Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman. Penguin Books. 2008. Reviewed from audiobook by Brilliance Audio provided by Brilliance Audio. 2008. Narrated by Nancy Wu. The Plot: Eon is a twelve year old boy. He has been training intensively for years to get the opportunity, along with a handful of other boys, to be selected by [...]
Huntress by Malinda Lo. Little, Brown. 2011. Reviewed from ARC. Companion/prequel to Ash. The Plot: The sun and the seasons have disappeared. The Fairy Queen summons the human king to visit him. The King, suspicious in part because many believe fairies to be a myth, sends his son Con instead. Taisin, a talented student from [...]
Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. Greenwillow Books, an imprint of Harper Collins. 2009. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Ai Ling is seventeen. At the first betrothal arranged by her loving parents, not only is she rejected by the bridegroom and his mother (Ai Ling is too tall; her father left the Emperor’s court [...]
Bayou Volume One by Jeremy Love. Zuda Comics / DC Comics. 2009. Review copy borrowed from friend. Graphic Novel. The Plot: Charon, Mississippi, 1933. Two ten year old little girls are playing, Lee and Lily. One black, one white. One lie results in Lee’s father arrested and a lynching feared. To save her father, Lee [...]
House of Dolls by Francesca Lia Block, illustrated by Barbara McClintock. Harper Collins. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Middle grade. The Plot: Dolls Wildflower, Rockstar, and Miss Selene live together in their house, which was first owned by Madison Blackberry’s grandmother. The three dolls are happy enough, with Wildflower’s boyfriend Guy and Rockstar’s B. [...]
The Ring of Solomon: A Bartimaeus Novel by Jonathan Stroud. Disney Hyperion Books. 2010. Reviewed from unedited version from publisher. The Plot: Jerusalem, 950 B.C.E. King Solomon (yes, that King Solomon) rules Israel with wisdom and strength. And a ring — a ring that gives him unbelievable powers. King Solomon controls Israel, including the magicians [...]
Reckless by Cornelia Funke. Little Brown. 2010. Reviewed from Advance Limited Edition from publisher. The Plot: When Jacob Reckless is twelve years old, he discovers a mirror in his father’s study that takes him into a world where fairy tales are real. Twelve years later, his brother Will follows him through the mirror, eager to discover [...]
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. Candlewick. 2010. Gift. The Plot: When Finnikin was nine, the world as he knew it ended. The royal family of Lumatere, murdered; his father, the head of the King’s Guard, jailed; chaos, murder, betrayal, and curses resulted in half of the kingdom of Lumatere in exile and half [...]
Karma Bites by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas. Sandpiper Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Book Website. The Plot: Seventh grader Franny Flanders doesn’t want much out of life. Just for her two best friends, Kate and Joey, to get along and be friends so that [...]
Illyria by Elizabeth Hand. Viking, an imprint of Penguin. 2010. Reviewed from ARC from conference. The Plot: Yonkers, New York, the 1970s. Rogan and Madeline Tierney are first cousins, the youngest son and youngest daughter of twins. They are best friends, deeply connected and attuned to each other. Their great-grandmother was the famous actress Madeline [...]
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