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Merle has spent most of her life in and out of an orphanage, where they were never too pleased to have her, so when she sets off for her new apprenticeship at Arcimboldo’s mirror workshop, she has high hopes. The idea that she and Junipa will be the only girls in the shop doesn’t occur to her until they arrive, and while it’s not the most appealing prospect, at least she’s not alone.
From the get-go, all is not quite right at Arcimboldo’s. He’s replaced Junipa’s eyes with pieces of mirror, to give her sight. The effect is more than a little disturbing. Then there are the late-night excursions of the housekeeper, Eft, down into the well in the courtyard. The attack on the workshop by the Weaver’s boys. The having no idea just what it is that Arcimboldo does.
Some questions she gets answers too. Like why the Weaver’s apprentices attacked (ongoing fued), and why Eft climbs down the well. She and Junipa get to spend a day working with mirrors, even. And then comes the festival, which changes it all.
Venice is besieged. So it’s been for quite some time, and so it may be forever. The Egyptians took over the world, but were kept out of Venice by the Flowing Queen. No one is sure just what the Flowing Queen is, but they know she kept them safe. And so every year, they celebrate her protection. And so the Mirror Maker’s apprentices are treated to a night out on the town.
Merle, who was quite taken with Serafin, one of the Weaver boys, from the moment his mask slipped off his face, spends most of her time at the Festival searching for him. It’s Junipa who finally spots him, and insists that Merle go see him.
From the way he pops up in front of her, it seems he was seeking her out too.
Their leisurely stroll around the canals takes a turn towards the dangerous when they run across a winged lion. Winged stone lions being the most rare form of lion in the city’s employ. They protect the city counselors. Which begs the question, what are the City Councilors doing in that area, at that time of night?
Adventure turned spy mission turns to disaster when Merle’s mirror falls from her pocket and lands on the head of one of the men they were spying on. With the help of Serafin, she manages to recollect it, and also the vial the councilors were about to hand off to an Egyptian emissary. Swimming with all her might, she manages to escape, though Serafin is caught by one of the much feared winged lions.
And if Merle thought her night was rough up til that point…the adventure’s just begun!
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Aislinn has had the Sight all her life, and it’s always been something she’s feared. But when the glowing Keenan approaches her, in full glamour, in a place most faeries can’t enter, her fear achieves a whole new level. Overhearing the deathly-looking girl outside tell her to run while she can didn’t do much to help either, since she wasn’t supposed to be able to hear it anyway. When the fey start treading ground on her safe places, following her, showing up at school, at the train yard, leaving her no safe haven, she knows she can’t take it any more. Her Grams, always protective, is going to lock her in the house at the rate things are progressing, but she can’t hide the truth forever either. Still, she’s determined to try it her own way first.
While originally repulsed by Keenan when he first approached her, she was also inexplicably drawn to him, and it’s become clear he isn’t going to go away. Inside school or out, he’s a constant presence, and the effort to ignore him, not to touch him, is becoming too much. Time to change the rules a little. Try it a new way. Try playing friendly and find out what they want. So long as her Sight stays hidden, she can even spy for herself, eavesdropping on invisible faeries who assume they can’t be seen or heard.
Unable to go it alone, Aislinn has confided in Seth. Afraid she’d lose him, that he wouldn’t be able to believe her, she was much relieved when he took the news in stride. Still newly aware of this other world, Seth, her best friend (and more if she were to be honest with herself) is not entirely keen on her plan, but agrees to go along. So long as part of the plan is attempting to get him the Sight as well, so he can better assist.
Unfortunately, as well as Ash’s plan works, or seems to, it also changes everything. While pretending to give Keenan what he wants, she is giving him what he wants. From the moment she was chosen, her mortality began to slip away, and after a night of fey revelry and good, she can no longer pretend she doesn’t see it. How she’s becoming like him.
Desperate to find a way to undo it, Ash turns to Donia, the Winter Girl, hoping for an answer she knows doesn’t exist. And Donia can only confirm her worst fears. She has only two choices. Summer Girl, or Summer Queen. And she’s begun to feel it. She knows she’s her. So how to coexist? How to be what Keenan needs, and not lose everything she loves?
The stakes grow even more dire when the Winter Queen takes Seth captive. When Ash learns that her mother had also been chosen by Keenan, and rather than face the choice, made an even more drastic decision. A decision she knows won’t save her. All she can do is accept who she is, and make the best of it. Do what no girl before has. Meet Keenan half way. Bring her own demands to the table. As a job, Summer Queen seems feasible. Overwhelming, but potentially even fun.
This is a really interesting new twist on the Faery Tale, and I really enjoyed reading it, even with all the heart-wrenching, not knowing what would become of Aislinn and Seth when all was said and done. Highly recommended.
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December 28th, 2007
10:28 am
Book Review, Series, Staff Favorites
adventure, alice in wonderland, alyss, fantasy, hatter madigan, imagination, magic, war, ya fiction
Rating:
Picking up were Looking Glass Wars left off, Alyss is now Queen of Wonderland, but all is not wonderful. No one knows what will become of Redd and The Cat, after their leap into the Heart Crystal, Alyss is worried that Dodge’s need for revenge will ruin him, she’s unsure if a Queen should love one of her guardsman, King Arch of Borderland seems to be planning something, and no one has heard from Hatter Madigan.
There’s never a dull moment. Especially once Redd imagines herself back into existence through a painter’s canvas. She and The Cat waste no time in collecting a new army on Earth. As luck would have it, one of the first people they run into is a member of Wonderland’s Tutor species, who fled through the Pool of Tears after having a falling out with Bibwit Harte. Vollrath, eager to prove himself, tells Redd all she needs to know about gaining her full powers, which will give her the best chance of defeating Alyss and reclaiming Wonderland as her own.
King Arch also has designs on Wonderland. After using the Diamonds to help start his plot on its way, capturing Homburg Molly and rendering the Crystal Continuum useless, he seems well on his way. The Diamonds are imprisoned (all but Jack, who has escaped), Hatter Madigan has done as expected and come for Molly, but all is not as smooth as Arch suspects. Jack of Diamonds will always side with whoever is most advantageous to him. And Hatter Madigan is not as loyal as he seems.
Back in Wonderland, Alyss’ powers are put to their test, as she helps to defend the city against the seeming endless army sent against her. Cryptic words from a caterpillar come at an unexpected time to help guide her along her way.
You’ll be left on the edge of your seat, eager for the final installment.
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Rating:
I originally started re-reading this series when I first saw The Golden Compass preview on TV. Since it has come to annoy me, as having recently read the book again, I can tell they’ve altered the story. Unfortunately, I put down The Subtle Knife for a long time while concentrating on school books and other reads. Surprisingly, picking it up again after a long span of time, I was able to jump right back in, and it was every bit as compelling. But it does make reviewing it a little harder.
We pick up Lyra’s story just after she’s gone into the hole in the sky created by her father, intent on finding him and putting a stop to whatever he’s doing. Instead of finding Lord Asriel, however, she finds herself in a beautiful city inhabited by only children. Some invisible menace known as Specters has driven off, or killed, all the adults.
A series of events conspire to unite Lyra with Will, a boy who grew up in an Oxford very much like, and very different from, her own. Will is searching for his father, missing for 12 years. Lyra has vowed to help him. Along the way of course comes the unexpected trouble of having the alethiometer stolen by and old man who turns out to be someone Lyra has already had a run-in with, the police looking for both she and Will, brokering a deal to go after a mysterious knife, only to find out it’s incredibly powerful and has deemed Will its new master.
It’s a very fast read, with never a dull moment. Any Pullman fan or Potter fan yet to read His Dark Materials will find plenty to like. And you’ll certainly be left wanting to know how it will all end.
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Rating:
The wait is over, and another begun. Like its predecessors before it, Eclipse will please, and leave readers wanting more.
Picking up with life in Forks racing towards graduation, Bella is under house arrest, she and Jacob still aren’t speaking, Charlie is barely tolerating Edward, who himself is more polite than Bella thinks Charlie deserves, and her plans to become a vampire are solid as ever. If only that were the end of the list of worries.
There’s still Victoria, forever hunting Bella to avenge her mate’s death. And the Volturi, displeased with a human knowing their secret. And, after winning her freedom, and going to see Jake, Jake and Edwards’ mutual dislike. Edward, of course, is the first to get a grip. And in Bella, the werewolves and the vampires find common ground. After a break-in at her house, Jake and Edward realize Bella, and everyone else involved, would be better protected if the sides worked together. For a long time, that leaves Jacob on his own, largely lacking in sleep, but he won’t hear of not doing his part.
Then there’s the matter of the murders in Seattle. Eventually, the Cullens suspect vampires. Newborns. An area with which Jasper has a great deal of experience.
A plan begins to form, and after some more insightful thought on Bella’s part, changes, as the plot thickens. For her part, she can’t stand any of it. Knowing that her friends are putting themselves in danger for her. Regardless of their claims that it will all work out, she can’t relax. And after hearing in detail what newborns can do, she starts to worry after herself, and what she’ll become when she changes. Whether she’ll still be herself.
A lot of big questions get asked, and answered, in this installment of the series, which is sure to please. For my part, I’m now eagerly, and rather impatiently, awaiting Breaking Dawn.
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Rating:
After seeing a trailer for this movie recently, and then stumbling across my copies of the series in VT, I decided to re-read them.
This story is central to Lyra Belacqua, a child without family, left in the care of Oxford College. While the college does its best to educate her, Lyra more greatly enjoys running amok with her best friend Roger, who works in the kitchens. But her curiosity and hankering to know are what lead everything into being.
Having snuck into a room she’s not meant to be in, she gets trapped, and while hiding in a closet sees a plot to poison her uncle unfold. She then warns her Uncle without thinking, and after filling him in, is left hidden to spy on the upcoming meeting. The meeting, of course, leaves her all the more curious, especially about Dust.
Then come the Gobblers, child thieves, stealing children from their families all around England, and finally coming to Oxford, where they get their hands both on Roger, and a gyptian boy Lyra knew. Lyra has little time to mourn, as she herself is about to go away, newly made assistant to the beautiful Mrs. Coulter.
Not long into her new life, Lyra grows increasingly disturbed, both by Mrs. Coulter, and her daemon, the evil golden monkey, who can roam too far from his mistress. In the end, she runs away, meeting up again with the gyptians, who hide her and keep her safe, as they know even more about her and the big picture and the gobblers than she herself does.
And so begins Lyra’s Quest to save Roger, and all the captured children, and her father, as she comes to learn Lord Asriel to be.
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Rating:
Having just recovered his father from a years-long enchantment, Charlie is on his own again—his parents have gone off for a second honeymoon. But there’s plenty to look forward to. Once they’re back, the family will be moving into its old home. Which, as Charlie and Uncle Paton find out while visiting, has been recently vandalized. By something not quite human, if the glimpse Charlie gets of two figures scurrying away is right.
At school, things aren’t going so well either. The appearance of a boy called Dagbert Endless has everyone ill at ease. Cook, because she knew his father. Charlie, because Dagbert has attached himself to him and is insulting all his friends. Charlie’s friends because…they’re being insulted. But the boy’s plot fails. He can’t actually break up Charlie and his gang, since they know it’s what he’s up to, and they aren’t falling for it.
Charlie’s aunt has also remarried, and is now step-mother to a sweet girl, and rather questionable boy, who happens to be under Manfred Bloor’s control.
But the real key to the story is the beast. Asa, after helping Charlie save his father, hasn’t been seen since. But mournful howls can be heard filling the air every night. The townspeople get themselves into a panic and go out on a hunt, after which Charlie knows he just has to find Asa. And thanks to Mr. Ominous, he has a plan.
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Rating:
For the first time in my reading of this series, I had a hard time getting through the book. I’m not really sure whether it was me, or the story. More than the others it felt a bit out of left field, even though it wasn’t.
Following up the previous tale, The Most High Academe has died, Quint is training to be a Knight Academic, sponsored by the Professor of Light, and Maris is in Undertown, in the “care” of her uncle.
Plots abound throughout the school, as the weather turns more and more wintry and hopeless. Every mission to the Deepwoods in search of Stormphrax fails; some before they’ve even left the city. Sky Scholars grow paranoid and start seeking out and destroying any hint of Earth scholarship. Meanwhile, it’s exactly that they need. And only by accident does anyone realize it.
While a battle broils in the city, Quint and his friends, and Maris, take to the skies with their last hope. An ancient idea that has to save the day.
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August 20th, 2007
10:32 am
Book Review, Harry Potter Read-Alikes, Series, Staff Favorites
adventure, artemis, death/loss, family, fantasy, greek mythology, juvenile ficiton, magic, monsters, olympians, percy jackson, titans, ya fiction
Rating:
The action is non-stop in this installment of the series, right from the get-go. Percy, Annabeth and Thalia are on their way to Maine to answer Grover’s call for help. Unsure of what they’re walking into, they don’t have much of a plan, which leaves them without much to go on when the first people they encounter are a couple of the school administrators.
After managing to squeak by that sticky situation, the kids are undone again as the monster-in-residence at the school makes off with the half-breeds Grover found. Percy goes after them alone, unable to find any of his friends, and lands himself in yet another bad spot. The gang arrives to help him out just in time to realize it’s all a trap. Only some completely unforeseen assistance gets them out of the jam, but not without losses.
The group arrives back at camp only to prepare to leave again on a mission, ultimately, to save the world. Their friend-turned enemy Luke has gotten himself in with the wrong crowd, and a plot to overthrow the Olympians is under way. Three Hunters and two campers are chosen to go after the goddess Artemis, who needs to be at the meeting on the solstice or all hell will break loose. Percy, unwilling to be left behind, follows along unbeknown to the rest, unwilling to sit idle while he has a friend in trouble.
As foretold by as prophecy before the group departed, they suffer loss along the way, and obstacles at every turn. Will they succeed in their quest, or will Kronos awake and the Titans be restored?
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Rating:
When I started reading, I immediately regretted having read Tithe and Valiant so long ago. Although it’s probably more all the stories I read in between that filled my head up so that I forgot some of the important pieces to this one. But once the story starts to pick up, you get past what you might not remember.
After a brief prologue explaining Roiben’s beginnings at the Unseelie Court, we jump to his present, where he’s about to be crowned its King. Immediately after his coronation, things take a turn for the worse. Kaye, egged on by some ill-wishing faeries, makes a declaration–something she doesn’t fully understand–and Roiben sets her an impossible task, which she takes to mean he doesn’t love her. Of course he means it in an entirely different way, but since they can’t talk until she completes her task, there’s no great way to discover that fact. Shortly after this, the court is attacked and must flee.
Back in the human side of things, Corny has gotten himself cursed, and Kaye has informed her mother that she’s a changeling and is really a pixie, not a human girl. The result is not quite what she had hoped, which leads she and Corny to take off in search of the Fixer, who’s said to be able to lead them to Silarial, who has requested an audience with Kaye.
Upon arriving at the Bright Court, Kaye quickly realizes that what Silarial wants is her help in controlling Roiben, which Kaye could provide, as the one living being to know his true name. She has absolutely no intention of using it against him that way, of course.
After a lot of unwanted adventure, and a few further mishaps, the gang figures out a few key answers, and stumbles upon some good luck. Will it be enough to save the day?
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