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REVIEW: Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott

Posted by Anastasia on April 24, 2012 No Responses »

Apr 242012

046. Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott
Publication: Candlewick (April 24, 2012), eARC, 465pp / ISBN 0763653446
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy, Romance (bit of GLBTQ)

Read: March 7-8, 2012
Source: NetGalley (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

A powerful tale of magic, love, and revenge set in fairy-tale Japan. Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form – a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.

Review

This is an AWESOME book. What makes it awesome? I’ll tell you what makes it awesome:
1. the characters! Specifically, Suzume and her development over the course of the book. She goes from spoiled normal kid to PTSD-ed refugee with magical powers to someone with a lot of spoilers hanging around. It’s great! Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Posted by Anastasia on April 18, 2012 12 Responses »

Apr 182012

057. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Publication: Candlewick; Reprint edition (October 18, 2010), ebook, 479pp / ISBN 0763645761
Genre: YA Sci-fi, Horror

Read: March 27, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: The Knife of Never Letting Go (you’re here!) | The Ask and the Answer | Monsters of Men

Summary from Amazon:

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

Review

Don’t you just love it when the stars align and you’re finally able to get a book that you’ve been wanting to read (and that other people have been telling you to read) for ages and then you read it and it’s amazing? I do! And that’s what happened with The Knife of Never Letting Go. Continue reading »

The Sunday Salon (Apr. 8): Rereading for fun and profit

Posted by Anastasia on April 8, 2012 11 Responses »

Apr 082012

I’ve been rereading a good amount of books this year– way more than I did last year, anyway. And I’ve remembered something: rereading is fun! And I don’t just mean rereading something I’d read just the year before: going back to books I first read two+ years ago is almost a magical experience. It’s fun to revisit places and people and stories that I loved once upon a time. I tend to have a very good memory for books and their plots, but I don’t remember everything. Rediscovering why I loved a book in the first place is almost better than reading them for the first time! Plus, there’s always the chance that I’ll catch some new nuance or something that I missed before. Continue reading »

The Sunday Salon (Mar. 18): Lots of books in a small room

Posted by Anastasia on March 18, 2012 12 Responses »

Mar 182012

Hello! Happy Sunday evening, everyone. I’ve completely forgotten what it was I was originally going to write about for today’s post, so instead let’s talk about bedroom decor.

We’re fairly certain we’re going to get the house we’ve found, so that means I can start planning how I’m going to decorate my room! Now, my new room is about half the size of my Albuquerque room, which means I’ll need to change how I’d normally decorate. For instance: I don’t think I can have three or four tall bookshelves in my room now, because I’d feel like they were about to fall on me and/or the walls were closing in, etc. I’m also planning on painting my walls, doing something fancy with my closet organization– basically, I want my new room to be much more interesting than my old room was.

So! Those of you with small rooms: how do you deal with your books? I can keep most of them in the “media room,” so that’s no problem, but I’d still like to have at least one shelf for favorite books/TBR books. What sort of shelf would be best for a small room? I’m kind of thinking something like this would be good. What do you think?

Besides that whole thing, I’m trying to figure out which sort of bed would be best: should I go for a futon mattress, which I can fold away during the day and thus clear up a lot of room, or should I get a daybed, with drawers underneath for extra storage? Choices, choices… Continue reading »

REVIEW: American Gods: 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman

Posted by Anastasia on March 16, 2012 8 Responses »

Mar 162012

030. American Gods: 10th Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman
Publication: William Morrow (June 21, 2011), originally published 2001, ebook, 565pp / ISBN 0062059882
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Read: February 10-12, 2012
Source: Bought

Summary from Amazon:

First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant classic—an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and expanded with the author’s preferred text, this commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.

A storm is coming . . .

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.

But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.

Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—and that he is standing squarely in its path.

Review

The first time I read American Gods was back in 2006, and while I remember liking it I ALSO remember not really “getting” it. I didn’t understand a lot of it– mainly I couldn’t understand Shadow, who came off as emotionless and weird and scary. Now, though, six years later, I TOTALLY get it. I understand Shadow not the carboard-y character I thought he was at first. I understand the main plot, with the gods and their war and whatever. I even understand the underlying symbolism stuff! Understanding stuff that I didn’t the first time I read a book is what makes rereading worth it, imo. Continue reading »

The Sunday Salon (Mar. 11): Tiny reviews of Death of an Obnoxious Tourist, Penumbra, Kitchen Confidential

Posted by Anastasia on March 11, 2012 7 Responses »

Mar 112012

Okay, so here’s the deal: I’m getting a little tired of my usual blogging practices. Normally I write 3-10 reviews a week, depending on how far behind I am. Keeping up with that? Is kind of tiring. Especially since I want to try doing other, non-review posts sometimes. Writing the reviews, though, takes up most of my blogging time and that’s annoying.

What I’m going to try to do instead is sort of like what I did back in November/December when I was trying to read a book a day: I’ll do tiny reviews of the books I’ve read in the previous week for my Salon post. Longer reviews (and therefor separate review posts) will be saved for review books and books that I just have a lot of feelings for. And then hopefully I’ll have more time/energy to write other blog posts! Like, say, more tips for blogger newbies posts. Or reading journal-y posts! Or other exciting stuff!

Basically I guess I just don’t want to be trapped into doing a million review posts a week. Because feeling trapped is not fun, and I want to have fun! Continue reading »

REVIEW: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Posted by Anastasia on March 5, 2012 4 Responses »

Mar 052012

021. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Publication: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 13, 2012), eARC, 352pp / ISBN 0385739370
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction

Read: January 29, 2012
Source: NetGalley

Summary from Amazon:

It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America–the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria’s a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan’s a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they’ve got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can’t run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Review

I have a deep fondness for books that force teenagers to travel to places they might not have wanted to go to and that, in turn, force them to grow up into better people than they were at the beginning of the book/journey. This is why I had such high hopes for 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and why I had such high hopes for Wanderlove! Luckily Wanderlove does what I wanted 13 Little Blue Envelopes to do, and it does is in a completely amazing way that, if I had a physical copy of this book, would make me cuddle it to my chest for about a week. That’s how happy this book makes me. Continue reading »