Winter’s Passage (Iron Fey #1.5) by Julie Kagawa

The final book in Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey Series comes out Tuesday October, 25th. Each week until the release date I’ll Book Talk and Review a book in the series…including those novellas!

I’ve become addicted to the series, so whether this is your first time with the books or you’re eagerly awaiting The Iron Knight’s debut a little trip to the Nevernever is good for everyone!

Without further Ado…Winter’s Passage

BookTalk

“My name is Meghan Chase.

If there are three things I’ve learned in my time among the fey, they are this: don’t eat anything you’re offered in Faeryland, Don’t go swimming in quiet little ponds and never, ever, make a bargain with anyone.”

Meghan Chase is following the mysterious Winter Prince Ash through a passage to the Winter Kingdom. She made a contract with this man, a man who’s cold exterior warms her in ways that could be fatal to a Summer Princess. Their attraction could mean death for both of these royals. While not yet a full-blown romance their feelings for one another will only be encouraged by this journey…While the relationship seems to be headed in a hopeless direction, the couple won’t have to worry about its repercussions if The Hunter catches them first…

Review

I liked this novella. I think I liked it more than Kagawa’s first book in the series The Iron King. I was pared down. Far simpler in its fairy tale scope than the first. It could be that I was already familiar with the characters and their story plots. But I liked that the hunter was our main focus and that places and creatures we’d already met were glossed over. I wasn’t overwhelmed with creature and place descriptions like I had been in the novel.

What I liked about this little teaser of a story was it made me realize some mad respect for Kagawa’s knowledge of fairy tale history. I took a few classes in college on fairy tales and what I’ve always loved about this type of literature is its history. How cultures spread far and wide still came up with so many similar tales and characters. When the big bad wolf says

““I am Wolf. I am older than you, older than Mab, older than the most ancient faery to walk this realm. I was in stories long before the humans knew my name, and even then they feared me.”…”I am the wolf at the door, the creature that stalked the girl in the red hood to grandma’s house. I am the wolf who becomes a man, and the man who is a beast inside. My stories outnumber all the tales ever told,…”” (34, ePub ed.)

I was so inspired by this quote. It is amazing to think of all the tales we grew up with…how far back they truly reach. I think that in this tale of passage to the Winter realm of the Unseelie I truly began to respect the spectrum of lore Kagawa is honoring. And the tale does just what it’s supposed to. It whet my appetite for the next book in this series and gave me a view of a legendary character that does deserve some respect.

Rating: 7.5/10

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

BookTalk

Do you remember the stories of your childhood? Tales of magic and creatures who lived among us? When do we stop believing in them? When do we lose the faith? What happened if little red riding hood and the wolf showed up in your backyard? Better yet, what if Queen Mary did appear after three “Bloody Mary’s” spoken into a mirror at midnight?

I’ll tell you what would happen…Everyone would call you crazy

Then we’d hype you up on antipsychotic medications and send you to a shrink. At least that’s what happens to 16 year old Jacob. Jacob grew up on his Grandfather’s tales of the freakish. You see, his Grandfather claimed to have grown up on an isolated Island in Wales, “Miss Peregrine’s home for Peculiar Children”. Jacob was fed stories and photographs of the levitating girl, the invisible man, and the girl who ate with the back of her head. Yep, a full set of teeth under her glorious curls.

But when Jacob’s Grandfather dies Jacob sees the killer, and the killer is decidedly not a normal human. Across the seas, Jacob will search to find the root of his childhood stories, and to find the history of his Grandfather. And there is no way to prepare Jacob for the reality that all of his childhood tales are true…

Review

This book had me at hello. I mean, look at that cover…how can you not want to simply tear into this book. And that freaky victorian-art deco-gothic-horror vibe continues throughout the story with photos. Yep, it’s a multi-media type read. Riggs scoured photography collections featuring the old and freaky so all the photos within Miss Peregrine’s pages are real! Super cool.

But wait…it doesn’t stop there. Riggs’s writing style conjures up instant images with his word choice. The first time Jacob enters Miss Peregrine’s decrepit home well written. There are walls fuzzy with mold, walls splattered with food burst from jars, rooms with trees growing due to exposure. For me this was by far one of the creepiest parts of the novel.

That being said, maybe it’s just me…but I wasn’t all that scared. If I had to judge a book by it’s cover (haha) I was expecting a ‘scary story’ and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or not that this didn’t turn out to be the point. Surprisingly, this novel was run-through with themes including WWII, father relationships, and the contemplation of the choice between a single safe, perfect day of the extraordinary (Ground-Hog-Day style) or a life time of ordinary. Jacob is beginning to realize that a 70 year old family hurt has passed down from the holocaust to bombings, to an abandoned son, to a stress disorder. It’s amazing to see how big a role the sins of the father play in this novel. So family issues…check…scary scenes…miss.

As for the famous creepy kids of Jacob’s youth? Peculiar is truly the best word for them. After the reader becomes aquatinted with the group they seem surprisingly ordinary and yet extraordinary at the same time. While I’m not saying that if a levitating girl and an invisible boy popped up in the middle of my day I wouldn’t be freaked out…Riggs presents it all with a normalcy that is usually found in magical realism novels or tall tale movies like Big Fish.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really hoping for creepy…maybe a little sleeping with the light on…if that’s what you’re looking for this isn’t the title for you. However, what you will find is a delightfully written tale with surprising twists and turns of language that make the reader feel like you’re there. But Warning: this seems as though it’s not a stand-alone book. You follow the final frantic chase to one big cliff. I was a little disappointed in this I think that simplifying the story could have resulted in a strong stand-alone. Not sure that this is a cliff I’m gonna jump to the next book…we shall see what the teaser summaries result in.

Rating: 6/10

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Legacy by Cayla Kluver

BookTalk

A Crown Princess

A Scandalous Crush

A Kingdom on the brink of disaster…

Alera is crown princess of Hytanica, on the eve of her 17th birthday the countdown begins to the day of her wedding…her 18th birthday. Alera is headstrong in a culture of male domination. Far too inquisitive and spunky Alera will not go swiftly into that good night that is marriage. Especially not to golden boy Steldor. True, he’s hunky, victorious in battle, and a really good kisser…but Alera isn’t interested. Instead she feels trapped by the choice being forced upon her by her father.

In walks Narian, the mysterious Corkyian who has ties to Hytanica. He’s attractive and willing to take Alera on the adventures she longs for…giving her attention her heart desperately needs. But with an ancient prophesy claiming Narian as part of the destruction of Alera’s kingdom…Choosing between her heart and her loyalty to the kingdom will prove to have more casualties than Alera could have imagined.

Review

Did I like this book? I think I liked it, I kept wanting to go back and read it. I think my problem with this book was that I didn’t really like the main character of Alera. I found her for the better part of this 500 page book to be extremely immature. The storyline has Alera on the verge of adulthood, she’s one year away from having to pick a husband and step into her role as queen. Add to this the pressure of her father, who is ready to put down his crown and is pushing Alera toward his pick for future King.

It’s this situation that exacerbates Alera’s immaturity. You see, Alera does not want to marry her father’s choice, Steldor. She finds him to be egotistical and self involved. Fair enough. Even if Steldor is the golden child of the kingdom that doesn’t mean Alera needs to be attracted to him. The problem is Steldor doesn’t bother the reader as much as he bothers Alera. This quote sums up the relationship perfectly:

“You are more than ‘a little disagreeable,’ Alera. You can’t conceive that anything I do has merit, is good, is right, has potential. At least my so-called arrogance is backed up by my actions – I can do the things of which I claim to be capable, so that I do not boast, but rather state fact. You, on the other hand, oppose me without thought or reason! Better to be justifiably arrogant than irrationally contrary. If it were not the case that we must marry in order for me to assume the throne, as is our fathers’ desire, I would not suffer your company, and I don’t think many men would.” (291, Bound Galley Ed. Feb. 10, 2011)

Seriously, in the history of the beautiful douche Steldor takes the cake…look at that smack-down…I LOVED it. Because it’s true. Sure, it’s more than obvious that Alera doesn’t want to marry Steldor, but at the same time she’s never given the guy a chance. She’s a witch-with-a-capital-B when it comes to interacting with the poor guy. I mean, he’s fighting tooth and nail for a chance and she is irrationally set against him. Honestly, aside from the few times that Steldor attempted to get a jealous rise out of Alera he seemed like a decent guy. Well…a self-centered guy, but one that is more than qualified to step in as King. And, one that was wiling to change his attitude toward her when she pointed out a fault. Compare that to the fact that Alera is completely aware she’s not treating the guy well and yet she still doesn’t change her actions. Her younger sister has more manners and tact and ends up seeming older than Alera. At points in this book I was ready to vote Alera off and Miranna in. I mean Alera couldn’t even finish one royal party without storming off to her room. I just wanted to say to her “Grow Up!”

And Yet…After all of that

I still enjoyed the end of this book. The action and meaty part of the plot happens in the last 200 pages. I loved the relationship between Alera and Narian. Narian is a mystery and it’s really sweet to see him opening up to Alera. In this relationship Alera seems older, more sure of herself and less petulant. Seeing the two of them sneak around the castle is exciting, and basically everything Alera’s relationship with Steldor is not. But alas, because of Narian’s divided loyalties (born Hytanician but raised Corkyian due to a prophesy) Narian is not a candidate for King. It must be obvious because even Alera sees the problems with the match.

I found myself becoming most interested in the prophesy and the history of the Hytanican and Corkyian nations. This book begins a lot of plot threads. Alera’s personal guard London’s history, Narian’s childhood, the prophesy, the Corkyian people in general…and there is not one answer to be found within these pages. Nope, not even the relationship question is answered (though the book ends on an unconsummated wedding night…leaving lots of options for guy switch-ups in later books).

I think I’m going to stick around for the second book. I’ve already put 500 pages into this story, and it ended up being total build up. I think the story could have been told better had the writing been better. The writing really is the weak point in this novel. You can tell the author is young, the plot points and writing in general was the downfall of this book. And yet, I kinda want to know where this is all headed. I’ll be reading Allegiance…but not without a little bit of trepidation, and hope for stronger author skills.

Rating: 5/10

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Warning: This book is slow to start.

Warning: This book is confusing for at least the first 30 pages.

Warning: This book will become so addictive you’ll shut out the world to finish it…

Seriously, Think Hunger Games addicting…

Like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner is a dystopian fantasy teen trilogy. I’d recommend it to the same audience with the warnings above.

Because…

It is confusing. The main character of Thomas wakes up in a pitch black elevator…heading to who knows where…with his memory wiped. He’s then spit out into a world completely populated by teenage boys who have their own jargon: “Shank”, “Klunk”, “Shuck” (I’ll give you two guesses what that last word stands for *wink*). If the folksonomy and disorientation weren’t enough, no one explains anything to Thomas (or the reader) well. Thomas is constantly being told to “wait” that he’ll understand “later”, and on top of it all to “stop asking questions”. I had issues with this as a reader. I understand we are to feel as disoriented as Thomas, but I don’t think the author cleared up details through experience fast enough. The result is about 30 pages of confusion.

But I’m willing to overlook this. In fact by page 90 I’d completely forgotten about it…I was hooked.

It becomes obvious that Thomas is not a normal Glade newbie. He becomes aware that he has had prior experiences with this place. Also, he seems to have a connection to the comatose girl delivered by the lift (the only girl, the last person to enter the glade, the beginning of the end). Thomas shares a telepathic link with her. While this would be enough to set him apart, Thomas realizes that he knows the maze. He knows things other Gladers (even those who had been there for 2+ years) don’t know.

Oh, did I not mention the eponymous Maze. The relative safety of the Glade is surrounded by a labyrinth of shear stone walls, filled with creatures called Grievers. The Grievers can kill you, or poison you causing a painful recovery process called ‘The Change’.

It becomes apparent early on that this whole world is more of an experiment than a prison. For two years the boys have been trying to solve the maze…attempting to map its changes and find an exit. With the arrival of the final girl it is clear the experiment is ending. Solve the puzzle or die trying. It makes for delicious reading.

BookTalk:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. The walls being the inner edges of a seemingly unsolvable maze.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Runners trace the changes in the maze endlessly trying to solve the maze’s puzzle. The boys must also outwit the Grievers inside that might kill them. Every night the walls close tight, protecting the Gladers from death by Griever. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. She is the last person to enter the Glade and…that Everything Will Change.

Uses:

This could make decent companion reading for Lord of the Flies as the boys in both books had to create their own society. The difference is that The Maze Runner is based on the idea of a social experiment. By the end of the book not only will the reader be aware of this, but you’ll briefly meet the scientists conducting the experiment, and read a memo. This opens the novel up to a wider range of uses. It could be used in a sociology/psychology class as an example of social experiments or as a jumping point for discussions about them. If the content doesn’t merit enough to be part of a curriculum (and it may not) it would most definitely make for great extra credit.

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