Pos-i-tute-ly Divine

The Diviners

By Libba Bray

1920's – There's a murderer on the loose in New York City, the curator of an occult museum is assisting in solving the case and his spirited young woman with a psychic ability has just been sent to live with him. Together, they work to track the killer. Part mystery, part ghost story this book will send you back in time to the carefree parties of the roaring twenties.

Fantastic. I was enraptured from the get-go with the setting and the plot. The main character, Evie, is grating, self-absorbed, and vivacious. She walks in a room and demands attention. Most of all, she loves telling stories. One can never tell if she's speaking the truth or forming a fantastical version of the truth. I disliked her to start and as she grew, I began to love her.

It's been a while since I've taken on a ghost story. As a child, I loved them. My love is rekindled. I'll have to find more like this novel because I loved it. Naughty John is one of the most unnerving, bone-chilling, skin-crawling villains to read. He is terrifying.

The plot moves and each character is unique and mysterious. You're left wanting more after every chapter. Of course, you have to work for the solutions to the mysteries because this book is a beast. Just under 600 pages, this is a book you'll want to invest time into. You'll love it. It's the cat's meow.

4.5/5 STARS

Classroom: Far too much of a tome to bring in, however, if you have students interested in the 1920's or possible ghost mysteries, suggest this one.

Alive and Thriving

Wither

By Lauren Destefano

Rhine lives with a death sentence – after the world is cured of cancer, the next generation born lives extremely short lives. Women live to twenty and men to twenty-five. She is kidnapped and sold as a wife to a rich young man who lives in a sheltered fantasy world. All Rhine wants to do is escape, but she is trapped in a mansion, forced to marry someone whom she does not love.

While an interesting concept, this book is limited to a singular setting – the mansion – which makes the realities of this cruel world difficult to explore. We are only given Rhine's perspective and she is someone who thinks. Perhaps I wasn't too captured by the story because it felt like her thought processes were information dumps: a great amount of back-story told at once. I admit to skimming over them often. However, when there was dialogue, I wanted to know more.

I thoroughly enjoyed the main character, she had the practicality to know that she needed to do something about her situation. It wasn't all cream puffs and pretty dresses. Her brother kept her tethered to the desire to return to home. And too, the secondary characters I enjoyed as well. This would be considered a character driven novel, as opposed to plot driven.

It moves slowly and all the same I enjoyed this light read.

3/5 STARS

Classroom: Content not appropriate.

Princesses, a Prince, and a Peasant, Oh, my!

Falling Kingdoms

By Morgan Rhodes

A high fantasy with multiple points of view, a complex world separated by differing interpretations of the same mythology, very real characters that are neither good nor bad, and plot that moves at breakneck speeds. Rhodes has written the story in such a way that we see all sides to the same story. It all depends on who sees it.

You have four main characters (as the back of the book blurb helpfully describes with my additions):

Princess – Cleiona, the most frustrating of the characters. She's a spoiled child that does what she wants. Only knowing a sheltered life of privilege until one day, things start happening. Not happy things. Her sister's health is failing, she becomes engaged to a drunk, and she is haunted after witnessing a marketplace murder.

Rebel – Jonas is enraged at the oppression of his country and people. His motives are driven by the sudden death of his brother and he finds himself sparking a revolution against the oppressing country. Blinded by anger, all decisions are vengeance based.

Heir – Magnus is rich, entitled, cold, and suffers the abuse of his father, the King of Blood. Cruelly treated since he was a child, he has become hard to bear the burden of being his father's son. The only light in his life is his sister. Wanting approval of his father, he will do anything.

Sorceress – Lucia is adopted by a royal family. Young and naive, she is the prophesied sorceress that will save the world. Of all the characters, she is the least rounded, but I assume she'll become a force in the second book.

I thoroughly enjoyed how complex Rhodes made this book. It was easy to follow, but the twists and turns made for an incredible reading experience. I admire how she was able to seamlessly pass one character's storyline onto the next without stalling the overall story. In fact, it takes real creative thinking to have these four characters encounter each other, especially being from different class systems.

Recommended to those who are wanting to delve into high fantasy, but feel too daunted by the 800 page tomes or 12 book series.

4/5 STARS

Classroom: This book could be acceptable in a classroom, however, fantasy is rarely used because of magic. Forgo this one, but recommend it to the struggling reader who wants to read Lord of the Rings or Song of Ice and Fire.

Persuade Me, Win Me

Unravel Me

By Tahereh Mafi

Earlier in the year, I reviewed the first book of this trilogy, Shatter Me. I was on the fence about reading this sequel. The first book did not capture me. I felt nothing for the characters. I liked the writing. Not the plot.

*spoilers from the first book*

Unravel Me starts exactly where we ended. Juliette just got a fancy “superhero” suit and feels, for the first time, like she's a part of something. She is accepted and loved, not feared and hated. The underground movement, Omega Point, is gearing up for a counter attack. Above ground, the Reestablishment is wreaking havoc on civilians in an attempt to find Omega Point. To top it all off, there's drama – SO MUCH DRAMA – between Juliette and her boring love interest, Adam.

Unexpectedly, I was hooked. I stayed up way too late to finish the story. It was more gripping, there were consequences, things were finally explained, characters were given more depth, and Juliette took action (some of the time).

Juliette's character does bother me. We are in her mind the whole time. The language is beautiful in her head. She cannot seem to emulate the flowery thoughts into her words. I wish she did.

The drama between her and Adam is ridiculous. It's exactly how teenage drama and miscommunication play out. However real it is, I tended to skim those parts...

The most captivating character is a tie between Kenji and Warner. I am hopeful there is more of these two in book three, Ignite Me. I will continue with the series, for these two. Most people are “Team Warner”. Kenji has my heart.

Overall, Tahereh Mafi you have converted me. I will finish the series.

4/5 STARS

Classroom: Nope. Too “girly”. Also, a little racey.

Cover comment: THIS cover is the reason why I picked up the series in the first place. Beautiful. Even the detail of the bird in the eye.

Cyborg-ella

Cinder: Lunar Chronicles I

by Marissa Meyer

Cyborgs, androids, and Cinderella – smash 'em all together, you get Cinder. Reworking the fairy tale, Cinder is a gifted mechanic and a cyborg. In this society, any machinery is deemed second class, they are not human, and that includes humans that have replacement limbs or minor body repairs. A mysterious plague ravages the city of New Beijing, where Cinder lives. And, of course, there's a prince – soon to be emperor.

The story lures you in and takes you away. It's a face paced read that you can knock off in a day at the beach. The main character of Cinder is delightful, loveable, sarcastic, and thoroughly confused. Her step-mother and older step-sister make life practically unbearable. Cinder supports the family with her mechanic business and her step-mother makes her feel guilty for her father's death.

The only glimmer of hope is the relationship she has with her younger step-sister, Peony. I loved Peony. I loved Cinder. Meyer also improved the character of the prince. Cinder and Prince Kai actually interact well before the famous ball. And it's definitely not love at first sight.

I am certainly intrigued by the world. Little detail is given, only hints. There has been a World War IV – no details. Gasoline cars are antiquity, but somehow still around and functioning. A colony has lives on the moon (hence Lunar Chronicles), for hundreds of years, and have somehow flourished and evolved into ethereal, manipulative beings. Think Tolkien elves only sinister.

The next book, Scarlet, is Little Red Riding Hood; the third, Cress, is Rapunzel; and the last (coming soon), is Winter, The Snow Queen.

I am a huge fan of a fairy tale retelling. Done right, they make you think differently about the original. Add depth or unexpected motivation to otherwise unexplained actions. I gobbled this one up and I highly recommend it.

5/5 STARS

Classroom: One could use this in the classroom – sparking debates on how much human qualifies humanity and how much robot defines machinery. Topics of treating people with disabilities differently. Many “what if” questions. However, because of the romantic aspect, I would suspect this would only be a hit with the girls and very few (if any) boys.