Ancient Witches

Witchlanders

By Lena Coakley

Genre: Fantasy

After the death of his father, Ryder is struggling to harvest enough food for his family – two younger sisters and a mother that's obsessed with predicting the future by casting bones. They are Witchlanders, white-haired and pale-eyed, governed by a coven of witches that Ryder mistrusts. A generation ago, the Witchlanders were at war with the dark-haired Baen across the mountains. Ryder's world changes when the village is attacked and his mother predicts an assassin Baen living in the mountains, itching to start the war again.

A shot in the dark, I picked up without knowing too much before reading. I am so glad I found this book, it has easily become a new a favourite on my shelf. The world was rich; characters relateable and believable; and there was always something at stake. The reveal of the depth to this world is mind-boggling and expertly crafted.

The first third of the book burned slowly, giving us a “slice of life” for the main character Ryder. The second third gave us more questions than answers. And the last third flew by with gripping action.

Overall, the atmosphere was ancient and mysterious. It reminds us there are no sides, and that sometimes, traditions lose their original meaning.

Highly recommended for the fantasy lover.

5/5 STARS

Classroom: The topic of religion is constant and may not be suitable for classroom use, unless you are wanting religion-based discussions. Other discussion-worthy issues are war, familial duties/expectations, tradition for the sake of tradition, substance abuse, obsession, and racial judgements/stereotyping.

Time Travelling Troupe

A Wrinkle In Time

By Madeleine L'Engle

Genre: Sci-Fi

Meg Murry is ordinary. It seems only her youngest brother, Charles Wallace, and her mother really understand her. Meg's father has gone missing and she's witnessing her mother slowly fall apart. Feeling isolated and utterly lonely, she feels her life is going nowhere. On a dark and stormy night, Meg's life of adventure begins when a mysterious stranger appears... and then a couple more.

L'Engle is a rockstar fantasy/sci-fi writer that everyone must read. This book is a classic. Published first in 1962, it just celebrated it's 50^th anniversary. There's a reason this story has stood the test of time.

The time travelling, a complex endeavour, is explained expertly. L'Engle got the idea after reading a paper by Einstein! For a children's book, the complexity of plot challenges the mind and intrigues the scientific reader. Anyone who is a fan of time travel (Doctor Who), aliens, and space travel (Star Trek), this is highly recommended.

4/5 STARS

Classroom: Yes! Please do use. Sci-fi is becoming more popular in the mainstream, and children will respond well to this. It deals with family dynamics, a missing father, a girl who feels less than everyone else, topical science subject matter, and brilliant writing. Juvenile reading level; can be used in middle or highschool (grades 6-9, ages 11-14).

“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.” C.S. Lewis

Interest, Intrigue, and Excite Me

Shatter Me

By Tahereh Mafi

Juliette has a power. She cannot touch anyone without killing them. For several years, she has been languishing in a prison until the futuristic government, The Reestablishment, wants her on their side.

The cover is bland and forgettable. I have an irrational hatred for “girls in ballgowns” covers. Thank goodness the publisher changed the scheme for books 2 and 3. In fact, the only reason I wanted to read this series in the first place is the second book's cover. Now I'm not so sure I want to read it.

I struggled through the first 200 pages of this book (338 total). Nothing was really grabbing me – the characters, the setting, the plot, or the pace. Then last night, something happened! I finished the rest of the book speedily. At the end, I'm still confused. I liked where it went, but I wish it had arrived there sooner.

Warning: this book is HEAVY on romance. I've no objection to romance. It just got in the way of the trajectory of the plot. It felt like “something's happening! something's happening! Oh, they're making out again...”. The feminist in me would have liked Juliette to have more development than just the romance.

I felt that little was explained and when it was the explanation offered more questions than answers. The world is a mystery to me. Though that might be part of our perspective through someone who's been incarcerated for three years.

What's most redeeming in this novel is the beautiful writing. Little snippets of pure poetry sprinkled throughout.

Here's hoping book 2 explains more.

3/5 STARS

Classroom: Skip this one.

The Darkest Plague

The Darkest Minds

By Alexandra Bracken

Genre: Dystopian

A dark, dark world where there is little hope we meet our main character Ruby. A plague has ravaged America, killing most of its children between the ages of 8-14. Some of those children survived, and for some reason those survivors have been gifted with incredible powers (think X-Men). However, scared of these children, the government has gathered all the children into internment camps.

Before reading this book, know that it is not the happiest of books. Ruby deals with poor treatment and torture in the camp she was sent to. She meets friends, Liam, Chubs, and Zu, who are all running from various organizations bent on using their powers for their own agendas. Without giving too much away, the story revolves around Ruby and these friends running, finding sanctuary, and having it ripped from them again and again. The heart of the story is how they deal and how they stick together.

Truly, I enjoyed this book. It is dark, it is heart-wrenching, but it is good. Ruby has such a fantastic character arc, that she's fast becoming a favourite character of mine. It reminds us of how easily we can mistreat the people that we do not understand. We've seen it in history - World War II, with Hitler's “Death Camps”, and in Canada, the Japanese Internment camps.

One itty-bitty complaint comes from not being American. The whole novel it talks about the plague in America, but rarely (if at all) does it give us a glimpse at what is happening with the rest of the world. I want to know how the world is dealing with this plague. I find it highly improbable that it would only strike American-born children. Understandably, Ruby has no way of knowing about the rest of the world, but outside non-interment-prisoner characters could easily give us little tidbits or brief tv news casts.

In this series, book 1.5 “In Time”(a novella), book 2 is “Never Fade”, and the concluding book 3 is coming out this year, 2014.

 5/5 STARS

Classroom use: This novel is lengthy (488 pages) and is therefore not practical for classroom use. However, for students interested in dystopian, I would recommend this one for sure.

Cover Note: I love the cover. Before reading the book it was only ok. I read the book, it's perfect. The trident on the front is symbolic.

Wings as Drifted Snow, Eyes as Flame*

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

By Laini Taylor

Genre: Fantasy

Dive into a world of chimera and angels so real that you want to visit. Excellent writing. Excellent world building. Fantastic characters. It is like reading a complex fairy tale.

Karou is our main character, blue haired, sixteen, and attending art school. She fills her sketchbooks full of unreal creatures, chimaerae they are called – frightening, macabre, and the only family she's ever know. She struggles to balance her life in the human world with that of her chimaerae family's. Then she meets Akiva.

Taylor's incredible world building brought me in and kept me there. I want to purchase wishes so that I can tour the apothecary shop where Karou grew up with her family. Though, I could easily travel to Prague, where the art school that Karou attends is located. For the world alone, I recommend this book.

Then there's the characters. Ah, the characters. Akiva, the angel. Zuzana, the best friend. Brimstone, her foster father. Even Kazimir, the ex-boyfriend. They all are so well crafted, they felt like people (or otherwise) you might meet. Most of all, Karou. I was expecting to dislike her. But the mysteriousness of her existence and her own questioning really drew me in. In the end, I love her.

There is a romance. It drives the story. But an unusual romance. One where it doesn't quite sit right until it makes sense.

The story is woven together so complexly that there's hints along the way of what's to come, but not so much that I never really guessed as to the meaning of it all. I had inklings. Those inklings were all wrong. Even better. A story where you can't guess the ending is the best of them all.

Recommended. Hands down.

5/5 STARS

Classroom: Skip this one.

*Note on the title: In reading the description of Akiva, my mind kept going to the description of an angel from the Basque Christmas carol "Gabriel's Message", wherein, to look upon an angel is both calming and terrifying.