Sea Change

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman was an okay read. I had this book checked out from the library for roughly a month and a half before I started getting angry overdue email notices that told me I needed to return it, posthaste. It's sad to say that until last week, this book sat in my locker at work for a month and a half waiting for me to crack it open. I wanted to read this book solely for it's cover, yes I'm shallow, but how could you not? It screams of teen cheesiness and of a whirlwind, passionate romance- could it get any better than that? Frankly, yes it can. Although I did like the book on the whole, there were a couple things that I didn't really like about it which shall be addressed later in the post.

For recap, this is a story that could be classified as many things: summer romance, mermen (yum!), coming of age, befriending the popular kids, and more. The main storyline is this: Miranda is a high schooler in New York who plans on doing an internship at the National History Museum but gets spirited away by her mom to Selkie Island, an island off of the coast of Georgia so that they can get their dead grandmother's house ready to sell. Miranda isn't too happy that she has to delay her internship, but goes along because she's a "good" girl. Upon arrival she sees that there are many signs that boast of the danger of the island, and especially the interesting nature of the gorgeous boy "next door" who seems to be falling for her.

I enjoyed this book, though I didn't really like the whole way the "mystery" of the island was approached--it felt to fictional. I couldn't really connect with the main character, even though I did feel her plight, and her mother's descent into Southern Belle socialite bothered me. Other than those hard to overcome flaws, this was a pretty good book--at least one that was enjoyable to read on the whole.

A Kiss in Time

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn was one of the best books I've read this year- I may have read other things that were good or okay, but this book was amazing. You know the book is good when you find that you've turned so many pages that you haven't even realized it because you're so caught up in the story. This is the second book I've read by Flinn (the first being Beastly), and I have to say that she does three great things with her writing: she executes the male voice to a "t", she creates a realistic modern day fairytale story, and her writing is so modern and such a great example of the teen voice that it doesn't seem like you're reading but that you're talking to someone.

This novel is told through two different character's narration: Jack, the typical teenager who was sent (against his will) on a tour around Europe with his best friend Travis, and Talia, the (spoiled) Sleeping Beauty-esque princess who ends up pricking her finger on a spindle, sending her entire kingdom into a deep sleep for about 200+ years. Jack and Travis end up stumbling upon Talia's kingdom, and her, when they break away from their boring tour guide to look for a beach, which has the potential to have nude girls. Jack doesn't know why he suddenly has the urge to kiss the beautiful sleeping princess, but once he does he regrets it: Talia is annoying, ungrateful, and used to being pampered. But once Talia comes to and realizes that nothing awaits her in a kingdom that no one realizes exists, she decides to hitch herself to Jack, in the hopes that she can convince him that he is meant for her and is her true love.

I absolutely LOVE this book- it's funny, clever, and was a great spin-off of Sleeping Beauty. I definitely recommend this book- in fact, I'm planning on buying it soon.

Book of a Thousand Days

So I finally finished reading Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, and I must say that I liked it- not as much as Princess Academy, but definitely more than Goose Girl. I took me a while to get into the story simply because it didn't grasp me at the very beginning, but I trekked on because of all of the rave reviews I had heard about the book. I dare say that I'm glad I didn't put it down, and after the third attempt to read it, I finally finished it.

This book tells the story of Dashti, a mucker girl (somewhat like a farmer), who ends up becoming a lady's maid to the Lady Saren, one of the princesses in the land. Within minutes of Dashti saying she will serve her lady, Lady Saren's father locks both of them within a tower due to Saren's disobedience. As each day dawns, Dashti narrates their lives in locked up solitude, and she quickly learns why they are both locked in the tower; two of Lady Saren's suitors show up outside the tower with intentions to break both girls free. Saren fears both men-especially the one that could harm her and her kingdom, yet refuses to leave the tower out of fear. Though this story is supposed to be a record of the seven years that the girls are in the tower, it's when they both break free that the real story and adventure begins.

Again, this isn't the best thing that I've read by Hale, but it definitely wasn't the worst. I think Shannon Hale's books are hits and misses- you have to find the right one for you. I think the reason why I like Princess Academy so much is because it was the first Shannon Hale book that I read. It's different and it's a different take on the fairytale genre. A lot of people think I'm crazy because I don't like Goose Girl yet think I'm crazy that I like Princess Academy, but again, Goose Girl was the first Shannon Hale book that they read- ergo, they like it. If you're looking for a Shannon Hale book to read, I recommend Princess Academy or Book of a Thousand Days. They didn't fail me, so hopefully they won't for you either!

Wonderland

Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew was a fun read, and an interesting twist on the original Alice in Wonderland tale. It isn't necessarily a "book" so much as it's a comic book, or a "graphic novel" as the book publishing snobs now call them- whatever. It looks like a comic book, ergo it IS a comic book. There isn't too much to say about this book other than the illustrations are BEAUTIFUL and full of depth and dynamic, and the storyline is interesting.

Wonderland tells the tale of Maryann, the maidservant to Mr. Rabbit/the white rabbit (this is the maidservant that Mr. Rabbit mistakes Alice for in the movie). The book pretty much takes you on a fun romp through Wonderland, exploring the interesting (and odd) nooks and crannies of the place. While there you meet the Queen of Heart's other sisters (the Queens of Spades, Clubs and Diamonds) as well as the newly transformed drugged Caterpillar, and find a rebel group of animals who follow the Alice Monster and her teachings. Odd though this book may be, it's a nice break away from reality and what may be the norm in reading. Though the book is beautiful to flip through, there isn't really a storyline to the book. I'm not sure if I would ever read it again because there wasn't any foundation to the tale, but I know I'll end up flipping through it just for the illustrations.

The Princess of the Midnight Ball

Jessica Day George has done it again with another fairytale classic in The Princess of the Midnight Ball. Not unlike Sun and Moon Ice and Snow in the reconstruction of a classic fairytale, Midnight Ball does the same yet tells the story from the point of view from both protagonists (male and female). This is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses with a twist that I've never read of before.

Rose is the oldest of 12 daughters (all have names of flowers) and the princess of a land that seems to be based loosely on Germany. Each night she and her sisters are forced to dance for King Under Stone to fulfill the contract that their mother made with him prior to her death. The girls are forced to dance all hours of the night, every night, driving them and their father insane. The other protagonist, Galen, is a soldier returning from war. He tries to transition from the life of a soldier to that of working as a gardener in the King's garden, and ends up falling for Rose. At this time the King has posted a reward for the prize of one of his daughter's hands, and his kingdom, to figure out the riddle of where his daughters go each night, and how they escape when he locks them into their bedroom. I won't give the rest away, but I'm sure you can predict the ending (it is a fairytale after all).

Overall I really enjoyed this book, though it was odd for the narrator to switch from Rose to Galen and back again. I think the part that really freaked me out was reading how Galen felt about Rose (don't worry- it's just puppy love). Just hearing romantic thoughts from a male perspective was just a little freaky and unusual seeing as I've never been inside the head of a boy. I did like this book a lot though but just not as much as the book I've read by her, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

This Norwegian fairy tale is one of my favorites and I've read two versions that have been good spins on the classic tale. Edith Pattou's East and Jessica Day George's Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow both tell the same tell, but are different in many ways that you wouldn't think that they were originated from the same tale, except for of course the key elements that claim it as the classic. Both books were entertaining, and I recommend them to everyone. It's refreshing to read a fairytale once in a while that hasn't been slaughtered by Disney (not saying that Disney ruins everything, they just enhance/create new stories). When I read both books I couldn't help but finish them once I had started. Though I pretty much knew how both were going to end (it is a little predictable because it's a fairytale and so you know it's going to have a happy ending) but it's the journey that it took to get to that happy ending.

Just in case you were wondering, the basic gist of the story is that the main character is the youngest of several children, born to a family that is struggling to survive. As she grows up she learns that something greater is awaiting her in her future, which is about the time that a great white polar bear shows up at her front door demanding that she live with him. Realizing that her destiny is awaiting, and with the prodding of her parents to embark (due to the bounteous riches she and her family will gain if she goes) she decides to leave. She ends up in an elaborate castle with anything and everything she's ever wanted, though at night when she lies down to sleep, a man gets into bed with her (not like THAT) and sleeps beside her. She is plagued by the mystery of who the man is because it's too dark to see him each night, and each morning when she wakes he is no longer there.

I don't want to tell anymore of the story because if I do I'll give the second half of the story away, but just know that both books are phenomenal and great reads.