Tagged: masq1
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
(Cover picture courtesy of In Between Writing and Reading.)
My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.
All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys and keep on being ordinary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.
Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won’t leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a “special home” for troubled teens. Yet the home isn’t what it seems. Don’t tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my classmates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It’s up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House…before its skeletons come back to haunt me.
Do you like urban fantasy but are sick of all the clichés that usually come with it? Well, have I got the book for you!
The Summoning starts out as a typical urban fantasy novel: the protagonist, Chloe, seeing something no one else can see. But soon the plot twists and Chloe ends up in a group home where all is not as it seems. When Chloe learns the truth about Lyle House, she decides to act, but is betrayed by someone she thought was her friend.
Chloe is a realistic and believable character with flaws that will help readers identify with her. She can be kind and caring, but also selfish and petty. It is these seemingly contradictory characteristics that make her such a complex, believable character, which is what Kelley Armstrong was going for.
The only thing I think fell short was the fact that there was never really an adequate explanation for the source of Chloe’s powers. It may just be me, but I like it when writers explain the source of magic in their books. It makes the world-building seem a bit more complete. What do you think? Do you like it when writers explain magic to you?
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Run Like Jäger by Karen Bass
(Cover picture courtesy of Amazon.)
Kurt Schreiber has come to Germany for his final year of high school. He says it’s to improve his German. But he also hopes to learn what Opa—his grandfather—did during World War Two. Because Opa never talks about it.
At school, Kurt meets Marta, a girl who wants to be his friend, maybe more. And Peter, a tough guy who calls him a coward an wants to beat him up. Kurt escapes into something he does well—he’s an excellent runner. But running doesn’t solve his problems.
One evening, in a graveyard, Kurt meets Herr Brandt, Opa’s boyhood friend. Maybe he can tell Kurt what he wants to know.
But is Kurt ready to hear it?
There are many books in the YA genre that deal with World War II, but Run Like Jäger is by far one of the best. Unlike many books, it deals with WWII from a German perspective. Kurt, the protagonist, comes to Germany to learn what happened during the war that made his grandfather so reluctant to talk about it. He does eventually learn the truth and it challenges both him and readers to change their assumptions about WWII Germany.
Kurt is certainly a well-developed, sympathetic character who is spared no heartache by Karen Bass. In addition to his struggle to find out the truth, he is an outcast whose only friend is a girl named Marta, who may only be his friend because she feels sorry for him. His growing feelings for Marta are eventually reciprocated, but it is by no means an easy path for Kurt.
Filled with great plot twists, three dimensional characters and interesting historical details, Run Like Jäger is a book that everyone, young and old alike, will enjoy. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fresh perspective on WWII.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
(Cover picture courtesy of TweenCity.)
Stay back, human. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.
Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories—they’re dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.
Artemis Fowl may be a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, but readers of all ages will be able to identify with him. He can be cold and ruthless, but we see hints of the boy inside when he is with his mentally ill mother or thinking of his father, who has been missing for over a year. And while he may be a genius, he is flawed and does make a mistake that almost ends his fairy ransoming scheme.
Eoin Colfer’s amazing characterization is second only to his world-building. He has created a compelling history of fairies by mixing folklore with his own highly creative ideas. The technology described in Artemis Fowl is highly futuristic and some of it expands upon older ideas in science fiction. The Neutrino 2000, a laser gun is just one example of this. His explanation for the origin of the word ‘leprechaun’ is also slightly humourous.
Spectacular characters, fantastic world-building and a riveting plot…what more can YA readers ask for? Artemis Fowl certainly deserves to be among the YA greats, therefore I would recommend it to both tweens and teens.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
(Cover picture courtesy of Kirkwood Public Library.)
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it’s hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.
Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary’s mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.
But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundane like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
Clary Fray is just an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl until she witnesses a murder in Pandemonium Club and realizes no one else can see the murderers. She discovers that the murderers are Shadowhunters, people who hunt and kill demons. When Clary’s mother is kidnapped and Clary herself is almost killed by a demon, the Shadowhunters take her in and Clary discovers secrets about her past and her mother that she might have been better off not knowing.
City of Bones is pretty much your average urban fantasy book: vampires, werewolves, warlocks and secret societies. Despite these clichés, it is a surprisingly enjoyable read. The plot is riveting and filled with unexpected twists and Cassandra Clare has obviously spent quite a bit of time on world-building. The only aspect that really falls flat is the characterization. Clary could be substituted for any other YA protagonist, Jace is your stereotypical ice-cold hunk, Isabelle is a man-eater and Simon is the tragic best friend who *SPOILER ALERT* secretly loves Clary.
If you can get past the poor characterization and the typical urban fantasy clichés, you will enjoy City of Bones. It does have its shortcomings, but Cassandra Clare is a good writer and manages to pull off a funny, enjoyable and addicting book.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
(Cover picture courtesy of girlaboutbooks.)
One cruel night, Meggie’s father reads aloud from Inkheart, and an evil ruler named Capricorn escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Somehow, Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. Only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.
This is Inkheart, a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud!
Inkheart enchanted me the very first time I read it and even now, years later, Cornelia Funke’s world calls to me. The beautiful descriptions, the three dimensional characters and the unique plot make this book a must read for tweens and younger teens.
When a mysterious stranger shows up at the doorstep in the middle of the night, wanting to talk to Mo, her father, Meggie is suspicious. She knows there is something afoot and she couldn’t have been more right. The appearance of the man called Dustfinger would change Meggie’s life forever as she discovers adventure and evil she had only read about in the pages of her beloved books.
In my opinion, Inkheart is Cornelia Funke’s best novel. It can be understood and enjoyed on many different levels, depending on your maturity level and knowledge of classic books. Once you read Inkheart, I can guarantee that you will never look at books the same way again.
I give this book 5/5 stars.