The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Published January 1st 2006 by Greenwillow Books
280 pages
Series: The Queen's Thief
Source: Borrowed

The Thief started out as nothing special. The plot seemed mediocre, and I had trouble creating a mental image of Gen -- the main character, narrator, and thief -- in my head. But after the first few chapters, I found myself suddenly very engrossed in the novel and couldn't for the life of me put the book down to eat, sleep, or perform any of life's necessary functions...

Oh, Ms. Turner, what a tangled web you weave. The Thief had the type of ending I love best. It was unexpected, tied up everything nicely, and made the reader want the next book in the series without being frustratingly cliffhanger-ish. Now I shall try to restrain myself and go to sleep instead of starting the next book in the Attolia series.

Rating: 4.5

between delightfully scrumptious and incomprehensibly awesome

A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Published November 9th 2010 by Delacorte Books
224 pages
Source: Review Copy via TeensReadToo

Koumail knows exactly who he is: Blaise Fortune, undisputable and abandoned-through-a-train-accident French boy. Even as the seven-year-old flees the collapsing Soviet Union with Gloria, his beloved mother figure, Koumail knows that there will always be a safe haven for the faux mother-son duo in France. It turns out to be a journey fraught with hard work and starvation, doubt and heartbreak. Through it all, Koumail merely has to recite one sentence -- just one -- to make sure he still has the strength to continue. My name is Blaise Fortune and I am a citizen of the French Republic. It’s the pure and simple truth. Or is it?

Wow, A Time of Miracles is a little 200+ page novel that packs quite a punch. Translated from French, this story is told as an extended flashback laced with intricate details and told in flowing prose. Originally, the synopsis failed to impress me, and I started this book with a feeling of dread, often reminding myself of the fact that I could simply write a scathing review to vent my feelings afterward. Well, I apologize profusely to this book. To put it simply: I was blown away. This is just a simple story of a boy and a woman, escaping oppression and searching for freedom. And yet, it was also emotional and gripping all at once. Ms. Bondoux definitely succeeded in drawing out the reader’s sympathy for the two characters.

And Koumail, oh Koumail -- funny, sweet, and fiercely protective of Gloria. It isn’t possible for someone to not like this little boy. He entertains with his antics, his blind faith, and the three true loves he meets on their short journey. Even while Koumail’s begging in front of a random restaurant in the icy coldness, he’s still alight with hope.

A Time of Miracles is a surprisingly moving historical novel. It is one of those books you close with a quiet sigh.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Published June 7th 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
459 pages
Series: Dustlands #1
Source: eARC via Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

Nothing but a ginormous orange sandstorm signals the approaching danger that fateful day Saba’s darling twin brother Lugh gets kidnapped from Silverlake and taken away bound up in rope. Desperate and broken-hearted, Saba -- with the unwelcomed and unshakable presence of her little sister Emmi -- sets out to bring Lugh back. When the two girls are temporarily detained in Hopetown, Saba learns of the Sun King and the reason for Lugh’s capture and allies herself with the warrior Free Hawks and the ever infuriating cage-fighter Jack. Renewed with hope and greater numbers, the group starts out on a trek through the land. Their one goal: Lugh’s freedom, and possibly liberation for all.

Holy crap in a cup (Young, 379). This novel was an exciting ride reminiscent of other great high fantasy novels; well, only without all the fantastical elements. The action picks up right from the start, and the story doesn’t slacken in intensity until the very last page. Great side characters and creatures like the hellwurm -- which totally reminded me of those sandworms in Frank Herbert’s Dune series -- combined to become a great backdrop for the adventure and the two main characters Saba and Jack.

These two had their fair share of aww moments. Saba is head-strong but obviously has a soft side for the guy. And Jack, cocky and teasing, contains just the right amount of magic to balance out Saba’s stubbornness. The chemistry between the pair is a cool blend of fake contempt, attraction, jealousy, and mutual affection. Saba, mostly in denial about her feelings toward Jack, is facepalm-inducing at times. But overall, they are one well-matched and well-paired couple.

Blood Red Road is a great dystopian debut. Don’t be discouraged by the slightly mediocre cover; an epic tale awaits you within its pages.

Rating: 4

delightfully scrumptious

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Published May 24th 2011 by Candlewick Press
449 pages
Series: Angel Trilogy #1
Source: ARC from Candlewick Press via NetGalley

Willow has always been psychic. Simply grasping someone’s hand will give her access to a person’s possible futures, which Willow views as branchings off a tree. When her classmate Beth unexpectedly asks for a reading, Willow is plunged into a world of deadly, human-consuming angels and slowly begins to understand the intricacies of cattle farming -- or human aura trafficking, whichever term you prefer. As the angels become aware of Willow’s existence and decide that they want her dead, Willow is whisked off on a daring escape plan with angel assassin Alex, and the two set off on a road-trip to save themselves and perhaps the entirety of humankind. It turns out to be a trip filled with deception and gun chases and auto theft; after all, these aren’t peaceful little fluffy-winged angels we’re talking about here.

Angel Burn contains a set of very untraditional angels and two extremely cute main characters -- and here, I seriously stress the word cute. The evil angels’ background acted as a great hook, and the author knows exactly how to create enough suspense to prevent the reader from putting down the book. The alternating perspectives are slightly disjointed at times, but overall it succeeded in portraying the feelings of various characters. Willow is the only one honored with first person, and in my humble I’m-not-an-editor-but-it’s-ok opinion, the author would have been better off simply keeping her in third person like the rest of the characters.

Kudos to Miss Weatherly for giving Alex and Willow time to get to know each other before proceeding to the lovey-dovey stage. However, once they got to that stage, the cheesiness began to overwhelm. Now, I am generally a proud enjoyer of cheesy romance novels; still, there were some scenes that morphed my aww, they’re so adorable into an ugh, guys, please stop before I start puking rainbows.

All in all, this novel was a surprisingly great read. I am looking forward to the sequel, Angel Fire.

Rating: 3.5

between fairly intriguing and delightfully scrumptious

The Hunt of the Unicorn by C.C. Humphreys

Published March 8th 2011 by Knopf Books
341 pages
Source: Review Copy via Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews

Elayne has lost all hope for her father’s recovery as he battles leukemia, and it is with a feeling of defeat that Elayne sits down with him one night and cracks open the old volume entitled The Maid and the Unicorn. Elayne reads of the story of the magical weaver Francois Robochon, his daughter and her namesake Alice-Elayne, and the escape from Goloth, Land of the Fabulous Beast on the back of a unicorn. Even as Elayne scoffs at the fantastical story, her father insists on its authenticity and presents a supposed unicorn horn passed down from Elayne’s ancestor to her as a gift. It isn’t until Elayne comes face to face with tapestries depicting the great unicorn and woven with the initials AE that she finally realizes the truth, although the realization does come just a bit too late. Plunging head-first into the Land of the Fabulous Beast, Elayne seeks to discover a cure for her father and possibly save Goloth from its tyrannical ruler, the descendant of the weaver Robochon’s murderer, King-Elect Leo.

The Hunt of the Unicorn turned out to be a lot more than I’d originally expected. The beginning was a bit heavy on the info-dumping, but the authors chose a more creative method. We read about the entire history and back-story as Elayne herself reads from The Maid and the Unicorn, and her commentaries certainly added to the story.

It took me 80 pages to get into the story, and the rest of the book flew by as a result. We are introduced to fascinating Moonspill, handsome Leo, joking Marc, sweetmeat-addicted Amaryllis, and other charming or back-stabbing characters as the story progresses. My favorite being the two-headed amphisbaena snake, who, upon meeting Elayne, proceeds to exchange their knowledge of the language of the beasts with her for her knowledge of modern English. It is quite entertaining to hear the snake, especially the Baena half, speak in a mix of Olde English and “teenspeak.”

The Hunt of the Unicorn is a great addition to the plethora of unicorn books out there. It stands out among the rest, too.

Rating: 3

fairly intriguing