The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
I'll be honest. This is a book that sat on my bookshelves, unread, for ages before I finally decided to make some room by taking a pile of unread books to the used bookstore. I figured if I hadn't gotten around to it in the 2 years I'd owned, I'd probably always keep making excuses. Then I came across it again at our public library and checked it out, thinking a due date would make me pick it up. I was honestly prepared to dislike it. It was hard to get to know and like the characters at first because of so much intellectual pretentiousness; it created a distance between the characters and the reader, and it felt too lecturing as well. But as the characters began to interact, I began to enjoy it much more. The last third of the novel is really lovely, even in its sadness. I'm not sure I buy the whole story of Lisette (the main character's sister) -- that seemed like a forced plot point to give the main character some motivation. It was just sprung so suddenly on the reader that it seemed forced and unlikely, even.
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Everything that Brooks creates is just a wonder. Her novels are so thoroughly researched, but it's through the characters she so skillfully creates that bring these time periods to life. This novel is heartbreaking, but she offers glimpses of hope and joy in the midst of a hard, austere life in all ways. Bethia's voice is incredible -- this is something that Brooks does so well. As I read this, I kept wishing I'd had this novel to use in my American Lit class while I teaching, to provide a female counterpart (aside from Bradstreet and a slight handful of others) to the male voices that make up so much of the historical writing of the time. This is a rich, layered work that is easily one of the best books I've read this year.
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
Sometimes I think it's a good idea to read the reviews before reading a book, and sometimes I realize that maybe it's not such a good idea. That's maybe the case with this book. In the end, when it comes down to it, I really enjoyed this. The writing was clever; it borders on "literary" but has enough dark humor and quirkiness not to take itself too seriously. Its commentary on all the ways that parents can screw up their children is funny but also touching and sad. People have talked about how anti-climactic the ending is but I thought it was the best chapter out of the entire book. For me, it brought together all the emotions that had been peeking their heads above the surface through the entire book into one last image.
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
I feel about Maureen Johnson the same way I feel about Meg Cabot -- interesting stories but lackluster writing. Both are completely competent, but there's nothing that makes their writing really stand out to me, like so many other authors I can think of. With that said, I still enjoyed this novel quite a bit. The premise is extremely interesting, and parts of this were really suspenseful, enough so that I was quite jumpy for a while after reading this (more so than usual -- because I'm a big scaredy-cat, seriously). The New Orleans stuff with the family -- and Johnson's humor, I assume -- seems overdone and the "fish out of water" tone that it lent the story just came across as too forced. Other than that, it's a good beginning to something a little bit different -- thankfully! -- in the YA paranormal genre.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I'm not really sure I'm going to able to write about this book without including some spoilers, but I'll give it my best shot. I was sucked in right from the start; Taylor has created a world full of incredible detail with amazing characters. Taylor's writing is lyrical and powerful, and the first half of the story just plows along in a rush of gorgeous words and unique details. But then, about halfway through, there's this shift in POV/narration, and that's where the story gets sidetracked for me. I understand needing to tell what comes before, because it is so integral to the story. I just think that structurally, it should have been handled differently because it really (for me, at least) wrecked the momentum of the Karou's story (even though it is Karou's story -- does that even make sense?)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Another great YA fantasy to add to the list. Elisa's struggle with her body image, as well as the responsibility that she bears from God for her people, makes for compelling reading. There are very few full-figured YA heroines -- although I can't say that I'm fully satisfied with the way the body image struggle turns out. Still, the events of the story move along quickly, with excellent secondary characters and a nice depth to the entire story. There are a number of other excellent older YA fantasies that I was reminded of while reading this novel: Kristen Cashore's Fire and Graceling come to mind, as does Melina Marchetta's Finnikan of the Rock. More than anything, though, Elisa reminded me quite a bit of Aeryn from Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown, one of my favorite fantasies.
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
I won an ARC of this novel from the Goodreads First Reads program. I thoroughly enjoy this series. With this installment, I'm reminded of nothing so much as the game of Clue or those dinner theatre shows, where everyone in the town is in the old mansion, the lights go out, and suddenly someone is found murdered. As always, the mystery/crime seems a bit of an afterthought in these books, just a backdrop really for what we continue to discover about Flavia and her family. This book left me even more interested in Dogger, and I was particularly pleased to see how the sister relationship (particularly with Ophelia) developed. An entertaining read, as always.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
I enjoyed this -- it was a quick read, not particularly well-written but competently-written, at least. I thought the photos actually detracted from the story because the author kept tacking in little paragraphs about them that didn't really add anything to the story other than make the connection to the photograph. Honestly, I would've preferred the book without the photos. I thought the first half was a little slow, but once things got moving on the island, that improved. Of course there's room for a sequel now, and the time travel loops should make that interesting enough for me to continue reading.
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
I thought this was done EXCEPTIONALLY well, with great characterization and a small-town college setting (one of my favorite things). I loved the Shakespeare references; I had to take a Shakespeare course in college, and being immersed in the Bard for a full semester with a great teacher was an awesome experience. I think the Shakespeare references add just a touch of the fantastic to this novel as well. The first-person-plural narration was an interesting touch; I've not read anything in this voice before, so it took some getting used to. At first, it was a little intrusive but by the end it is familiar and necessary to the movement of the story. One of the things I've been bothered by the most in reviews about this novel is the repetition of "But they're not WEIRD!" in reference to the main characters. The author never meant weird as in strange. Just as she explains about Shakespeare, it's a reference to WYRD or fate, perfectly appropriate for a novel about three sisters who come home to rewrite their own stories/fates.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
Oh, I can't say enough good things about this gem of a novel. Valente's writing is delicious, and her heroine September is one of the best characters I've encountered this year. There's a touch of old-fashioned charm and whimsy, like you'd find in The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, combined with a narrative voice similar to Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux. The result is a clever, heartbreaking (or should I say heart-growing?) rousing adventure, and I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Design*Sponge At Home by Grace Bonney
I have blogged/pinned so many images from Grace Bonney's sneak peeks... My favorite thing about this book is that I now have those inspiration images and gorgeous homes available OFFLINE. Sometimes I just like having access to certain things "unplugged."
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd
Another doozy. This one left me choking back tears, more than once. Ness handles the theme of dealing with grief and loss in a way that's at once subtle but also packs a bruising power. The Green Man motif and the tales-within-a-tale narrative structure were both bonuses for me, and Dowd's death from cancer before she was able to write this story lends a shimmering underlayer to the entire story -- I couldn't help but feel, at many times, that I must be reading HER story, even though Ness was the one who wrote it. Another 5-star read and one that's sure to garner many awards, and rightly so.
The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland -- For a Little While by Catherynne M. Valente
One of the things I love about the e-book format is the ease with which authors can get new stories and content out to readers with very little lead time. That's the case with this short story -- Valente gives readers some background on (future Queen) Mallow and her overthrow of Fairyland's current King. Valente's writing is just as exquisite as ever, but with the short format of this story, it feels a bit overdone; it's just that much of the story is devoted to a good bit of backstory and description, and as gorgeous and deep as it is, it just feels like it takes too long to get the action moving. Still, it's a great read and a wonderful way of finding out the genesis of some of my favorite secondary characters from the first novel.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
When I was a little girl -- probably from third through sixth grades -- I was infatuated with horses. Totally. To that end, I read anything about horses and spent all the time when I wasn't reading about them drawing them instead. (Side note: a lady from my town actually took some of my drawings to Wesley Dennis, who was a friend of her family, and he wrote me a very nice letter in return.) So part of this novel really appeals to the little-girl horse lover in me. Another part really appeals to the lover of beautiful prose -- and since that's always been one of Stiefvater's strengths, that part of me is happy with this novel. When it comes down to it, I thought this novel was well-crafted with an interesting setting, engaging characters that have something at stake, and a mythology that is both terrifying and compelling. For me, this novel checked all the boxes.
Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas by Michael Scott
This is another short story set in the world Scott has created for his Nicholas Flamel series. This time, we're treated to a little more of the backstory and character development for Billy the Kid -- or at least, that's what you would assume. However, the story ends up being just as much (if not more) about Scathach, the Shadow. Both are characters I've enjoyed through the main series, however, so that's okay with me. The story progresses nicely -- there's good dialogue and pacing, though the setting could have been a little more extensively drawn. Still, everything is good until we get to the climax of the story. That's where the tension and particularly any emotional development just goes flat. I get that this encounter is supposed to be a big deal, but it's just not. Other than that, this is a fine little story to add to the rest of the series.
