The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Rae Carson)

****

         On her sixteenth birthday, Elisa is married to Alejandro, king of a neighboring country, to seal the deal on a treaty.  This would be difficult enough without the fact that she bears the Godstone, a sign that she will perform a service for God, and is targeted by enemies everywhere.  Elisa may be one of God's chosen, but she doesn't seem fit to take on any kind of divine task.  She is an overweight, coddled princess without any of the power or commanding air of her older sister.  Once she arrives in Joya d'Arena, Elisa is faced with even more danger and mystery than she had faced at home.  She knows why she must keep her Godstone a secret, but doesn't understand why Alejandro wants to keep their marriage under wraps as well.  Worse still, Elisa is being hunted down by unknown forces who will go to any lengths to get her Godstone.

         This was a really good book, the kind that you don't want to stop reading.  It was a nice change of pace to read about a heroine who really isn't all that heroic to start out with.  Elisa doesn't slip into her role as the leader of an underground resistance group easily - she's too busy trying to walk fast enough to stay with the group and keep the pangs of hunger at bay for that.  I enjoyed seeing her go from a pampered princess to a hardened warrior.  It was a fairly smooth, believable shift: Elisa wasn't so tough by the end of the book that she was unrecognizable.  Instead, it felt like she had just grown up.  Plus, the story kept me hooked the whole time.  There weren't any parts that were slow or boring.  If you're looking for a book that you can't put down, give this one a go.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: January 10, 2013

Finals are over!  I survived!
Hopefully this weekend I will have plenty of time to get reading.  I've already got three books lined up. It's a relief to have a few days completely to myself . . . except studying for the SAT.  Whoops.
What about you?  Are you working hard this weekend or getting a little time off?

Happy New Year!

Hi, everyone!

I can't believe 2012 is over.  Thanks to everyone who checked in to read my posts and follow my progress!  Sadly, I didn't even come close to my goal this year: I clocked in at 49 books.  On the bright side, now I have a clean slate and a whole 365 days to shoot for a new goal.

I've decided that my 2013 goal will be 75 books.  That seems a little more reasonable, even if it's sad to lower the goal.  I figure that with standardized testing, two AP exams, and college applications ahead of me, I'm not going to have tons of free time on my hands.  My plan is to go at it until the end of June.  Then, I'll reassess the situation and decide if I should bring the goal back up.

This year, I've also decided to count books that I reread towards my goal.  Several people have told me that I should do it, and far be it from me to argue against something that makes my life easier (and allows me to read more Harry Potter).  As long as I read the book from cover to cover, not just skipping around to my favorite parts, it counts.

Hopefully everyone will stick around and keep reading the blog this year!  If you want to be notified when I post something new, try following Books on the Bluff.  Also, don't forget to comment on any of my posts if you have something to say.  You don't need to be a follower to do it.  I would love to get to know some of the people who read the blog this year!

I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)

****

         Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain lives with her family in a run-down castle in the English countryside.  Her father was once a famous writer, but he hasn't published anything in years and spends the majority of his time reading detective novels.  Cassandra, a bit of a writer herself, decides to "capture the castle" and all of the people in it to develop her writing skills.  Her notebooks tell the story of life at the castle and the turn of events that makes everything infinitely more exciting.

         This was a great book!  It was a little slow at first, but before long I was picking it up to read any chance I got.  Cassandra is a charming narrator who does a good job of describing the castle and the eccentric people who live in it.  The characters are interesting and well-developed, although some (like Topaz, Cassandra's stepmother) are quite shallow.  This wasn't an action novel by any means, but the story was funny and there were some unexpected twists.  If you don't mind older books (think 1940s), you should definitely give this one a go.  

Rating: 4/5

Completed: December 21, 2012

My Name Is Asher Lev (Chaim Potok)

****

         Hasidic Jew Asher Lev comes from a long line of very important religious people.  From his father, who establishes yeshivas (schools) in Europe, all the way back to his great-grandfather, Asher's family members have put religion before self.  But Asher Lev is different.  He is a Jew, but he is also an artist.  In such a strict religious community, Asher's attempts to capture an emotion can easily be interpreted as blasphemy.  Asher wants to embrace both aspects of his identity, but his family cannot do this.  He is forced to choose which side of his identity is most important to him.

         This was one of the best books I've ever read in school, and a great book in its own right.  There were so many likable characters.  No surprise here, but I've found that the more you like the characters, the more you like the book.  Asher is a really good person in a tough situation.  He loves his family and wants to be a devoted Jew, but also loves art and needs it to express himself.  Hard as he tries, Asher's father, Aryeh, can't understand his son.  From the outside, Asher and Aryeh would both seem terribly stubborn.  As the book goes on, however, you realize that neither one is at fault for their tense relationship.  They are both trying to do what they believe they're called to do, and their paths just don't line up.  Asher's mother, Rivkeh, desperately wants to bring the two together.  She sacrifices everything for her husband and son so they both can do the things that are important to them. Despite this, she can't force them to reconcile.  Amid this family tension, Asher struggles to find balance between his Jewish beliefs and artistic expression.  On one hand, My Name is Asher Lev is a great "literary" book and makes for some serious discussion.  But it's also a really enjoyable story without the analysis.  No matter what you're looking for, I'd recommend reading this book.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: November 21, 2012

Days of Blood and Starlight (Laini Taylor)

****

Sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone (!).  Serious spoilers, so watch out . . . 

         Karou is not just art student and tooth snatcher Karou anymore.  She's also Madrigal, a chimaera who was executed for loving the enemy.  A chimaera who has been betrayed by the very same angel she died for.  Karou has left Akiva and left this world entirely.  Most of her people are dead, but she has gone back to her homeland in search of those who are left.  Karou is determined to avenge the dead, and she will do anything necessary to make it happen.  Even if it means allying herself with the very monster who sentenced her to death.

         I loved this book!  It wasn't quite as good as the first one, but it seems as though very few second books are.  I found it pretty frustrating that Karou gave up on herself after realizing that most of the chimaera - including Brimstone - had been killed because of her.  She lost a lot of her identity and personality for a while.  It took a lot of time for her to realize that she wasn't the complete villain the chimaera were making her out to be.  I was so happy that Zuzana and Mik had a bigger role in the book.  Those guys are the best!  With their help, Karou made a good comeback in the end.  On the whole, I'd say this was another success for Laini Taylor, and I can't wait to read the next book.

Rating: 4/5
Completed: November 21, 2012

Merry (day after) Christmas, if you celebrate it!  It's hard to believe there are only five days left in this year . . . it's not looking too good for the book goal, huh?  I guess I'll just have to post the rest of my reviews this week and start fresh next year!

Monument 14 (Emmy Laybourne)

***

         Monument 14 is the kind of book that - at first glance - seems like a kid's dream.  After all, who hasn't thought about being stuck in a department store at some point?  But the experience Dean, his little brother, and twelve other kids have trapped in a store is anything but fun.  On what starts out as a normal ride to school, giant hailstones start falling.  Dean's school bus crashes and most of the kids on it are killed.  A few of the teens, including Dean, are rescued by the elementary school bus driver and brought into a Target-like store where a group of younger kids are waiting.  While the bus driver is away trying to find help, the gates of the store close and everyone is locked in.  At first, Dean and the other high schoolers are worried about getting along and taking care of the little kids for a few nights.  As the hours and days go by, however, more disasters strike and they face the possibility that they are stuck in the store for the long run.

         As far as apocalypse books go, this one was pretty good.  It was kind of a milder version of Michael Grant's Gone series - freaky in a lot of ways, but not freaky at that level.  I picked this up because I had five minutes to grab a book for English and I happened to know what it was about.  Unfortunately I wasn't really in the mood for an apocalypse book.  Even so, it was a pretty quick and suspenseful read.  If the apocalypse genre is your thing, you'd probably like Monument 14.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: November 10, 2012

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few weeks.  There are only a few weeks left in the semester, so my teachers are really piling on the work.  Hopefully I'll be able to post more over winter break, which starts next weekend.  In the meantime, what have you been reading lately?  I've been rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for about the millionth time.  I swear it gets better every time I read it.

Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses (Ron Koertge)

***

         Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses is a collection of fairytale retellings written in free verse.  It includes a modern take on everything from Cinderella to Bluebeard with a dark twist.

         As you probably have figured out, I love a good fairytale retelling.  I sped through this collection, although I'd have to say that it wasn't my favorite.  Some of the stories had a cool or creepy side to them that is vaguely reminiscent of the original tales.  (Have you read any of the Grimm brothers' stories?  They're no Disney movie, I'll tell you that.)  I found that I couldn't really connect to the characters well, though - probably because each story was no more than a few pages long.  This was a good collection, but it didn't particularly stand out to me.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: November 10, 2012