Enchanted - Alethea Kontis

A lovely twisted fairy tale based largely on the tale of the frog prince, Sunday is the seventh daughter of Seven who is also the seventh daughter of a fairly unimaginative mother. Sunday is a writer, however since everything she writes about comes true she only writes about the past. She writes stories about her many brothers and sisters who are the characters from many familiar fairy tales. Sunday meets the frog grumble at a small pond in the forest near her house. Several times she kisses him without effect but one day after discovering how she really feels about him she kisses him after she has left to go home he changes and becomes a prince once more, however Sunday has no knowledge of the transformation and is heartbroken thinking that he has become fully frog and is gone forever. 

I really enjoyed how Kontis wove the different fairy tales around each other each one fitting perfectly with the one before it to create a really delightful storyline. Sunday and her sisters are each so different from each other a fit perfectly into the old adage of Monday's child is fair of face Tuesday's child is full of grace etc. Her mother's words always come true and her aunt's are fairy godmother's. For those who loved fairy tales as children this book will fit perfectly into your more adult reading list!

Enjoy!

Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo

This was a pretty different read from some of the other fantasy fictions I've read. Set in a late 19th or early 20th century mythical Russia Shadow and Bone blends the opulence of the Russian aristocracy of that era  with some dark and frankly creepy magical elements. Alina is a cartographer for the army of Ravka sent on a large expeditionary mission into the fold. A place of darkness created by a sorcerer thousands of years ago. Within the fold are creatures who feed on the flesh of the living and the only thing that frightens them is light. In Ravka those who have any kind of magic are identified as children and sent away to the palace to learn how to  properly use their magic. As a child Alina and her best friend (and secret love) Mal were tested for magic at the home for orphans where they grow up together neither is discovered to have magic and together they make their way through the world.

When Alina and Mal and the rest of their party make their way into the darkness of the fold they are set upon by thousands of monsters and when Mal is potentially fatally wounded Alina lights up the night with her previously undiscovered power coming to the notice of the Darkling the most powerful sorcerer in Ravka.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read the contrast between the glittering wealth of the Ravkan court and the darkness of the magic that they use strikes just the right cord. Alina is an interesting character with believable flaws and failings, not simply a selfless hero and so many protagonists in fantasy fiction before her. She faces some very difficult choices leaving the life she has known for one that is completely outside her realm of experience. She is suddenly bestowed with not only magic but also wealth and influence, but not all is what it seems and Alina struggles and makes mistakes like any real person would.

Well worth a read!
Enjoy!

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

This book is so sad. If you don't like to read sad books perhaps it would be best to take a pass, however, it is also a really deep and emotional look at the consequences of bullying and how deadly they can be. Asher's novel is particularly apt for Canadians right now as there have been string of recent teen suicides.

The book begins with our protagonist Clay arrives home from school to find a package addressed to him and filled with cassette tapes on his front porch. The tapes were recorded by Clay's classmate and crush Hannah who committed suicide days earlier. On the tapes she outlines the thirteen reasons (people responsible) for her suicide. 

This book is so intense that I am struggling to find the words with which to describe it. Hannah's struggles are those faced by most teens today and I think that the book really brings home how small acts can have a huge impact both good and bad on the people around you. Certainly none of the people who Hannah names on her tapes would have felt responsible for her death had they not heard her describe her feelings in the aftermath of their interactions.

Well worth a read

Enjoy

Ship Breaker - Paolo Bacigalupi

Nailer is a ship breaker. This means he spends his days deep in the pipes and ducts of beached oil tankers stripping the valuable wires and metals from the insides of the ship. When you are on a 'light crew' like Nailer and his friends you have to have each other's backs. your crew is your family and you keep each other safe from the dangers that abound in this post apocalyptic United States. When Nailer is betrayed by a member of his light crew and manages to survive everyone thinks he's found his lucky strike, but when a storm washes up a ship worth more than Nailer could earn in a lifetime of breaking ships he knows he's finally found his luck. But when he discovers a survivor on board he has to balance his desire for fortune and his moral compass.

Bacigalupi has created a really interesting world here. In the wreckage of the Southern United States, which have been ravaged by city killing storms and drowned by the rising waters of the ocean the strong survive and the weak perish. The book is a bit scary in that it seems totally believable that in a hundred years the world could be in such a terrible state. Nailer is a great character, believable as a product of his upbringing, but also full of promise.

The book is also the companion of Bacigalupi's The Drowned Cities and features one common character, but it's not necessary to read one before the other.

A really great read!
Enjoy!

Origin - Jessica Khoury

This book was really refreshing. Mostly because of the choices that the main character Pia made throughout the book, but also because it stands alone. I could be wrong Jessica Khoury could be planning on writing 100 more books about Pia, but the ending really suggested to me that Origin was it, and I love that. Sometimes it is so great to read a really good book and to have closure at the end rather than feel like you have to wait another year to find out what happens. Don't get me wrong I love a good series, but Origin was just so satisfying in itself and it's really impressive that Khoury was able to write such a stunning book as her debut at 22 no less. 

I loved Pia. I thought she was a really interesting character. She is immortal, and she lives in the facility where she was created by scientists who have spent their entire lives trying to create her. One day Pia finally breaks free from the fence by which she is surrounded to go into the jungle and explore. There she meets Eio a boy who has grown up in the jungle and her life changes direction quite rapidly from there. When we first meet her Pia's main goal  is to become a part of the team that is working on creating other being like her. Other immortals so that she won't have to be alone anymore. Once she meets Eio and the other denizens of the jungle she slowly begins to realize that being a scientist and behaving 'rationally' are not all that they seem to be. Something is not right. 

A wonderful story with a great cast of characters, which creates some worrying thoughts about the world we live in and the lengths that people might go to in order to become immortal.

Enjoy!

Unwind - Neal Shusterman

Unwind by Neal Shusterman was a scary read. In it the United States have had a second civil war between pro- choice and pro- life armies. The compromise that was created in order to end the conflict was that life is sacred up until the age of 13, but when the child is between the ages of 13 and 18 their parents can choose to have them Unwound. Being unwound basically means that the unlucky teenager is dismembered, with their body parts and organs being donated to those in need or those who simply aren't happy with their eyes, hair etc. Thus the members of government who created the legislation and the parents who choose to have their children unwound are alleviated of their guilt, since the child is not really dead, they are just living a different existence. 

The premise seems a bit silly at first, I mean who would possibly think that it is acceptable to end the lives of thousands of teenagers simply because they're behaving badly, or are a financial burden. But, Shusterman has crafted Unwind  in such a way that the entire story seems totally plausible. 

The story focuses on three very different teenagers who are being unwound for very different reasons. Connor is an out of control teenager whose parents decide to have him unwound so they won't have to deal with him any longer ( I do have to say though that one would think having the threat of being unwound hanging over your head would be enough to stop you from rebelling against your parents...). Risa who was abandoned by her parents and became a ward of the state and is not quite talented enough at the piano to warrant the government paying for her survival. Finally there is Lev, who is a tithe, which means his parents conceived him for the express purpose of having him be unwound. I really liked all three characters, though I do have to say that I felt that Lev really went through the biggest range of development and certainly he changed the most out of our three main characters. 

There are sequels which are likely well written and enjoyable, but I think that Unwind reads well as a stand alone novel. A really interesting read.

Enjoy!

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

I loved this book. It was highly recommended by a fellow book lover and she couldn't have been more right. Graceling has so much going for it. The main character is reminiscent of Katniss from The Hunger Games (and not just because of her name) she kicks some serious butt as one of her world's people who are "graced" with a range of talents. Her's it seems is fighting. In the kingdom where Katsa lives those who are "graced" with talents automatically become the property of the King, Randa, who uses his niece Katsa as his own personal torturer and assassin. Katsa, however, has other ideas about how to use her talents. She and her compatriots have begun an underground movement to help the oppressed people of her kingdom and the other six kingdoms as well. 

Unlike Katniss, Katsa has a considerable amount of agency when it comes to decision making. I mean who is going to argue with a woman who has been 'graced' with a talent for killing people? Not me. 

I really liked Katsa as well as the other main characters in the book. I felt that the plot moved quickly enough  to keep me interested, but slowly enough to not feel rushed or like Cashore was trying to pour too many plot points into the story. Every aspect of the plot flowed together nicely and the love story was another aspect of the story that was really interesting. Katsa's love interest Po is well written and well rounded. It is easy to see how the two fit together and nothing feels forced.

I also loved the sequels Fire and Bitterblue which give background and depth to Katsa's story as one of the sequels takes place before Graceling and the other takes place years after. 

A must read!

Enjoy!