Heartless gets 3.5 Stars {Fantasy, Fractured Fairy Tale} {YA Lit}

Heartless is the Wicked of Alice in Wonderland.  Heartless tells the story of how the Queen of Hearts becomes the cruel "heartless" Queen of Hearts.  

Personally, I love fractured fairy tales and fairy tale retellings.  I have reviewed a number of them on here, and given high marks.  To be honest, I had high hopes this book would be fantastic b/c a lot of the books I get from OwlCrate are great. However, a lot of people, especially YA lit fans, love Marissa Meyer.  I personally think her ideas are great, but she's never been an author that has really spoken to me. J.K Rowling, Sarah Dessen, John Green are a few authors that I really like.   

PS- The pictures of Heartless with the white covers are the ones from the November OwlCrate subscription boxes.  If you look at the book on Amazon it has a black cover.  I think it is really cool that the OwlCrate books are unique. The below quote and the letter from Marissa Meyer was also in the box.  It was a cool box, and I am still a fan of OwlCrate. 
     

Heartless by Marissa Meyer gets 3.5 out of 5 stars in my book review. 

Basically, I just thought Heartless was okay.  I like the story of how Catherine became the Queen of Hearts and how she became so brutal and "heartless."  I liked the connection and the background on many of the Wonderland characters we all know from Lewis Carroll's story.  I like the reason behind why the Queen of Hearts will have nothing to do with white roses.  All in all, I liked the book; it is an okay story of a cool concept.  However, it wasn't executed as well as I had hoped.

I did love that Catherine, was a baker.  At the beginning of the book she talked about baking a lemon tart and the need to make it look good.  Baking a treat that is delicious and looks amazing speaks to my baker food blogger's heart.  Rarely do I read a story about a character that feels so similar to baking as I do.    

One of my biggest qualms with Heartless was the fact that it was a plot driven love story more than a character driven story.  The concept of Heartless is how the Queen became the Queen, but yet it didn't dive into her mind and thoughts like a book of this concept should in my opinion.  

I also felt the book was drawn out and moved a bit too slow.  I struggle with drawn out slow reads; my ADD struggles with that.  All in all, it was just okay.  Nothing fantastic, but I've never been a huge Meyer fan so maybe that was expected.  

I'd love to hear what you think.  Did you read it?  What would you rate it?  According to Goodreads and Amazon I am in the minority in my thinking so I wouldn't be surprised if you felt differently. 

Just to give you a better idea of the story line I've copied Amazon's book description. 

"Long before she was the terror of Wonderland, she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love. Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

Happy Fractured Wonderland Fairy Tale reading! 

All Things... Love, Pink, Hugs and Kisses, Friendship, and Valentines Picture Books {Book List}

I've always thought February was such a fun month. Everything is chocolate covered or just chocolate and it is everywhere. Love is shown, and you usually get a day off from work/school.  It's a pretty fantastic month. 

Last year I gave ya'll 20 of the Best Valentine books out there.  It's a great list with great books, but to be honest this time of year isn't just about Valentine's Day.

When I think of February and books to pull from the shelves to enjoy with my kids, or read in the library and classroom, I think of Love, Hearts, Hugs and Kisses, Pink, Friendship, and giving Valentines.   

 It's a fun time of year, and the book list I'm giving you today are full of books not solely Valentine books.  Today you get all things February Related.

All Things... 

Love, Pink, Hugs and Kisses, Friendship, and Valentine's Picture Books

Never Too Little To Love by Jeanne Willis

This fun and absolutely adorable book is all about love and a little mouse wanting a kiss from a tall giraffe.  This book is great for repetition which is a great reading comprehension strategy for toddlers, preschoolers, and beginning readers.  It's a fun read aloud too!  

Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This fun glittery book about kisses and friendship is so sweet with simple words that provide a great opportunity to have a context clues/vocabulary lesson for preschool through 1st grade.  

Love, Ruby Valentine by Laurie Friedman

This book is a great read aloud for anytime of year, but it is especially perfect in February.  This fun book is all about Valentines and telling people you care and love them.  As a bonus there are other fun Ruby Valentine books to read once you fall in love with this first one. 

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor

This book, which is perfect for a fun lesson on vocabulary and word choice (6 Traits of Writing), is a fun read aloud that girls especially will love.  This read aloud is all about fancy and pink, but most importantly loving your family. 

As a bonus, there are several other Fancy Nancy books including both picture books and early readers/beginning chapter books.   

Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

This "pink" book is a great story that girls love and gravitate too.  Boys won't pick this book out, but they'll enjoy the read as well.  It makes a great read aloud for parents, teachers, and librarians.  

There are also other "color" books by Kann.  

Love Monster by Rachel Bright

This fun read aloud is all about love.  Both boys and girls alike will enjoy this book, and it makes a great read aloud parents and kids alike will enjoy.  

For Love Monster fans, a new Love Monster and the Last Chocolate just came out, and it's as enjoyable as the first book but includes chocolate.  Yum!

Paulette the Pinkest Puppy in the World by Tim Bugbird

Pink and being happy with you is what this fun book is all about.  We all, boys and girls alike, love this book; my kids request it often.  The character and self-esteem lessons easily applicable from this book are great for elementary school aged kids. 

Hug Machine by Scott Campbell

I LOVE this book, and I love that it is all about hugs!  It's a fun read aloud for the young and the old, for the toddler to the elementary school aged child.  I have even read this aloud to adults.  The pictures are fantastic, and the the story is even better.  This is a book to have in your own collection. 

These 8 books aren't blatant Valentine's books; however, they are fabulous for any time year.  We love every single one of these books and even have them in our own collection.  They are that good!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Though, most importantly...

Happy All things love, pink, hugs, kisses, friendship, and Valentine's Picture Book reading!

The Wrath & The Dawn gets 4.5 Stars

Happy February!  Some people think of this month as the month of Love, and other's think it's the last month for at least a few months with a paid holiday.  Other's think of Black History Month, and some thing Leap Year, Superbowl, or Groundhog's Day.    

I mostly think of love b/c I was a school teacher and librarian and the whole Valentine's thing is a big deal for kids.  However, we have a lot of lessons for Black History Month, and I always had a library display for both Valentine's Day and Black History.  However, since I think of Love first, today I am going to share a book I LOVED. 

The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh is an absolutely fantastic book.  Ahdieh, a fellow University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate (Go Heels!), is a new author and this is the first book in her saga/series of Shahrzad and Khalid, a retelling/twist of the Arabian Nights..

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I really wanted to give this book 5 stories, b/c the storyline is creative and unpredictable, and the book really was a page turner.  I loved everything about the story, and I'll definitely be reading the second book.  

My only qualm with this book, and the reason it lost a 1/2 a star, was b/c of a few writing instances.  There were times that I found the story confusing b/c of how the action was written, and I had to go back and re-read it to clarify.  I also felt the excerpt for the second book in the series, The Rose & The Dagger, was interesting, but it didn't grab you, the reader, as much as I would've hoped, or as much as this book grabbed you.  I do think the problems I had with this book was b/c Ahdieh is a new author; I do think she has great potential as a writer and her writing will only improve.  

The Wrath and The Dawn is a great book.  It is a clean read with no language and only implied sex.  There was really only a little detail of a hug and a kiss.  There is some violence though; I mean the story is based on a king that killed his brides.  In regards to the violence there isn't any gruesome details.  All in all, I would say this book is a clean read.   

I think this book and series would be great for 8th graders and up.  A younger reader that is mature would be fine with the novel, but the difficult names and the depth of the characters and story may be hard for a younger reader.

Amazon had the following book review from School Library Journal: 

"A reimagined tale based on One Thousand and One Nights and The Arabian Nights. In this version, the brave Shahrzad volunteers to marry the Caliph of Khorasan after her best friend is chosen as one of his virgin brides and is summarily murdered the next morning. She uses her storytelling skills, along with well-placed cliff-hangers, to keep herself alive while trying to discover a way to exact revenge on the Caliph. However, the longer she stays in the palace, the more she realizes there's more going on than just a murderous prince. While her feelings for the Caliph grow and change, the first love she left behind is busy plotting to overthrow the entire palace. When the various plotlines come together in a final conflict, the story is brought to a satisfying, if unexpected, ending. A quick moving plot and sassy, believable dialogue make this a compelling and enjoyable mystery, with just the right amount of romance and magic. The main characters are well drawn and surprisingly likable, while secondary characters also develop in endearing ways. The rich, Middle Eastern cultural context adds to the author's adept worldbuilding. Intimacy is dealt with in a straightforward way, without graphic details, and a subtle message of strength is portrayed through the brave independence of the protagonist. VERDICT This well-written mystery will be a surefire hit with teens."


Have you read this fantastic teen read?  What did you think? 

Happy Fabulous Not Your Typical Fairy Tale Retelling Young Adult Reading!

We Were Liars gets 4 Stars

Ever since I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by Lockhart I have been a fan of her as an author.  I think she is a great author and writes well.  I love the girl power, complex, and fun story of Disreputable.  If you have not read that book you most definitely should check it out.

Since I was already a fan of the author I picked up We Were Liars from the library, and I was glad I did. 

I give We Were Liars 4 out of 5 Stars. It's a great well written story with some language, but otherwise a pretty clean read.  I liked the complexity of the story with depth, and I appreciated that it's storyline was unpredictable.  

I found myself completely surprised with the ending, and surprised that at one point I had to look up the definition of a word neither my husband or I knew.  Lockhart is a fabulous author that doesn't dumb things down for high school students.   

I felt Cadence, as the main character and the narrator of the book, showed some healing and growth throughout the book, and I appreciated that.  However, I didn't feel for her as a character, and at times I was even annoyed with her.  My feelings for Cadence is the main reason the book lost a star.  Though, to be honest many of her reactions and actions were probably how a teenager would react and act to a situation.  

At the beginning of the book I was a bit confused with the vague short sentence almost free verse format. It was slightly confusing to me, but to others it is disturbing.  However, I enjoyed that Lockhart connected the unique beginning format by ending the book the same way.  

This book is a quick read at just over 200 pages that boys and girls in the 9th grade or up would enjoy.  I also think this would be a great book for a high school student to write an English paper analyzing the novel.  It's a great story with a lot of potential and possibility in the school paper aspect.  However, I think a reluctant reader may struggle to get into the story b/c it doesn't completely grab you and throughout the book you are constantly wondering, questioning, and almost confused.  

A few of my favorite parts is the mention of handball; I played handball in grad school and few people know anything about the sport.  Therefore to see it mentioned in a book is fun.  I also loved what Cadence's Granddad said about Gran, aka his wife that passed away, "A part of me died." He says "And it was the best part."  It's a sad thought but probably a true thought for those that deeply love another.

As silly as it seems, I also appreciated that the story made me cry.  Even though I didn't feel a huge connection for Cadence, I was touched and surprised with the story.  All in all, it was a great story and I'm glad I read it.  You should definitely check it out.  

Amazon had the following book review: 

"Cadence Sinclair Easton comes from an old-money family, headed by a patriarch who owns a private island off of Cape Cod. Each summer, the extended family gathers at the various houses on the island, and Cadence, her cousins Johnny and Mirren, and friend Gat (the four "Liars"), have been inseparable since age eight. During their fifteenth summer however, Cadence suffers a mysterious accident. She spends the next two years—and the course of the book—in a haze of amnesia, debilitating migraines, and painkillers, trying to piece together just what happened. Lockhart writes in a somewhat sparse style filled with metaphor and jumps from past to present and back again—rather fitting for a main character struggling with a sudden and unexplainable life change. The story, while lightly touching on issues of class and race, more fully focuses on dysfunctional family drama, a heart-wrenching romance between Cadence and Gat, and, ultimately, the suspense of what happened during that fateful summer. The ending is a stunner that will haunt readers for a long time to come."
   
Have you read We Were Liars?  What did you think?

Happy Well Written YA book reading! 



*****SPOILER ALERT***** 

Don't read this if you don't want to read about the surprise ending. 



I was actually surprised and did not predict at all the fact that the other "Liars" had died and were ghosts.   I actually thought Mirren was prego or had an illness.  However, after looking back at the story with this new knowledge I realized the other liars never spoke to anyone else.  I was so sad they had died, and I was so sad for Cadence.  

The whole not know they were ghosts things reminded me of the movie, The Sixth Sense.  

Midwinterblood gets 4.5 Stars

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick is the 2014 Printz Award Book.  That means it was the best Young Adult (YA) book for the year, and I very much say it is a fabulous YA book meant for YA's.  I would really say high school students and above would be best suited to grasp the complexity of this novel.   

I read the book b/c it won the Printz; though to be completely honest I wasn't excited to read it.  Sedgwick had won a Printz Honor book for Revolver, and Revolver was an interesting story that surprised me but didn't leave me with a wow that I would want to recommend to everyone.  Since I wasn't Wowed by Revolver I wasn't looking forward to another Sedgwick book.  However, that was a completely unfair mindset I had.    

Personally, I give Midwinterblood 4.5 out of 5 Stars.  It is a well written absolutely fascinating story.  It is a clean read which I thoroughly appreciate, and it has left an impression on me to the point that I I keep thinking about it.  This story is part love, part mystery, part folk tale, part horror, and all completely dark and intriguing. It really is an odd book with an oddly fascinating story.    

The only reason Midwinterblood lost 1/2 a point is due to the fact that it didn't leave me with a WOW and a desire to recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  I think many many people will find this book as fascinating and interesting as I did, but I don't think the dark and mysterious story is for everyone.  

The story is told as seven short stories inter-related; the stories begin in July of 2073 and go in reverse chronological order until ancient times.  Each story takes place on an isolated northern island named Blessed that has quite the history.

Eric and Merle are the main characters that show up in all seven stories, and all the stories weave the beautifully complicated story together.  I really appreciate how well written this story is.  Sedgwick masterfully immerses you into the book and the story with his writing.

In each and every short story I found myself wanting more.  I very much wish Sedgwick would have written just a teeny tiny bit more, but I completely realize and understand why he did not.  Sedgwick purposely left the reader wanting more to keep this story dark, mysterious, intriguing, and absolutely fascinating.  

Amazon had the following book review from Booklist: 

" In the year 2073, a reporter named Eric is sent to Blessed Island to research a rare flower called the Dragon Orchid. There he finds an insular community of mysterious villagers, a delicious tea that has him losing days at a time, and a beguiling girl named Merle. In just 50 pages, we reach a shattering conclusion—and then start anew in 2011. An archaeologist is digging on Blessed Island, where he meets a quiet boy named Eric and his mother, Merle. So begins this graceful, confounding, and stirring seven-part suite about two characters whose identities shift as they are reborn throughout the ages. Sedgwick tells the story in reverse, introducing us to a stranded WWII pilot, a painter trying to resurrect his career in 1901, two children being told a ghost story in 1848, and more, all the way back to a king and queen in a Time Unknown. It is a wildly chancy gambit with little in the way of a solid throughline, but Sedgwick handles each story with such stylistic control that interest is not just renewed each time but intensified. Part love story, part mystery, part horror, this is as much about the twisting hand of fate as it is about the mutability of folktales. Its strange spell will capture you. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus"

Happy reading!  As always, I love to hear your thoughts.