Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

Based on the screenplay by David Leslie Johnson

Pages: 329

Publisher: Poppy

“Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henry, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tries to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home.
After her sister's violent death, Valerie's world begins to spiral out of control. For generations, the Wolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But now no one is safe. When an expert Wolf hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them--it could be anyone in town.
It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of the creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the blood moon wanes...or everyone she loves will die.”

"Once upon a time...there was a girl, and there was a wolf."

Yes, this is the book behind the thriller Red Riding Hood. Well, actually this is the book based on the screenplay of the movie. At first I was a bit skeptical about this book. A book based on a screen play...ugh. But then I read the book, and OH MY GOODNESS it is so good. The main character is engaging, the premise entrancing, and trust me when I say that they don't make plots more exciting than this one. This novel is charged with an air of mystery and suspense that kept me flipping pages as fast as I could. This is not your grandmother's little red riding hood.

Valerie, our "Little Red", is a strong female protagonist (which I absolutely L-O-V-E) who leads us into a world steeped in fear, superstition, and utter...epicness. (Yes I have just used that word.) The raw feel of the world with its twisted, scared characters and its dark impenetrable depths just sends delicious tingles through your mind. It draws you in, slowly, inch by inch, until you are completely absorbed in the story. The village of Daggerhorn is a scary place. (Though nothing can scare me more than the world of Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. A world without books...the HORROR!) Still, the wary nature of the villagers tends to rub off on you a bit - I do not recommend reading this in your yard at night. Trust me when I say that the neighbors gigantic hairy dog will scare you senseless. This, obviously, is because the novel centers around one very big, very hairy, very scary werewolf. This is most definitely not one of those versions where the wolf ends up running a muffin shop with Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother, (by the way, I've read this version and like it very much). I don't think I've ever read a reinterpreted fable darker than this one, and believe me when I say that I read a ton of them. Now, don't let me scare you off. This novel may be dark and creepy and gory and...anyway, it also has romance! Who can't resist a good love triangle set in the middle of a bloodbath, right?

Now on to the downside (you just new that was coming, didn't you?), this novel doesn't have a proper ending folks. That's right, in an attempt to milk you for every cent they can, the geniuses behind this trap finish up the book with "Is this truly the end of Valerie's Story? Visit www.redridinghoodbook.com to find out". Guess what? When you get to the site, there is nada, zipo, zilch more story. So looks like I'm gonna be heading to the movies pretty soon...

The big picture: Red Riding Hood is a surprisingly good novel with some definite entertainment value. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t mind it when people mooch money off of you (which I do mind, but hey…)

Not My Usual Bookish Fodder

I saw this great article about a Book Expresso Machine. Yes, you heard me right, a book expresso machine. After reading the article and watching the video, I just had to share it with you guys. This machine literal pops out books. Out of stock books, out of print books, your own books. How cool is that?



Check out the article here.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Pages: 472

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Revolution completely blew me away. Jennifer Donnelly has without a doubt written the best young adult novel of 2010. With beautifully crafted prose, this novel captures the heart and the mind and entangles them in the life of Andi Alpers, one of the most engaging protagonists to ever grace the pages of a novel. Andi and her eighteenth century counterpart Alexandrine’s struggles leap off the pages and truly draw the reader into the story. This folks is one of those novels that you read under your desk during class instead of balancing equations, even though you risk the wrath of your professor by doing so. It’s that good.

When we meet Andi Alpers, she is lost in grief. Her grades are falling, her heart is broken, and she just doesn’t know what to do with herself, except for playing her guitar. To top it off, she’s on the verge of being expelled. Enter the father that’s been absent from her life for months and months. He got a letter from the school about her abysmal grades, and now he wants to take her to Paris with him so he can make sure that she finishes the outline for her senior thesis. And he’s also putting her mother in a mental hospital. Sounds great, huh? Needless to say, Andi is very angry. Heck, I was angry for her when I read it. But when she gets to Paris she meets an amazing young man named Virgil and becomes entangled in the life of a young woman who died over two centuries before Andi was even born. This young woman of the French Revolution, Alexandrine Paradis, leads Andi on a journey that sets her on the path to healing the wound that has almost pushed her over the edge numerous times. The blend of modern and historical, fact and fiction, all adds up to create a novel like nothing else you’ve ever read.

Revolutions is so incredibly captivating that my attempt to review the main points of this novel turned into an entire re-reading. The moment I picked it up again, I just couldn’t put it down. The emotions, the history, the relationships, all seem so real. Immediately after finishing this book I began recommending it to everyone I know, from my best friend to my grandmother. The ending of this novel – it’s as far from floppy as you can possibly get. At first, I was a little bit saddened that Andi didn’t really get closure with her dad. But as her guitar instructor, Nathan, sagely tells her “This word closure…it is a stupid word, ja?” It wasn’t until after I read Revolution for the second time that I realized Andi really does make peace with her life and that maybe closure is a stupid word. The more I thought about it, the more I began to see applications in my own life. Everybody has their own pain, including me. I began to see that letting go of past suffering, but never closing the door on it, might be the best way to heal.

The big picture: Jennifer Donnelly created a masterpiece. Revolution truly transcends time, in more ways than one. Not just with its beautiful writing, captivating characters, or historic details, but with its ability to reach out and touch anyone who has ever felt lost.

*On a side note, reading this novel sparked an interest in the French Revolution that allowed me to better appreciate Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. After reading Revolution, I encourage anyone who did not like reading A Tale of Two Cities in school to give it another try.

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines

Pages: 324

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Girl in the Arena has a good premise. A bit of dystopia, some Roman influence, and a mite of romance. However, (don’t you just hate howevers) the execution was a little lacking and the ending…ugh. To put it nicely, the ending qualifies as one of the floppiest flops of all time, in my very humble opinion. But Wait! I’m not saying you should give up on this book entirely. It’s definitely not a classic, but it does have some entertainment value. And what I consider to be a flop might not be what you consider to be a flop. One woman’s floppy ending is another woman’s not-so-floppy ending, or something like that.

To be fair, this book is fast-paced and exciting. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy reading it. From the initial introduction of Gladiator Sports Association (GSA) to heart wrenching deaths and a disturbing final showdown, the plot of this novel moves at the speed of light. So the score is evened up, minus one for floppy ending, plus one for fast-paced plot.

Granted, this book does address some of the problems we face in the US and other countries. For instance, violence. You can’t turn on the news or pick up a magazine without news of some war or tragedy slapping you across the face. And it’s hard to hear sirens without worrying that someone you care about is the victim in need of help. As if there isn’t enough violence in the world, people then go see movies where heads roll and pain is entertainment. It brings to mind the French Revolution, when beheadings were an event for the whole family to enjoy. Well, the family can once again enjoy violence together by watching the gladiators duke it out to the death. Sounds pretty coldhearted, right? But when you really think about it, the jump between our society and theirs really isn’t that far. Lyn, the main character, details the evolution of the sport from backyard games to death matches between death-row prisoners to the bloody center of American culture. As is the true purpose of dystopian literature, Girl in the Arena points out a path that society could take, and makes the reader reexamine the world around them. I think that deserves five points in favor of Girl in the Arena.

Now on to the main character, Lyn. First impression: I like Lyn, she’s a strong, independent young woman who truly loves her family. But then she had to go and fall for the guy who murdered her seventh father. The guy she was going to be forced to marry. (Okay, I love a good arranged marriage romance, but I like them set on the western frontier during the 1800s. And I don’t like it when the guy in question killed the girl’s father. Although this is the only book I’ve ever read where that happens.) So the romance in this novel, that’s minus two points. If I’m correct the score now stands at 4 for and 3 against.

For details on the floppy ending, you’ll really need to read the book yourself, but I just want to say something about willing suspension of disbelief. Magic and all sorts of crazy stuff can be believable in a story as long as it is realistic to the world in which it is created. That’s willing suspension of disbelief. But the ending of this novel…it just doesn’t work. It doesn’t fit into the world that the author created.

The big picture: Don’t write off Girl in the Arena, but if you’re looking for the next Katniss, you won’t find her here.

Dust by Joan Frances Turner

Dust by Joan Frances Turner

Pages: 384

Publisher: Ace

*Readers should note that this is a work of adult fiction. Dust contains frequent use of coarse language and disturbing imagery.*

“Jessie’s gang is the Fly-by-Nights. She loves the ancient, skeletal Florian and his memories of time gone by. She’s in love with Joe, a maggot-infested corpse. They fight, hunt, dance together as one—something humans can never understand. There are dark places humans have learned to avoid, lest they run into the zombie gangs.

But now, Jessie and the Fly-by-Nights have seen new creatures in the woods—things not human and not zombie. A strange new illness has flamed up out of nowhere, causing the undeads to become more alive and the living to exist on the brink of death. As bits and pieces of the truth fall around Jessie, like the flesh off her bones, she’ll have to choose between looking away or staring down the madness—and hanging onto everything she has come to know as life…”

To Zombie or not to Zombie, that is the question. When it comes to the characters from Dust, it would be in your best interest not to mention the ‘z’ word. The Fly-by-Nights, the main zombie gang in this novel, live in the woods where they eat very fresh meat, fight amongst themselves, and complain about how much it itches to have bugs devouring their flesh. Sounds like your typical zombies, right? Wrong. Dust is a new zombie novel, one that will have you sympathizing with, even routing for these flesh devouring foes of humanity. In fact, Jessie, the engaging protagonist of this novel, is a zombie herself.

Jessie died nine years before this story starts, but she is still very much alive. She eats, sleeps, walks, and feels. She’s even in love. But she and her gang are most definitely not human. They prefer to eat flesh still warm with the heat of the dead animal, they can communicate telepathically, and they’re basically walking corpses.

In a grotesque way, the lives of these living-dead are absolutely fascinating. Sure, it takes a little while to get used to all the raw meat, fighting, and decomposing, but who can resist a good zombie novel, especially one with as much heart as Dust. Part one establishes the regular inner workings of the gang, and introduces the cast of characters. Part two is where things start to get fishy. Humans are starting to behave more like zombies and zombies are starting to behave more like humans. It’s unclear if either race will survive.

Dust is an adventure. Albeit a slightly disturbing one, an adventure none the less. A faced paced novel (frankly it’s a good one to read on the treadmill because it helps you lose track of time) that will keep you on your toes. Many of the harrowing final scenes had me bighting my nails, hoping against hope that Jessie would receive a happy ending.

The big picture: While Dust is not a novel for the faint of heart, it certainly brings an intriguing new slant to the world of zombie fiction.

Sequel Alert: The author announced that the sequel to Dust, Frail, should be arriving in a bookstore near you sometime during the next two years.

Whisper My Name by Jane Eagland

Whisper My Name by Jane Eagland

Pages: 395

Publisher: Macmillan

Jane Eagland is one of the best historical novelists, ever. Her first novel, Wildthorn, blew me away, and Whisper My Name is even better. Both of her works have such twists and turns, such mystery – you just never know where the next page will take you. Her novels remind me a bit of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s books. High praise indeed as they were very important to my childhood. I have no doubt that Whisper My Name is a novel that will pass the test of time. Its portrayal of Victorian London, its shocking mystery, its intrepid heroine, all create a book more than worth its weight in gold.

Whisper My Name achieves an amazing feet by appealing to both lovers of historical fiction and those who tend to avoid it. The plot is so enthralling that it’s easy to forget the genre of the work. However, it still contains various historical nuances that will appeal to the history lover. As the novel begins, Meriel, the heroine, has just lost her mother, been sent away by her father, and is now journeying to live with a grandfather she has never met. While her grandfather turns out to be just as cold and distant as he is odd, Meriel finds a friend in a maid named Sally and a medium named Sophie. With their help, she begins to unravel a mystery that could change her life…

Meriel is the perfect protagonist for this novel, flawed, but with her heart in the right place. It’s easy to take her side against the injustices dished up by her grandfather and to cheer her on in all her endeavors. Behind her stands a memorable cast of characters who truly enrich the story. I have to say that Sophie, the reluctant medium, is my favorite character in this novel. She is just one of those people who are truly, truly good at heart. Sophie offers quiet support and friendship to Meriel, even when she might face unpleasant consequences for her actions. She just might be the most perfect friend who ever existed (besides my BFF, of course).

The big picture: Whisper My Name is historical fiction for the most ardent history lovers and those who avoid the genre at all costs. It has an intriguing plot full of twists and turns and well-crafted writing. Jane Eagland is an author to watch.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Pages: 448

Publisher: HarperCollins

“Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love - the deliria - blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.”

With this novel, Lauren Oliver has perhaps perfected the genre of dystopia. Delirium contains the perfect balance of classic dystopian traits and wholly unique storytelling. Though Delirium is only one in the plethora of recently released dystopian fiction for young adults, it centers on a theme left behind by many, love. Many of you are thinking that The Hunger Games or perhaps Matched deal with love, but Delirium takes the topic to a whole new level. In the cities, a medical procedure has almost entirely eradicated love in citizens eighteen years and older. Love, or amor deliria nervosa, is regarded as a disease. And so the stage is set for the entrance of our heroine, Lena Haloway.

Lena is no Katniss, but she certainly gained my respect. Reared to fear love, Lena must reevaluate everything she believes in when she begins to exhibit signs of the deliria. Lauren Oliver portrays the conflicted emotions that plague Lena so vividly that readers truly experience her journey as if it were their own. Fear, elation, wonder, sadness, all of these feelings and more leap from the page.

This novel may focus on love, but adventure isn’t far behind. Lena weaves in and out of many a dangerous situation. From narrowly escaping a few brushes with the law, to entering the scariest prison short of Azkaban, Lena’s adventures will keep anyone on their toes.

Delirium is truly a well-crafted novel. The depth of emotion and the spot-on writing set this novel apart. My only complaint is the cliffhanger ending. There is nothing more irritating than being left hanging after you have become entirely engrossed in a story. On the bright side, the cliffhanger means that a few more novels will be coming our way.

In October, Lauren Oliver announced that the next two titles in the Delirium trilogy will be Pandemonium and Requiem. I can’t wait for the next installment in Lena’s story!

The big picture: Delirium is the best dystopian novel since Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451. With vivid prose, an engaging character, and a plot that could set a dead man’s heart racing, Delirium goes above and beyond the average teen novel.

*A huge thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of this fabulous novel.

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Pages: 359

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

"Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.
Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart."

 

                The Iron Fey is one of the best series I’ve read in a very long time. It is so fresh, imaginative, and exciting. Every twist and turn, every new character, every reunion and heartbreaking parting is like a jewel to pick up and savor. This is one of those books that I’ve been recommending to friends and family of all ages. It has a plot to die for, depth of character development, and engenders real emotions. Our heroine, Meghan Chase, is smart, funny, and not afraid to get her hands dirty. In short, it’s the best kind of book. The kind that picks you up and carries you away to a place where magic and fairies are real.

                This story picks up after Meghan Chase has arrived at the court of the Winter fey. All the events that occur within the first few chapters could be a novel within themselves. Betrayal, murder, deceit, theft, it all occurs in such a short time that it will leave your head spinning, in the best sense. After Meghan and Ash escape the palace of the Winter Fey, things get even more complicated, if that’s possible. The duo find out that some of the Fey have defected to the Iron Fey, and seek to create trouble in Faerie. As the journey progresses, Meghan reunites with an old friend, teams up with a former enemy, and trudges through layers of deceit that threaten to destroy both the world of the Fey and the world of the mortals.

                The first book in The Iron Fey series impressed me so much that I wasn’t sure The Iron Daughter could live up to my expectations. However, this installment proved my doubts to be completely unfounded. The Iron Daughter blew me away with its vivid  depiction of the world of the Fey.  It’s so easy to find yourself completely lost in the story, caught up in the adventure, excitement, and beautiful detail.

                As with many books these days, The Iron Daughter features a love triangle. The triangle in this book features Ash, the Winter Prince, and Puck, the best friend.  When I started reading the series, I was firmly in the Team Puck corner, but the farther I read, the more I wanted Meghan to end up with Ash. The problem with love triangles like this is that both of the boys are good guys. It's so hard to choose between them, knowing that one of their hearts will have to be broken. So, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Are you team Ash or Team Puck? Why? Leave me a comment below.

                The big picture: The Iron Daughter is a fairy tale for those of us who have matured beyond Cinderella and Snow White (or at least those of us who pretend that we have), but long for a tale with the feel of those old stories. It has magic and wonder in spades and always keeps you on your toes. This novel is a must-read.  

Don't forget to leave a comment telling me if you are Team Ash or Team Puck!

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Pages: 228

Publisher: Hyperion

"After a close encounter with the front end of a school bus, Alona Dare goes from Homecoming Queen to Queen of the Dead. Now she’s stuck as a spirit in the land of the living with no sign of the big, bright light to take her away. To make matters worse, the only person who might be able to help her is Will Killian, a total loser outcast. He alone can see and hear (turns out he’s been “blessed” with the ability to communicate with the dead), but he wants nothing to do with the former mean girl of Groundsboro High.

Alona has never needed anyone for anything, and now she’s supposed to expose her deepest, darkest secrets to this pseudo-goth boy? Right. She’s not telling anyone what really happened the day she died, not even to save her eternal soul. And Will’s not filling out any volunteer forms to help her cross to the other side. He only has a few more weeks until his graduation, when he can strike out on his own and find a place with less spiritual interference. But he has to survive and stay out of the psych ward until then. Can they get over their mutual distrust—and the weird attraction between them—to work together before Alona vanishes for good and Will is locked up for seeing things that don’t exist?"

If you asked me to sum up this book in one word I would say cute. If you gave me three I would say cute but predictable. However, this is my standard assessment of just about every work of romantic, for lack of a better word, comedy.


The basic premise of the story is that Alona Dare (your typical it girl with a secret) takes a fatal step in front of a bus and ends up as a ghost, spirit, or whatever term you’d like to use. In her incorporeal form she learns that her friends were never really friendly and that the entire school hates her, etc. So far, just a typical plot. Enter Will Killian. Will is Alona’s exact opposite, for one thing he’s goth (hence The Ghost and the Goth) and he despises all things popular. But you know what they say about opposites. After meeting up with some of the other spirits haunting the school, Alona realizes that Will can see and hear her. One thing leads to another and the two are practically joined at the hip because of certain agreements and arrangements, some voluntary and some quiet unexpected. So, the pair work together to free Will from the hoards of ghosts asking him to help them find the light, settle some unresolved issues, and manage to keep Will from getting locked up in the loony bin. Sounds good, right? The problem is Alona keeps disappearing, and one time, she may not come back.


The Ghost and the Goth is a very quick read, practically one sitting. It has some exciting moments, and it definitely holds your interest, but it’s no classic. The story line is, as I said, cute and predictable. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you’re anything like me, you need a break between those hard-core murder/assault/death novels. The Ghost and the Goth is the perfect filler, or as I like to say “fluffy”, novel to clear the mind before tackling another serious subject.


This novel is nice the way it is, but I wish that the plot had received a little more development. It could have had some real elements of exciting action. The seeds of the idea are there, but they didn’t sprout or grow.


The big picture: The Ghost and the Goth is a cute romantic story. It doesn’t require deep thought, and it has no anxiety ridden moments. I would recommend that you take this book on vacation with you. It’s a perfect beach read, quick, light, and funny.

Guest Post: Sybil Nelson in the Voice of Priscilla the Great

Hey everybody, I've got a real treat for you today! Sybil Nelson, the author of  Priscilla the Great, has provided me with a blog post in Priscilla's voice. The topic: Twilight. As you can probably imagine, this is a topic that provides numerous laughs.

But first, let me introduce you to Priscilla.

"Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.

Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner!"

You can find out more about Sybil anf Priscilla here or here.

My Twilight Book Review by Priscilla Sumner a.k.a Probably the Last Person on the Planet who has Neither Read the Book Nor Seen the Movie.
I admit it. I’m probably the only 13 year old girl who has completely stayed away from Twilight. I’ve never read a single sentence of the book, and God knows I have not seen any midnight viewings of the wildly popular movies. But I still wanted to give my summary of a book that I’ve never read to see how close I come.
Okay, so Bella is a small town girl who apparently never smiles and who obviously can’t get a date with a normal boy thus her only two options are a vampire and a werewolf. Seriously, are there no jocks at her school? Anyway, she meets Edward and it’s love at first sight or something. Or maybe she’s blinded by his skin which I hear glitters in the sunlight. A hot and heavy romance begins with probably some really awesome make out scenes. Maybe I should read the book just for the make out scenes.
Now Edward is not all he seems to be. He’s hundreds of years old, but apparently he has the same sort of syndrome as Matthew McConaughey’s character from Dazed and Confused where he has a thing for teenage girls. He “keeps getting older, they stay the same age.” Gross.
Edward’s family doesn’t like Bella. They probably want to eat her or drink her blood or whatever. But Edward has found a soul mate in this girl who is a fraction of his age and I’m sure he swears to protect her or whatever.
Enter furry little Jacob. I think Jacob is poor and homeless or has an upper body allergy to clothing, thus his lack of a shirt in all the Twilight promos I see.  Anyway, I think Bella at one point had a puppy she loved as child and therefore she feels some sort of attraction to a werewolf. Just so you know I’m not completely out of it, I know that later on he turns out to be a shapeshifter. I think that is even less appealing to me as the only shapeshifter I know is that weird looking guy from Star Trek Deep Space Nine.
Jacob and Edward hate each other. I’m not sure why. I guess Vampires and Werewolfs have some kind of long standing rivalry like the Red Sox and the Yankees or maybe they just don’t enjoy the taste of each other’s saliva on Bella’s tongue.
So a bunch of stuff happens but what it really comes down to is that Bella has to choose between Edward and Jacob. Of course, she chooses Edward and they live happily ever after on his retirement benefits.
So that’s Twilight from the perspective of a girl who has not read the book. Am I close? Let me know.
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Priscilla is a character from the new book Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson. Visit her website www.priscillathegreat.com for more info.