This book was a delightful surprise--not the fact that it was so good, but the fact that it exists. I read the first three books in Scott's delightful Astreiant series last summer, and assumed that would be it. Scott and her partner wrote the first two books way back in 1990s and early 2000s. After... Continue Reading →
Robin Miles is one of my favorite audiobook narrators of all time, and I'll pretty much listen to anything she narrates. I stumbled upon this delightful middle garden novel, inspired by Caribbean folklore, when searching for audiobook books under 5 hours (though this one is just over), and I was not disappointed. Eleven year old... Continue Reading →
For me, this was a case of the book not living up to the hype. I enjoyed it--mostly--but I was not especially impressed by it, and in the end, the unsatisfying and frustrating bits outweighed the gorgeous world-building and smart racial commentary. The book takes place in a Nigerian-inspired fantasy kingdom. Magic has been wiped... Continue Reading →
This book has gotten a lot of hype, which is the sort of thing I tend to ignore, but it's also right up my alley: a book about fairytales. Seventeen year old Alice has lived a vagrant existence with her mother all her life, never staying in one place for long, always running from the... Continue Reading →
Sovereign is the second book in April Daniels' Nemesis series. I enjoyed, but did not love, the first book, and hadn't planned to pick up the second, but after reading some great reviews, I decided to give it a try. While there were elements of this book that I loved, it dragged, and despite many... Continue Reading →
I read a lot of fantasy books--for all ages--and it's always a joy to discover something that feels entirely new. This book is reminiscent of many that came before it--it nods to Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, the The Wizard of Oz, classic fairytales. But it is also wholly itself and wholly new. Valente recognizes the... Continue Reading →
I can't resist a Top 5 list! The folks over at the Top 5 Wednesday Goodreads group host this weekly feature, and even though I did a different Top 5 post yesterday, I couldn't resist this one, as the topic is so good. I love science fiction and fantasy: they're the genres that made me... Continue Reading →
His Dark Materials is one of my most beloved series of all time. I have visceral memories of reading it for the first time--how I felt after reading the cliffhanger at the end of The Subtle Knife, knowing I'd have to wait a year or more before finding out what happened next. I remember sobbing... Continue Reading →
Science fiction and fantasy stories have so much to teach us about how to live in our own world. They speak to problems that we face every day. They are about families and lovers and friendships—small, intimate, human things. They are also often about about war and disaster and injustice—big, terrifying, human things. But the... Continue Reading →
