Saturday, April 30, 2016

FINISHED:
Khan, Joshua. (2016). Shadow Magic. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

[Thorn, after having been captured while trying to find his father who took the blame for a crime Thorn committed, is bought and taken to Castle Gloom by Tyburn the executioner to be a squire.  Lilith Shadow, ruler in Castle Gloom after the rest of her family is killed, is being force to marry Gabriel Solar in an effort to bring peace between their kingdoms/houses.  When a failed poisoning of Lilith occurs, the tale suddenly becomes an entertaining murder mystery, filled with red herrings, magic, ghosts, a giant bat that Thorn learns to ride, and even some zombies, though the revelation of the true villain and what happened to Thorn’s father may not come as total shockers.  Plodding and overlong at times, this is still a nuanced fantasy with a vivid setting.  The characters of Thorn and Lilith are given equal time, thus broadening its appeal, though it should be noted that there are a handful of instances of visceral violence.  Full page illustrations in a dynamic, mood-setting style are scattered throughout.  Review based on ARC.]

STARTED:
Cossanteli, Veronica. (2016). The Extincts. New York: Henry Holt/MacMillan.

[.]

*

Saturday, April 23, 2016

FINISHED:
Federle, Tim. (2016).  The Great American Whatever. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

STARTED:
Khan, Joshua. (2016). Shadow Magic. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

*

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

FINISHED: 
Highsmith, Patricia. (1952). The Price of Salt. Mineola, NY: Dover.

[.]

STARTED:

Federle, Tim. (2016).  The Great American Whatever. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

Saturday, April 9, 2016

FINISHED:
Corey, Shana. (2016). The Secret Subway. New York: Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

[.]


STARTED:
Highsmith, Patricia. (1952). The Price of Salt. Mineola, NY: Dover.

[.]

*
FINISHED:
Alexander, Kwame. (2016). Booked. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.



[.]




STARTED:
Corey, Shana. (2016). The Secret Subway. New York: Schwartz & Wade/Random House.



[.]


*

Friday, April 8, 2016

FINISHED: 
Castleman, Virginia. (2016). Sara Lost and Found. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.



[REALLY didn't live up to my expectations.  Name-checks Dicey's Song, so maybe I'll read that one to cleanse the palate...]



STARTED:
Alexander, Kwame. (2016). Booked. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.



[Whoo hoo!  New one from last year's Newbery Award winner!]



*

Monday, April 4, 2016

FINISHED:
Clarke, Susanna. (2004). Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. New York: Bloomsbury.

[FINISHED IT!  An enjoyable read, to be sure, though a bit plodding in places.  HOWEVER, never did I feel like, "I really want to give this up and read something else," nor did I finish it just to say that I did.  She built an entire world here, with complex characters, a full "alternate" history, and injected a whole bunch of deadpan humor.  And I just love that the only name we got for the "gentleman with the thistledown hair" was the "gentleman with the thistledown hair".  Currently in the middle of the BBC adaptation, and finding that it is remarkable true to the source material, annotations and all!]

STARTED:
Castleman, Virginia. (2016). Sara Lost and Found. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.

[Intrigued because it is about foster kids.]

*