Confessions of a Bookaholic is hosting a Top 10 of 2011 event. Today, a look back at the top ten book covers of 2011. It is because of their covers (at least in part) that I read these books. Obviously, some these appeal to my feminine sensibilities! Click on the picture to go to my review of the book.
A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. Only two people noticed. One was a witch, and she claimed him for her own. The other was his best friend. And she went after him in ill-considered shoes, brave and completely unprepared (p 155).
Hazel does not fit in at her new school. Most of the children treat her differently though she doesn’t understand why. At home, her mother struggles to provide for her after her father left. Her one happiness is her best friend, Jack. Jack does not belittle her thinking differently and imaginatively. Instead, they are partners in adventure. But Jack also befriends the very boys who tease Hazel, splitting his time deftly between her and them.
One day, a shard from an enchanted mirror enters through his eye and goes directly to his heart. Jack changes. He is mean to Hazel. Then he disappears all together.
Now it is up to Hazel to enter the woods and rescue her friend, Jack, the Prince of Eternity.
Breadcrumbs is, in many ways, a book about books. I counted references to at least ten different titles including: The Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, The Golden Compass, The Snow Queen, Harry Potter, The Keys to the Kingdom, When You Reach Me, and Coraline. Hazel is described as a reader and the author pulls from these sources to describe her experiences.
There was a Nithling in her stomach, chomping away at everything around it. Tears filled her eyes, and she squeezed them away (p 74).
Nithlings are fearsome animal-like creatures formed from nothing in Garth Nix’s The Keys to the Kingdom series. For well-read children, these references will add a layer of understanding and connect prior emotional experiences to the current pleasure.
The first part of the story is (too) slow to unfold. It focuses on Hazel’s friendship with Jack, her tense relationship with her mother, and her unhappiness at her new school. We also learn of a mischievous troll-like creature named Mal and his twisted mirror. His magic mirror “took beautiful things and made them ugly, and it took ugly things and made them hideous” (p 70). When this mirror shatters high above earth, a shard falls into Jack’s eye, changing him.
Part Two picks up the pace with Hazel entering the woods. Here we see shades of Anderson’s other fairy tales and here Ursu explores a variety of themes. Her maticulous exposition pays off (for the most part) as Hazel struggles with identity and Jack weighs the painful reality of his distressed home life vesus the cold serenity of the Snow Queen’s palace. I couldn’t put the book down once Hazel entered the woods.
Read other reviews:
Book Smugglers
Fuse #8
Good Books Good Wine
Jenn’s Bookshelves
Kirkus (starred)
Publisher’s Weekly (starred)
Breadcrumbs | Advance Reader Edition | September 27, 2011 | HarperCollins Childrens | ISBN 978-0062015051 | 336 pages | Ages 8-14 | $16.99
The Snow Queen | Hans Christian Anderson | retold by Naomi Lewis and illustrated by Christian Birmingham | $18.99
At first blow, the flint split into three pieces, the center of which was a bright black heart with a hole right through it. Fum was astounded. He had earned thirty-two sheep and thirty-two lambs with one blow of his ax. It game him an eerie feeling. He knew that such a thing did not happen by chance (p 15).
A note explains The Flint Heart is “freely abridged” from Eden Philpott’s 1910 fantasy. It begins during the Stone Age when the flint heart is made with the blessing of the Thunder God to satiate a greedy man’s desire to be chief of his village. Many years later, it is found by a kind-hearted father, Billy Jago. Billy quickly transforms into a grasping, cruel father. Desperate to have their old father back, two of his children seek out the fairies for advice. Thier paths cross with many colorful, whimsical characters until the flint heart is destroyed.
This short, beautifully illustrated novel meanders intermittently, but overall it is charming. I have no knowledge of Philpott’s writing, but fans of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane will enjoy Paterson’s short novel.
Advance Reader Copy | Sept 2011 | Candlewick | 304 pages | ISBN 978-0-7636-4712-4 | $19.99
The mermaid slowed as she arrived at the shore, and reached out to the rocky beach. In a graceful rolling movement, the man cradled in one arm, she moved from sea to land. The sharp rocks would have ripped a human’s skin, but the mermaid seemed unharmed as she released the man and gently, tenderly, laid him out on the shore next to her, her light hair hanging in long, wet ropes (p 5).
Mermaid is a twist on the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. Lenia (LEN-E-A) has always dreamed about the world above: the sun, humans, and God. From the stories told by her grandmother, she knows that humans have souls which live forever with God after death. Mermaids may live much longer than the average human, but their bodies become foam upon death, merging with the sea.
One their birthday, Lenia’s kind are permitted one day to travel to the surface and observe the human world while remaining unobserved. When Lenis turns eighteen, she rushes to the surface to find a ship collapsing, men falling into the sea, dying, and one man struggling to survive. Without knowing why, Lenia saves this man.
Princess Margrethe is staying hidden at a convent along her countries northern-most shores while her father prepares for war with the South. Standing in the garden, disguised as a novice, she sees a glistening fin making its way to shore. Little does she know the man Lenia is bringing to her is the son of her father’s enemy.
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This is a highly readable adaptation filled with magic, politics, romance, jealousy and love. I believe it has excellent crossover appeal to older teens and new adults (18 – 24 years).
The women take center stage here and no decision is made easily, but both are driven by love. Their complex emotions and daring made up for the overly pretty language. And enjoyable read and perfect for the beach!
The ocean from my dream returned in the form of a roaring surf, which blocked all sound and stopped my breath. Sixty years. Mom and Daddy, dead. Asa, dead. Xavier… my Xavier.
I think I screamed. The last thing I felt as the shadows overcame my vision completely was Brendan’s strong arms catching me as I fell (p 5).
This is a review of an advance reader copy provided by the publisher, Candlewick Press, via NetGalley.
In this science fiction re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty, sixteen-year-old Rosalinda Fitzroy awakes from a sixty-two year sleep when Brendan finds her stass tube in the basement of his apartment complex. His attempt at mouth-to-mouth, fearing Rose is dead, is something of a kiss.
Rose’s status as heiress to the world’s largest company, UniCorp, causes some distress for the current President, Reggie Guillory. Upon her 18th birthday, Rose will own the company but until then, UniCorp owns her.
Readers are introduced to this new world along side Rose. Her parents, Mark and Jacqueline, died in a helicopter crash while Rose was still in stasis. Her tube was misplaced or lost. She was assumed dead. After so long in stasis, Rose is suffering from fatigue and will be weak for some time.
The Earth has undergone a transformation since her sleep began. The Dark Times wiped out a large portion of the population. Other planets and moons have been colonized. Everything Rose once knew has changed. Everyone she knew and loved is dead. She cannot bear to learn what has happened to Xander.
At first, Rose appears weak, physically and as a character, until, as her past is revealed, a horrible truth becomes evident. She has been the victim of a most cruel form of abuse and neglect.
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Like Phoebe North, I was at first anticipating a limp, pandering science fiction novel starring a vanilla female character and an irresistible male hero. Sheenan almost looses me here, but she will lure in weaker critics. Then she succeeds in surprising both.
Prior to her long stasis, Rose was in love with Xander. A complicated love, as Rose began seven years his senior but, because of intermittent and prolonged stasis sleeps throughout her childhood the two eventually pass their teen years as peers, best friends, and finally lovers. We learn about this past in tender, heartbreaking flashbacks.
Once out of stasis, Rose’s new life begins. As she sorts out this new world, and her place in it – including a new school – she quickly forms an attachment to the handsome Brendon. From awakening her to befriending her at school, Brendan has been the only caring person since she emerged from her cocoon. When she declares her feelings, the novel really takes a turn. Bren’s reaction is so far from expected:
“Coit!” Bren swore. “Look. Rose. Oh, burn it.” He glanced up at the sky as if looking for strength. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, okay? I wasn’t trying to lead you on. I — I think this is probably my own fault, and there’s probably some kind of… cultural… thing… going on. It’s just that my granddad told me to look after you. I mean, he and Guillory are worried about the company, okay? They just told me to make sure you weren’t… I don’t know. ‘Led astray’ was, I think, the phrase Guillory used (p 136).
In the meanwhile, intermittent passages relate that someone or something is tracking the newly awakened Rose. This proves to be a rather ineffective assassin and Rose’s escapes are a little laughable.
My complaints also run parallel to Phoebe’s. The word substituting (mostly for contemporary curse words) Sheenan uses doesn’t really add too much to the story. I would have rather seen a change in culture reflected in turn of phrases rather than ‘I Comm’ substituting for ‘I know.’
Also, like Phoebe, I found Otto, a blue-toned alien/human hybrid who can transmit thoughts via touch and who befriends Rose, to be one of the most interesting characters (though I kept picturing a Na’vi from James Cameron’s Avatar!).
The relationship between Rose and her parents is the most interesting though, trumping even her romantic relationship with Xander. Here, Sheenan succeeds in creating two of most terrifying and abusive parents in YA literature. Rose is not a vanilla character, she is absolutely damaged. She survives more than one awakening in this novel. To see her, independent and beginning to gain confidence, completes her metamorphoses.
Ultimately, I was surprised to find this a layered story that left me in tears by its oh-so-satisfying end (neither too much nor too little ‘Hollywood’). A sequel may be planned but I find this a satisfying read on its own.
Read other reviews: GalleySmith, I’ll Read Anything Once, Presenting Lenore
I would recommend this to those who enjoyed:
It’s a cottage, tucked away into a nest of mountainous oak tress that are draped with Spanish moss. The exterior is a cinnamon shade of wood, with a stone chimney that’s being devoured by ivy. Flower boxes line the white-trimmed windows, filled with what looks like peppermint plants our mom used to grow. The door is arced and licorice red and sits behind a covered porch that holds several rocking chairs. A wooden sign with Coca-Cola advertisements on either end hangs from the porch’s mottled tin roof; pale violet lettering in its center reads KELLY’S CHOCOLATIER (p 22).
Sweetly is a reimagining of “Hansel & Gretel” and a companion to Sisters Red, Pearce’s previous book. This review is based on an avance reader copy provided by the publisher.
As children, Ansel and his younger twin sisters traipse through the woods, in search for a witch they don’t really believe exists. Then the witch is upon them, and only Ansel and Gretchen escape the forest. Gretchen is wracked by her sister’s disappearance. They are the same. Why did one survive without her mirror? What did the witch do to her?
Now in their teens, their parents deceased, the two are thrown out of their Washington state home by their stepmother. Headed for the east coast, they drive until their car breaks down outside a small sleepy town in South Carolina. Ansel finds employment in Live Oaks with Sophia, the town’s chocolatier. Some call her a witch, others say she is the patron saint of candy. Either way, Gretchen find herself relaxing for the first time since her twin vanished. Ansel finds he is falling in love with Sophia.
Then Gretchen learns of the girls who went missing over the last two years. They disappeared, apparently bound for the city, after Sophia’s annual chocolate festival, a party for the local girls. It’s clear Sophia knows more about these disappearances than she is telling. It is also becoming clear to Gretchen there is a witch in Live Oaks. What is happening to these girls? What makes them special? Is Gretchen destined to vanish, as her twin did? The twin, whose name they do not speak…
Enter Samuel Reynolds. The town crazy who purports to hunts witches. With his help, Gretchen decides to fight her fate. She refuses to vanish.
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Ok, what did I really like about this book? I love the cover. I envy Pearce her awesome book covers!
The introduction – prologue and beginning chapters – are captivating. The atmosphere, the townspeople, the chocolatier were pitch perfect. I can’t remember wanting to gorge myself on sweet treats so badly since the delicious looking Sweethearts cover (Sarah Zarr). I couldn’t put Sweetly down.
The twist in chapter five took me completely by surprise, but that marked the stories deviation from the traditional fairy tale. I wasn’t expecting it and I found myself a little less captivated by the rest of the story. But my take on this was greatly colored by my expectation. I was expecting a more traditional retelling and less of a Sister’s Red companion.
Hansel had crawled out of the oven while the baker woman was crawling in. He looked at her – pink and mean and sweating, sitting in the enormous oven.
“Hey!” she shouted at him. “What are you doing?”
Something dim flickered in his food-addled brain. “I’m saving myself and my sister,” he said, “from another terrible parent.” And then he closed and locked the door (p 47).
A Tale Dark and Grimm tweeks and spins elements from original Grimm Brothers’ Fairy Tales, some well-known and some obscure, to tell the true and bloody (and consequently ‘awesome’) story of siblings Hansel and Gretel.
In the introductory tale/chapter, the pair are beheaded by their father! Not to fear though, their heads are soon reattached, though the children are not happen to learn what happened. They deem their parents unfit and run away. So begins their search for good parents.
Over the course of the next several tales/chapters, the children meet various adults, evil and otherwise, until their course points home to the land of Grimm.
The actual tales are fabulous. I’m a fairy tale junky, never satiated. And I love the slew of reimagined fairy tales that have been published in the last decade, though some have been awful (I’m looking at you Beastly). This is, hands down, one of the best. In the vein of Reckless, this story is brutal. The kids are not perfect but they aren’t evil (though the tale “Brother and Sister” has me suspicious about Hansel’s nature).
What I didn’t particularly enjoy was the narrator. This narrator introduces the story [I was immediately reminded of the introduction to the picture book Twelve Terrible Things by Marty Kelley], warning – almost daring – the reader but promising an exploration through the darkest zones to discover the brightest beauty and most luminous wisdom. Of course, it will involve a lot of blood. The narrator will often interrupt the story to forewarn, build suspense and provide interpretation:
Are there any small children in the room? If so, it would be best if we just let them think this is really the end of the story and hurried them off to bed. Because this is where things start to get, well… awesome.
But in a horribly, bloody kind of way (p 16).
These interruptions are not always detracting. I like that it clearly tells the reader what to expect, builds suspense and oftens provides humor:
“I’m going to eat you up!” And she said it like she meant it.
Has a parent ever said something like that to you? Most parents say that kind of thing all the time, you know. It’s totally normal. Just be careful not to let them actually taste you (p 43-44).
However, sometimes, the narrators commentary was intrusive. As the story progressed I became more involved and appreciated the distraction less.
At the conclusion the narrator wraps up with a rather post-modern tiarade about the book’s themes, motifs and meaning. This caused me to think, “This narrator is talking to adults!” Now, this thought first crossed my mind when the narrator suggested sending the little ones from the room or hiring a babysitter. But I dismissed the idea because it was clearly meant to hook the kids into reading more. When I read the narrator’s concluding remarks, it was like he knew the adult reader would be analyzing and critically reviewing the book, and he wanted us to know he knew!
That didn’t sit well with me. I felt manipulated. I thought the narrator was asking questions the kids needed to ask on their own. they were probably already questioning as they read but didn’t realize it. Whatever the case, it was simply too much and I like book a little less for it, I think. I want to lobotomize some sections!
Fuse #8 Production has a rather comprehensive review on SLJ. Becky’s Book Review raved about it. Eva’s Book Addiction also reviews it. Adam Giwitz has a great FAQ page that helped soften me on the aspects of the book I didn’t particularly like.
I LOVE the book trailer:
Misty is a smaller version of Mom – tiny, cute, and blond – while everyone has always said I favor Dad. Seeing as Dad is balding and paunchy, I always hope people understand when I say I just don’t see it. But maybe they just mean the eyes are the same. Or maybe the nose. It’s amazing how people can take just one small part of a person and draw massive conclusions (p 3).
Last year was rough for Lucius Wolfe. He stole some chemicals from school to experiment at home and ended up a double amputee. He lost his both hands and forearms, his family’s house damaged beyond repair, and scars marking his chest. He’s something of a Beast.
Last year was rough for Aurora Belle. After a long struggle with cancer, her mother has died. Aurora and her father are still raw from the loss.
Aurora Belle meet Lucius Wolfe, both new kids in a new school. He’s an outcast, considered crazy and his topaz eyes will captured your heart. She’s beautiful, instantly accepted by the popular crowd.
In this contemporary adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Baratz-Logsted is taking cues not only from the fairy tale classic but also from Shakespeare.
I know all about two people meeting, being instantly attracted, rejecting that attraction and the evidence of their own senses, Cupid wreaking havoc with everything, and everyone somehow ending up in a forest somewhere and getting married before the final curtain (p 27).
And that’s pretty much how things unfold in this highly readable YA book. Instead of a physical transformation a la Disney, Lucius has a spiritual transformation. Just as Aurora is captivated by and curious about Lucius, Lucius wants Aurora’s goodness. He changes. And in the end, all is well just as the curtain falls. A little bit improbable but not at all impossible, Baratz-Logsted does a fine job here, much better than Finn in Beastly.
Pair with: Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates and Beauty by Robin McKinley.
Read more reviews:
A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy
Presenting Lenore
The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal. The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out of his room. All was drowned by its silence. But Jacob loved the night. He felt it on his skin like a promise. Like a cloak woven from freedom and danger (p 1).
Let me start with what didn’t work – the introduction (see the quote above). Funke’s trying too hard and I feel like I’ve heard this before. In fact, I have. The night breathes for many authors apparently. And “all drowned by its silence” is obtuse.
I wish she would have started with “Jacob loved the night. He felt it…” Because Jacob lives for the dark freedom he has found behind the mirror on the wall of his father’s study. His younger brother, Will, and their mother are asleep when Jacob discovers he can enter a fairy tale world via the mirror by looking into it and covering his reflected eyes.
The next chapter jumps ahead twelve years. After years of secretly visiting the fairy tale world alone, Jacob’s carelessness leads to Will discovering his secret. But we are plopped into the story further down the road. Will is turning to stone. The Dark Fairy, consort to the Goyl King, has cursed the Goyl soldiers so those Doughskins who are scratched by stone claws become Goyl.
My complaint is that this transition, from childhood to Will with a stone in his arm, is awkward.
It is clear Funke wants to tell the “Jacob’s Quest to Save Will” story, but beginning chapters - including perspectives from the Goyl, Clara and then back to Jacob visiting his former teacher - are so jolting, I almost didn’t continue.
But then, Funke settles into the story she so clearly set out to tell. And it’s awesome.
As a lover of fairy tales from my early childhood, I relished every mention of a magical item: a Rapunzel hair, a handkerchief that produces sovereigns when rubbed, glass slippers. Magical creatures abound: Watermen, Lorelei (aka sirens), unicorns and the Tailor. I loved all the magical elements!
I love Funke’s macabre fairy world.
I love the layers: Jacob’s search for his father, his desire for Clara, his love for Will, and his unfailing persistance. Love, lust and the bonds brotherhood. It’s all in here (which is wht I’m wondering why this is in the Children’s Section of our Library…).
I love the U.S. cover, but the illustrations inside did very little for me. They just blended together in their blandness. But, it looks like there will be a sequel!
Now this is a fairy tale retelling! I picked it up because Alex Flinn’s Beastly put my in the mood but didn’t satisfy. McKinley delivered.
She brings dimension to the story. Beauty becomes a person, one I very much enjoy and relate to, though she is living in a very different era. The Beast and the magic enveloping him is tantalizing. Invisible servents. Talking dishware. A rose garden in eternal bloom. Every night the Beast asks Beauty to marry him. Every night she says no. When she finally realizes her love and accepts, the spell is undone.
It left me wanting more, in a good way! My only grip is that it ended entirely too quickly. The spell is broken, everyone appears and that’s that.
