Claire Legrand’s latest novel Furyborn is one of the most anticipated YA fantasy releases of 2018. Set in a world rich with magic and mythology, Furyborn is the story of two young women who live centuries apart, whose roles in an ancient prophecy about two queens could leave the world in ruins—or be humanity’s salvation.
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Opening up a newly-released book by Tamora Pierce felt a little bit like breathing in sunlight. Okay, my inner poet likes being a little dramatic, but when I finally got around to reading Tempests and Slaughter, I was a little worried that returning to Pierce’s work after seven+ years would be disappointing. I still remember so vividly the magic and wonder of her Circle of Magic series, and the vivacity of the Alanna books, and the intensity of the Beka Cooper series. I was afraid that Tempests and Slaughter might reveal to me that I’d outgrown Pierce’s writing, or that it wasn’t as good as I remember it being, or that I simply wouldn’t like this new story.
I needn’t have worried. I first picked up Scythe a few months ago, when I saw that its sequel, Thunderhead, had come out. The cover was intriguing, the shiny Michael L. Printz Award on the cover was a definite indication that this might be worth a read, and the synopsis on the back was even more interesting. I ended up reading both books in a matter of days. While I didn’t initially feel compelled to do a book review, I think I’d be doing a disservice to these books by not writing about them on my blog.
So, without further ado, here is my review of Scythe and Thunderhead, of the Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. I’d been waiting eagerly for Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel Children of Blood and Bone as soon as I heard the buzz about it in the months before it hit the shelves. A magical YA fantasy set in a West African-inspired land? I was so excited, but none of the hype could prepare me for the payoff. This book is my new favorite.
I was shelving books in the teen section at my bookstore job, as I do almost every night at work now, and I spotted among the nonfiction books a thick book whose cover was rendered in soft pastels, with the image of two lines of young girls figure skating, and the word “Spinning” in thick, purple cursive.
To conclude my “Forays into Fairyland” themed month, I will be reviewing an exciting new bestseller by Holly Black.
When I saw that there was a new fairy-themed book out by Holly Black, beloved author of the Modern Faerie Tales series that I adored as a wee teen, I nearly jumped up and down. I don’t follow Black on Twitter, so I had no idea that she was cooking up another faerie series. I brought the book home a few days later, practically vibrating with excitement. As you may know, I’ve been on a faerie (fairy, faery, faerie, fairie, whichever spelling floats your boat) book review kick this month. This particular book is by no means a new one--Bones of Faerie, by Janni Lee Simner, is the first in a trilogy first published in 2008. I don’t remember what year I picked it up from a shelf in a bookstore and decided to buy it, but it was probably relatively close to that publication date.
I don’t think I even read the first page of this book after I bought it—if I had, I definitely wouldn’t have let it gather dust on my shelf for 8+ years. Every so often, I’d see this book’s spine on my shelf, and wonder why I never bothered to read it. Finally, I decided enough was enough, and I read it in less than a week. The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, is a story about a black teenaged girl named Starr who grows up in the projects, and she witnesses firsthand her childhood friend Khalil, who is unarmed, be shot and killed by a white police officer. This happens within the first chapter of the book, and the rest of the story covers the fallout as Starr tries to navigate her own trauma and the reactions of her community as the story gains national attention.
All the Crooked Saints is the first Maggie Stiefvater book that I've read, and let me say, I could not have chosen a better book to introduce myself to her body of work. Magical realism, owls, black roses, Elvis, trucks that are recovered ecosystems, coyote-headed priests, the incomprehensibility of love and radio waves and miracles—it doesn’t sound like all of these seemingly unrelated things could work together, but they all live in this book, and I didn’t once question it.
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AuthorWriter, reviewer, bookseller, book nerd extraordinaire. Fiction reader at Waxwing Magazine. Archives
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