Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual library— a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret room in the basement lies the Grimm Collection. That's where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales: seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White's stepmother's sinister mirror that talks in riddles.
When the magical objects start to disappear, Elizabeth embarks on a dangerous quest to catch the thief before she can be accused of the crime—or captured by the thief.
Polly Shulman has created a contemporary fantasy with a fascinating setting and premise, starring an ordinary girl whose after-school job is far from ordinary— and leads to a world of excitement, romance and magical intrigue.
I love, love, love loved the idea of this book. It reminded me a lot of the Syfy Channel show "Warehouse 13" yet all fairytale related and full of interesting characters and a very interesting idea.
Elizabeth ends up with a part time job at a place that is sorta like a library, but instead of just books, it is a variety of items that one can check out and study or even borrow for a few days. At first it seems pretty ordinary but she keeps hearing about the Basement which includes the very mysterious Grimm Collection.
What if the things that happened in fairytales had been real? What if the items that had inspired them, like the tattered slippers of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, still existed? That's the idea that this book explores.
Of course such items are just so awesome they are hard to resist.
Schulman weaves an adventure tale in which the teenagers working at the Repository have to take care of the danger themselves. They don't get along, there are issues galore, but they know they must prevail. I enjoyed the style of writing a lot, it was very engaging. The characters were somewhat simple, but also enjoyable, and I did like the romance.
As soon as he tried to get the box from Elizabeth, I knew that that man was the villain (ah yes my memory of names is fantastic, isn't it?). I did love the whole mystery aspect that was going on. SOMETHING is happening, but what we are not so sure.
On top of that I really liked the extra fact that Marc and Anjali were really descended from royalty and thus targets of the crazy patron who enjoys collecting royalty in the form of dolls, which brings me to the fact that I kind of adored the villains, they were both ridiculous and scary at the same time. When the man I cannot remember the name of tried turning the kids into gingerbread men, yet so obviously cursed about this in front of the when it didn't work, I couldn't help but giggle, even though I knew he was really dangerous. On the other hand with the woman and her matter of factly talk of not wanting Elizabeth or Aaron because they were most certainly not royalty also amused me greatly.
The Grimm Legacy is a great take on fairytales that isn't set in a fantastical kingdom or anything of that vibe. I really hope that more books are to come in this world, because it really is ripe for more adventures.
What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.
The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.
Holy mackerel this story is a work of art, the
structure is a work of art, the growth of the main character is a work of art.
This book honestly blows any other YA Contemporary book out of the water. In
fact it kind of blows Oliver's other books out of the water as well.
The book uses techniques often not applied in YA
novels with the repeating of the same day to show how the character grows. From
her first day to her last repeat, she takes each day slightly differently,
putting what she learned in previous days to work.
Okay, honestly, what it comes down to is that this
book is like someone replaying a Visual Novel (a game that is like a choose
your own adventure book) over and over again to get all the information that
they possibly can. Because Sam made a decision during one replay of the day
that was different than another we learn so much more than we would have about
different characters and how people see Sam.
Then there's the fact that you realize that Sam is
mourning herself in these repeated days, she goes through all the stages, until
finally she comes to acceptance and tries to help as much as she can, before
she knows what has to happen.
This is a book that makes you think, makes you
realize that everything isn't always how it seems, that there are pieces to
people, even people you think you know completely that you don't know. How
people aren't perfect and that's okay.
I didn't want Sam to die. I knew she had to, that
this was her last day no matter what, but I fell so much in love with the
person she became, with the relationships she had created, I didn't want her to
go, so I cried like such a baby at the end. I honestly don't know if I'll be
able to reread this book again because of how much it affected me, but I want
to own it still.
Read this book, read this book even if you start
and you are turned off by Sam and her friends as characters, in fact if that
happens I recommend you read it even more because you will enjoy it so much
more when they are all enravelled as characters.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 272
Genre: Contemporary, Fairytale, Young Adult
A girl gets into a mouthful of trouble in this modern fractured fairy tale, from the author of The Mother-Daughter Book Club. Once upon a time, Cat Starr lived with her astronaut mom in Houston. But when her mother gets sent on a long-term mission, Cat has to move to a far away land—her dad’s house, halfway across the country—and share a room with her real-life evil stepsister, Olivia. Just when Cat can’t take it anymore, Great-Aunt Abyssinia comes to the rescue. And things go from bad to worse.The next morning, Cat opens her mouth and a toad hops out! What’s more, when Olivia speaks, diamonds and flowers appear. How unfair is that? Before you can say "happily ever after," the girls are on the run from jewel thieves and a government agency. Can Cat save the day—and get rid of all those toads?This is an enchanting fractured fairy tale from acclaimed Mother-Daughter Book Club author Heather Vogel Frederick.
To begin with Once
Upon A Toad is a very different type of Fairytale Adaption than I usually
read. As anyone whose noticed my reading pattern my now, pretty much the only
traditionally YA Contemporary books that I read are thrillers or horrors. I
rarely, if ever, read the light hearted tales of growing up, and this book is
one of those tales.
The idea of the book is well done. It takes the
fairytale of "Toads and Diamonds" and inflicts it on two stepsisters
who pretty much hate each other.
The girls are true rivals, the main character's
step-sister on the surface fulfils the role of evil step-sister very well, yet
at the same time Frederick gave her quite a bit of depth, giving her hobbies,
goals and dreams. Most of her reasons for disliking the main character are
childish, left over from when their parents first got married.
The book is very lighthearted and is meant to be a
comedy as well as a story about sisterhood and growing up, learning to put old
feelings behind you and forge something new.
The fairy godmother is a riot! I'd love to hear
more stories that she would be at the cause of. At the same time she does
almost cross into the line of being too silly and her picking up the characters
of the diner woman and the Elvis impersonator felt really superfluous
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys lighthearted
Contemporary YA Fiction, because this book is of that style. It's also a good
book to recommend if you have a sibling or child who really enjoyed Ella Enchanted due to its fairytale and
simplistic nature.
ARC Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way by the publishers to review this book favourably. The review is my own honest opinion (Whether or not it is agreed with).
Publication Date: October 1st 2012
Publisher: Amulet
Pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult
When Charlotte Brody, a lonely 17-year-old student at a new school, receives an invitation to join The League of Strays, she's intrigued by the group's promise of "instant friendship." The League does provide companionship--and even a love interest--but Charlotte grows increasingly uncomfortable with its sinister mission to seek revenge against the bullies of Kennedy High. When escalating acts of vengeance threaten to hurl her down a path of remorse, Charlotte must choose between her new friends and the direction of a future she's never fully considered.
I loved this book. I can't say that too much about many Contemporary YA Novels, but I really liked the idea behind it and how it all played out. It is also like the other half of the idea of Circle of Silence. Instead of there being a group of prankster kid outcasts with an outside person trying to figure it out, we are shown a similar story from the inside.
Charlotte is the new girl, in fact the only person she knows in her school so far is a bully from her old school that had transferred to the same area. When she is given the promise of instant friendship and understanding from a very charming, suave fellow, she really could not help but fall face first into it all.
The characters in League of Strays are all very unique, dealing with their situations differently and striving to be different people. There is the valedictorian, the good girl, the rebel, the victim and the controller. They have all been hurt by someone, but except for Kade, none of them do anything about it. He, of course, sees things differently.
There is a feeling throughout the book of seduction by ideals and a snowball rolling down a mountain, gaining momentum and becoming so much more than anyone expected.
It is a tale of control and revenge and things getting out of hand.
About a third of the way through the book I began to realize that Kade was a sociopath and this scared me, but I truly love that the author went that route. He was so classic sociopath/future serial killer with his charming personality, good looks and need to control everything. His careful seduction of Charlotte, Nora and even Richie showed his manipulation ability to the max. He knew that he was larger than life to all of them, and wanted the attention and love. He picked the people he did, because he thought he could beguile them all to his cause. He was like a miniature Charles Manson
I was so proud of Charlotte in the end when she cut him off, when she showed him that she was stronger than his charisma. Richie was also someone I became very proud of since he had been entangled with Kade for so long.
It was good to see Nora as well, however, because it really hits home that all these characters are different and all of them grew, maybe not in the best way from the reader's standpoint, but other than Kade, they all did.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy books about outcasts, contemporary YA of the thriller variety and tales where characters truly grow up.
No Prequel Review, can stand on own ARC Disclaimer: I was not paid in any way by the publishers to review this book favourably. The review is my own honest opinion (Whether or not it is agreed with).
Publication Date: July 24th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 302
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
THE BIGGEST STORY OF MY LIFE COULD BE HOW IT ENDS It's my turn to run a "Campus News" crew, and I've put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.
A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets-until a student lands in the hospital under "strange" circumstances.
I "will" blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt...or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don't trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is "not" important to this story.)
But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast...be sure to watch "Campus News" at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.
What I didn't realize until about halfway through the book, is that Circle of Silence is actually a sequel… So… What I can tell you is that you don't have to read the first book, dancergirl, before reading this one at all to understand it. Circle of Silence is an excellent standalone book.
So, for me, I'm not much of a Contemporary YA reader, in fact I've never been much of a Contemporary book reader, preferring things out of the ordinary, but what books like Circle of Silence have is a horror and mystery element that pulls me in and holds me prisoner. The book is fast paced, with thoughts from the mysterious pranking group's leader scattered here and there. Those parts actually amps up the feeling of horror as you see into a mind of a kid who might just be a sociopath. You also see some of the plans before they happen and you start to worry about others more and more.
As for the characters, I really liked them, especially the main character. There's something about high school hardcore journalists that really intrigue me. They have a stubbornness to them that gets them into all sorts of trouble and love it.
The love story is done all right, though personally I don't think the book needed it. I guess it did place the heroine off her game when Jagger was around, but even if he had just been a friend I think it would have worked fine. At the same time, people expect YA to have romance, and the publisher is a part of Harlequin, it's also just a personal preference.
I knew her sister was one of the group! I knew it, knew it! Considering how the group was so obviously a group of loners who felt ignored by the world, Val's sister fit that bill. I didn't think she was the one who was sending the e-mails though, until the point where it was learned they were being sent from the same location.
On the other hand, I adored the fact that the Skeletor was a kid no one ever noticed. It fit so perfectly, yet he was a complete sociopath, what had started out as a fun bunch of pranks had turned into life and death, initiations leaving kids in the hospital.
I also really like the fact that Val did not win the prize, yet at the same time didn't mind. It really showed how much she grew up as a person throughout the book.
I recommend this book to people who love the author Laurie Faria Stolarz, or any other YA Contemporary author that tends to dab a little bit in horror. If you love mystery, that's also a huge driving point for the novel. Overall I did enjoy it quite a lot.
A year has passed since Stacey Brown saved her best friend from a horrible death. Now she's having nightmares again, haunted by ghosts of the brutally murdered . . . and by a crazed stalker. As she desperately casts healing spells, a new student named Jacob enters her world. Beautiful and mysterious, he reveals that he is also having dreams. To stop a killer, they must join together. But can Jacob be trusted? Or will this new love cause her darkest dreams to come true?
Here I am continuing on my Stolarz journey with
book two in her Wiccan/Witchcraft Series and I already know that I am enjoying
this series more than her Deadly Little Series. It could be the wiccan
influences, or it could be the way all the characters. As I've mentioned
before, Stolarz's characters are one of her strongest points, and what I really
enjoy in this series is the very realistic way all the characters interact with
each other.
Stacey's new relationship starts floundering as
soon as reality hits and they realize how awkward it is that Drea has returned,
that he does't quite support Stacey's nightmares and finally, maybe just maybe,
it was just lust and puppy love and it's faded, as happens in High School. They
both try hard to make it work, but it's falling apart.
White
is for Magic also is an excellent sequel for the fact that it
builds and expands on the first book. New characters are introduced, old
stories explored more, and we continue to learn about Stacey's world of magic.
I really enjoyed the use of Maura to push this book
through while everything else is happening. The bad guy is both old and new at
the same time and completely
unexpected for me. In general, however, we didn't have to explore new reasons
for why someone would be after Stacey, and instead we can explore the aftermath
of the first book and the introduction of Jacob who gets Stacey a lot more than
Chad,
for obvious reasons.
Also it becomes quite apparent that Drea and Chad will
forever be attracted towards each other, because after his "run" with
Stacey it seems that's the direction he's returning.
This is a series I for sure plan on continuing till
the end as of now. I really wonder what direction Stolarz will go now as the
nightmare avenue is the theme of the series, but it's also been kind of
stretched as far as it will go. Though for all I know, Stolarz may come up with
some way to make it work.
Since Ben abruptly left town, Camelia has been studying everything she can about psychometry, and wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow rubbed off on her.
Deadly
Little Lies feels like the beginning of a series a lot more
than Deadly Little Secret did. While
the first book feels more standalone with some teases of things that might
happen in the future, this book is full blown SOMETHING IS GOING ON, and we, as
the readers, want to keep reading to figure out what is going on.
Camelia returns and this time she is starting to
notice that when she just lets impulse sculpt for her she keeps sculpting
things that are real or that come true and it's freaking her out. As she deals
with that and Ben's game of hot and cold (I don't know any other character that
plays it better than him…) we get glimpses of her aunt as a teenager through
diary entries scattered throughout the book. I'm really glad that Stolarz found
a way to continue the structure of having these separate special parts as it adds
a layer of interest to the storytelling I adore.
I also enjoyed how things are stirred up in our
brains, but not everything is revealed. We have enough to guess, but not enough
to know 100% and the characters haven't had it revealed to them yet.
I also liked how they extended the first books plot
into this one via an old character.
I have to admit I found it pretty obvious that it
was Debbie from the start as soon as she had gotten back, because she had
definitely lost a few, blaming Ben instead of her stupid friends who had pulled
the pranks that had led to her accident. I did however enjoy her as a villain,
she did some pretty scary things, possibly scaring than Matt in the first book
did, because of the way they melded with Camelia's new ability, giving Debbie's
"attacks" a supernatural feel to them, despite not being
supernatural.
I am super picky with continuing books, but I think
I will continue at least one more book in this series, if only for Aunt Alexia,
I want to read Camelia figuring it out. The book is good, but I don't find it
amazing, I also don't find it terrible either. I think it's well written. I do
recommend this series for contemporary fans who like a bit of a thrill.
Blue is for Nightmares (Blue is for Nightmares #1)
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Publication Date: November 8th 2003
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Pages: 312
Genre: Paranormal, Horror, Young Adult
"I Know Your Secret . . ."
Stacey's junior year at boarding school isn't easy. She's not the most popular girl at school, or the smartest, or the prettiest. She's got a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, and an even darker secret that threatens to ruin her friendships for good. And now she's having nightmares again. Not just any nightmares – these dreams are too real to ignore, like she did three years ago. The last time she ignored them, a little girl died. This time they're about Drea, her best friend who's become the target of one seriously psycho stalker. It started with weird e-mails and freaky phonecalls. Now someone's leaving Drea white lilies – the same death lilies that have been showing up in Stacey's dreams. Everybody thinks it's just a twisted game . . . until another girl at school is brutally murdered. There are no witnesses. Worst of all, no one has a perfect alibi. With everyone as a potential suspect, Stacey turns to the one secret weapon she can trust – the folk magic taught to her by her grandmother. Will Stacey's magic be strong enough to expose the true killer, or will the killer make her darkest nightmares come true?
This book is the start of Stolarz earlier series,
and I have to admit the first thing I thought while reading it was: Stolarz has
a stalker fascination, because once again a stalker is at play here. The
characters, however, are very different, and it isn't the heroine herself being
stalked, so it does play out a bit differently.
The idea of Stacey and her Wiccan culture is truly
inspired. Very few books out there deal with witches as the traditional
folklorist way, using spells from herbs and no "Harry Potter magic"
in sight. The matter of fact way that it is dealt with is also nice as it makes
it seem more like a normal part of the world, than something paranormal and
mysterious.
Like in Deadly
Little Secret, I am impressed by the characters in this book. They are very
distinct, and the way the three main best friends interact is so realistic to
how girls act in a dorm situation. Possibly if they hadn't been all living
together these three girls may not have been friends, but since they are they
are connecting in ways that push past likes and dislikes, personal preferences
and fights. Once again as well there is a strong Contemporary YA feel to
Stolarz's book, despite the touches of supernatural and horror.
Donovan being the stalker is something I guessed,
pretty much because there were few others that made sense (he had his obsession
with Drea already well stated). On the other hand, I loved how Stacey was able
to figure out where to find Drea at the end, the fact that she didn't pee her
bed in her nightmares for no reason at all, but because it was a sign that Drea
was going to be shoved into a portapotty and hidden there, it's a neat way to
bring the story full circle with something that I'm sure most readers just dismissed
because they didn't want to think of the bed accident awkwardness.
I am most looking forward to continuing this series
because of the use of Wiccan mythos used in the book and how Stacey's powers
work and how they will continue in the next books. I recommend this book to
people who enjoy YA Thrillers with a Contemporary flair and who don't mind
Wiccan Mythos, or are in fact looking for witches dealt in a different manner.
Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. But secrets haunt the halls of her elite private school--secrets people will do anything to protect. Even if it means getting rid of the girl trying to solve a murder.
Winner of one of the most frustrating endings ever
award, not because it's bad, it's quite a good ending, just very frustrating
and now I have no choice but to pick up the next one. Darn you, Roecker
sisters, darn you…
When I first started reading this book, I wasn't
sure if I was going to take the time to review it afterwards, not because it
was bad in any way, but because it wasn't quite my normal type of book and it
wasn't leaving a lasting impression, but the ending was enough to make me react
(as you can read above) so I decided that it deserves a review afterall.
This book is mostly a fluff young adult mystery
read. I enjoyed reading it, though didn't find the characters all that well
developed, especially the non main characters. They had a tendency to be flat,
one note: the queen bee, the social climber, the bad boy, the nerd, the parents
never there, etc. But about halfway through things started gripping me more and
I couldn't put it down, I wanted to know the answers the mystery and I was
starting to get the impression that there might not be anything Kate could do
in end, but I wanted her to conquer so badly.
Honestly the point where things started to get
gripping for me was when the adults became involved as being part of the
societies. At that point it became true conspiracy, true cover-up, and led me
to being incredibly frustrated by the fact that the police are involved as
well.
I also sense that the Roecker sisters have tried to
satire or exaggerate sexism by putting it in the girls vs boys society, but for
me it fell a little flat. I just cannot believe that this Brotherhood wouldn't
feel guilty for causing the death of the girl who hung herself or even in the
case of Grace's death. Both the Headmaster and Alistair seem to run around
guilt-free and the police in the Brotherhood don't even care. I find this very
hard to believe. Another thing that miffed me was the very obvious girl forced
to become loner trope. Why didn't Maddie
and the other girls invite Kate back into the Sisterhood? Instead they set her
off, made fun of her, made her endure the grief by herself. If they had really
been friends for so long, how could she have just cut her off and Taylor didn't
seem so bad when she finally TALKED to Kate, so why would she have been so
cold?
The mystery itself I enjoyed a lot, I enjoyed all
the clues and the Latin references. This is honestly a guilty pleasure read for
me and you can be sure I'll be picking up the next one.
It's not the greatest book in the world, but
definitely not the worst. The writing is not bad, nor the plot, though the
characters come out a bit flat. I have one big recommendation however, if you
like the Nickelodeon series "House of Anubis" you will like this
book, and if you like this book you will probably love "House of
Anubis" (I do warn you it is a guilty pleasure love, no fancy super
awesome series or anything). They are both conspiracy related and finding out
the secrets of a school is just way too fun in my opinion.
