Tag: YA/MG Page 16 of 20

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

Harry Potter and the Cursed ChildHarry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One and Two (Special Rehearsal Edition)

by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
Series: Harry Potter, #8

Hardcover, 308 pg.
Scholastic, Inc., 2016
Read: September 2, 2016

I went into this with low expectations for a few reasons (negative buzz being one of many), and sadly had them all met — I don’t think anything were exceeded.

This is fan-fiction, pure and simple. Sure, it’s official fan-fiction written in conjunction with Rowling — but it’s not the same series, it doesn’t feel the same. It feels like someone’s trying to recapture what they had, in just a slightly different form. I’m fine with that — if people want to throw money at Rowling, Tiffany and Thorne for doing this? Let them. Let’s just not pretend it’s more than what it is.

The story primarily focuses on Harry and Ginny’s middle child, Albus. Albus is pretty uncomfortable living in the shadow of the Boy Who Lived — he doesn’t like the notoriety or pressure that comes with that territory. Which is absolutely understandable — especially now that he’s at Hogwarts, where Harry’s legend is strongest. Between that, and typical teenager strife with Dad leads Albus to take some really big risks with banned magical technology.

These risks center on time travel — and this is where it lost me. I just can’t stand the kind of stories where someone goes back in time with perfectly good intentions and messes things up, changing the future so much that it’s not recognizable. So then they (or someone else) have to go back in time again to prevent/minimize the damage. And magically, this second (or third) intervention restores everything back to the way it was before the time travelers left. Sure, this is a series in which magical things like that are clearly possible. But there’s possible and too-incredible. It almost doesn’t matter how good this story/execution was, I wouldn’t be crazy about it.

The writing was . . . okay. Nothing spectacular, nothing that had the same …”magic” as the other books in the series. It’s not as bad as many claim — but it’s not as good as others claim either. How some of this can be staged, I just can’t imagine. I’m not saying it can’t be — but wow, that’s a real technical challenge, I’d think.

There were some nice moments, some great fan-service stuff — and I’m very glad I got to meet Scorpius Malfoy. I’d rather spend time with him than any of the rest of the descendants of the original series, there’s something very cool about this kid. I should also mention that there’s some nice father-son moments with Harry and Albus.

On the whole, I’m glad I read this, but I really can’t get crazy about it.

—–

3 Stars

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

The Hidden OracleThe Hidden Oracle

by Rick Riordan
Series: Trials of Apollo, #1

Hardcover, 361 pg.
Disney-Hyperion, 2016

Read: August 31, 2016


Only 361 pages? Riordan is taking it easy on his readers. And maybe himself.

Anyway, following the events of The Heroes of Olympus, Zeus is a little displeased with Apollo and demonstrates this by turning him into a human teen (read: YA/MG novel star) and casting him to earth. He appears to be fully human — not even a demigod like Percy and the rest. Speaking of Percy, as soon as Apollo figures out what happened to him and where he is, he makes a beeline for Percy’s apartment to get help. Smart move. Percy gets him to Camp Halfblood and disappears back to NYC to do homework.

Once there, Apollo begins trying to figure out what quest he’ll have to do to return his status to quo. Along the way, he’ll make some friends, get a better perspective on himself and his offspring (yeah, that’s not weird), and maybe go through some of that personal growth. Note that I said, “some” personal growth and “better” perspective — that’s not saying much, basically Apollo comes across as a teenaged-Gilderoy Lockheart with a conscience. Instead of the large number of missions that we’ve become accustomed to in these books, there’s really just one (plus the series-arc mission) — such a nice change.

A lot of people from the Percy Jackson and The Heroes series are name-dropped and discussed, not to mention the few that we see — there’s even a nod to the Magnus Chase series — thankfully, my favorite is one of those who shows up in the flesh. There’s also a good amount of in-jokes to please the long-time fans. But readers new to this universe shouldn’t be put off by any of this — it’s absolutely approachable, maybe even moreso than anything since The Lightning Thief.

This is told in the typical breezy style that characterized non-adult mystery Riordan novels, but given the different protagonist, feels a little fresher. A little briefer, a little change of pace — still full of that Riordan magic. The Hidden Oracle is a sold first-entry in yet another adventure in this world. Give it a shot.

—–

3.5 Stars

Timothy Other: The Boy Who Climbed Marzipan Mountain by L. Sydney Abel

Timothy Other: The Boy Who Climbed Marzipan MountainTimothy Other: The Boy Who Climbed Marzipan Mountain

by L. Sydney Abel
Series: Timothy Other, #1

Kindle Edition, 325 pg.
Speaking Volumes, 2016

Read: August 11 – 13, 2016


A nameless boy is left at the Dreams and Hopes Orphanage (and don’t think I didn’t have to concentrate really hard not to flip those two every time I read/wrote the name) and is named Timothy Other — which is not the most interesting name in the book, trust me — where he spends the first twelve years of his life happy, healthy (insanely so) and cared for. Until the man who ran the orphanage dies and the bank takes ownership of the mortgaged-to-the-hilt facility. The people that take it over might as well have been Miss Hannigan and Dolores Umbridge.

Not surprisingly, Timothy wants something else in his life, runs away — and straight out of Candide ends up at Marzipan Mountain (his name for it); befriending a giant mouse, caterpillar and Sasquatch-like creature; and on the trail of his birth parents (something he learns much later); and a way to rescue the orphanage. Meanwhile, back home we learn about the nefarious schemes that are behind the takeover of the orphanage and the various motivations behind them.

Some of the subject matter and way it’s depicted seem a little more “adult,” dark or whatever than is acceptable for kids’ literature. On the whole (there might be a line or two I wouldn’t defend), this is silly and doesn’t give kids enough credit. It also ignores the history of these kind of books — from Lewis Carroll and J. M. Barrie to Rowling and Gaiman — kids can handle this stuff if presented right. Frequently better than adults can.

Eventually, Timothy and one of his new friends come back home to save the day, right wrongs, and give many the happy ending you expect given the genre and setup. There’s a bit of redemption, a bit of justice, and a lot of hope and love at work here — Dreams and Hopes, I guess you could say, as these various characters pursue the Golden Life and launch Timothy on further adventures in the sequel(s). All the makings of a good introductory novel for a series.

There’s a nice hat-tip to another British children’s fantasy series that should tickle everyone who catches it — and mean nothing at all to those who don’t.

With each major character (and most of the minor) there’s a moment or two, a couple of lines, or a scene that doesn’t seem to fit with what we’ve been told/seen about the character. It’d take too much space to illustrate this, but when you get to that scene (and you’ll recognize it just about every time), just shake it off and move on, Timothy or Edwin or Itling or whoever will get back to themselves soon.

I had a hard time nailing down the feel of this one, there’s sort of a fairy-tale feel to it. Not Grimm Brothers’ fairy-tale, but the warm-fuzzy kind (with a hint of the other), like J. K. Rowling-light. Even a dash Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle at the beginning. Later on, it morphs into a Neil Gaiman-esque children’s book feel. Now, Abel never quite hits the Rowling/MacDonald/Lewis/Gaiman tone exactly — which is good, he’s doing his own thing, but it’s in those ballparks. The one thing that would help his tone is a bit more economy of words — he takes a few too many to pull of the whimsy, the sense of play, that he seems to be going for.

Actually, that goes for pretty much the book as a whole — Abel could’ve trimmed just about everything a bit. It’s a slow read, which is not necessary a bad thing, I’ve got nothing against them. But I think it works against what he’s trying to do and I think I have a little more patience than the target audience would. I’m not saying it needs to be a hundred pages shorter — but it could read a little smoother, quicker. Really — how many people noticed the length of Goblet of Fire? You didn’t because of the way it was written (not just the exciting parts, either).

I want to be clear, I’m not saying the writing isn’t good — but the pacing and language are so close to being very good, the fact that he misses the target by a little emphasizes the fact that he missed it. This is a winsome and charming book that should enchant younger readers, if they just give it the opportunity.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post/my honest thoughts. I’d like to thank him for the book and for his patience, I took far too long with this.

—–

3 Stars

Korian and Lucy by Zoe Kalo

Updated 8/9: The author contacted me about this, and assured me that it was an editing mistake on her part that soured me on this story, which is exactly what I hoped it was, and that it’s been fixed in the current edition. Which I think makes this a 2-Star story now (maybe higher): I’m not sure it tells us anything we couldn’t assume from reading the first novel — maybe some of the characterization will play a role in later books. Instead of being bad, this is now just inessential. Still, I recommend the first book and plan on reading the second.

Korian and LucyKorian and Lucy

by Zoe Kalo
Series: Cult of the Cat, #.5

Kindle Edition, 24 pg.
2016

Read: July 12, 2016

17 years before the birth of Trinity . . .

That line right there? The setting, words 5-11 of the story, are what killed it for me. Killed it dead.

Why? This is the story about Trinity’s mother and father, their brief affair, setting off the events of Daughter of the Sun. Which means, unless one of the types of magic involved in worshiping Egyptian deities involves Seventeen Year Pregnancies, (I can’t imagine any mothers I know signing up for a religion that consigns them to pregnancies that last that long) this is a flawed and hastily edited story. There are other chronological issues, but let’s stick to that one.

Just when you’ve gotten comfortable in this story, just start getting to know the characters, the story just stops. It doesn’t end, it doesn’t resolve, it doesn’t leave on a cliff-hanger. It stops and says look for part 2! Are you kidding me?

This is racier than Daughter, easily. Where Daughter suggested, hinted, pointed at Trinity and Ara’s sexuality, this story throws it in your face. It’s not over the top, but it’s very tonally different.

It’s not all bad — the fling/affair/romance between Korian and Lucy had promise; we get the idea that Trinity’s beloved grandmother wasn’t really all the fantastic, but is more realistic; and the wheels are set in motion that will result in the events of Daughter in a mere 34 years or so.

If only this was a complete story. If only this actually made any kind of chronological sense. If only . . . I could’ve liked this as much as I liked the first novel. But, it didn’t. You’re better off not reading this one, folks. Check back for the second novel, but spend your time doing something else.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this story by the author in exchange for my honest thoughts. Much to her chagrin, no doubt.

—–

1 1/2 Stars

United States of Books – The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

The Witch of Blackbird PondThe Witch of Blackbird Pond

by Elizabeth George Speare

Author: Wendy at booklovercircumspect4

Synopsis from Goodreads

Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives’ stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit’s friendship with the “witch” is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!

Review

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is an historical novel and a love story. The main character, Kit, was raised by her grandfather in Barbados. When her grandfather dies, she leaves Barbados on a ship named the Dolphin to find her aunt and uncle in Connecticut. Needless to say, her aunt and uncle doesn’t know that she is coming.

Upon her arrival to her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Mercy’s home in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where she also has two cousins, Mercy (who is handicapped) and Judith. Kit’s life is far different from her life in Barbados, where she is forced to do chores and attend church, which she clearly hates. Kit becomes happier when she and Mercy began teaching the younger children in her town. An incident happens at the school and it is shut down, and Kit runs away and she meets Hannah Tupper, an older lady that has been outlawed from the colony. While visiting Hannah, she again runs into Nat Eaton, son of the captain of the Dolphin, and Kat falls in love with him.

A deadly illness sweeps through the town and Hannah is accused of being a witch and is to be killed. Kit warns Hannah who escapes with the help Nat and his boat. The town is also accusing Kit of being a witch and she must prove her innocence when Nat returns to Westherfield.

Does Nat return help Kit? Is Kit found to be a witch? Or is she able to escape Connecticut and return to Barbados? You will have to read the book.

I give this book three out of four onions. This book is rich in American history and is a commonly read book for older grade schoolers. It also has a nice mixture of romance, politics and suspense. It really is a good read especially for young adults.

Daughter of the Sun by Zoe Kalo

Daughter of the SunDaughter of the Sun

by Zoe Kalo
Series: Cult of the Cat, #1

Kindle Edition, 330 pg.
2016

Read: July 1- 4, 2016


This one won me over — I spent a lot of time not enjoying it at all. I thought the characters were flat, predictable, unoriginal — and frequently acting like 11 year-olds rather than 17 year-olds. The plot was pretty obvious, the twists were telegraphed, the romance was cliché and dull. I frankly was only reading it because I had agreed to do this tour today.

But . . .

Somewhere around the 60% mark I noticed that I was into the story, and I had been for awhile.

All of the above remains true — but Kalo writes with an engaging style and gets you to like Trinity, her cousin, and just about everyone else (except the people you’re supposed to not like). You like them, you want to see them make it, and are rooting for them.

I don’t have much to say, really. It works: it’s entertaining, it’s engaging, it’s a Kane Chronicles for older readers. Could it have been better? Yes. But most books could. Read the blurb, if it sounds like the kind of book you might like, check it out — you’ll likely be satisfied.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for this post.

—–

3 Stars

This Review is a part of the Blogger Outreach Program by b00k r3vi3w Tours

Daughter of the Sun (Cult of the Cat series, Book 1) by Zoe Kalo Book Tour

Welcome to our Book Tour stop for Daughter of the Sun. In addition to this blurb about the book and author I’ve got my take on the book coming up soon.

Book Details:

Title: Daughter of the Sun (Cult of the Cat series, Book 1)
Author: Zoe Kalo
Genre: YA mythological fantasy
Page count: 330 pages
Release date: May 1, 2016

Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Trinity was born during a solar eclipse and left at the doorsteps of a convent along with a torn piece of papyrus covered with ancient symbols. Raised by nuns in the English countryside, she leads a quiet life until she’s whisked away to the Island of Cats and a grandmother she never knew.

But before they can get to know each other, her grandmother dies. All that Trinity has left is a mysterious eye-shaped ring. And a thousand grieving cats. As Trinity tries to solve the enigma of the torn papyrus, she discovers a world of bloody sacrifices and evil curses, and a prophecy that points to her and her new feline abilities.

Unwilling to believe that any of the Egyptian gods could still be alive, Trinity turns to eighteen-year-old Seth and is instantly pulled into a vortex of sensations that forces her to confront her true self—and a horrifying destiny.

About the Author:

A certified bookworm, Zoe Kalo has always been obsessed with books and reading. Reading led to writing—compulsively. No surprise that at 16, she wrote her first novel, which her classmates read and passed around secretly. The pleasure of writing and sharing her fantasy worlds has stayed with her, so now she wants to pass her stories to you with no secrecy—but with lots of mystery.

A daughter of adventurous expats, she’s had the good fortune of living on 3 continents, learning 4 languages, and experiencing a multicultural life. Currently, she’s working on a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature, which she balances between writing, taking care of her clowder of cats, and searching for the perfect bottle of pinot noir.

For More Info:

Author’s Website: www.ZoeKalo.com
Facebook
Twitter

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Sun-Cult-Cat-Book-ebook/dp/B01DRDUQW8

This Review is a part of the Blogger Outreach Program by b00k r3vi3w Tours

Dorothy Must Die (Audiobook) by Danielle Paige, Devon Sorvari

Dorothy Must DieDorothy Must Die

by Danielle Paige, Devon Sorvari (Narrator)
Series: Dorothy Must Die, #1

Unabridged Audiobook, 14 hours and 12 minutes
HarperAudio, 2016

Read: May 25 – 27, 2016


So, imagine a world where Baum’s books (and that movie) are present and beloved — but also, are non-fiction (not that anyone who isn’t from our world gets that). I think that made sense. Anyway…in modern-day Kansas, there’s a girl, Amy Gumm, who isn’t having the best time. Her mother lives (well, exists) in a drug and alcohol-induced stupor. She has a pet rat (who she hates), and not much else in her life, other than a dream of getting out.

This being a story about Oz that starts in Kansas, a tornado hits. And, lo and behold, it transports Amy, her trailer house and the rat to Oz. But it’s not the Oz Dorothy landed in anymore.

There’s a new ruler — Ozma and the Wizard are out (well, Ozma’s technically in charge, but she’s not). Magic is being changed — corrupted, stolen. The realm is in ruins — Oz is a dystopia, and the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow are mutated, monstrous versions of themselves and Dorothy is behind it all. Amy is recruited — as an otherworlder, it has to be her — by a group of rebels to kill Dorothy.

It’s got all the makings of something interesting, and just isn’t. It’s not bad, it’s just dull. The excesses that Dorothy and her friends indulge in are predictable and unimpressive. The last chapter or so really only existed to push things into a sequel.

Actually, I’m just going to stop at this point — I don’t care enough to carry on. And if I did, I’m afraid this would come across as a critique or a tearing-down of the book. And I don’t want it to be, because I wasn’t provoked enough to do that. I was generally (not wholly) unmoved.

As far as the audio performance goes — I just didn’t appreciate whatever Sorvari was doing. The narration seemed angry, clipped. And yes, that matches Amy (especially early on) — fine. But I don’t need to hear 14 hours of ticked off descriptions of scenery, character appearances, etc.

I may, if the Library has a copy, get around to the next volume — but I’m not going to worry too much about it. It wasn’t a waste of time, I liked bits of it, but on the whole — it just didn’t do anything for me. The story was okay; the narrator was frequently annoying, but otherwise was okay. With such a promising premise, it’s disappointing that nothing much was done with it.

—–

2 1/2 Stars

The Quest for Merlin: Magimakía by Rafael Lovato

The Quest for MerlinThe Quest for Merlin

by Rafael Lovato
Series: Magimakía, Book 1

Kindle Edition, 286 pg.
Howling Wolf, 2016

Read: June 20 – 22, 2016

I guess this is life. Maybe, strange things happen without much meaning.

The number of strange things happening around Oliver is pretty large.

So, hundreds of years ago, Merlin put himself in a suspended animation of sorts, and hid his body behind some clever little puzzle — like a video game. Wizards have made a few attempts to find him, but they haven’t worked out (obviously). The last attempt ended in death, destruction and betrayal.

More than a decade later, it’s time for another shot — one last shot. Merlin’s last male descendant, Oliver (although I’m not really sure about the math on that — sure, he’s a dork and awkward with females, but there’s no reason to think that Oliver couldn’t have kids). Oliver has no clue that he’s a Wizard (I guess the owl from Hogwarts got lost), his mother’s memory has been magically wiped, so she has no clue, either.

Oliver’s kidnapped (for his own good) and whisked away to begin to learn about his heritage while being introduced to a world of elves, witches, trolls, goblins, demons, seraphs and more. Most of whom are on the verge of war with each other, and only Merlin can stop it.

Oliver, a mind-reading goblin, a couple of attractive adolescent witches (he’s a 15-year-old nerd, of course that’s how he categorizes them), and an old friend of his father are the key to bringing back Merlin and saving the world. This isn’t your typical Merlin — or your typical anything — beyond the very typical socially awkward teenage male protagonist.

The plot, on the whole, was so-so. It got the job done, but never really grabbed me. The characters were . . . all right. Nothing special, nothing we haven’t seen before, but nothing eye-roll inducing or annoying. The world-building was very detailed, intriguing, and impressive — although sometime it wasn’t explained clearly. Still, if anything would bring me back for a second novel, it’d be the world-building. I don’t think the chapters of Goblins speaking to Goblins were anywhere near as funny as Lovato seemed to think they were, but I admire the fact that he stuck with them for as long as he did.

There were a few quirks that caught my eye — each race’s magic is characterized by a color, and Lovato spends a lot of time talking about them — so much so that I wondered if Hal Jordan and the Guardians of Oa were going to show up. I’m not sure I remember reading anything where the hero gets knocked out so often — it’s worse than Daredevil, Season 1. It’s not a huge thing, but there’s a difference between someone being a novice/rookie and someone being pathetically helpless. Reduce the knock-outs by 20% and I probably wouldn’t say anything.

My main complaint was the language — a few idiomatic phrases were off, the dialogue was frequently stilted, a lot of the word choices were not wrong, but certainly not right. About halfway through the book, I skipped ahead and read about the author — the fact that he’s a non-native English speaker explained just about every problem I had with the mechanics of the writing and I was able to ignore them. That’s precisely how it reads, and if I’d known that going in, I’d probably have enjoyed the whole experience a little more. Still, far too often Lovato uses three words when one would do.

Not a great book, but an entertaining read — and at the end of the day, that’s enough. For a little atypical YA fantasy, this would be well worth a look.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for this post, the honest thoughts contained above, and participation in the Book Tour.

—–

3 Stars


GUEST POST: Behind the Scenes – Rafael Lovato


Rafael LovatoMagimakía – the quest for Merlin is the first book of a contemporary fantasy series for Young Adults that explores the universe of RPG and MMORPG. In it, Oliver, a naive young virgin bullied 15 year old boy, without any knowledge of magic, trying to find the mage Merlin and save the Order of Mages and Witches of undoubted extinction, ends his journey victim of a magnificent and at the same time terrible event.

From a young age I always wanted to write a fantasy novel, because of my experience with (MMO)RPG games like Diablo and World of Warcraft. The magical universe, the battles and the powerful characters fascinated me. But writing a fantasy book is not something simple. So, after five books published and feeling capable of a foray into this universe, I finally wrote Magimakía – The search for Merlin.

The first step was to choose about what would be the story, and what kind of races and powers I would use in it. Since I always liked fantasy movies, and there was no way for me to escape this influence, I took Tolkien’s idea of introducing demons as non-religious entities (from ​​Lord of the Rings, the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog). Alongside the demons, I brought angels, who resemble paladins, also not religious, and mages, witches, elves, trolls and goblins.

Regarding the writing itself, to construct the history I used the Hollywood structure, with the characteristics turning points structure (10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 95%). Also, took great care to develop the “arc of the characters”, and build well-marked voices for the three book narratives: Benjamin, goblins and Oliver. The scenes and sequels respect the international structure (Scene: objective, obstacle and disaster; sequel: reaction dilemma and decision), and wrote the entire text within the MRU’s technique (motivation and reaction units).

The story itself respects the dynamics of the RPG universe, with close attention to powers mathematics. This means that all races powers are balanced, as well as the most powerful entities. To a careful analysis, you can identify that in the mechanics of battles there are warriors, generals, mini-bosses, bosses, and world bosses. This engine respects the dynamics of RPG games, to appeal to the book’s target audience, who are young adult video-gamers aged 12 to 25 (and adults too, of course).

The book was originally written in Portuguese and published in Brazil by Editora Zap Book (eBook and print) and in Portugal by Editora Chiado (print and eBook), both in June/15. Availing the fact that I speak English fluently, I wrote the English version of the book, and introduced it to a US editor, for editing. I was fortunate to present the manuscript to Ravenswood, who did not hesitate to offer me a publishing contract.

About myself, I am a well-established Brazilian author with six books commercially published, being Magimakía – the quest for Merlin the latest. Recently the Oxford University Press bought a short story of my to use in their courseware as writing model for fiction short stories, already published in the book Portuguese language for 6th grade, by Oxford. Magimakía already is the best-selling book of my Brazilian Publisher, which is starting a national advertising campaign of the book.


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