The Emerald Atlas

by John Stephens

I'm sorry to anyone who may be reading this blog! I've been a very poor reader lately (darn master's classes really do take up a lot of time!) Combine that with various cake-making and painting projects I've taken on (as well as the personal goal to watch the entire series of Battlestar Galactica (done!), as well as the complete Joss Whedon filmography (working on it!)) and I've found myself really lacking in extra time! (Go figure.)

Secondly, I don't really remember a lot of what I wanted to say about this book! I believe I wrote a couple notes down somewhere, but I can't find them. I suppose I'll update this if they turn up.

Anyway, I did really like The Emerald Atlas. I actually picked the book up because I saw that the author was a writer for the television show Gilmore Girls, which I always appreciated for it's witty, rapid-fire banter even when the story line went all over the place in later seasons. This novel is the story of 3 sibling - a brother and two sisters who get passed from orphanage to orphanage after their parents mysteriously left them as children. The kids finally end up in this strange, gloomy town in a orphanage that is only occupied by them. After some snooping around they find a green book that can transport them back in time if they put a picture from that year in it's pages. The trio eventually finds themselves transported to the same town but many years in the past when an evil witch in town held all the children captive. The siblings work together, along with other friends they meet along the way to try to save the children, and the town from the witch's magic.

This is a fun start to a new series. It's not the next classic children's novel, but it's unique and interesting and sure to be a kid-favorite. I'm eager to see how the next books in this series turn out!

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes

by Brandon Mull

I absolutely adore Brandon Mull's previous novels - they are some of my favorite books of all time - and I was anxious to get my hands on the first book of his new series - Beyonders: A World Without Heroes.

This book starts out a little slow before eventually picking up toward the middle. Mull has a knack for writing great puzzles and mysteries, so I was intrigued by the story from the start.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't quite as engrossing and amazing as Mull's previous work I found the resolution of the story to be surprising but not as meaningful as I would have wished. They story was detailed and different, but so filled with minor characters that I sometimes found it hard to keep them straight.!

Thirteen-year-old Jason is just going about his business one day when he finds himself transported to Lyrian. Eventually he stumbles upon a man who he hopes can give him some answers, but only leaves him with more questions. Through his curiosity he finds himself on an unlikely quest to find a secret word to defeat the emperor.

Jason is actually thrust into Lyrian when he falls into a hippo at the zoo. Immediately after finding himself in this strange place he discovers a troupe of musicians floating down a river on a raft. He learns that they are about to let themselves sail off a waterfall and tries to help. In the end he only succeeds in shooting one of them musicians in the shoulder with an arrow and making the crowd gathered to watch angry with him. He escapes the mob to find himself at the Repository of Learning, where he meets the Loremaster. The Loremaster doesn't explain much to him, except to avoid a certain part of the repository and simultaneously telling a story of how he was told not to do something but he did it anyway. Jason hopes this forbidden section of the library will help him find his way home, so he finds a way in and discovers "the book". Once reading the pages and the first syllable of the word of power, Jason is set against the emperor Maldor and must continue to search for the word to evade capture. The Loremaster sends him to the Blind King, where he gets advice on his quest, and meets his soon-to-be companion, Rachel (also from Jason's world). The pair travel to a sea cave, where they obtain the second syllable and fight off a giant crab. Later they meed the displacer, Ferrin, who wants to help them on their quest. They travel to another town, where Jason challenged the chancellor and wins - thus gaining access to the third syllable. Next they travel to the White Lake, which Rachel travels across to learn the fourth syllable and learning that Ferrin is actually a spy for Maldor, the emperor. They part ways with him and nearly get captured by Maldor's men when they are saved my Jasher, one of the "seed people" who can die, but grow again from the seed on the back of their neck. The new group travels to a swamp to meet the Pythoness, but actually find her daughter, who gives them fifth syllable. They also learn that the sixth syllable can be found tattooed on the back of one of Maldor's men at The Eternal Feast. Jason goes to accept his previous invitation to the feast learns the final syllable. He fights a duel in order to leave the paradise and goes to gain an audience with Maldor by ringing a bell in the center of town. Once he meets the emperor he says the word, feels its power, but is dismayed to see it doesn't effect Maldor. Maldor reveals that the word was a fake to distract his enemies and offers Jason a place with his officers. Jason refuses and gets thrown in the dungeon. Ferrin returns and risks everything to free Jason. However, Ferrin has plans to send him back to his world, while Jason wants to find Rachel and his friends and tell them what happened. The two struggle and Ferrin manages to push Jason through the portal and back to his own world.

The False Princess

by Eilis O'Neal

Unfortunately, I've neglected writing this blog for a very long time and therefore I'm probably not going to be as detailed as I'd like. However, I did write down some notes on the book when I finished it, so I do remember something!

The False Princess is a unique story about a girl named Nalia who suddenly learns that she's not who she thought she was. She's not actually the princess of Thorvaldor, and he name is not Nalia. She's been playing the part of the princess so the real one could be hidden away, safe from her prophesied death before the age of 16. But Nalia, or Sinda (as she's learned her name really is) in now 16 and very much alive. The King and Queen and their magicians are sending Sinda to live with her aunt so the real princess can come take her rightful place.

Sinda is shocked and crushed and goes without a fight. However, after finding life with her aunt unfulfilling, missing her friend Kiernan, and discovering she has magic, Sinda travels back to Thorvaldor where she soon discovers that the plot to conceal the princess is not all it seemed.

Interesting, a few surprising twists, and Kiernan is great.

The Iron Queen

by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Fey series was originally supposed to be a trilogy, with The Iron Queen as the last book. However, happily, there is now going to be a fourth book in the series. Something I was even more happy about as I reached the end of this book, because there are some many more stories to explore!

At the end of the previous novel, Meghan and Ash have both been exiled from the Nevernever for refusing to deny their love for each other. Trapped in the mortal world, Meghan wants nothing more than to return to her family with Ash at her side. The pair soon realizes just how impossible this is as scores of Iron fey are searching for Meghan. The false Iron King wants to take Meghan's power for himself, while the rebel Iron fey want to take Meghan to a safe hiding place. Meghan's journey eventually lead her back the Nevernever, where the Fey's last hope for their world is that Meghan can somehow manage to defeat the Iron King again.

The gap below is a spoiler-filled summary of the plot. Highlight the area to read.

The first part of the book is taken up with Meghan trying to get her memory of her father back. She and Ash steal a token from a graveyard to trade for her memory. With the memory returned, Grimalkin the cat takes the pair back to The Between and Leanansidhe. Once there, Meghan learns why her father Paul was taken (Titania was jealous of him and sought to have him killed. Puck went to Leanansidhe to ask her to save him.) Meghan is furious with Puck for a while because he knew what had happened to her father, had caused it, and never told her. The group negotiates Paul's release and housing at a cabin in The Between in exchange for the other token from the graveyard. At the cabin, Meghan spends time with her father while she tries to help him get his memory back. Ash also teaches Meghan to fight and Meghan asks him to become her knight- binding his life to hers. Eventually, a message is delivered from Oberon and Mab: they would lift the exile if the group returns to kill the Iron King. His territory is slowly taking over the Wildwood, and Meghan is the only one who can enter the Iron Kingdom unharmed. In the second half of the book, Meghan, Ash and Puck enter the Iron Kingdom to seek out and kill the false king. Ash and Puck are given special amulets from Mab to protect them form the poisoning influence of the Iron Realm. Meghan leads the way through the land, eventually taken the group to the tower of the Machina. The group allies themselves with Glitch and his gang of rebels and Meghan learns she can command the gremlins. The rebels are unwilling to face the Iron King because he is too powerful, but Meghan eventually convinces them to form a truce with Summer and Winter. Meghan, Ash and Puck find a way into the Iron Kings fortress and come face to face with the false king, who turns out to be Ferrum, the king of the packrats, and original Iron King before Machine came to power. With the strange hallucination-guidance from the Iron Power (who Meghan hears as Machina), Meghan finally learns to use both her glamours as once and therefore binding her Iron magic to her Summer magic. She then lets Ferrum attack her and gives some of her power to him, but because it is now bound to Summer, it kills him. Clinging to life, Meghan makes Ash take her back to the tree that killed Machina. Before sending the last of her power into the tree, Meghan releases Ash from his pledge as her knight, so he will not die alongside her, and orders him by his true name to leave her, so he will not be poisoned by the Iron Realm (because he amulet is destroyed). However, Meghan does not die. By giving the Iron Power to the land, she bound Iron and Summer together and the Iron land stopped it's advance on the Wildwood. The land, in turned healed Meghan and she became the Iron Queen. At the end of the book, Meghan goes home to tell her family all that's happened to her and how she must live in the Nevernever from now on. Ash and Puck come to a truce and go off in search of Grimalkin and the hope of finding a way to enter the Iron Realm without being poisoned.

The beginning of this book was a little slow and meandering for me, and end of is a little bittersweet, but once again I love this series. The ending doesn't bother me as much as it might were it truly the end of the series. As the conclusion to part 3, with part 4 on the way in November, I'm satisfied with what might be to come.

Blue Fire

by Janice Hardy

I've been very remiss in writing these blogs, and so I don't remember a lot of what I wanted to say about this book! My blog may be short.

Blue Fire is the sequel to The Shifter - the first book in The Healing Wars series. Nya lives in a world where some people can pull pain out of others and send it into a special kind of stone called pynvium. However, Nya has never been able to release the pain into the stone - she can only shift it to another person. In addition, the shifted pain grows in intensity within the person until they eventually die.

Due to the break-in Nya and her friends committed in the previous book to save the healers from the Duke, they are in hiding and on the run. They escape to Baseer, and are forced to rely on help from the people they don't really trust.

I like this story, but honestly, I had a really hard time remember what had happened in the first book when I read this one and the author didn't provide many clues to the reader. Now I'm finding now I'm having a hard time remembering what happened in this book! I really think all author's should put a one page recap at the beginnings of books that are part of series! Those of us who ready 50+ books a year have a hard time remembering them all!

Poison

by Chris Wooding

Poison is the happy result of wandering the aisles of Powell's books. I bought it because it sounding interesting and different, because it was a used paperback and therefore cheap, and because it is so purple it will not be denied.

Poison is the story of a young girl of the same name. Poison lives in the Black Marshes, with her father, baby sister and stepmother. Poison and her stepmother do not get along, although Snapdragon is not necessarily a bad person. Poison always dreams of one day escaping the Marshes and seeing the world. That day comes all too soon when Poison's sister Azalea is kidnapped by the phaeries and a changeling is left in her place. It is then that Poison sets out to find the Phaerie King and demand her sister's return.

I'd have to say that Poison is one of the most compelling stories I've read in a quite a while. The characters are interesting and the narration is stunning. I found myself frequently re-reading paragraphs simply because they were so beautifully written. The last time I did that was when reading one of N.D. Wilson's books (another of my favorite story-tellers).

Poison is pure delight from the very first chapter, and I was eager to share details about it with every new twist. I will say however, that towards the second half, the book looses a little steam as the story is set on a new path. Poison is now not only seeking her sister, but also unravelling a plot to overthrow the Hieriophant - the ruler of all the Realms. It is because of this that the original story goes partially unresolved, and therefore left me yearning for a sequel. I do not care for loose ends, or ambiguous resolutions that depend on the reader to make their own conclusion.

However, because the beginning was so amazing, and some of the adversaries Poison meets on her way so terrifying, that I simply have to give it 5 stars. The Lady of Cobwebs alone warrants it.

I really do wish for a sequel though. Perhaps Azalea's story??

Last Sacrifice

by Richelle Mead

Here it is, the final book in the Vampire Academy series. One of the things I've liked most about this series is the different take on vampires. In the VA books, there are a few types of vampires - the royal, pure Moroi vampires, who live on blood, but don't kill to get it; the dhampirs - a mix of Moroi and human who don't drink blood and live to protect the Moroi, and the evil Strigoi, who kill anyone they can get their hands on. Throughout this 6-part series we've meet Rose (the dhampir), Lissa (her best friend, the Moroi), as well and their ever-widening group of friends and acquaintances. We've seen Rose's love Dimitri turned Strigoi and then back again, and watched Rose struggle with her feelings for both him and party-boy Adrian.

At the start of this book Rose is in prison, accused of killing the Moroi queen. Desperately trying to think of a way to clear her name and avoid execution, Rose is surprised when she is suddenly broken out of jail. On the run, Rose and her companions begin a search for Lissa's previously unknown half-brother or -sister. Meanwhile, back at court Lissa and the gang are searching for who really killed the queen so Rose's name can be cleared.

Oh, and did I mention that Rose is still trying to decide between Dimitri and Adrian? Because she is - that's what young adult book heroines do!

I liked the whole solve-the-mystery aspect of this novel, even though it was a little slower than the previous books. The main thing I didn't like was how blase Rose was at the end about how things had turned out for others. **Spoilers**Adrian was right when he called Rose out for not being concerned enough for others. She didn't fret long over cheating on him with Dimitri, as soon as she was back at court and had the answers she needed she forgot all about Sydney, and she only spared a few passing thoughts for how Christian was feeling about the turn of events. It was all about her getting Dimitri, with a side of saving Lissa. I actually think this could have been alleviated by including an epilogue at the end, to fully explain where everyone ended up, and hopefully showing how Rose had made an effort to patch things up with everyone. As it was, she came across a little selfish. **

Mostly satisfying conclusion, a few character problems, but redeemed mostly by good story-telling.

A Tale Dark & Grimm

by Adam Gidwitz

I bought this book because the cover was interesting, and the first few pages had me laughing out loud in the book store:

"Once upon a time, fairy tales were awesome. I know, I know. You don't believe me. I don't blame you. A little while ago, I wouldn't have believed it myself. Little girls in red capes skipping around the forest? Awesome? I don't think so. But then I started to read them. The real, Grimm ones. Very few little girls in red capes in those. Well, there's one. But she gets eaten."

This book is a retelling of 9 Grimm fairy tales that are adjusted to feature Hansel and Gretel as the main characters. Not much of the gruesome stuff it changed from the original Grimm version, and thus this book is bloody at times. The author relieves some of that by jumping in at times with his own commentary, clearly marked by a bold-face font. Also weaving throughout the book is the theme that children should be valued and not cast aside as many of the adults in Hansel's and Gretel's journey did.

I particularly liked this line at the end:

"There is a wisdom in children, a kind of knowing, a kind of believing, that we, as adults, do not have. There is a time when a kingdom needs its children."

Four stars simply because some of the "icky" stuff makes it hard to recommend this book across the board.

Museum of Thieves

by Lian Tanner

The city of Jewel is a strange little place. Until the age of 16 all children are protected from every danger by being tethered by a small silver guardchain to their parents, their Guardian, or to their beds at night. Years ago, Jewel was overrun with plague and slavers and dangers of all sorts. The children were lost or dying at a rapid rate, and a group of adults set out to protect them. These adults would become the first Blessed Guardians. Despite the passing of time, and the safety of the city now, children are still chained until Separation Day. At the beginning of the book, the age of separation has been changed from 16 to 12, much to the disagreement of the Guardians. Goldie Roth couldn't be more excited. She is 12, and more eager than ever to be free from her chain. However, when the Separation ceremony is interrupted, and then cancelled, Goldie can't bear the thought of being chained again. So she runs away. As the Guardians search for her, and imprison her parents, Goldie finds refuge in the mysterious Museum of Dunt. There she meets the museum's keepers, who take her in and hide her from the Guardians. However, the Guardians do not relent in their search for Goldie, or the quest to unravel the mysterious of the Museum - a quest that could end up destroying the town.

This book is delightfully different and yet reminiscent of so many things I love. The museum's got just a touch of Hogwarts to it, and the town of Jewel offers up a perfect contrast. While the book does state that one must be a thief to be able to navigate the museum, it also goes a long way to avoid glamorizing theft. There's a lot to think about here too, such as to what length we should go to protect children and when they should be allowed to make their own mistakes. In Jewel the children were so protected that they had no ability to think for themselves or make a decision when faced with trouble.

I'm happy to find another kids' book that's not just for kids. Also eagerly awaiting the next book in this trilogy.

Sabotaged

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I still love the concept behind this series, although I found this book to be less captivating than the first two.

This time, Haddix's time traveling series takes us to early America where Andrea learns that she is actually Virginia Dare. However, immediately upon arriving, the kids find themselves in lots of trouble. They've lost the Elucidator (which allows them to communicate with the time-travelling adults who are helping them) and it seems that someone out there is trying to sabotage their mission to fix time and bring Andrea back.

I found this book to be more confusing than the previous two. It seemed to get bogged down by too much time paradox talk, and incessant mention but brief explanation of "tracers". By biggest complaint though was the ending. Haddix is known for being fond of the cliff-hanger ending, but this one was such a sheer drop that it didn't seem like an ending at all. I think my book is missing a few chapters! Virtually nothing is resolved and the characters are about to start off on an off-shoot to their original mission when, all of a sudden, the book is over. That just seems like the author ran out of time and decided, 'oh well, I'll just finish this story in the next book!"

Prada & Prejudice

by Prada & Prejudice

Callie is on a class trip to London. She's supposed to be having the time of her life, but instead she's feeling just as left-out and unpopular as ever. One day, in a scheme to get the popular girls to like her, Callie goes out and buys a pair of red Prada heels. However, on her way back to the hotel Callie trips and suddenly finds herself stuck in 1815. She meets friendly Emily, who mistakes her for her friend Rachel and takes her in.

At first Callie thinks this is all some big joke or misunderstanding. (In fact, it's starting to get annoying right before she finally realizes she's been catapulted into the past). Soon she's becoming close to Emily, and trying to figure out how to save her from marrying a man much older than her - in the hopes that she can marry the man she loves instead. Of course, this is Prada & Prejudice - a non-so-subtle reference to the beloved classic Pride and Prejudice - so there must be a "Darcy" figure. Alex is a duke, and it is his house where the two friends are staying. Alex is gorgeous, but he really rubs Callie the wrong way. He's conceited, and selfish, and apparently hiding a pretty big secret.

Can Callie find a way to help Emily, confront Alex, and make it back to the twenty-first century before the real Rachel shows up?

This is a cute book, with some funny moments. Despite the nod to Pride and Prejudice, I almost think it would be easier to read this book if you didn't know much about the Regency time period. I'm not an expert, but I found Callie's complete ignorance to be frustrating. For example, she gets all bent out of shape about classes and superiors. Of course the duke acts like he's better than you - everyone in the time period would say that he is!

Another thing I thought was strange was that Callie often wore her 3-inch red patent leather heels around in 1815. I didn't think they wore heels back then.

Lastly, and the real reason this book gets 3-stars instead of 4 or 5, is that the ending was a bit of a let down. I'd been wondering from the beginning how things were going to work out since it was pretty likely Callie would return to her own time by the end. What would happen to the guy she liked and the friends she made? That aspect of it wasn't entirely satisfying.

Ring of Fire

by Pierdomenico (P. D.) Baccalario

This book was a fun little discovery! The Ring of Fire is the start to a four-part series about a group of kids that meet in a Roman hotel over the New Year's celebrations. As they are getting acquainted they discover that they all share the same unique birthday - February 29. Things get weired as the group receives a mysterious briefcase. Soon they are on the trail of mystical device called the Ring of Fire. They aren't the only ones searching for it though...

This is an intriguing start to a new series. It kind of reminds me of National Treasure, but in Rome. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

Wild Magic

by Cat Weatherill

I bought this book on a whim last weekend because the title intrigued me, the cover was pretty and the description was interesting. Sometimes despite all that promise, a book has still failed to deliver, but thankfully Wild Magic was mostly a pleasant surprise.

This book is a retelling of the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. After the piper successfully rid the town of their rat infestation and is refused payment, he plays his pipe again and leads the children of Hamelin away with him. Our main character, Mari is one of the children to be lead away, while her crippled brother Jakob is barely left behind. The Piper leads the children into the world of Elvendale where they soon learn that he is looking for one child in particular - a child with unknown magical powers who will help him lift an ancient curse.

The book is split into 3 different narratives that alternate back and forth. Mari and Jakob serve as two of the narrators, with the Piper as the third. It is interesting to read the story from both the perspectives of the "heroes" and the "villain".

The story is inventive and interesting. The ending was mostly satisfying. Despite a few "too-neat" aspects, and a couple unanswered questions, I enjoyed this take on the Pied Piper.

The Books of Elsewhere: The Shadows

by Jacqueline West

I finally got my hands on a copy of this book with all the correct pages (thanks Dani!) and was able to finish it!

I love this book. It's like a delightful mix of 100 Cupboards and Coraline.

Olive and her parents just moved into a big, old Victorian house. Her parents are pretty busy with their jobs, so Olive has some time to explore her new house. Olive examines the paintings left on the walls and well as the drawers of dressers and other furniture left in the house when her parents bought it. Before long she discovers and old pair of spectacles, and and even bigger surprise - when she's wearing the glasses she can step into the paintings! However, there is something sinister lurking in the "elsewhere". Olive must muster up all her bravery and resourcefulness now to protect herself and her family from the mysterious presences that wants it's house back.

The book is just the right mix of funny, creepy, and fantastical. I loved it from beginning to end and can't wait to read where this story goes next! (I just hope that the next time I get a book with all it's pages!)

The Books of Umber: Happenstance Found

by P. W. Catanese

By the time I got to the end of Happenstance Found, the first book in the Books of Umber trilogy, I liked it. However, the beginning of this book is a little slow and aimless.

Happenstance is a young boy who wakes up wet and blindfolded in a cave. Soon a man named Umber and his two companions come across him and take him on their journey.

For most of the book Happenstance and his new friends (as well as the reader) are unsure as to who or what Hap is. Is he from this world? Is he magical? What happened to him in his past and why can't he remember anything? Thankfully, this mystery intrigued me, or I likely would have quit reading before the end. Not much happens in the first half of the novel besides wondering.

Thankfully, things finally start to pick up and Hap and Umber learn more about Hap's origins. By the end of the book we've also learned more about Umber's past and the book takes a turn slightly in genre. It is no longer a straight-forward fantasy - a twist I was eager for! I'm interested to see how the next book goes, since it will hopefully not have the problem of vagueness and the complete mystery of Hap that this book did.

A Conspiracy of Kings

by Megan Whalen Turner

It's OK.

One of the main reasons I like Turner's series is because of the characters. And while the way she depicts and surprises you with her characters in still evident in this book, the character that I like the most is hardly in it! He's the main character (after all the series is called The Queen's Thief), but he only appears occasionally. Sad.

Also, this book is sometimes confusing! It's Turner's style to leave many things unsaid so you have to figure out what's going on on your own, but I felt like too much was left out this time. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention because I missed Gen. I'm hoping if there's another book in this series that it will be about the main characters!

Leepike Ridge

N. D. Wilson


I love N.D. Wilson! This is the third book of his that I've read, and each one is a treasure. Not only are the stories original and interesting, but the way he tells the story is lovely and lyrical and engrossing.

Leepike Ridge is actually Wilson's first book, and one I've been wanting to read for a while. However, I've never bought it because I didn't like the cover art of the paperback version and could never find the hardback version which I did like the art for (the art pictured). Finally found a copy at an outlet book store though, so it was finally time to buy it and read it.

While I do think I like the 100 Cupboards series better (mostly because it's fantasy and this is realistic fiction), Leepike Ridge was a fun story.

It starts off with this boy, Tom, who sails off down the river on a piece of Styrofoam from a refrigerator box and before he knows what's happening, the river dives under the mountain and Tom is sucked along with it. Once the current stops, Tom finds himself stuck in the pitch-dark and he can't find a way out. He also finds a body, a dog, a flashlight and eventually, a stream traveling farther into the mountain. Meanwhile Tom's mother is desperately searching for her son, and trying to determine who she can trust and who is keeping things from her. Will Tom ever find his way back above ground, and if he does, will he find his mom is safe or in danger?

The King of Attolia

by Megan Whalen Turner

After finishing the previous book of this series, The Queen of Attolia, I just HAD to start the next one! Breaking all bans on book-buying before Christmas established by friend and fellow book lover, Dani - I went to the store and bought it anyway, incurring the wrath of said rule-maker. Oops.

But scoldings aside, it was well worth it!

The King of Attolia was equal parts confusion, frustration (at being confused), delight, gooeyness, and awe! Yes, gooeyness...all great books need a little gooeyness! Definition of gooeyness: charming little romantic sequences that make your brain feel the slightest bit "gooey" and which cause you to want to read all the more faster with the hope that the gooey feeling will return shortly. :)

I though I was going to be upset at the beginning of the book when a new character appears. And while Costis appears in nearly every scene, the book is not told entirely from his point of view. And happily, his story did not take us away from the story of Gen and Atollia. I liked hearing how Costis's opinion of his new ruler gradually changed from outright hatred, to grudging respect, to a geniune approval.

And once again, at the end of the book I was eager for the next installment! However, there is no such animal....at least not yet! I do hope that Turner will continue the series. She did seem to leave herself open for another by not revealing the final outcome with Sophos. I do hope though, that if there is another book, it will not be all about Sophos, because half of the charm of the series is the cunning antics of Gen and Attolia! More please Ms. Turner!

Update: The forth part to this series, A Conspiracy of Kings is set to drop March 10th, 2010!

The Queen of Attolia

by Megan Whalen Turner

This book was, without question, maddening! (In that oh, so fabulous way that makes you want to throw it across the room and then read all night until you reach the end sort of way!)

Gen! I will never figure the guy out! Just when I think what's going on - I so don't! Twists and turns and it was all just lovely, lovely, lovely!!

**Sort of spoilerish** First off, many kudos to Megan Whalen Turner for creating a character, making us HATE her, and then... a mere 200 or so pages later, making us love her completly! How she does this, I still do not know! Ohhhh I hated the Queen of Attolia so much. First, for just being a meany...and for what she does to Gen, and then for fraternizing with the sleazy Mede character. But by the end I though she was the coolest, sneakiest, cleaverest, (are these even words?) most sympathetic character of the book. You feel bad for her. And you really WANT her to be happy and loved.

And Gen. I still don't get him. But I don't care, he's great and unpredictable, and FUNNY!

Okay, spoilers for sure now - sometimes I try to avoid them, but well, I'm not going to anymore. So the part I most loved what the part near the end when Attolia and Eddis agree that the gods betrated Gen. And then Gen goes along to a room and makes an alter and questions the gods as to why they did this to him. And they tell him not to question why and he just yells that he demands to know, and he has a right to know. And then one of the goddesses comes to him and says basically, "What would you give to have your hand back?" She says she can't do it, but if she could, would he give up Attolia, or have her lost to the Mede? And Gen is forced to say that no, he wouldn't. Seriously, I got chills at this part. I just thought it was really powerful to think about how this completly horrible thing happened to Gen, but in the end, it is this horrible thing that eventually plays a part in him gaining something even better. And the fact that this finds its way into a kids book just makes me even more impressed.

The Thief

by Megan Whalen Turner

I've finally read The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner! Dani has been recommending this book to me for quite a long time, and I have kept forgetting about it. This week though, I have been stuck inside because of ice and snow and I needed a new book to read. After debating for a while book I would pick, I noticed my copy of The Thief sitting on the shelf just waiting to be read. And so I finally picked it up.

I had a little bit of a hard time with the character named Pol. You see, in The Thief, Pol is a guy, but I've also read a series of books where one of the main characters - a female - is named Polgara, and goes by the nickname Pol. So in The Thief I was constantly having to remind myself that this was NOT Aunt Pol! But that's my problem, not the book's.

I found the story of The Thief to be engrossing, and surprising. I have to admit, that I never even suspected Gen's true identity, nor the connections between other character that were revealed at the end. About 2/3rds of the way through the book I was actually starting to wonder where the story was going. Gen surprised everyone in the story as well as me! I thought it was interesting to have the story from his point of view most of the time, but not to reveal all of what he's thinking or doing to the reader. The reader is then left to try to figure out what's going on on their own along with the other characters - something I was terrible at, but I enjoyed, nonetheless!