The Chestnut King

by N. D. Wilson

I have one complaint for this book: it's the final entry to the series!

I love, love, love N. D. Wilson's writing, and the 100 Cupboards series. I almost feel outraged that more people don't know about it.

The Chestnut King is, regrettably, the last installment in N. D. Wilson's tale of a boy who discovers a wall of cupboards behind the plaster wall in his aunt's and uncle's attic. This discovery leads Henry to new worlds, new friends, new family as well as new danger. In this final book, the evil and undying Nimiane is rising in power, and seeking to destroy Henry. Henry finds himself separated from most of his family and friends, and must rely on himself for answers on what to do and who to trust.

It's hard for me to say much more without telling the whole story, but this is a wholly satisfying end to Henry's story - while also making me want it to continue!

N. D. Wilson's way with words continues to make the narrative shine, and makes this book (and series) stand out from the sea of children's literature in my mind. It's amazing, and touching and beautiful and inspiring. I want to grab book one and start it all over again!

Jinx

by Meg Cabot

Jinx is the story of Jean Honeychurch who earned the nickname "Jinx" due to here incredibly bad luck. Whenever Jean's around things seem to go wrong. At the moment she was born there was a blackout in the hospital and some patients had to be flown to other hospitals. Jean is now moving in with her Aunt and Uncle and their three kids in New York City, because of an incident back home. Jean is looking forward to spending time with her cousin Tori, who is her age, but before long she realizes Tori is not the same person she remembers. Tori is up to something, but she's not the only one keeping secrets....

I liked this book because it's by Meg Cabot and her books are funny. However, Jinx is a bit naive and slow to figure things out which is kind of annoying. Also, there were some "witchy" elements to the story that I thought were a little too real-to-life to be portrayed positively. Not bad, but not my favorite.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

by Kate DiCamillo

I read this book in less than an hour today when I was subbing (during the times I was without students).

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is the story of a child's china rabbit of the same name. While the rabbit's owner loves him very much, Edward is a proud, vain toy who cares nothing for anyone buy himself. All this changes one day when Edward is lost at sea. It is then when his journey truly begins. Edward finds himself passed from one pair of hands to another. And gradually, along the way, Edward learns to love. He goes through many trials and sorrows that cause him to want to harden his heart forever, but through the wisdom of others Edward learns to open his heart again.

This is really quite a beautiful story, however I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. For some children, parts of Edward's journey may be too frightening or upsetting. However, for many the messages of learning to keep hope, and never stop loving even through the direst of circumstances is a much needed one.

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

Ah I'm having mixed feelings on this book too! I love the premise: mysterious maze, kids who've lost their memories, creepy creatures lurking in the dark, cryptic messages, etc. However, there were just a few things about it that I didn't love as much.

I thought the story developed a little too slowly over the pages of the book. The author revels very little of what's actually going on until the end, and even then many things are left unanswered (since this will be a series). However, I felt like the story developed too quickly over the time span of the novel. The entire book only encompasses a little over a week for the characters and it just seemed a little rushed.

My other complaint has to do with all the made-up words of the Gladers. They use a lot of words almost as if they are swear words, and some of them sound very close to actual swear words, with just the first letter different.

However, the ending was just chilling enough to make me really want to see where the next book goes. So I'll probably stick around for at least the next entry to this series.

The Maze Runner is the story of Thomas. He wakes up to find himself in an elevator going up, and that he remembers nothing of his past. All he can remember is his name. When the elevator stops, the top opens and Thomas is greeted by the faces of dozens of young boys, none much older than himself. He is in the Glade - a mysterious open area surrounded by giant stone walls. Outside the walls lies the maze, and as far as any of the Glades know, there is no way out.

Betraying Season

by Marissa Doyle

I'm really struggling with what to rate this book. I gave it's predecessor 4 stars, and I feel like I liked this one about equally, but I don't know if it quite falls under the "I really liked it" category. I'm torn, but sticking with 3. If I did halves, perhaps I'd go for 3 and a half.

Betraying Season is the sequel to Bewitching Season, which I read last year about this time (maybe I'm just not remembering it well!) The first book focused on twins Penelope and Persephone Leland, although the story mostly revolved around Persy. This time around, Pen gets to be the focus of the novel. Persy is newly married in England, so Pen decides to live in Ireland for a while with her former governess and her new husband. While she's there she's studying magic and hoping to become as skilled as her sister. However, things get a little more complicated when the handsome and dashing Niall Keating comes into her life. What she doesn't know is that Niall's mother is a powerful witch too, and she wishes to use Pen in her plot to kill the Queen.

I did feel that the regency elements and the magical elements blended together better in this story than in the previous book. One thing that annoyed me though was that they used the word "horripilatious" way too much.

This book is written in third person with an omniscient narrator. Sometimes the narrative is about Pen and sometimes about Niall. And since you're told what they are thinking and feeling there's really no suspense as to whether Niall is legit or not. I kind of think I would have liked it all to be from Pen's perspective so you were wondering what Lady Keating was up to and if Niall was telling the truth or not. Would have added some suspense that the book was lacking.

The Shifter

by Janice Hardy

I admit it. I picked this book because it's pretty - the cover grabbed my attention in the book store and I picked it up. Read the front flap, and was interested by the story. Book goes on Christmas list, and viola! I now have the shiny new thing in my hands.

The Shifter is the story of a fifteen-year-old orphan named Nya. Years ago all of Nya's family was killed in a takeover of their country and a resulting war, all except her younger sister Tali. Thankfully, Tali is an apprentice Healer - someone who can take injuries and pain away from and individual and then release it into a special stone called pynvium. She has a place to stay, food to eat and a future ahead of her. Things are a little more difficult for Nya. She can also take injuries and pain from others, but she can't release it into the pynvium. Nya must either hold the pain herself, or shift it to another person - a skill that is very dangerous to have. Nya knows that if the rulers found out out her talent, she could be taken to be used as a weapon. However, Nya soon finds it difficult to hide her secret ability. She's out of money, she's been kicked out of her room at the boarding house, and she can't find work anywhere. To top it off, strange things are happening at the League where her sister is training, and some apprentices are going missing. Nya will soon have to decide if it is better to hide her power, or use it, and if she does use it - is it right?

I loved the uniqueness of this book. It was completely different from anything I'd ever read. The characters are likable, and Nya's moral dilemmas are intriguing to mull over. The ending was mostly satisfying while also leaving it open for the sequel. A couple confusing sequences, and a rushed explanation of the political and social battles going on in the background cause me to give it four stars rather than five.

Betrayals

by Lili St. Crow

This book is the sequel to Strange Angels, a book whose story I enjoyed but I had some reservations over the method of telling.

I have largely the same complaints for the sequel.

Again, Lili St. Crow seems to have a small vocabulary when it comes to words to expresses anger or shock. The only ones she can think of would get bleeped out on cable television. This is frustrating because these aren't words I enjoy hearing - even in my own head, and also because I think it shows a real lack of creativity. Seriously, not EVERYONE in the world uses those words in every sentence. It's crude, and sounds uneducated. I realize these are teenage characters, but I have a hard time believing that all teenagers have such a foul mouth as Dru and Graves do.

Second - the smells! Ms. St. Crow focuses way too much on the way things smell and not enough on other senses. Many sequences are hard to understand and picture in your head because the only information you have is what things smell like. (And yes, Christophe STILL smells like apple pie!) Oh, and by the way, it's mentioned quite a few times that Graves smells like cigarette smoke, as if this is supposed to be a nice thing - um, ew!

Unfortunately, I'm giving this book one less star than it's predecessor. I just didn't find the story as interesting, and it was often confusing! There were a few chapters that I wasn't really sure what was going on and it felt like the author was being intentionally vague.

Will I read the third installment? Probably only if Dani assures me that it's better than this one!