Rutabaga's Reads 2012: Part 2

This is Part 2 of Rutabaga’s Reads 2012. I would enjoy reading your comments on any of these books you have also read. What did you like or not like about the book? Or if you haven’t read the books, tell me which one captures your interest. And definitely clue me in on any books that you’ve read that have captivated you or really made you think.

13 Treasures (Apr. 12, 2010) by Michelle Harrison.

In this middle-grade fantasy novel, debut author Harrison introduces readers to Tanya, a 13-year-old with the second sight. She can see fairies, but not the adorable pixies we’d expect in Tinker Bell’s world. No, these fairies are mischievous and sometimes downright mean. She is sent to live at her unfriendly grandmother’s place, Elvesden Manor, the wooded area around it which is replete with fairies. After an unplanned, but still forbidden, trek into the woods with the groundskeeper’s son, Fabian, Tanya and Fabian become interested in the identity of the “ghost” they encountered. With the help of Red, a girl who also has the second sight to see fairies, and Mad Morag, who many in the town deem to be a witch, Tanya learns more about the mystery of Hangman’s Wood and a fifty-year-old story.

            While I did not love this story, I still found it to be an interesting take on fairies. Harrison creates a masterful world around Elvesden Manor, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys upper middle-grade fantasy works. Maybe wear some red, though …

Bad Girls Don’t Die (Apr. 21, 2009) by Katie Alender.

In this YA supernatural thriller debut from Alender, Alexis Warren is a typical angst-y teen who’s anti-social and anti-cheerleader. She likes to dye her hair (pink makes a good statement) and wreak minor havoc (like stage an anti-fashion show during a school club’s fashion show). She feels she can go full steam ahead in her own way and on her own time by herself. But when she notices strange glowing light around their house, and her sister, Kasey’s, blue eyes occasionally go green, she knows that she can’t handle this on her own. She gains the help of two people she’d never purposely plan on crossing social paths with: Megan Wiley, cheerleading captain and [covert] class clairvoyant, and Carter Blume, class vice president and … potential boyfriend?

            While there were moments when the book felt very obviously contrived, for the most part, it was a solid supernatural read for the YA set. Alender gives Alexis an authentic teenaged voice, which is also humorous. This book would be a choice read for girls who want to be spooked, but only a little.

Cleopatra’s Moon (Aug. 1, 2011) by Vicky Alvear Shecter.

A YA novel following Cleopatra VIII Selene, the only daughter of Cleopatra the VII and Marcus Antonius. She was named Selene for the moon, while her twin brother, Alexandros Helios, was named for the sun. This historical fiction novel is told through the eyes of Cleopatra Selene beginning with the undoing of her family and the Egyptian empire on through a live-in in the court of Octavianus, the Roman ruler who caused her and her family much heartache, loss and loss of life. Cleopatra Selene vows to defeat him and return to Egypt. Like her mother, she wants to present herself as the great and powerful queen her mother was.

            Cleopatra Selene is a compelling female protagonist; she is a heroine. I found this story to be riveting; Shecter writes Cleopatra Selene’s character so well that you’ll wish history had ended up much happier for Cleopatra Selene, her brothers and their parents. But with their history being one that it is, be aware that there are many characters – even in this one story alone – and some have such similar-sounding names that it may sometimes be difficult to keep them straight. But if you can do that and appreciate historical fiction with its adventure, danger and romance, you will appreciate this book, too, as I did.

Entwined (Mar. 29, 2011) by Heather Dixon.

Azalea Wentworth of Eathesbury, Princess Royale, is the oldest of twelve princesses. They are named in alphabetical order of flowering flora “as the King liked everything very much in order.” In Dixon’s debut novel, Azalea and her sisters endure a mourning period (no colors, sunlight, suitors or dancing) after their mother’s passing, but Azalea and her sisters love to dance. And indeed, “Entwined” is based on “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” by the Grimm Brothers. Azalea finds a secret passage to a magical pavilion and the Keeper, who invites them to use the pavilion to dance as much as they want. It’s a nice relief from the Mourning above and the prospective suitors to see Azalea on “Royal Business.” But still, Azalea notes that the Keeper is not as wholly amicable as he seems. What does he want?

            Dixon did a fine job of moving the plot forward with light romance, magic, danger and communication (both fun and strained). The YA fantasy novel is reminiscent of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” and is created in a fairy-tale world that would almost be pleasing to inhabit if it weren’t for the Keeper. I found this book to be charming and funny (especially in scenes involving Princess Bramble and/or Lord Teddie). This is a delightful read for anyone who enjoys fairy tales, but it would appeal more to girls than boys.

The Grimm Legacy (July 8, 2010) by Polly Shulman.

In this, the central character, Elizabeth Rew, is a newly hired page at the New York Circulating Material Repository, where patrons can check out a variety of rare objects. Secret objects as well, which lie in the repository’s basement and include items from the Grimm Collection. That room contains the magical items of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales, such as the Magic Mirror from Snow White and the seven-league boots. For a gal who’s been miserable at home and at a new school – save for the teacher who suggests the job to her – her work life is exciting and adventurous. But something is wrong. The magical items are beginning to disappear. Can Elizabeth and her friends find out who’s causing the disappearance of the missing artifacts?

            Reading like an upper middle-grade novel, “The Grimm Legacy” is fast-paced and entertaining. Fans of fantasy and especially, the Grimm fairy tales, will delight in this read, though without all the darkness of the actual Grimm tales or even the hit TV show “Once Upon a Time” (which I thoroughly enjoy). I recommend this to anyone looking for a fantasy read or just a good book!

 

I Was Jane Austen’s Best Friend (Sept. 28, 2010) by Cora Harrison.

That would be Jenny Cooper, also Jane Austen’s cousin. A real person (though her actual name was Jane Cooper), she is an orphan who lives with the Austen family in the year she meets the dashing Captain Thomas Williams. But Jenny is a shy girl, so how is a shy girl to go about grabbing the attentions and affections of a potential love interest? Answer: Jane Austen. Good thing Cousin Jane is around with her bevy of knowledge regarding courtship in their day with plenty of wit to go with it.

            The first thing that came to mind when I finished this YA story was that it is a cute story. One can tell that Harrison completed extensive research so as to represent the time period properly, not just in speech, but manners and attitudes as well. The book is good parts carried in fact and fiction. A charming historical romance, I anticipate you’ll like this book if you’re an Austen fan or like charming stories.

In a Heartbeat (Feb. 2, 2010) by Loretta Ellsworth.

“In a Heartbeat” goes back-and-forth between two main characters: Eagan, a rising star in the figure skating world, who’s recently died after a freak skating accident, and Amelia, who’s in need of a heart transplant due to congestive heart failure. Amelia receives Eagan’s heart and begins to notice newly acquired tastes and characteristics. For example, she craves the color purple when she hated it before. It’s Eagan’s favorite color. So now Amelia’s adjusting to a future she thought she might not have – and it includes a boy named Ari – but Eagan in her afterlife is not ready to let go. How will Amelia start to adjust? Can Eagan let go?

            I chose this book because a description of the book had said that fans of Lurlene McDaniel would enjoy this story. (In my teen years, I read multiple books by Lurlene McDaniel.) While I can’t say I for sure agree with that, I will say that it was a stirring read. Even though the matter is intense stuff, Ellsworth’s writing is simple enough for younger readers to understand. It might even get readers thinking about the magnitude of organ donation and the theory of cellular memory.

The Kneebone Boy (Sept. 14, 2010) by Ellen Potter.

The Hardscrabble children are a strange sort. There’s Otto, who’s been mute since their mother disappeared; Lucia, who’s fiercely honest and protective of Otto; and Max, who is the cogs-turning-thinker of the three. They are sent by their father to stay at an aunt’s house, but it turns out she’s on vacation, so they detour to their great aunt’s house in Snoring-by-the-Sea. The great aunt turns out, not to be a wizened old woman, but a young and somewhat eccentric woman who lives in a castle folly. The full-sized Kneebone Castle is across the way, and they learn of a half-human prisoner (the Kneebone Boy) and perhaps find answers to their own family mystery.

            Potter tells the story from a narrator’s perspective. Although it is one of the Hardscrabble trio, it doesn’t assuredly mention which one, though I’d wager anyone who read it would have a very good guess. She writes with enough twists and turns to keep the reader’s interest, but also imparts humorous asides to garner the reader’s laughter. That’s needed to get them through to the end. This is a fun choice for middle-grade readers or anyone, really, who likes a book with a moody cover. Who all noticed the five-legged cat?

Sing Down the Moon (Sept. 28, 1970) by Scott O’Dell.

A Newberry Honor Book, this small book tells the big story of Navaho (or Navajo) Indian Bright Morning. She gets kidnapped, along with her friend, Running Bird, by Spanish slavers. A determined young girl, she escapes with her friend and Nehana, a Nez Percé girl. But not long after her return, the Navaho are driven away from their homes by the Long Knives (Americans with swords who want their land). What happens to Bright Morning and her people?

            The book may be short, but the story is not. The time setting takes place between 1863 and 1865. In 1864, The Long Walk of the Navajo occurred, a 300-mile-long (according to the book) walk. The story is bitter and moving and full of tension and courage all at once. I would guess it has been popular in classrooms over the years.

            Has anyone used this story as a history lesson in their classroom? If so, how did it go? Bright Morning and the other young people like herself were very hard workers from a very early age, quite different than most young people today. Do they understand the enormity and fear and danger of life back then? Do they understand that O’Dell created “real” characters? Though the book is fiction, the story isn’t wholly. It is rooted in reality in all its peril, bitterness and endurance.

Switched: A Trylle Novel (Jan. 3, 2012 trade paperback ed.) by Amanda Hocking.

Hocking is a native to Austin, MN. And in her Trylle (a.k.a. trolls) world, trolls aren’t strange little things with shocks of bright hair or large ugly things that carry wooden clubs. They are remarkably attractive creatures that live in Förening, which happens to be located in MN bluff country near the Mississippi River. To the disbelief of Wendy Everly, this is where she ends up with fellow Trylle, Finn. She grew up with a mother who was convinced that Wendy was a monster and that she’d been switched out with her actual child.

            In Förening she meets her birth mother, a stunningly elegant and beautiful Trylle. She’s also adamant that Wendy learn the ways of the Trylle and get rid of her horridly “ordinary” name. Naturally, Wendy is expected to learn years’ worth of knowledge in a short matter of time before her very own debutante ball. There’s also the threat of a rival Trylle tribe after her, the Vittra. And her friendship with a mänsklig is vehemently discouraged. Why? What’s a mänsklig and what is the significance of the one she befriends?

            Hocking is something of a poster child for the self-publishing world. The Trylle trilogy is an e-book bestseller. I found the idea of pretty trolls to be an interesting concept, but also found this first book in the trilogy to be too predictable. I think that if you are a big fan of the “Twilight” series, this could be a trilogy to add to your bookshelf. But I’d recommend you try something else if you’re not a “Twilight” fan or have had enough of ridiculously attractive/stunningly beautiful creatures.