom can teach anyone a lot about fairy tales, and a lot about life.  It’s fun, adventurous, and informative!  I highly recommend it to middle grade and fairy tale lovers of any age.  I also have to say that the art is wonderful, but unfortunately, the e-galley copy that I had only had art for the first few chapters, so I can’t say much about it other than that I liked what I saw!  I loved the cartoony look, and the reality that the princes were not all handsome, and the princesses were not all perfect.  I do plan on purchasing a hard copy so that I can reread and view to my heart’s delight!

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: I cannot wait for the sequel to this one!  Healy mentioned it in a video interview for Fairy Tale Fortnight on The Book Rat and I am all over that!  Also the entire time I was reading this I kept thinking ‘this book needs a movie deal…omg somebody please make this into an awesome animated feature!’ and I totally called it!  Fingers crossed, I so hope they do a good job with this one, it has the potential to be amazing (I’m thinking like How to Train Your Dragon awesome here).

Recommended for: I want to start shoving this book into so many kids’ hands, and kind of want to have a baby and instantly age them to an appropriate age that I can read this to them.  That’s a justifiable reason to have kids, right?  Any fairy tale fans will love this one, particularly if you also enjoy middle grade and some light, adventurous fun!

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I just have to say that Walden Pond Press is quickly becoming one of my favorite imprints.  After reading this, Neversink, and Breadcrumbs, I am beginning to wonder if they can put out a book I don’t love.

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Review: Neversink by Barry Wolverton

Title: Neversink [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Barry Wolverton [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Illustrator: Sam Nielson
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Published: March 27th, 2012 by Walden Pond Press
Format: Hardcover; 287 pages.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

Birds of the Northerly World

Excerpted from THE WALRUS GUIDE TO LESSER CREATURES, Sixteenth Edition

Puffin: Smallish, squidgy, improbable looking.  Relatively quiet and well-mannered, expect when provoked.  Not to be confused with a penguin, or a parrot, or a cross between a penguin and a parrot.

I would hug this book if it weren't physically impossible for a human and a book about a puffin, a walrus, and a hummingbird to embrace.  It has everything I love about a fantastic middle grade book.  Adventure, fun, wit, illustrations, a dastardly villain, love, friendship, PUFFINS, and of course, a map:

Neversink by Barry Wolverton tells the story of an improbable hero, Lockley Puffin, and his adventure that comes full circle.   Neversink is an island populated by auks (a family of fish-eating birds that includes puffins, razorbills, murres, and guillemots) lying off the coast of the mainland, Tytonia, where, if you will forgive the expression, the owls rule the roost.  When the fear arises that the small animals owls consider food are infected with the sickness, one ambitious owl takes it as an opportunity to oust the king and put the auks of Neversink back under the owls’ thumb (yes, I know owls don’t have thumbs, it’s a figure of speech!).  Rozbell, the new owl ruler with a Napoleon complex, enacts a fish tax, indulging in the scrumptious delights that are Lucy Puffin’s fish smidgens.  It would appear, however, that Rozbell’s appetite cannot be quenched (while of course, those around him continue to be quite peckish), and soon the demands upon the auks rise.  Lockley refuses to let such a burden fall upon his people, particularly upon his wife Lucy.  But with a population of birds who have many mottos about not making waves, how will a squidgy puffin, a scholarly walrus, and an excitable hummingbird save the day?

Oh friends, I loved this book.  Barry Wolverton’s writing was so unabashedly clever and full of wit that I found myself constantly smiling and chuckling while reading Neversink.  It’s the type of book that is written perfectly for the intended age, and yet has so many quick references and jokes in it that an adult will most assuredly appreciate them as well.  Taking place before the appearance of humankind on the globe, Neversink is full of funny lines that reference things we know as familiar (like pants), and then reminders that those things don’t exist.  Egbert, our dear walrus, even has some good Beatles and Alice in Wonderland references up his metaphorical sleeve. 

Not only was the writing fun and clever, but the story and characters were as well!  I appreciate it so much when a middle grade author doesn’t shy away from realities such as death.  Barry Wolverton doesn’t make it ghastly or inappropriate, but he doesn’t do the Disney thing and have characters just fall from high places never to be seen again either (I suppose when the bulk of your characters can fly, this tactic would be rather misguided).  His villain, Rozbell, has depth, and isn’t just a mad-bird lusting for power for power’s sake—you can really see how he becomes corrupt, and understand his thought process, even if it’s selfish and cruel.  I love a well-done bad guy!     

And of course I was going to love a book where our hero was a puffin!  Do you remember how excited I was when I brought this one home?  I just love them so much!  Even if they can be rather indignant at times.  It would seem that calling a puffin a penguin, is much akin to calling a Scott English.  Lockley and Lucy were both perfect heroes in my mind because they didn’t set out to be.  They’re scared, they don’t want to make trouble, make things worse, or defy authority, but we all know that everyone can be pushed too far.  When pushed too far, some characters break, but heroes push back. 

In the end we see that like Neversink, not every good story needs a moral.  Some adventures just need to happen.  Sam Nielson’s illustrations are whimsical and perfect for the setting, as mentioned I am a particular fan of the map.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Neversink was such a fantastic debut!  I would love to see other stories from Tytonia (like one involving badgers perhaps?), but will happily check out whatever Barry Wolverton comes up with next.

Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys great middle grade, in particular animal fantasies like Redwall or Legend of the Guardians.  Because apparently some owls are inherently evil.

Real life repercussions of reading this book: The boyfriend said we can dress up our squidgy Wocket as a puffin for Halloween!  What do you think, can he pull it off?

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Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron Daughter [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Julie Kagawa [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: Book two in The Iron Fey series.
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published: July 27th, 2010 by Harlequin Teen
Format: Kindle edition; 361 pages
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Spoilers!: This review contains spoilers for the first book in the series, The Iron King (reviewed here), so go read that first!

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron Fey, iron-bound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan’s own fey powers have been cut off. She’'s alone in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can’t help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

So remember every nice thing I said about Meghan Chase when I reviewed The Iron King?  Well, I take it back.  Somehow that savvy girl with the potential to turn into someone brave and strong instead turned into a simpering, pining, annoyingly naive character I just couldn’t bring myself to care about this time around.  I really think this was a case of the straw that broke the camel’s back.  This was it; the book that made me realize that I really just cannot take one more of these YA romances.  I can’t do it!  It’s not just that it’s a love triangle (but yeah, that’s a big part of it), it’s also that it’s deep intense love with someone you barely know, have spent barely any time with, and yet are willing to give up everything for.  For eternity.  Yeah.  That kind of love.  I can’t do it anymore.  

Maybe I’ve matured a lot in my views of relationships over the past few years.  I’ve been living with the man I want to spend the rest of my life with now for over three years, and I’ve come to understand that love and relationships take work...and they have to be based on something more than some surface attraction and something in common.  I’m not saying that the types of relationships I’m getting sick of in YA couldn’t potentially end up as lasting, but honestly?  Most of them aren’t healthy, and it’s gotten to where it annoys me beyond belief that we’re supposed to swoon over this stuff and think ‘oh how sweet they’ll be together forever’ when they don’t even really know (or care about) what that entails.

I just wanted to slap Meghan so many times in this book.  At the beginning, Ash literally tells her that he’s going to have to treat her a certain way in the Unseelie court.  Then, when he proceeds to do exactly as he said he would, Meghan cries and moans about how he’s betrayed her and lied to her and how could he be so cruel.  She continually doubts his feelings for her, doubts her own feelings for him, and yet--it’s true love people!  Right.  At the end of The Iron King I had also come to believe that Meghan had grown and matured as a person.  That she was no longer worried about things like an embarrassing day in high school that had bothered her at the beginning of her journey.  But then in The Iron Daughter she freaks out about just those types of things proving that she hasn’t really grown at all.

Some other nitpicky things while I’m on a roll: for the love of all that is good stop talking about heartbeats.  I swear, if I had a dollar for everytime Meghan hears/feels Ash’s heartbeat, or Puck’s heartbeat, or her own freakin’ heartbeat, I could pay off a decent amount of my student loans.  Also, I hate hate recapping.  A little I get, it’s fine, it’s usually been a while between books, but excessive recapping is Kagawa’s thing.  I didn’t enjoy Winter’s Passage much because of it, and it had me wanting to put The Iron Daughter down after only 25 pages.  And get this?  She put a huge chuck of Winter’s Passage into The Iron Daughter.  Seriously?!  I get that not everyone had access to the short story, but that’s why you make it something you don’t need to put in the books.  Not something you just put in the book anyway.

If I had read The Iron Daughter two years ago when it came out, I most likely would have loved it.  I wish I did read it then, because Julie Kagawa’s built a really cool world creating an interplay between some classic mythology and her own creations that are unique and quite frankly pretty dang cool.  I do think that aside from my inability to stomach the relationships, The Iron Daughter suffered a bit from second-book syndrome.  It was an okay story, but really seemed a filler plot leading to where we all know the story is going.  Nothing about it was surprising to me as it was in The Iron King, and in the end I was just incredibly disappointed with the whole read.

In the words of Craig Ferguson, I look forward to your comments.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I was really looking forward to this series, but after this I think I’m done.  I just don’t think I can care anymore about The Iron Fey.  I do still want to read The Immortal Rules, but I’m hesitant enough not to have requested the ARC.  I’ll wait to see more reviews, thank you.

Recommended for:  I would still recommend this series to fantasy readers, particularly younger ones, who don’t read so much as me and therefore haven’t become incredibly jaded.

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Graphic Novel Review: Kill Shakespeare Vol. 1 by Conor Mcreery and Anthony Del Col

Title: Kill Shakespeare Vol. 1 [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col
Art: Andy Belanger (pencils), Ian Herring (inker), Kagan McLeod (covers)
Standing: First in a two-volume series.
Genre: Graphic Novel
Published: November 9th, 2010 by IDW Publishing
Format: Paperback; 148 pages.
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Hamlet is exiled to England after his father’s untimely death.  On the journey, his ship is attacked, and he washes up on shore at the feet and mercy of Richard III.  Richard claims that Hamlet has been sent to fulfill prophecy as the Shadow King.  He is the only one who can find the wizard, William Shakespeare and kill him.  Others, however, have different ideas about this prophecy.  They believe the Shadow King is to find Shakespeare, but return him to them and deliver them from the evil Richard.  Richard desires to obtain Shakespeare’s quill, which holds vast amounts of power; the people wish to overthrow his tyrannical rule.

So.  I can pretty easily say that this is the worst graphic novel I have ever read.  My boyfriend informs me that I’ve been spoiled.  I only started reading graphic novels about 3 years ago, and in that time I’ve had nothing but the greats to consume--Sandman, Watchmen, Fables, Transmetropolitan, etc.  I only recently started branching out and selecting my own graphic reads beyond what’s been recommended to me.  My first selection was American Vampire, which was very decent if not the love of my life; the second was A Flight of Angels.  I loved it, it was visually the most beautiful graphic novel I’ve read to date, and the story was there to back it up.  To me, Kill Shakespeare failed on both accounts.

What did I expect from Kill Shakespeare?  Well, every little blurb kept screaming at me “THIS IS LIKE FABLES BUT WITH SHAKESPEARE INSTEAD OF FAIRY TALES”.  And I suppose it would be.  If Fables had half-hearted art, no character development, and rushed plot lines.  So needless to say, I had expectations that were a fair bit higher than what was delivered to me.  

Maybe I just don’t know my Shakespeare well enough to appreciate this (though I feel like I know it fairly well), but I found the plot jerked instead of flowed, and didn’t really make a whole lot of sense when it came right down to the details...Hamlet, supposedly the prophesied savior of both sides of a fledgling battle, is more-or-less led around by the nose by the villains, ignoring mounting evidence against them and refusing to throw in with those rebelling against their evil overlord without first being slapped over the head with a frying pan full of ‘you’re batting for the wrong team’ omelets.  I guess this would have been fine if I cared about the story, but I didn’t.  The wizard, William Shakespeare, was mentioned only as slightly more than a legend, and unfortunately there was no real build to back up the evil deeds of Richard III and the unrest of the people rising to rebel.  

If Kill Shakespeare could have been stretched out as a longer series, maybe it would have been stronger.  As is, I feel like they were really pushing to get every major character into six issues of story.  But without some history given, or time to build up to the conflict, it’s hard to illicit any interest.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  I have zero interest in reading volume 2.

Recommended for:  There’s a chance that bigger Shakespeare fans who haven’t been ‘spoiled’ by fantastic graphic novels like I have will enjoy this more than I did, but I wouldn’t really recommend this one for anyone.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  I have a thing against grown ass women wearing pig tails, and this book didn’t help.  You hear me Juliet and 42 year old chick from NCIS?!  If you’re old enough to have a kid with pig tails, you’re too old to wear them.  Braids are okay.

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Salute Your Shorts: Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr–The non Wicked Lovely edition.

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Faery Tales and Nightmares [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Melissa Marr [Website|Twitter]
Standing: Stand alone anthology, BUT half the stories are in the Wicked Lovely universe (I’ll discuss those stories in a later post).
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Published: February 21st, 2012 by HarperCollins
Format:  Hardcover; 418 pages 
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly.

From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear.

Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it.

Welcome to the non-Wicked Lovely edition of Salute Your Shorts: Faery Tales and Nightmares!  I’ve decided to split my review of this anthology into two posts so that those of you who haven’t read Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series can know what this book has in store for you, without forcing you to skip the spoilers!  This works out quite well for everyone since of the twelve stories included, six have nothing to do with Wicked Lovely.  That means you can enjoy half this book!  Here’s what we have to offer:

Where Nightmares Walk

This very short story works as somewhat of an introduction into the book, and lets you realize right off the bat that it will indeed be as much about nightmares as about faery tales.  It’s a chilling intro that will make you fear the night.

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Winter’s Kiss

This short story evokes the image of a traditional fairy tale, but one you haven’t heard before.  It tells the tale of a princess who has the curse of icy breath, and the snow bear that would see it as a gift.  Winter’s Kiss is charming, beautiful, and a reminder of perspective.

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Transition

Eliana has been getting weird and uncontrollable headaches.  She loses time—she can’t remember hours of her life.  She’s stopped talking to doctors, they just think she’s crazy, and she’s begun to self medicate with drugs of another sort.  When she ends up in the graveyard with the boy she’s currently seeing, she can’t get her mind off someone something else, and she can’t help feeling as if the statue is watching her.

Transition is a chilling vampire story about the circle of life (or death…or undeath<—see what I did there?) in which Melissa Marr puts her own tale into a fairly traditional (and thus sexy and gory) lore.  This type of story right here is the reason people love vamps, and not the sparkly kind.

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Love Struck

Every once in a while, I feel like I get as much out of a short story as I do out of a full-length book.  This is one of those times.  Love Struck was a beautiful love story and fairy tale, about selchies.  Selchies!  I’ve been enamored with Selchies since The Secret of Roan Inish, and have been craving more.  I mean…who wants mermaids when selchies are about, really?  At least you don’t have to question the logistics of their anatomy quite so much… 

Alana is chosen to be the mate of Murrin, who intends to court her, but instead he accidently traps her as has been done for generations.  She holds his Other Skin, is compelled to hide it, and she cannot return it unless he finds it himself.  Alana doesn’t want to break her own rules, she doesn’t want a relationship, and certainly not one with some guy she barely knows.  She’s convinced that it’s the selchie magic drawing her to Murrin, and is deeply torn between wanting to be with him and wanting freedom for both of them.  Love Struck was a beautifully rendered tale, and I adored it.  It was the non-Wicked Lovely story in this collection that I was looking forward to most, and it did not disappoint!

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The Art of Waiting

This title made me think of the poem One Art by Elizabeth Bishop.  It’s the story of a small hamlet of a town, that is incased in snow and ice each winter that melts to beauty in the spring.  A man and his daughter come to the town, and the townspeople wait to see if they, like so many others, will leave.

This short is perfect for anyone who lives in a quaint little town and loves it.  It’s hard for people to understand this mentality, but those who live there wouldn’t have it any other way. 

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Flesh for Comfort

A disturbing tale about what we are willing to go through for beauty.  A poor girl in a mountain town knows she will never get out.  She is not rich enough, or attractive enough.  But when a mysterious creature offers to make her beautiful, she is tempted, knowing if she were attractive enough she could trade flesh for comfort and escape.

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These six stories range in length from about 3 to 60 pages, and are all very worth reading!  I particularly enjoyed Love Struck, and the most disturbing award goes to Flesh for Comfort.  Enjoy!

Audio Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Title: Princess Academy [Academy|GoodReads]
Author: Shannon Hale [Website|Twitter|Facebook] 
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Published: November 1st, 2007 by Full Cast Audio (First published January 1st, 2005 by Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books).
Format: Audio; 7 hrs, 30 mins. Read by Laura Credidio
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Challenge: Award Winning Reads Challenge

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.

Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

Unfortunately, Princess Academy is one of those books for which my enjoyment suffered because of the format I chose.  Now, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy Princess Academy, I most certainly did, but I would also almost certainly have enjoyed it more had I read it.  The audiobook of Princess Academy was produced by Full Cast Audio, and like their name, they use a full cast to read their books.  Instead of a book narrated from different perspectives using various narrators (which I am fine with), Princess Academy had a main narrator for the text, and then each character had a different cast member voicing them.  The main narrator, Laura Credidio was fine, but I was uncomfortable with the structure of the dialog.  I’ve never listened to a book like this, and was trying to push myself out of my comfort zone.  It wasn’t terrible, but I’m happy to retreat back to what I know I like.

I think where the full cast structure hit me most, was in my ability to like Miri.  The girl doing her dialog made her come across as very whiny.  As such, I wasn’t really able to root for her the way I normally would such a character.  I did think that most of the other voice actors did a good job, this was just clearly not the format for me.

Princess Academy was a very cute and touching non-traditional fairy tale type story.  It was funny, when I picked it up, I was actually thinking that the premise sounded a bit like the forthcoming book The Selection.  However, Princess Academy panned out nothing like The Bachelor, for which I was quite grateful.  I loved that the academy gave these girls a chance to come into their own, and find meaning and purpose in their lives beyond what they had expected or what was planned out for the girl selected for marriage by the prince.  In fact, the prince was such a menial part of this story, it was very little romance and a lot of girl power!

The girls, Miri in particular, show their ingenuity by applying the facts and information they learn at the academy to better the lives of their townspeople, and their own lives in learning.  The magical element in Princess Academy, quarry speak, is so unique and wonderful I absolutely loved it.  The concept was that workers in the quarry had this method of communicating non-verbally with one another to invoke memories that elicited messages or warnings.  Miri, who has never worked in the quarry, has felt as if she were lacking and not really a part of her community.  With determination and perseverance she is able to better understand and manipulate quarry speak, allowing it to play an important roll throughout the girls’ story.

Princess Academy was a charming story about finding one’s place, following one’s heart, and the power of relationships.  Certainly a recommended read, and surely an enjoyable audiobook for those who don’t mind this unique narrative structure.  Maybe it’s better for kids who might otherwise have a difficult time keeping the characters strait by voice?  I’m not sure.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: I did like Princess Academy, but I didn’t love it.  I’m planning for my next Shannon Hale read to be The Goose Girl, as that is the book that gets talked about the most highly about the blogosphere.

Recommended for:  People who like this narrative style, anyone who enjoys non-traditional fairy tales and a focus on female relationships, friendship, and family.

Get a second opinion:
Candace's Book Blog (Audio)
Ficticious Delicious
The Bookworm is Here!

Review: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Title: Ordinary Magic [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Published: May 8th, 2012 by Bloomsbury USA
Format: Kindle edition; 288 pages.
Source: ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Challenge: YA/MG Fantasy Challenge

In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an "Ord"—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society. The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary—it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!

I tried with Ordinary Magic, I really did. I read every word of this book even though I kind of wanted to add it to the DNF pile long before the last page. I was so disgusted, appalled, and confused by the world that Caitlen Rubino-Bradway built that I could not click with Ordinary Magic at all. When I first saw this title pop up on NetGalley, I decided to try it because I love middle grade, and it sounded cute.  To me, I was imagining that it would be like “Story of a Squib”—the tale of an unmagical kid born into a magical world.  I didn’t realize how abhorrent the story would be.

 

Here’s the deal: “ords” in this society are nothing.  They’re worse than just a disappointment to their families, because most of the time, they’re no longer even considered people.  This made zero sense to me.  I get that you could compare it to some families’ reactions to finding out their kid is homosexual, or compare it to how slaves were treated in this country’s early history, but none of that could really add up for me.  I can’t understand how an entire society could find it acceptable to treat ord kids—kids they had raised and loved as friends, siblings, children until the age of 12—like worthless property.  It was generally accepted that these children could be sold, used for dangerous tasks, and they were despised to the point of people not touching them as if they were catching—this later treatment reminding me of the horrible way those with AIDS can be treated.  I guess I see what Caitlen Rubino-Bradway was doing here in turning these children into social pariahs, but I just don’t buy that these extremes could ever crop up, particularly in a society that seems very modern.

 

And that’s another thing I didn’t get about this book.  When it is determined that Abby is an ord, at her Judging at age 12, her family has to drain magic from the house so that she can access things (like the sink) without help, since all of these things are usually controlled by magic. This makes no sense given that prior to finding out, she wasn’t allowed to use magic and would need help for these same things…so she was 12 and could never get a box of cereal from the cupboard or wash her hands after she peed? Right…

 

Then there’s the reality that magic can not directly affect ords.  It can affect things around them (aka, you could light their clothing on fire), but not them.  And you can buy magic-proof clothing.  So essentially, all of these magic people are running around with no idea how to fight physical fights, and the ords could kick their butts handily, but don’t.  I get the whole, they’re the vast minority, and society represses them in part because they are scared thing, but again…it doesn’t add up for me.  If a society has become this advanced, there’s a pretty good chance that such an oppressed group with such potential power would have at some point banded together and rebelled.

 

I thought the school could be fun and cute, but honestly I found it rather boring.  The only highlight being that they taught kids to kick the crap out of one another.  It seemed as if there should have been a storyline developing from Abby working in the kitchen, but it never really came to anything.  In fact, I expected Abby and the other ord children to find some inner power and strength that was magical in its own right, but I didn’t really feel like they ever did.

 

I was glad to see that this society was changing, that the King had outlawed the selling of ords and the authorities seemed like good people, but I just expected more from this story.  I will say that Abby’s family was fantastic and the best part of this book.  Her parents loved unconditionally, and she had four older siblings—two sisters, two brothers (just like me!) that were all fun, unique, and invested in their little sister.  I think my favorite thing about Ordinary Magic was Abby’s brother Gil, who wrote popular romance novels under a woman’s name.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: Slim to none.

Recommended for: Eh, I have a hard time recommending this one to anyone to be honest, but I will include links to some more positive reviews which I encourage you to check out so that you can decide for yourself.

Get a second opinion:
Stephanie Burgess’s Blog
Chronicles of a Book Evangelist
Page in Training

Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcomign releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There – Catherynne M. Valente

October 7th, 2012 –Feiwel and Friends

September returns to Fairyland to reunite with A-Through-L, Saturday, and Gleam, and to confront her shadow-self, who has become the queen of Fairyland-Below, the upside-down world beneath the Fairyland of the first novel, filled with creatures of water and shadow, tales of ancient Fairyland before the human world was born, and not a few hungry buffins, blind birds of ice and moonlight. The yearly revels of Fairyland-Below climax in a mysterious rite September must avert or else lose her shadow forever.

Did you guys see this?!  Did you?!  Last week, the cover for the upcoming sequel to the beloved The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making was released and I just about died.  Died I say!  I adore the art in this series so so much, and I am happy to see that this cover is at least as gorgeous and breathtaking as the first.  I like that it’s a bit more creepy!  I cannot even express my excitement at seeing this book come out, and I wait impatiently for the day that it is in my hands.

Salute Your Shorts: Winter's Passage: An Iron Fey Novella by Julie Kagawa

Salute Your Shorts is a weekly (ish) feature here at Bunbury in the Stacks highlighting and reviewing short stories and novellas. Everyone is welcome to join at any time, just grab the pic above and shoot me a link in the comments so that I can include your post in a roundup.

Title: Winter’s Passage [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Julie Kagawa [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: The Iron Fey #1.5
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Published: May 20th, 2010 by Harlequin Teen
Format: Kindle edition; 59 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.
Spoilers!: This review contains spoilers for The Iron King, reviewed here, so go read that first!

My name is Meghan Chase.  If there are three thing I’ve learned in my time among the fey, they are this: don’t eat anything you’re offered in Faeryland, don’t go swimming in quiet little ponds and never, ever, make a bargain with anyone.

Winter’s Passage picks up right where The Iron King left off, with Meghan leaving with Ash to head to the Unseelie Court.  Meghan successfully pleads with Ash to first visit Puck, who is still recovering and comatose in a tree in New Orleans, and he agrees.  There they meet Grimalken, and are warned of a dangerous pursuer, which continues to hunt them on their journey.

This was a nice little short, but I also found it somewhat annoying.  It’s written as a bridge story between the first and second books for The Iron Fey series, but instead of being written for fans of the series, it is clearly aimed at those who want to do a test-run before reading the full-length novels.  This meant there was a lot of recapping.  I hate recapping.  If I needed that many details about a book I’ve read, I obviously wasn’t paying attention, so why would I then be reading this book?  Seriously, this is one of the reasons I quit reading the Wheel of Time series.

Anyway, this is a quick short, and like most shorts, completely optional and I’m sure it will have little to no bearing on the overall plot of The Iron Fey.  I enjoyed it, but also felt like maybe Julie Kagawa tried to shove too epic of a plot into too short of a page length.  Also, I have to say, I’m a little confused by the Meghan/Ash relationship.  And by confused I mean I don’t like it.  I get the attraction on Ash’s part, Meghan is pretty, clever, brave, and likely the first completely unique chick he’s met in centuries.  He’s warring with his feelings, and that’s fair given she’s all taboo and what not.  I don’t get Meghan’s feelings.  Sure, she acknowledges that Ash is hot, but considering he tried to murder her the first time they met, threatened to murder her the second, tried to murder her best friend and force her into captivity the third, and is clearly ashamed of the way he feels about her, I just don’t get it!  It’s not exactly insta-love, but it does happen way too fast for there to be any depth, and I’m more or less ambivalent about the whole thing (that and I like/pity Puck).

I realize this totally became my platform for discussing romance in The Iron Fey, but what’re you gonna do?  I’m just gonna say, Winter’s Passage was a nice quick read, but I could really take it or leave it as far as the series goes.  Cheers!

Roundup: 
Check out Alyssa’s review of Faery Tales and Nightmares by Melissa Marr at Books Take You Places
AND Anna's review of The Lepidoctor by Mick Jackson at Pocketful of Books!