Roller Girl - by Victoria Jamieson

My rating:

For fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, a heartwarming graphic novel about friendship and surviving junior high through the power of roller derby. 
Twelve-year-old Astrid has always done everything with her best friend Nicole. So when Astrid signs up for roller derby camp, she assumes Nicole will too. But Nicole signs up for dance camp with a new friend instead, and so begins the toughest summer of Astrid's life. There are bumps and bruises as Astrid learns who she is without Nicole...and what it takes to be a strong, tough roller girl. (Goodreads)

I had no idea this book existed until someone handed it to me to check in at the library. I took it home just because of the cover. I mean, the girl has blue hair and tall, rainbow socks just like I used to have. I really didn't have a choice.

Usually, I'm not that interested in heartwarming books about friendship and whatever other things heartwarming books talk about. Roller Girl, though, is a genuinely cute book. Astrid and her best friend Nicole are starting to drift apart, but Astrid is able to work through it with the help of her roller derby camp. She learns to work hard for a sport she enjoys and makes new friends along the way. With a few bumps along the way she even learns how to work out her differences with Nicole and can accept that they don't have to spend every minute together to be friends.

Touching story aside, I love how realistic Astrid is as a character. Astrid takes up roller derby with dreams of being the best skater has ever seen. When she shows up at camp... she sucks. I've never had any natural talent for athletic activities, so I could really relate. Instead of giving up, though, Astrid works harder than anyone else and spends all her free time practicing. By the end of the book, she still kind of sucks, but has definitely improved. And really, after a few weeks of a junior roller derby camp, it would be ridiculous if Astrid became the best skater. Instead, by the end of the book, Astrid has learned that if she keeps working hard, her skating will keep improving.

This is an amazingly cute graphic novel that I would not hesitate to recommend. The story is sweet and the illustrations are just as fun and colorful as the cover that grabbed my attention. Also, everyone needs more girls with blue hair in their lives, trust me.

The Glass Arrow - by Kristen Simmons

My rating:

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.
In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning. (Goodreads)

I found The Glass Arrow when I was looking for standalone YA novels. I have nothing against series, but I've read so many lately and I'm getting really impatient waiting for sequels. A world where women are sold as property seemed like an interesting premise, and I think Simmons pulls it off fairly well. We don't get a lot of background on how this situation came about, but that didn't bother me too much. The worldbuilding is solid enough to paint a good picture of the current state of things, and this is accepted as the status quo. I think the lack of background is also less important than in many YA post-apocalyptic novels because of one key difference - there's no hero trying to change the world. Without any kind of revolution, it's easy to accept the situation that the protagonist, Aya, has been put as something that just happens in this world. This isn't to say that Aya isn't a great, strong character; she definitely is. In this novel, though, Aya isn't using her situation to spark a rebellion, she just wants to escape so her life can go back to normal.

Another, very welcome, change from most YA books these days - no ridiculous love story / triangle!!! Yes, there is some romance, but it's introduced slowly and naturally. I'll admit the end result was somewhat predictable, but considering Aya's love interest, Kiran, is pretty much the only guy she interacts with who isn't physically beating her into submission or trying to buy her as property, there's not room for much suspense about who Aya will end up with.

As far as the characters themselves, I thought they were pretty solid. Aya and Kiran are the only one's we really get to know well, but they're good protagonists. Aya is strong, smart, brave, and extremely stubborn. Even though she does come off as superior to many of the other girls waiting to be bought, we at least have the excuse that she's from the outlying mountains. Aya is strong and smart because that's the only way to survive, not because she's just special. Most of the other girls have grown up in the city, expecting to be sold someday and they're more or less resigned to their fate. Kiran is also from the mountains so his survival instincts pair well with Aya's personality. I also think Simmons did a great job of writing Kiran, who can't talk. He starts visiting Aya after she's been captured, and even with no dialogue on his side, we get a good idea of who he is.

After all the great things I've said about this book, I feel like I have to justify why I gave it three stars. First of all, I would have liked some more information about the secondary characters. We don't really get to know any of them or get any back story so they ended up feeling like placeholders to facilitate or hinder Aya and Kiran's plans. On top of that, something about the writing style and pacing of the story didn't grab me like some books do. It wasn't so bad that I lost interest, but I wasn't desperate to keep reading either.  The Glass Arrow is certainly still a good novel, and I would certainly recommend it  for anyone who likes the post-Apocalyptic YA genre.

Crimson Bound - by Rosamund Hodge

My rating: 

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.
Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?
Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption. (Goodreads)

I gave this book a chance because I read Hodge's other novel, Cruel Beauty, and thought it was pretty enjoyable. Crimson Bound has a ton of similarities to Cruel Beauty, to the point that it feels like the same overarching plot. The synopsis made the story seem promising, and I normally love a fairy tale retelling, but this book just fell flat.

Not even talking about the characters yet, the plot and the world as a whole were extremely under-developed. The introduction to the world started to build what seemed like an interesting mythology of sorts. The forestborn mark humans who are then forced to kill or die. Rachelle becomes a bloodbound this way and knows that, like all bloodbound, she is destined to eventually change into a forestborn herself. She's determined, though, that this won't stop her trying to defeat the Devourer - a dark creature determined to plunge the world into everlasting night. Unfortunately, this great set up leads to the middle of the novel where not much happens. The world, either of the humans or of the forestborn, is never explained any better. Worst of all, in my opinion, is that the end of the book turns into a ridiculously obvious Christian metaphor. I promise I'm not just biased or reading too much into this. For proof there's this quote about the name of one the mythical swords:

“Endurance. It is the sword that hopes all things, bears all things, believes all things, endures all things.”

At this point, the book literally transitioned from a YA fantasy novel to a bible quote... I don't know about you, but I don't read YA fantasy for its religious merits. I'll admit there were a few plot twists that caught me off guard, these were primarily characters revealed to be someone other than they seemed. Hodge never does anything with this information, though. There's the reveal, and then everyone goes back to their usual business.

Which brings me to the characters...They are pretty mediocre overall. The protagonist, Rachelle, spends the whole book feeling unworthy and her self-esteem never improves. The lack of character growth is pretty much a theme across the board. Our two main male characters are, more or less, opposites who only exist to create a predictable, and unrealistic, love triangle with Rachelle. On one side we have Erec d'Anjou, the typical pretty boy who spends the whole book showing off and also happens to be the ruthless captain of the bloodbound. On the other side, there's Armand, the boy who lost his hands to avoid killing and is literally worshipped as a saint by the general populace. Rachelle's interest in both characters alternates between hate and undeniable love / lust multiple times throughout the novel.

Crimson Bound certainly wasn't so terrible as to be unreadable, and if you just want something to take up time it can actually be enjoyable. In comparison with Cruel Beauty, though, this was a definite disappointment.

Top Ten Tuesday - Christmas

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. With Christmas almost here this week's theme is...

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree

This is actually a tough one for me since I already own way too many books and work in a library. So this a list of books I haven't gotten around to reading yet for whatever reason or that I can get a hold of because they haven't been released yet.

1. Jackaby - by William Ritter

This book was recommended to me months ago and the description of this book as “Doctor Who meets Sherlock” has me totally convinced I will love it. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet because 1. it's the start of an unfinished series and 2. it still has a long hold list at my library.

2. A Study in Charlotte - by Brittany Cavallaro
This is one of the book's I have my eye on that hasn't been released yet. After reading Lock & Mori I specifically went looking for more Sherlock inspired novels, and came across A Study in Charlotte. The synopsis on Goodreads sounding really promising and I was totally ready to start this book, when I noticed that it won't be published until March.

3. All the Bright Places - by Jennifer Niven
I've had my eye on this book for several months at least. I think it's really important to have books dealing with mental health issues, especially for teens, and I've heard nothing but good things from my friends who have read this. I've even wanted to start this book several times, but the hold list is still extremely long and anytime I do get the urge to read this, I was to start it immediately. Patience, especially when books are concerned, is not my strong point.

4. Asking For It - by Louise O'Neill
I'm pretty sure I heard about this from a friend's Facebook post, but I'm not 100% sure. In any case, I was totally sold after learning that this is feminist fiction for teens! Then I went to look for it at the library only to found that none of the libraries in the whole state of Colorado have this book. Actually, the closest library that owns a copy is in Illinois as far as I can tell.

5. Broderies - by Marjane Satrapi
This is a book that I actually had my hands on for a few weeks. After reading Persepolis I was looking into what else Satrapi had written. I put in a request for the original, French version of this book since I'm always trying to improve my French skills. Amazingly my library actually did get a copy for me, but I didn't finish it in time and since it was borrowed through an inter-library loan there was no option to renew. Sometime when I'm not so busy I'll probably request this again and try to actually finish the whole thing.

6. Six of Crows - by Leigh Bardugo
Yet another book with a long hold list at my library... I've had my eye on this book since I first saw the cover, but it's also the first book of an unfinished series. Since I'm already waiting on so many sequels I'm not sure I want to endure the lengthy hold list and then have to wait for a sequel on top of it.

7. Uprooted - by Naomi Novik
It's no secret that I'm completely obsessed with Novik's Temeraire series, so I was excited to see that she has a young adult book out. This also has a long hold list so, for now, I'm contenting myself by continuing to work through Temeraire.

8. And I Darken - by Kiersten White
I'm a big fan of all these YA retellings of classic stories, so I'm all for a reimagining of Dracula's history. To make this book even more intriguing, the author tells the story not of Vlad the Impaler, but of Lada the Impaler - a female version of the tyrant who would come to be known as Dracula. Sadly this book won't be published until summer 2106, so I would definitelly be excited if I could get hold of a copy earlier.

9. Temeraire - by Naomi Novik
I don't really need to own a copy of these books since I already have way too many. On top of that, I haven't even been reading physical copies, I've been borrowing the digital audiobooks from my library and I love them. But these British covers are so beautiful I'd be happy to own a copy just for the artwork.

10. The Raven King - by Maggie Stiefvater
I've mentioned this book previously on my blog, so it should come as no surprise that I'm bringing it up again. I've been waiting anxiously for this conclusion to The Raven Cycle and I would pretty much kill for a copy at this point, so it would be an absolute miracle if Santa could leave a copy by the tree for me.

Lock & Mori - by Heather W. Petty

My rating: 

I'm a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories and love the BBC show, so I'm always interested in a new take on the character. Lock & Mori is a young adult novel with a couple of variations from the original. First of all, it's set in modern-day London and Sherlock and Moriarty are both in high school. The biggest change though is that in Petty's story Moriarty, or Mori as she's known, is a girl.

I thought this was a solid first novel, and I was totally on board with the developing romance between Sherlock and Mori. Petty did a good job of not only bringing these characters into the modern day but also imagining what they would be like as teenagers. Both the main characters are, fittingly, pretty brilliant, but definitely still in the awkward teenage phase and it totally works. I especially loved Mori's character because in this novel she is a well-developed, nuanced character with some really dark stuff going on her life. To start out, her mother recently died and now her father has become an alcoholic who beats her younger brothers and verbally abuses Mori when she tries to stand up for them. And that's just the beginning. While she's still extremely intelligent, Mori in this novel is much less predictable than Sherlock. With so many personal issues going on, she makes a lot of questionable decisions without stopping to logically think through how things will turn out. For me, this made her character a bit easier to relate to and sympathize with because there are times when she acts purely on emotion.

Now, onto the plot. As you would expect from a Sherlock retelling, the plot centers around a murder mystery. Sherlock and Mori team up to see if they can solve the case on their own, but Mori ends up keeping some secrets along the way. Petty's writing was really compelling and made me want to finish this book as quickly as possible. For me, this made up for the fact that parts of the mystery were a bit predictable. Also, like I mentioned, there's some romance to this story that you don't see in many Sherlock retellings. The romance between the two main characters developed quickly, but still felt natural to me. I also liked that, while this a decent amount of romance throughout, it doesn't take away from the murders as the main focus of the story.

Lock & Mori is the first book in what will eventually be a series, with two more books planned. From Petty's website it looks like we can expect about a year between each, with the next books planned for fall 2016 and fall 2017. Unlike most series I read, I actually went into this one knowing that it's not yet finished. I was somewhat hesitant, but Lock & Mori was definitely worth it. I also felt like the ending had just enough of cliffhanger to make me want more, but not so much that I was outraged about not being able to read the second book.

His Majesty's Dragon - by Naomi Novik

My rating: 

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Captain Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire. (Goodreads)

I am a huge fan of both fantasy and historical fiction and I think His Majesty's Dragon is the perfect combination of both. When I first heard about this book, mainly from library patrons wanting to find it, I was really excited about the idea of the Napoleonic Wars with dragons. Even with my high expectations, I can say that this book was so much better than I could have imagined. When I first starting reading His Majesty's Dragon, it reminded me a bit of the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld, which I read at the beginning of this year. What really made me love Novik's novels even more than Westerfeld's, though, is the representation of the dragons and their relationship with the humans.

The book begins Captain Laurence and his crew capturing a French ship that just happens to be carrying a dragon egg. From their initial discussion about dragons (how to harness them, making sure they are harnessed before allowing them to fly, the option of sending the dragon to the breeding grounds if he can't be harnessed) made me think that the dragons in this book would essentially be treated like property. Once Temeraire hatches, everything changes for Laurence and he forms a very real and loving bond with the dragon. I absolutely love the dragons Novik has created for this series. They are extremely intelligent and are characters in their own right, not just a means of transportation or war machines. It's no secret that I'm an animal lover, so Novik's representation and treatment of dragons in this novel played a huge part in winning me over.

As far as human protagonists, I didn't find Laurence to be quite as interesting as his dragon, but they make a good pair. Laurence is a very disciplined, upright gentleman who is overly concerned with doing his duty to the crown. Temeraire isn't very concerned with human laws and is constantly engaging Laurence in discussions that challenge his beliefs. Honestly, Laurence isn't the most compelling character, but I think he nicely represents some of the beliefs of the time period. What does work well, in my opinion, is they way Novik uses this overly traditional character to contrast the more relaxed and progressive life of the Aerial Corp. Not only are the other aviators much less concerned with the formalities and manners that Laurence is used to from his time in the navy, but they also employ women and young girls in the service. I think the addition of free thinking dragons and the Aerial Corp allows Novik to insert some more modern values into this book in a way that wouldn't feel natural if it were simply a historical fiction novel.

Overall, I think Novik's writing is what really makes this book so enjoyable to read. Her representation of the time period and the language used by the characters felt spot on, although I am by no means an expert on the time period. Her details of the navy, aerial corp, and general military actions were enough to set the mood and show that she did her research, but didn't feel overwhelming to me as someone who doesn't have a huge knowledge of or interest in military history. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy or historical fiction, and I think it is a must read for animal lovers.

Top Ten Books of 2015

I'm trying to be more consistent in my blog posts, so I've decided to take part in Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is...

Top Ten Books of 2015 - The best books I read this year

1. Winter - by Marissa Meyer

This is the latest book I've read to make the list, and it really was great. I only started reading the Lunar Chronicles earlier this year and didn't have as long of a wait for the final book, but it still felt like forever. Winter is a very fitting conclusion to a fantastic series and if you haven't read it yet, you really should!

2. None of the Above - by I.W. Gregorio

I just reviewed this book, but I can't emphasize enough how important I think it is. I'm all for LGBT+ themes in novels and None of the Above is fairly unique in featuring an intersex protagonist. This book manages to merge contemporary, YA fiction (complete with high school drama) with a touching, but also very educational, story about what it's like to suddenly discover you are intersex.

3. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - by Becky Albertalli

Another LGBT+ book that I cannot say enough good things about. Simon is a great protagonist and so funny as a narrator. This book has an important message, but it manages to come across as a fun, light read at the same time. 

4. His Majesty's Dragon - by Naomi Novik

I haven't quite finished my review of this book, but I am seriously obsessed with the Temeraire series. Combining the Napoleonic Wars with dragons? It´s genius! On top of that, the dragons are extremely intelligent and have their own place as characters in the book. Novik's representation of dragons really sold this book for me.

5. Skellig - by David Almond

I never actually reviewed this book, but I really did love it. I found this when I was making an effort to read more of the j-fiction section at my library. Skellig is the perfect example of magical realism for kids. I also highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by the author.

6. The Water Knife - by Paolo Bacigalupi

I went into this book not even realizing that it was a science fiction novel and it really exceeded my expectations. The science in this book is rock solid, and that's one thing I really look for in science fiction. On top of that, the characters in this book are so well developed and the plot moves along at a great pace.

7. Monstrous Beauty - by Elizabeth Fama

Another book that I really underestimated. I was expecting a fun, YA novel with mermaids and was impressed by how mature the story is. And really, this book tells two, interwoven stories - with one plotline taking place in the modern day and another set in the late 19th century. I was really impressed by Fama's beautiful writing and how well she transitions between the two time periods.

8. The Diviners - by Libba Bray

This book has all the fun of 1920's New York and all the creepiness that comes with a supernatural serial killer. The language in this book really brings out the 1920's setting and the audio book is amazing. The Diviners is definitely not a horror novel but is plenty spooky nonetheless. Also an honorable mention to the sequel Lair of Dreams.

9. The Raven Boys - by Maggie Stiefvater

This book, and the whole series so far, is amazing! Great characters, plenty of mythology, and a romance that I can totally get behind. Would more could I want? Just the next book....

10. Because I Am Furniture - Thalia Chaltas

I read this book for a young adult services class and never got around to a review, but it really stuck with me. The story of Anke and her family trying to deal with an abusive father is absolutely heartbreaking. This is a novel in verse, which I don't usually read, but there are some really beautiful sections in this book.