Book Review: Forest of Hands and Teeth

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Summary: Mary never questioned the Sisterhood or Guardians that kept her town safe from the Unconsecrated–those that used to be people, but now gnaw at the gates of the village for blood. Until now. When Mary is forced to join the sisterhood because no one offers to marry her, she comes across things she never imagined–particularly a woman from the Outside, named Gabrielle.

But that was before Mary’s village was attacked by the Unconsecrated, and before exploring things like this meant death.

Review: In a word, creepy.

Book Review: Savvy

by Ingrid Law

Click here to request this book from your nearest Wake County Library.

Summary: The Beaumonts have always been special–it’s in their blood. It’s like this: whenever a member of the family turns 13, that person gets their “savvy”. The savvy can be humane (i.e. perfection) or terribly dangerous (i.e. moving mountains).
Now it is Mib’s 13th birthday, and she knows her savvy is going to be great. Especially since one of her brothers creates hurricanes and the other controls electricity. But Mibs wakes up to find her father in a coma, no savvy in sight, and no ride to the hospital. Well, no ride until the bus comes along.
And then the bus heads in the wrong direction–away from the hospital.

Review: A delicious mixture of innocence, fun, and creativity, Savvy was to me a book like no other.

Heads Up, High School Writers and Editors…

If you like writing fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, and you’re in high school,(you don’t have to like high school), visit PolyphonyHS.com. It’s a literary magazine written and run by high school students. You can submit up to 3 pieces at a time, and whether you are accepted into the magazine or not, you’ll get your entry critiqued. Which brings me to the next point.

Book Review: Bones of Faerie

Summary: Liza has been told of the war with the faeries that destroyed the human world. She’s been told, like everyone else in her town, to cast out anything that shows remnants of faerie magic. But Liza is haunted by the memory of her sister, cast out and left to be eaten by wild animals as a newborn because of the color of her hair. That was the night before her mother left. Now Liza is seeing things, and knows she, too, has been tainted. If she is to keep the rest of her town from harm, she must flee.

Review: Bones of Faerie is the best faerie story I’ve read in a long, long time.

Review: Watersmeet

Summary: Abisina has been an outcast since birth because her dark skin, dark hair, and green eyes are so different from the Vranille ideal–blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. Children like her are thrown outside city gates to die, but Abisina was spared because her mother, Sina, is the village healer. But the life she lives is disparaging, and when a legendary ruler comes back, Vranille turns on Abisina and other outcasts.

Sarah Dessen Signing!

Hey, all you Dessen fans! There’s a signing at Quail Ridge Books on June 18. Here’s the info:

Time: Thursday, June 18, 2009 7:30 p.m.

Location: Quail Ridge Books & Music

Title of Event: SARAH DESSEN–With ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Bestselling author Sarah Desssen debuts ALONG FOR THE RIDE, a new novel for young adults. Fans of LOCK AND KEY, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, and Sarah’s other novels will love RIDE.

Come early; each time Sarah visits, the turnout grows!

Can’t make it? To request a signed or personalized copy, call 828-1588 or 1-800-672-6789 or contact orders@quailridgebooks.com (at least 48 hours in advance for email) to check availability.

Quail Ridge is an awesome independent book store, and the signings are great there. So come join us!

Review: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

When twelve princesses turn up every three mornings with worn-out dancing slippers, and no evidence they left their rooms, what’s a king to do? No matter how much he pleads and searches for an answer, he can’t find one. So he invites other men–princes–to do it for him, in return for the hand of a princess in marriage.

Another character, Galen, comes back from the war to find his mother’s sister, the only family he has left. On the way home he gives food to an old lady, who in return gives him some rather surprising gifts.  She says he’ll need them, but what for?

A chance encounter with Princess Rose in the garden where Galen works sets things in motion. But there’s still the fact that he is now a gardening boy. Kings don’t let gardening boys find out princesses’ secrets.

Delightful! The Twelve Princesses was always one of my favorite fairy tales, and Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George, was a perfect adaptation. This fairytale retelling is true to the bone. I loved the insight into Galen’s life. We only get to know one of the princesses, Princess Rose, well.  I didn’t mind because it kept the whole “The Twelve Princesses” feel.

I couldn’t put it down, it was so exciting. Even though everyone knows the ending, I wanted to know how Galen solved it all! If you haven’t read The Twelve Princesses, you will still find the book well-plotted.

I haven’t had this much fun reading a book in a while. I have no more to say. Read it.  To request it from the Wake County library, click here.

Rating: 5 Stars

Clean?: Completely.

Length: 272 Pages

Most like: Spindle’s End (which I loved)

What are your favorite fairy tale retellings?

Script Frenzy: April!

Remember my post about NaNoWriMo? Well, NaNoWriMo has a sister site called Script Frenzy. Here’s the info from the website:

THE INFO

Who: You and everyone you know. No experience required.

What: 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)

When: April 1 – 30. Every year. Mark your calendars.

Where: Online and in person (if you want!). Hang out in the forums, join your fellow participants at write-ins, and make friends by adding writing buddies online.

Why: Because you have a story to tell. Because you want a creative challenge. Because you’ll be disappointed if you miss out on the adventure. Because you need to make time for you.

How: Sign up. Tell everyone that you are in the Frenzy. Clear your calendar. (US participants: Get your taxes done now!) Start some wrist exercises. Have fun!

THE 5 BASIC RULES OF SCRIPT FRENZY

1) To be crowned an official Script Frenzy winner, you must write a script (or multiple scripts) of at least 100 total pages and verify this tally on ScriptFrenzy.org.

2) You may write individually or with a partner. Writing teams will have a 100-page total goal for their co-written script or scripts.

3) Script writing may begin no earlier than 12:00:01 AM on April 1 and must cease no later than 11:59:59 PM on April 30, local time.

4) You may write screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, comic book and graphic novel scripts, adaptations of novels, or any other type of script your heart desires.

5) You must, at some point, have ridiculous amounts of fun.

For more information, visit the website by clicking the link at the beginning.. There’s free software and tons of help at the website available if you’re worried about how to format everything, and of course, there will be Pep Talks (which were hilarious and very supportive during NaNoWriMo in December; you don’t want to miss them!)

Sign up so you can brag to your friends and family that You Wrote A Movie Script!

And feel free to friend me My username is lovemily. Perhaps if we can get enough people from the Wake County area, we can do some get togethers at a library or somewhere…

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin Jacobsen has only had eyes for Margo Roth Spiegelman since the day they moved next door to each other. Alas, reality took hold, and now they move in different circles. Or so “Q” thinks, until Margo shows up at his bedroom window dressed in black, asking for his help.

Of course, he agrees.  He can’t pass up this opportunity, but the next day, she’s gone.  What happened to Margo?

Well, well, well.  I had heard so much about Paper Towns by John Green, so many good things, that I was expecting a continuous great story.  When I started the book, I was initially disappointed.  But that only lasted, say, the first 1/3 of the book.  It just kept getting better, and better, and better.  Then it got fantastic.  In my head, I went from giving it 2.5 stars all the way to 5 stars. So, I’m having a little trouble giving my opinion on this, but I’ll try.

As I said, the start of the book was, to me, rather shallow (I know, I know).  I found the language and sporadic crude humor rather distracting from the story-line, which was somewhat interesting and the only thing keeping me reading.

But when the reader gets into the “other” side of Margo, and when she disappears, it’s like a whole new book- -a book with depth, ideas, and mystery. And this part of the book you fly through. This is the part you can’t put down.

But the thing is, the whole point of the first half was to demonstrate what a Paper Town is, so it’s hard to criticize it when what I was feeling was what the author wanted to convey. So basically, read it, and expect the beginning to be a little strange and mediocre. And then wait for it.  And I just know I’ll be thinking about Paper Towns for a couple of days at least.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Clean?: Some language, crude humor throughout

To request this book from your local Wake County Library, click here.

The Singing: Released!

The last installment in the Pellinor series, by Alison Croggon, is released today. I’ve read the first three books (The Naming, The Riddle, and The Crow), and all were fantastic!

If you like fantasy, get your little butt over to the library and start reading these books!

Oh, and you may want to hurry up and request it, or you’ll have to wait a looong time.

Here’s the summary for The Singing (from Amazon):

In an increasingly battle-ravaged land, Maerad, Cadvan, and Hem desperately search for one another as they make their separate journeys. The Black Army is advancing north, and even as Maerad faces a mighty confrontation with the Landrost to save Innail, all of the Seven Kingdoms are threatened with bitter and devastating defeat. Yet in Maerad and Hem lives the secret to the mysterious Singing, and legend holds that if they release the music of Elidhu together, they have the power to defeat the Nameless One. Can brother and sister find each other in time to fight this all-powerful enemy, and are they strong enough — even reunited — to defeat him before all is lost?

Update from libraries:  the item is currently on order and should be available soon.

Review: The Devil’s Paintbox by Victoria McKernan

Jefferson J. Jackson is looking for strong men to bring out west on the Oregon Trail to cut logs, but that isn’t what he finds. Instead, he finds Maddy and Aiden–brother and sister, starving, alone, and near death. Jackson’s pity kicks in and he allows them both to join him, on one condition: Aiden must work for the logging company to pay both his and Maddy’s way. This doesn’t sound so terrible to either Maddy or Aiden, as both have run out of ways to survive, so they accept.

While on the wagon train, Maddy and Aiden learn more about life, love, loss, and loyalty. But first they just have to survive–after all, on the Oregon Trail, there is “a grave a mile”. And then Aiden must decide where his loyalties lie: with the Indians, who he has a chance to save, or with survival and his own life?

The Devil’s Paintbox is heartwrenching. Each and every character has a story, depth, and personality. McKernan winds in reality and vivid imagery to create a story in which readers can  experience the truths of the Oregon Trail and life in 1865.

Most of all, I was deeply touched by Aiden. I can’t give too much away, but his fierce protectiveness of his sister, resistance to immorality, and the trouble wrought on his character made him into a real person I wanted to just hug and say “It’s all right.”  And that is what makes a character, and a book, memorable.

Five Stars.

Available now at Amazon.

Although Wake County does not own this book, we do own Shackleton’s Stowaway by the same author.  To view that item and request, click here.

Review: The Faerie path

Anita has a pretty good life. She’s been spending time with her amazing boyfriend, her parents are pretty cool, and her 16th birthday is almost here. But when an accident on a boat ride puts her in the hospital, things start happening to Anita. Is she just dreaming of this world where she is a Princess Tania, the daughter of Oberon? Is her boyfriend really the servant of her betrothed, using deceptive means to bring her to the world of Faerie? It shouldn’t be possible. It couldn’t be possible.

I found The Faerie Path to be an entertaining, light read. It is written very plainly, making it available to younger ages as well. Truthfully, I was expecting a little more “faerie”ness, and most of the book is about Anita finding out who she really is, who she really wants to be. So that was a bit of a let-down, but for people who aren’t into the hard-core fantasy, The Faerie Path should be delightful. None of the characters are extremely well developed, but that is to be expected from a book this length.

But it’s fun. It’s about faeries. That’s all that matters.

Yours Truly, Cap’n Em.

This book is available at your nearest Wake County Library.

Book Review: The Fetch

When a person dies, his/her soul is escorted into heaven by what is known as a “Fetch”. Calder is one of these escorts, but when he sees a human he wants as his Squire, things start going wrong. First of all, the woman is married with children, second, Calder ends up trapped in the body of a man, and third, he has broken his vows as a Fetch and caused a good deal of trouble in heaven, earth, and the world between.

The Fetch is an imaginative story full of impossible detail and excitement. It is a page-turner that will leave you hungry for more. I read it straight-through and I believe other readers will find the story just as enthralling. The characters and story-line were well developed and draw you into the story right away. Whitcomb doesn’t push spiritual beliefs onto readers (I’ll let you decide whether this is good or bad…), but creates exciting new fictional ideas that make this book a very good fantasy read. I strongly recommend this book to everyone: it is clean, imaginative, and all together an excellent. Available February 2, 2009.

Write A Novel!

How many of you have told yourselves “I want to be an author” or “I’m going to write a book one day,” but have no idea when that is ever going to happen? And every time you try to, the results end up stuffed in a trashbin. Or at least the shreds of it do.

WELL, your un-selfdisciplined self needs some help, now doesn’t it?

That’s where NaNoWriMo comes to the rescue. Wait… nanowhatmo?

NaNoWriMo—That’s National Novel Writing Month. People from all over the world try to write 50,000 words in a month. Not only do you have the support of thousands of other writers going through the same thing you are, NaNoWriMo also sends out Pep Talks twice a week during November from published authors and other inspiring people.

Make no mistake—a lot of bad writing will result, but imagine being able to tell everyone “I wrote a novel.”

Pretty cool, huh?

If you missed it this past November, sign up for the emails on the website, and start getting excited about doing it in 2009!

Also, if 50,000 words seem too daunting, try for the Young Writer Program (there is a link on the website). This division of NaNoWriMo lets you set your own word count.

Let me know if you’re planning on doing it next year! And feel free to search for me (lovemily) and add me as a writing buddy.

Ahoy, a new blogger!

Hi, my name is Emily Ruth and I’m going to be blogging a little bit on Teens aWake. So, let me guess: you’re thinking either…

“Who is this girl? Doesn’t she have her own blog to be writing instead of sneaking over to ours?” or

“Well that’s nice… *falls over sleeping*”

Let’s hope its not the second But I do have an answer to the first. I have been invited as a young adult “pioneer” blogger for Teens aWake, and I’m really excited. I will probably be reviewing books, movies, etc., and I’m working on getting an interview with a lady who runs an organization called Horse and Buddy (a therapeutic riding program) that I think will really interest you guys. Oh, let me tell you a bit about myself:

I am an absolute book worm with a specialty in fantasy I love writing stories and competing with my horse, Aravis. I also act and was recently in a play called Dragonsong (based off of a book by Anne McCaffrey) produced by Cary Youth Theatre. I have my own blog, feel free to visit it. (You’ll notice the title is AyeCaptain, so feel free to call me Cap’n, or Emily, or EmilyRuth. Or anything else you think I’ll respond to.) Did I mention that I’m completely obsessed with smileys? You’ll see. They smother every post of mine.

Well, I’ve taken up enough room I think,

your cap’n.  (just kidding! or not… haha)