"Against the Darkness" by Kendare Blake

Against the Darkness (Apr. 9, 2024) by Kendare Blake.

<This is the final novel in a trilogy.>

<Alert: Spoilers possible.>

The Darkness is coming. That makes it sound like it’s a sentient, roiling mass of dangerous, dark matter or a foreboding, probably skeletal creature with horns and poisonous claws. Instead, the Darkness consists of rogue Slayers led by Aspen, a pretty Slayer who’s killed other Slayers and trapped more in a hell dimension. Her power of persuasion is so strong that she even has Hailey’s true empathy, as Hailey otherwise plays the role of rogue Slayer/ex-Scooby. Frankie Rosenberg, the world’s first Slayer-witch, is readying to confront the Darkness and bring Buffy and the others back from the alternate dimension amidst her usual demon patrols. Her Watcher, vampire-with-a-soul Spike, and her mom, Willow, care fiercely about bringing Buffy back. Willow’s obsession is such that she is at risk of turning dark again (The Black Grimoire/Book of Wants has got to go, but will it let Willow let it go?). Jake’s having a werewolf identity crisis, made more complicated when it turns out he’s been, um, biting his lacrosse teammates, and Sigmund’s heart is torn between Hailey, the person he loves, and doing what’s expected of his goody-two-shoes self by carrying on a relationship with another Sage demon like himself. The Scoobies are a gang holding on by a thread. Strained relationships and personal issues are piling up. Can Frankie be the Scooby gang leader her friends need her to be to defeat the Darkness once and for all? And what’s going on with the super-hot underwear model (a.k.a. Grimloch, the demon Hunter of Thrace)?

With this YA paranormal novel, the Buffy: The Next Generation series is complete. The darkness that the Darkness is plotting, the possibility of Willow going dark again and the upheaval in the lives of various main and supporting characters is offset by the sarcasm and wit splashed throughout. The contemporary setting with creatures of popular legend and monsters from the original storyline set up a tempting tale for anyone who enjoys adventure, fantasy and the paranormal and isn’t only for readers who are long-standing Buffy fans. This trilogy-ender is a word burrito of flavorful protagonists and antagonists set against a New Sunnydale backdrop and slathered in familiar Buffyverse lore (for those who are well-versed, which I’m admittedly not).

Book One: In Every Generation

               Book Two: One Girl in All the World

"Each Night was Illuminated" by Jodi Lynn Anderson

 

Each Night was Illuminated (Sept. 20, 2022) by Jodi Lynn Anderson.

*This is a standalone novel.*

Once upon a time, Cassie Blake believed she’d grow up to become a nun. Then the train plummeted into the river, killing six (all members of the Rose Hotel-owning Van Doren family), as Cassie witnessed with Elias Jones when she was 11. Fast forward to going-on-18-year-old Cassie, who’s riddled with insomnia and has become a nonbeliever in her [fictional] hometown of Green Valley, New Jersey, an exurb of NYC. Elias returns to Australia, but he sends her letters. Cassie never responds. Then Elias returns. He’s passionate about ghost-hunting and comes armed with equipment. They sneak out at night, and Cassie indulges Elias, knowing they won’t find any wandering spirits. Elias is actionable in his passion for ghosts, with his imagination, his rebelliousness and his harmless pranks. He’s bigger than the box Cassie fits herself in, even down to internalizing her anger. “You’d be good at being angry,” Elias tells her. “You’d get it right.” While Sister Suzanne is her “badass” favorite nun, Father James is an antagonistic, divisive priest. Futures are upended, and disaster is imminent, though Cassie doesn’t yet know it. Cassie sees the hopelessness in most and is awed by Elias’ belief in magical things. But if he stops believing, what hope is there for her?

            The setting is a world that feels broken; it’s a “... people are bats**t everywhere but there’s a special brand of American crazy” kind-of-world, and I expect that will resonate with too many in our nation. This isn’t a hopeful story until the end, but Cassie’s struggle and introspective resilience, her skepticism and floundering faith make this YA novel more believable. Most characters read as white; Elias has a Bangladeshi grandmother, which makes that inclusion feel like a placeholder for diversity instead of actual diversity. The pace moved slowly for me on occasion, but that didn’t take away from the weight of the story. It’s one of global and personal crises, small-town racism and close-mindedness. There are saints and secrets, rage and love and possibly, maybe, seemingly hidden, there’s hope.

"One Girl in All the World" by Kendare Blake

One Girl in All the World (Jan. 31, 2023) by Kendare Blake.

*This is the middle novel in a trilogy.*

New Sunnydale, the demon capital of the world, has been dormant since the Big Bad called the Countess. An unnamed Slayer has placed a “demon beacon” in the Hellmouth, meaning New Sunnydale’s going to again become a place of demons, dead people and darkness. Is the Darkness the next Big Bad? Soon enough, Frankie Rosenberg, the world’s first slayer-witch, the new Scoobies (werewolf Jake Osbourne, Sage demon Sigmund DeWitt, human/sister-of-a-Slayer Hailey Larsson) and the adults (werewolf Oz, vampire/Frankie’s Watcher Spike, witch/Frankie’s mom Willow), sometimes with Sarafina DeWitt the Great (Sigmund’s Sage demon mom) and Grimloch (the Hunter of Thrace or the “Hunter of Hotpants” per Spike), are inundated with demon battles. The demon beacon is calling to all demons, especially those familiar to that particular Hellmouth, including demons thought to be vanquished like the Turoc-Han. But who placed the beacon and why? Hailey’s sister, Vi, makes a reappearance, but she’s tight-lipped about her reasons for being there. Vi survived the explosion at the big slayer retreat. What does she know? The infamous Scythe returns; Frankie hasn’t seen it before and may have the urge to “run away with it into the mountains, where I would name it Scythey McScytheface and we would live together forever.” Not that she’d act upon that urge, but what might others do if they had possession of the Scythe?

            While I continue to have zero plans to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I have been thoroughly enjoying Blake’s Buffy: The Next Generation Series. The middle installment is a middle book, not because its writing is suffering, but due to further plot development versus plot resolution and character growth. It’s a propulsive story that contains gruesome action well-balanced with snark and humor, the highs and lows of romantic relationships and a whodunit? vibe. The story includes racial diversity and queerness. This center story in a trilogy expects readers to have knowledge of the previous one, but extensive knowledge of the Buffyverse is not required (which is good, because I doubt I know 1% of what there is to know about that world). The story is entertaining and the sort of teen dramatic that I would expect from a YA novel. Now, go off and train, Potentials. And if anyone notices the smell of herbs, ozone and scorched sugar in the air, know that you’ve encountered a distinctly magical smell. Also, beware of “stupid hot demons.” Happy slaying and keep your slaydar sharp.

            Two of many lines that made me laugh: “Whatever it is,” he growled, “I will kill it quickly. And I will kill it extra, for the interruption!” --Grimloch to Frankie re: a demon (p. 282)

            Book One: In Every Generation

"House of Ivy & Sorrow" by Natalie Whipple

A big THANK YOU for this book goes out to my brother and newest sister-in-law. They have great taste, as this was one of my birthday books from the couple.

House of Ivy & Sorrow (Apr. 15, 2014) by Natalie Whipple.

“They say a witch lives in the old house under the interstate bridge.” Because she really does. Just ask seventeen-year-old Josephine “Jo” Hemlock. The witch is her grandmother, after all: Dorothea Hemlock (a.k.a. Nana). They reside in [fictional] Willow’s End, Iowa. Jo has kept her magical life secret from her non-magical one, mostly because telling others about it would be breaking major witching tradition. She’s about to let others in on the secret, though, and not by choice. Of all people, Nana makes that decision when the Curse that’s killed many witches, including Jo’s own mother, finds them in Willow’s End. Magical barriers are in place, but the shadows are strong, and Jo doesn’t know their source. In theory, if she can discover that, she can figure out who killed her mom, prevent herself from being Cursed and save her friends, a couple of whom don’t go unscathed.

            Outsiders who know nothing of magic may assume that it’s simply a battle of good witch versus bad witch. Light magic versus dark magic. But all magic is dark. It comes down to that some witches are more responsible with their magic than others. In their world, you control magic or go crazy when it consumes you. Which sort of witch would you be? And why?

            I’ll be honest. With all of that ivy, the cover is very busy, and I initially figured I wouldn’t read it for that reason. But after reading two of Whipple’s books and enjoying them, I put this book on my birthday list as one of my “must-haves.” And I’m so glad I did, because it read swiftly. The book is something of a supernatural YA thriller. Despite its title, it’s not the darkest book I’ve read, though there is sorrow and pain. There’s also suspense, but it’s not so scary you want to sleep with the lights on. I enjoyed Whipple’s version of witching tradition, but what I really appreciated was the strong bond, not just between Jo and Nana, but of sisterhood. I’m not only referring to blood relations (Jo doesn’t actually have any sisters), but of the bonds between women, whether they’re related or not. Love is a bond that binds and woe to anyone who tries to break it!

"The Dream Thieves" by Maggie Stiefvater

It would appear that multiple books I wanted to review based on my “Unofficial Criteria” came out this fall. Good thing I mentioned my Unofficial Criteria list, as last month contained one-book-only reviews!

            Here is another … (with possible spoilers ahead)

The Dream Thieves (Sept. 17, 2013) by Maggie Stiefvater.

In dreams, there be monsters. Just ask Ronan Lynch. As vexing as usual, Ronan has a very big secret. He can take things out of his dreams. Car keys. A wooden box. A Night Terror. The discovery of Cabeswater in the first book affects the storyline of this one. Ronan is tied to Cabeswater, but how? Why? Could the answer be at The Barns, the childhood home he’s been banned from since his father’s death? Ronan has a lot to come to terms with. Unhappy, handsome, vicious Ronan is more complex than he appears. He isn’t always a sarcastic, toxic drunkard. On rare occasion, he’s even kind … but don’t get used to it.

            Richard Campbell Gansey the III is a desperate man. Er, teenager. He is elite-of-the-elite at Aglionby Academy, like the picture-perfect poster-child of the school and even has a name practically reeking of importance. Surely he uses his suave side most of the time. But right now he’s desperately searching for the long-lost, practically mythological, Welsh king Glendower. He feels Glendower’s revival must be close since the awakening of the ley line, but he’s not finding him. Nor are his friends. Something is off about the line. Sometimes there are surges to suggest the ley line is overfed, but there are also outages to suggest that the line is starved.

            Seeing apparitions is not normal, yet Adam Parrish is seeing them. He has connected himself to Cabeswater, but he doesn’t know what the forest wants from him. What does he want for himself? Does he even know anymore?

            Blue Sargent is back in the story, though Noah Czerny isn’t as much. There’s also the appearance of the Gray Man. He’s been sent to retrieve the Greywaren for his boss, Dr. Colin Greenmantle. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know exactly what a Greywaren is. Is it a box?

            The second installment in Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle is magical. Not magical in a nice-vacation-to-Walt-Disney-World way, but in a darker, more secretive way. The atmosphere isn’t light and fluffy; instead, it tends toward the tense, moody and brooding. That isn’t to say there aren’t light moments – there are – and there’s sarcasm. In more than one instance that sarcasm is based on dirty connotations, and there is some strong language (for those concerned). Through all of this, Stiefvater somehow melds completely different worlds with ease: old money with no money, the magical and the non-magical, the sensitive and the aggressive, the thoughtful and the reactive, and Ronan. Even with all the perspectives, this book is really Ronan’s story, and whether he likes it or not, he’s a young adult of opposites. Highly recommend!

            Book One in The Raven Cycle: The Raven Boys
            Also see: The Scorpio Races

Rutabaga's Reads 2013: Part 13

In this +Scholastic books compilation, there are a couple titles for the younger readers you know and a couple for the older. Please note that I have no material connection to anyone who works for Scholastic or authors any books marketed through the company. I am simply a bookworm who supports the Scholastic Brand!

But and For, Yet and Nor: What is a Conjunction? (Mar. 1, 2010) by Brian P. Cleary.

   Brian Gable, illustrator.

“But and For, Yet and Nor” is just one of many books in Cleary’s Words are CATegorical series. His series focuses on different parts of speech, but by avenue of high-spirited rhyme that presents grammar-learning in a fun, carefree way and not an I’d-rather-get-my-teeth-pulled way. In this book, Cleary concentrates on conjunctions, not only giving the definition of them, but especially by giving examples in word and type. To name a few, he explains how they can bridge phrases or link words and even brings up the common misconception that conjunctions can’t start a sentence. I think these books are terrific, and I highly recommend them for school and classroom libraries. They’re wonderful books for intermediate elementary students and their teachers.

            How many conjunctions can you spot in this summary/review?

Ladybug Girl (Mar. 13, 2008) by David Soman & Jacky Davis.

Little Lulu is Ladybug Girl. She’s got to find her own fun, because her parents have work to do. She momentarily puts on her pouty face, but finds adventure out-of-doors with her dog, Bingo, after her big brother denies her request to play with him. He tells her she’s too little, but she thinks that is ridiculous in her preschool-age way.

            Like so many children, Lulu finds adventure through her imagination. She’s a self-appointed hero with her trusty sidekick, Bingo. This cute tale provides a platform for empowering youngsters using a subtle, fun and kid-friendly approach. The watercolor and line illustrations catch Bingo’s adorably floppy ears and Lulu’s adventures, not to mention Lulu herself in her ladybug costume. She positively stands out amidst the almost-muted backdrops. But I suppose that is the point. After all, Lulu is Ladybug Girl, and she is not too little!

Spellbinding (Apr. 1, 2013) by Maya Gold.

When her teacher gives the class a genealogy assignment, sixteen-year-old Abby Silva discovers she’s the descendent of an accused witch of the Salem Witch Trials. As she delves into her ancestry, mysterious things occur: objects move without aid and things catch fire. Abby doesn’t want to believe that she willed those things to happen. She just wants to be a “normal” teenager, albeit one who’s less invisible and more confident. She wants her school’s “it” boy, Travis Brown, to look at her instead of his odious girlfriend. There’s also the baffling yet attractive Rem Anders, who lives and works in nearby Salem. He’s hot and cold, but perhaps for good reason. Can Abby make sense of her ancestry and who she is before a reckoning tries to make the choice for her?

            This book is like a much lighter version of Stephen King’s “Carrie.” This YA paranormal novel read more like upper middle-grade fiction. That doesn’t mean it’s a watered down book with no substance. It has plenty of conflict. There’s conflict of the regular high-school-garden variety in the forms of friend issues and mean girls. Then there’s the paranormal variety such as magic and ill-intentioned witches. It keeps the reader’s attention with individual characters and an easily-visualized setting. The ending is tied up like a nice bow. Could it have been darker and more intense? Sure, but not all books have to be, and it is fine that “Spellbinding” isn’t. After all, it’s by Maya Gold and not by Stephen King.

Splendors and Glooms (Aug. 28, 2012) by Laura Amy Schlitz.

Though he has more rags than riches, Gaspare Grisini is a master puppeteer. His prowess with the puppet theatre catches Clara Wintermute’s fancy, so he comes to the Wintermute home to put on a show for her twelfth birthday party. The daughter of a wealthy and renowned physician, Clara never wants for necessities and then some. The opposite is true of Grisini’s orphaned assistants, Lizzie Rose Fawr and Parsefall Hooke. Their clothes are shabby, recompense is miserly, and they never know if they’ll have enough for a next meal. To them, the Wintermute home represents everything they don’t have: doting parents, an abundance of food, warmth, riches. Clara is enamored with the puppet theatre, but then she disappears. Grisini is suspected of kidnapping her, and Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are determined to solve the mystery. As they investigate, they open up Grisini’s suspicious past and his wicked intentions. Unbeknownst to them, they flee London only to be ensnared by Grisini’s rival, an old witch with two inheritances to dole out. One is amazing, the other is deadly.

            Schlitz earned a Newberry Honor for this middle-grade, historical fantasy novel. This story mixes magic and mystery, mishaps and misdeeds in order to create a mystical literary concoction. The book is more serious than not, but it is richly written. It is dark, but not so dark that I wouldn’t let a twelve-year-old read it. For those concerned, British slang is used, and I did see one instance of a word that rhymes with “stitch.” The splendors of the book are wondrous and positive, whereas the glooms are frightening and nightmarish (to the characters, not to you). Schlitz’s narrative and characters are so well-drawn that one can’t help but be swept up into the story, unsettling bits and all.

Rutabaga's Reads 2012: Part 8

This is Part 8 of Rutabaga’s Reads 2012. It includes books I’ve read since Part 6 that are not picture books. What are you reading today? Let me know by commenting on Part 8’s post.

Breadcrumbs (Sept. 27, 2011) by Anne Ursu.

In a contemporary version of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” Hazel Anderson does not fit. An adoptee from India, she is too imaginative, most of her classmates treat her with contempt or simply give her the cold shoulder, and she’s only stuck at the school to begin with because her parents have divorced and money is tight; therefore, she had to leave her previous school. But she has Jack Campbell, and they fit together like the pieces of a fantastic puzzle.

            Or they did.

            Overnight, Jack seemed to find her disdainful. He suddenly quit talking to her and then he went away. Because something happened. A mirror shard fell from the sky and happened into his unsuspecting eye, traveled to his heart and froze it. Hazel goes off on a quest to rescue her best friend, albeit “in ill-considered shoes, brave and completely unprepared.”

            “Breadcrumbs” is a middle-grade novel that takes place in Minnesota and mentions Minnesota Twins baseball player Joe Mauer in the storyline. Ursu writes a creative story that is part fantasy and part realistic fiction. It is magical, but the magic is subtle. Ursu expertly weaves the realism with allusions to the modern-day stories we’ve read (“Weren’t wizards good? Dumbledore’s a wizard.”), but also to the well-known tales of yesteryear (“… but all she knew about wolves was that you should never tell them how to find your grandmother’s house.”). While Hazel’s flighty imagination can be trying, she is a heroine, and even more importantly, she is an awesome best friend.

Juliet Immortal (Aug. 9, 2011) by Stacey Jay.

You think you know Romeo & Juliet’s star-crossed love story.

            But what if Juliet died so Romeo could gain immortality and join the Mercenaries of the Apocalypse? And what if, consequently, Juliet also gained immortality by joining the Ambassadors of Light? In this rendering of the greatest love story, this is precisely what happened. Romeo has spent centuries inhabiting deceased human bodies to recruit more Mercenaries through murder. Juliet has only returned to Earth about 30 times over the past 700 years. She works to bring soul mates together – to spread love and light.

            Juliet inhabits Ariel Dragland, who is not dead. She has to find the soul mates she should be helping and bring them together before Romeo negatively interferes. Romeo has reanimated the fresh corpse of Dylan Stroud. But extra trouble lurks. Juliet/Ariel can’t contact Nurse for details, and Romeo/Dylan is actually scared. Both are being watched.

            Juliet tries to mend Ariel’s relationships with her mom and with her best friend, the selfish Gemma Sloop. She even falls for Ben Luna before making a devastating discovery.

            Whether you accept – or scoff at – this take on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, consider this book. Juliet/Ariel and Romeo/Dylan are well-developed characters even when supporting characters appear flat and underdeveloped. The full story of the Ambassadors and Mercenaries is unclear, but the main plot is intriguing. Besides, who doesn’t like the occasional love story with a twist? I expect fans of supernatural YA novels will enjoy this one.

Princess Academy (July 6, 2005) by Shannon Hale.

Have you ever dreamt of being a princess? Miri Larendaughter hasn’t, until eligible-age girls from their village home of Mount Eskel – in the kingdom of Danland – are summoned to a princess academy. To learn what? How to properly be a princess, of course! There are the usual subjects of Reading, Mathematics and Commerce, as well as the princess-forming subjects Poise, Conversation and Diplomacy. Studies are led by the harsh Tutor Olana, who makes it clear what she thinks of mountain girls, but fortunately knows not what quarry-speech is. They have a year’s time to learn to read for the first time and become as polished and poised as true princesses. The competition is strong. Who is chosen as the academy princess? Who catches the eye of Prince Steffan of Danland? When danger arrives by force and aggression, how are Miri and her classmates saved?

            This is a satisfying middle-grade story of tough work, hard studies, family, friends and where our hearts call home. For anyone who’s ever felt out of place in anything or felt wronged by unfairness, you’ll connect with Miri. She stands up for herself and for the fairness of the class, as she also strives to learn all that she’s never had the opportunity to. She struggles internally: with her feelings for Peder, how she can help her village and the possibility of becoming princess. They say that Home is where the heart is. Where does Miri’s heart tell her she belongs?

This Dark Endeavor (Aug. 23, 2011) by Kenneth Oppel.

Oppel writes a gothic prequel of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. In this version, Victor is a hot-headed, hot-blooded, attention-loving sixteen-year-old. He lives with his parents, two younger brothers and cousin, Elizabeth, at Chateau Frankenstein. In Oppel’s narrative, Victor also has a twin brother, Konrad. Victor, Konrad and Elizabeth stumble one day upon the Dark Library. It is filled with books on alchemy and ancient remedies. Their father discovers them there and forbids them to return, as it is illegal to practice alchemy. But when Konrad falls deathly ill, Victor is driven to find a cure. To procure the ingredients, Victor, Elizabeth and their friend, Henry, enlist the help of a disgraced alchemist named Julius Polidori. The ingredients are few, but obtaining them is dangerous and difficult. Victor is overly confident in the ability of the elixir. Can the Elixir of Life save his much-loved twin?

            Oppel creates a young Frankenstein who is on his way to becoming the mad scientist we know from Mary Shelley’s novel. Victor is perhaps unlike the protagonists we are used to reading – those who are, for the most part, easily likeable – but that is part of what makes Oppel’s tale so appealing. “This Dark Endeavor” is an excellent prequel to Shelley’s work and honors it well. It has enough horror and romance to push it into gothic territory, enough history and science to feed the story without muddling it, and it has bursts of humor to prevent it from reading too darkly. There were a couple particularly tough parts to read, but it otherwise read very quickly. I won’t be surprised if a movie version is made of Oppel’s creation.

Unbroken: A Ruined Novel (Feb. 1, 2013) by Paula Morris.*

Rebecca Brown (“Ruined,” see Part 1) has returned to New Orleans (NOLA), a city of beauty and ghosts. After the events of the previous year, the last thing Rebecca wants or expects to see is a ghost. Now cue a teenage boy with intensely blue eyes named Frank O’Connor. He’s looking for a lost item that led to his death in 1873 and will trap him if it isn’t found soon. Complications arise as Rebecca strives to help. Not enough time. Aloof, maybe-boyfriend Anton Grey. Keeping secrets. Threats from vengeful ghost Gideon Mason. Unhinged Toby Sutton. Rebecca’s vacation to NOLA isn’t a vacation. It’s a high-stress trip tougher than a school project. Can she help Frank before he’s trapped for eternity? Can she open up to others about the spirit world? Will Toby get his revenge?

            This is another enjoyable YA story from Morris. Rebecca did spend a decent amount of time completing wonderful volunteer work, but it occasionally detracted from the ghost world. That said, I do see how Morris used the volunteerism backdrops to allow Rebecca to have a ghostly chat or put a visual to a verbal description. “Unbroken” is a fast-paced, engaging read. If you like ghosts. And some non-scary suspense.

* This is a Scholastic purchase, and the edition is only available through the school market.