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Shiver. Maggie Stiefvater. 2009. Scholastic. 400 pages.

I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves. They were licking me, biting me, worrying at my body, pressing in. Their huddled bodies blocked what little heat the sun offered.

Our heroine, Grace, survived a wolf attack as a child. You might think that would make her fearful of wolves. But just the opposite is true. Grace borders on the obsessive. With one wolf in particular. Each winter she watches and waits. She seeks him out from the pack. Little does she know that he is always watching and waiting for her. His name is Sam. And he is a werewolf.

After a local tragedy, the community decides to do something about the wolf problem. Grace is angry–and determined. She wants to save the wolves. She wants to save “her” wolf. He is shot but not fatally. When he’s shot–or perhaps soon after he’s shot–he shifts to human form. And Grace has a chance to connect–really connect–with “her” wolf.

Grace isn’t the only one in the community to learn the secret–that werewolves are real. Does Grace’s romance stand a chance against the bitter cold of winter?

I didn’t love Shiver. I’m not even sure I liked Shiver. It was okay. But I certainly didn’t find it romantic or giddy-making.

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Shiver (YA)

A Tale Dark and Grimm. Adam Gidwitz. 2010. November 2010. Penguin. 192 pages.

Once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome.
I know, I know. You don’t believe me. I don’t blame you. A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. Little girls in red caps skipping around the forest? Awesome? I don’t think so.
But then I started to read them. The real ones. The ones from that dusty, clothbound book way off in a neglected corner of the library. Those are darker. Very few little girls in red caps in those.
Well, there’s one. But she gets eaten.

I loved this book. I just loved, loved, loved this book. I loved the narrator. I loved the storytelling. It was so rich in detail. The atmosphere, the setting, was just right. I loved the connections. How Gidwitz bases some of his book on Grimm’s original fairy tales. (The book begins with Faithful Johannes. You can read an online version here.) But he also expands upon the original. He connects these tales, these stories by making them the story–the complete story–of Hansel and Gretel. Instead of Hansel and Gretel being the children of a poor woodcutter and his wife, they are royalty. They are the prince and princess of the kingdom of Grimm. But. After a gory incident with their parents (the King and Queen), the two decide that they can find better parents. So they set out on a search for a good adult–a caring, compassionate, understanding adult. The journey will bring action, adventure, danger, and magic into their lives. They will never be the same.

What did I love best about this one? The writing. The storytelling. The narration. The characters. It was so compelling. I couldn’t put this one down. I just loved everything about this one!

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A Tale Dark and Grimm (MG/YA)

Fire. Kristin Cashore. 2009. Penguin. 480 pages.

Prologue: Larch often thought that if it had not been for his newborn son, he never would have survived his wife Mikra’s death. It was half that the infant boy needed a breathing, functioning father who got out of bed in the mornings and slogged through the day; and it was half the child himself.

Chapter one: It did not surprise Fire that the man in the forest shot her. What surprised her was that he shot her by accident.

Fire’s father was a monster, and deep-down Fire thinks she may be one too. When the king asks her to use her powers to interrogate prisoners, supposed spies, she questions her “gift” more than ever. But with the kingdom so close to war, with the army in need of intelligence, Fire can’t deny that she is needed. That her “gift” could help her country, her kingdom, that her “gift” could save lives. Still Fire is haunted by the mistakes of the past–her father’s mistakes–would the country be in such a miserable condition if her father hadn’t misused his gift?

Fire is a fantasy–a romance–rich in detail, in world-making. It is a companion novel to Graceling. While I didn’t love Fire as much as Graceling, I did enjoy it. I did find it compelling. There’s plenty of action and romance.

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Fire (YA)

Leviathan. Scott Westerfeld. 2009. October 2009. Simon & Schuster. 448 pages.

The Austrian horses glinted in the moonlight, their riders standing tall in the saddle, swords raised. Behind them two ranks of diesel-powered walking machines stood ready to fire, cannon aimed over the heads of the cavalry. A zeppelin scouted no-man’s-land at the center of the battlefield, its metal skin sparkling.

I’ve enjoyed several alternate history novels over the years. Leviathan is a science fiction novel set at the very start of the Great War (World War I). Its alternative world is fascinating. A world divided into two camps: Clankers (those who love machines and technology) and Darwinists (those who love splicing together ‘incredible’ new beings). Of course, if you’re a Clanker, those new beings are monstrous, an abomination–there being nothing natural about this ‘evolution.’

Leviathan has two narrators: Alek, a young boy who is trying to hide his real identity, and Deryn, a young woman who is trying to keep her gender hidden so she can be in the British Air Service. She’s living her new life as Dylan Sharp.

There is much world-building in Leviathan. The world Scott Westerfeld has created is rich in detail. And this novel is just the first book. (The sequel, Behemoth, is being published this October.) I appreciate that. I think I will probably like the second one more.

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Leviathan (YA)

Everlasting. Angie Frazier. 2010. June 2010. Scholastic. 336 pages.

1855 San Francisco
Camille clicked the latches down on her trunk and glanced out her bedroom window. White haze choked the small seaport, and the fog bells sounding across the bay echoed in her chest. Fitting weather to mark the death of her freedom.

I love this cover. I do. There is something so sweet about this cover. It reminds me of “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid. And that isn’t the only Disney movie that comes to mind either.

Camille is engaged to be married to Randall Jackson, but his kisses inspire no passion within her. And she can’t help feeling there is something missing in their relationship. When the novel opens, Camille is preparing to sail on a final trip with her father. He’s a sea captain. She’s been accompanying him for years. She feels so at home at sea. She knows this is one of the things she’ll miss most after she’s married.

Oscar Kildare, her father’s first mate, is also sailing with the Christina. Camille’s father senses there is something between Oscar and Camille–some attraction–so he tries his best to remind his daughter of her duty. She is to marry Randall in a few months. She should not be spending time with Oscar. Nothing good can come of it. So he thinks…

This is no ordinary trip. It will be her father’s final voyage. And before he dies, he betrays Camille. (So she thinks.) She finds the true purpose for this trip, finds the letter he’s been keeping secret, and learns a VERY big secret that he’s been keeping from her for sixteen years. Camille will have decisions to make. BIG decisions that will change her life forever.

Everlasting is a historical romance with magical elements. There is plenty of action and adventure too. (Think Pirates of the Caribbean.)

I like this one. I like the romance between Oscar and Camille. (It reminds me of Will and Elizabeth.)

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Everlasting (YA)

Cloaked in Red. Vivian Vande Velde. 2010. October 2010. Marshall Cavendish. 128 pages.

From the author’s note: Everyone knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl with the unfortunate name and the inability to tell the difference between her grandmother and a member of a different species.
The question is: Why do we all know it?
If you look at “Little Red Riding Hood,” it’s a perfect example of the exact opposite of a good story.

I loved this one. I did. I just LOVED it. Vivian Vande Velde gives readers EIGHT different “Little Red Riding Hood” stories. Each supposed to be ‘better’ than the original. With more heart and substance. And she definitely succeeded in my opinion. I enjoyed reading these stories. One area in which Vivian Vande Velde excels is in creating great first lines.

The Red Cloak: Once upon a time, after fashion was discovered but before people had makeovers on TV, there was a young girl named Meg.

The Red Riding Hood Doll: Once upon a time, before department stores and designer labels, there was a young seamstress named Georgette.

Little Red Riding Hood’s Family: Once upon a time, long after people had found out that their families could sometimes be an embarrassment, but before there were advice columnists you could complain to, there was a girl named Roselle.

Granny and the Wolf: Once upon a time, before online dating services, there was a granny who had an unwelcome suitor.

Deems the Wood Gatherer: Once upon a time, before eyeglasses were invented, there was a nearsighted but good-hearted man named Deems.

Why Willy and His Brothers Won’t Ever Amount to Anything: Once upon a time, after books were invented but before TV and movies, there was a girl named Isolda Adeline Genevieve Trenthausen.

The Little Red Headache: Once upon a time, before superhighways and hotel chains, a wolf was journeying through the woods.

Little Red Riding Hood’s Little Red Riding Hood: Once upon a time, before malls, boutiques, or online clothing catalogs, there was a fairy godmother who was having trouble finding something to wear to the naming-day ceremony for her goddaughter.

The focus shifts in each story. Sometimes focusing on the human characters: the young girl, the grandmother, the woodcutter; other times focusing on the red riding hood (cloak) or the wolf. Many stories do have a twist–as you’d expect in a collection of fairy tale retellings.

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Cloaked in Red (MG)

What’s On Your Nightstand is hosted at 5 Minutes for Books.

Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters. I am reading the second Generation Dead novel. I hope to get to the third, Passing Strange, soon. The books star a diverse cast of zombies differently biotic individuals. 30 chapters in.

Fire by Kristin Cashore. YA Fantasy. 18 chapters in.

Knightley Academy by Violet Haberdasher. Alternate Victorian historical setting. The synopsis (borrowed from B&N): In Violet Haberdasher’s Knightley Academy, the first commoner accepted at a prestigous boarding school uncovers a conspiracy that could lead to war. 6 chapters in.

Venetia by Georgette Heyer. Regency romance novel. I am listening to this one and reading it. It is such a great read so far. 8 chapters in.

Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson. Paranormal retelling of Jane Austen classic. It releases mid-August, I believe. 4 chapters in.

X Isle by Steve Augarde. YA Dystopia. Synopsis (borrowed from B&N) Ever since the floods came and washed the world away, survivors have been desperate to win a place on X-Isle, the island where life is rumored to be easier than on what’s left of the mainland. Only young boys stand a chance of getting in, the smaller and lighter the better… 1 chapter in.

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What’s On Your Nightstand (July)

The Boneshaker. Kate Milford. 2010. May 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 372 pages.

Strange things can happen at a crossroads. It might look like nothing but a place where two dusty roads meet, but a crossroads can be something more. A crossroads can be something special, a compass with arms reaching to places you might never find the way to again; places that might exist, or might have existed once, or might exist someday, depending on whether or not you decide to look for them.
But whatever else it might be, a crossroads is a place where you choose.

Read this book. Now. Why? Because this book is so very, very good. It’s one of those books where the moment you finish it, you want to start it all over again. You don’t want it to be over. You want to keep experiencing it.

What did I love about this book? The characters, the story, the storytelling, the setting, the atmosphere, the descriptions. It was such an amazing blend of history, mystery, and fantasy. The Boneshaker is set in 1913, in Arcane, Missouri. This is a town that for whatever reason makes travelers uneasy. It’s not a place most would stop and see for fun, for pleasure. Perhaps it’s a little too close for comfort to the Old Village, the first settlement of the crossroads that was abandoned several generations before the novel opens. So while Arcane may not seem like much–at least to the outsider–it is home to our heroine, Natalie Minks. She’s very smart, very curious. She likes to know how things work. She’s fascinated by machines. And she loves spending time with her father who is a mechanic–a bicycle mechanic mostly, though he fixes anything with wheels for the most part.

Arcane doesn’t see many strangers. But one day a stranger shows up in town–his wheel broke, you see–and this stranger is none other than Dr. Jake Limberleg. He has a medicine show. The full name is Dr. Jake Limberleg’s Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show. And while he’s waiting for his wheel to be fixed–so he can go on his way, Arcane was not a planned stop by any means–he decides to go ahead and open up his show, his fair. There are a handful of people in the community who are skeptical about this man and his team of ‘doctors’ of ‘experts.’ Among these is Natalie. She may be the cleverest one of them all. She may be the only one able to solve this mystery. But can she do it in time?

The Boneshaker is so compelling. It had me from hello. The characters, the storytelling, the writing, I thought all of it was so well done. Kate Milford made me care about these characters, and she kept me hooked from start to finish.

Other reviews: TheHappyNappyBookseller, A Patchwork of Books, Kids Lit, Book Aunt, Fuse #8.

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Boneshaker (MG)

Hunger. Jackie Morse Kessler. 2010. October 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 180 pages.

Lisabeth Lewis didn’t mean to become Famine. She had a love affair with food, and she’d never liked horses (never mind the time she asked for a pony when she was eight; that was just a girl thing). If she’d been asked which Horseman of the Apocalypse she would most likely be, she would have probably replied, “War.” And if you’d heard her and her boyfriend, James, fighting, you would have agreed. Lisa wasn’t a Famine person, despite the eating disorder.

Hunger has an interesting premise. Lisa, our heroine, has an eating disorder. One night her suicide attempt is interrupted by a strange delivery man knocking on the door. He has a gift and a message: “Thou art Famine.” The gift this pale man brings? Scales. Lisa thinks this is all one very strange dream. She even tries to laugh about it with her friends. But. It’s not a dream. And Lisa must face her new reality.

Lisa’s life was complicated before she met Death, War, and Pestilence. For Lisa is haunted by a voice in her head telling her she’s fat. All day, every day, Lisa hears a negative message about herself, about her body. The people in her life are beginning to notice that Lisa is not well. Her boyfriend, James, and her former best friend, Suzanne, are terribly concerned. But Lisa just clings to her new best friend, Tammy. She thinks that Tammy understands everything, for Tammy has her own battles with food. And, of course, her relationship with her parents is a bit strained. So, yes, Lisa’s life was complicated enough for any teen BEFORE she became one of the four riders of the Apocalypse.

Can Lisa simplify her life?

I thought the premise was intriguing. I liked the idea of this one. It adds some supernatural/fantasy elements to a serious ‘problem’ novel about eating disorders. Our heroine is a troubled teen who doesn’t quite realize just how much trouble she is in. And Death is able to give her a unique wake-up call in a way.

*Reviewed from an ARC.

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Hunger (YA)

Wayfarer by R.J. Anderson. 2010. June 2010. HarperCollins. 304 pages.

First line of the prologue: The Queen is dying.
First line of chapter one: “I expected more of a missionary’s son.”

More than a few years have passed since the close of Spell Hunter, the first novel in R.J. Anderson’s Faery Rebel series. Linden, the newly-hatched faery placed under Knife’s care, is now fifteen. Like Knife, she has earned the trust of the Queen. In fact, Linden is given something extraordinary by the Queen. A special mission. But that’s not all. No, there’s one other thing. She’s given some of the Queen’s magic. But this isn’t Linden’s story. In fact, I was surprised by just who told this story! Readers are introduced to Timothy, a cousin of Paul. And though Timothy isn’t much of a believer–at least not at the start of the story–by the end, he’s quite the convert. He learns of the faeries. He learns that their existence is in great danger. And he feels led to help–and this commitment isn’t without sacrifice. Timothy and Linden’s lives are in danger–constant danger–and it will take courage and strength to outwit the evil powers that be. Can Linden and Timothy win in their battle against evil? Will Linden’s mission succeed? Can she find a way to save her people, the people of the Oak?

To visit other stops on the tour:

Whispers of Dawn, The Book Cellar, The Hungry Readers, My Own Little Corner of the World, KidzBookBuzz.com, Reading is My Superpower, Book Crumbs, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, Homeschool Book Buzz, Homespun Light, Book Review Maniac

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Wayfarer (MG)