Ahoy there me mateys! Today I bring ye a muster of mini-reviews. What be a muster?
Well the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
- assemble (troops) especially for inspection or for battle;
- collect or assemble (a number or amount); or
- a group of peacocks.
There are too many books read and not enough days left in the year so here be some mini-reviews of young adult fantasies . . .
Side note: Click on the book titles to add the books to yer Goodreads' Ports for Plunder List.
naondel (Maria Turtschaninoff)
I really, really enjoyed the first book in The Red Abbey Chronicles by this Finnish author. This is technically a prequel and has some serious themes likely slavery, rape, coercion, etc. I am not sure I would call it YA but the series is marketed that way. The villain is a bit two-dimensional but the woman in this story are not. They are diverse and interesting and also in so much pain. This book has seven points-of-view but as the book goes on, each new character gets less page time. It takes place over 40 years. This is not a happy story though it ends with hope. I would not read this book first because knowing where the women end up helps get through the sadness. I am planning on reading the third book.
"It had gone so far that mothers in certain regions where the slave scouts were most rife, such as Eliana, disfigured their daughters by shaving their heads, cutting or burning their faces, pulling out their teeth. Anything to try to keep them safe. Those born with a cleft lip or birthmarks were seen as blessed. They were safe"
― Maria Turtschaninoff, Naondel
the magic shop series (Bruce Coville)
I wanted short books with magic and I enjoyed this author's alien book so I tried these. Basically every book has a young kid ending up in Mr. Elives' magic shop and taking home an artifact that brings an adventure. The first book deals with a ring that turns Russell into a monster, the second with Jeremy having to raise a dragon's egg, the third with Jennifer and a talking toad, the fourth with Charlie getting a talking skull, and the fifth with Juliet getting a magic locket. I liked the first two, loved three and four, and didn't really like five at all. The toad book had excellent magic dealing with kissing in a silly way. And the skull book had some seriously funny things dealing with Shakespeare that kids might not get but I sure did. These are short and fun and I really think middle school kids would love these.
"You need them both, Thatcher. Talent and discipline. One without the other is useless."
― Bruce Coville, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
the royal guide to monster slaying series (Kelley Armstrong)
I am a big fan of Kelley Armstrong but this series was hard to get through and if I had not listened to the audiobooks, I might not have finished. In fact, I thought it was a trilogy and was actually sad when book 3 ended and I knew there had to be one more. I may have liked this if I were younger but being as I am much older, I had issues. The primary one is that the main character, Rowan is a special snowflake. The other big one is she is 12 and sent on missions to hunt with little real training. She collects an entire menagerie over the course of the book but really only a few animals are used well in the books. The number of times Rowan yells "Malric, NOOOOOO!!!!!!" was annoying. And Rowan did not use her brain and often just rushed into danger getting out by luck. The books got repetitive. Run into dangerous monster no one has seen in centuries. Fight. Rinse. Repeat. Did like the focus on science to learn about monsters though I don't know if I can recommend this to anyone who isn't under the age of nine.
"I'm not falling for it this time, tiny monster bear!"
"Monster marsupial, you mean."
― Kelley Armstrong
dragon slippers (Jessica Day George)
This book deals with dragons so I always wanted to read it. The book has a wonderful beginning where Creel's aunt wants to sacrifice her to a dragon so a knight will save her and raise her out of poverty. Creel thinks this plan is stupid but isn't too worried because no one has seen a dragon in centuries. Surprise they exist! Bigger surprise she doesn't get eaten. She wins a magic pair of shoes. She then goes to the city to make a new life, gets involved with other dragons, and gets into trouble. I loved that the dragons all have different hoards - shoes, stained glass, dogs!, etc. I liked a lot of the minor characters too. Creel spent a lot of time oblivious or annoyed. The plot was uneven. Good beginning, very slow middle, and fast ending. I did love the dragons but not enough to read the rest of the series.
"Why should anyone be rewarded for defeating a dragon by being saddled with a dowryless, freckled wife and well over a dozen daft and impoverished in-laws? No"
― Jessica Day George, Dragon Slippers
cassidy blake series (Victoria Schwab)
I wanted to read this series even though I was warned there wasn't a lot of the cat in it (despite the cover). This series was okay and I can see why the younger set would like it. The main character, Cassidy, can see ghosts and enter the "veil" or the world between living and dead. I enjoyed that. Book one takes place in Scotland, two in Paris, and three in New Orleans. I liked that readers would learn facts about cities. I thought the plots of all three were meandering, how the magic worked made no real sense overall, and felt Cassidy uses her powers very little. Also how does she come across every major ghost from legend if this secret society exists to deal with the problem? These were quick and I am glad I listened to them via audiobook.
". . . and every second you don't look, your mind just makes it worse because in the end, what you don't see is always scarier than what you do."
― Victoria Schwab, City of Ghosts
empty smiles (Katherine Arden)
This was the last book in the quartet. I enjoyed parts of this book but feel that it did not live up to the previous three. I liked the creepy circus setting. I liked the creepy dolls. I loved that the kids talked to their parents and asked for help (even if it doesn't quite work out). There were several problems. The ending and solution to the puzzle felt rushed and didn't make a lot of sense. I wanted this to be Phil's book after what happened in book three. I mostly just felt like the copy I was reading had accidently left out 4 or 5 chapters. It was an odd feeling. Clowns are always creepy though.
"HIS FRIENDS SAID the carnival that year was special, but Tim Jenkins didn't believe it. The carnival came every year. It was an August tradition. Why would this one be special?"
― Katherine Arden, Empty Smiles
wildfire (Lene Kaaberbøl)
This is the first book in a series about a wild-witch named Clara. The awesome cover and the Danish author. I thought this had a solid start. Clara is a bit stubborn but overall I like her. I enjoyed the fact that even though her magic is strong, she cannot control it or even use it very much. I like her aunt and the menagerie of animals. I love the relationship Clara has with her mom and also with her best friend. The writing style and plot feel a bit old-fashioned but was enjoyable. I didn't love the trials in the book. It doesn't have me rushing out to read the rest of the series but curiosity will likely lead me to read more at some point.
"It was the biggest cat I had ever seen. It was the size of my friend Oscar's Labrador and just as black. Its eyes glowed neon yellow in the dim light of the stairwell that led up out of the bike basement."
― Lene Kaaberbøl, Wildfire
akata woman (Nnedi Okorafor)
Well I though this was a duology so color me surprised when I found out about this third book. I loved jumping back into the story of Sunny Nwazue and the other Leopard People. The best part of this book continues to be the friendships between the characters. I also love the world building. I don't have a lot to say about the specific plot other than I enjoyed it. Oh but the parts mentioning the Nigerian Civil War were interesting (if sad) and led me to read more about it. It seems like the series is finished given the ending but if I am surprised by more, I will read those too. Though I was a wee bit confused by the ending. Minor problem that is likely just me being dense.
"Where the baobab tree was the soul of the village, the palace was its heart, the inner machinations of what we were. Anarchic, mystical, complete. It was a hut the size of three houses and just as spacious inside. There were sleeping and cooking and bathing spaces, all separated by piles of strategically grouped books. It was the chaos of Nimm organized into one large space. You could walk through the open entranceway and see across the huge palace. My way was blocked by a great stack of vertically organized books."
― Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Woman
This post marks 5 more YA series completed! Thanks for reading this long post. Arrrr!!
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