Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest Author: Holly Black Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication date: January 13, 2015 Pages: 336 pages Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Summary from Goodreads: Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for. Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once. At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking. Until one day, he does… As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough? There’s a monster in our wood. The Darkest Part of the Forest has a great mystery— a horned boy in a glass box. However, the story that unfolds after the horned boy wakes up, doesn’t quite measure up to the intrigue of the mystery. Despite having some wonderfully menacing characters (see above excerpt), once moving, Holly Black’s story felt a little too forced and predictable.
Hazel is determined to fight the fae in the woods who haunt Fairfold, but wants her brother to share her mission. Ben used to, but he has a special magical gift from the fae, and now lives in fear of it, because he can’t control it. Throughout the book, we discover Hazel and Ben’s neglected childhood—which leads both of them desperate to prove themselves, and know unadulterated love. The horned boy was more compelling in the box. The love interests for siblings Ben and Hazel felt extremely one-sided on Ben’s side, and somehow underdeveloped on Hazel’s side (even though it was with a character we should’ve known well). Black’s story kept me entertained, but not guessing. I was underwhelmed with the conclusion and wished it had been better—because there was so much potential! Would I let my teen read this book? Hazel and Ben aren’t really the best role models, but that doesn’t really prove a book inappropriate. I don’t mind morally ambiguous characters, but Hazel and Ben felt more superficial. Mostly I struggle to recommend it, simply because I didn’t like the direction of the story. The book is relatively clean, content-wise. There’s some gruesome scenes and gruesome fae creatures. Hazel kisses the boys and makes them cry. Ben is gay and shares a few kisses with another character, he also references what it was like for him to be with a boy for the first time. Sex is mentioned but there’s nothing graphic. Age recommendation: 15 Language – mild Drugs & Alcohol— the kids drink alcohol at parties, kids get drunk Sex – several kissing and make out scenes Violence – knife and sword violence against the fae; character gets fingers broken; characters left in coma. My Goodreads rating: 2 out of 5 stars Buy The Darkest Part of the Forest on Amazon.com
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Title: Talon Author: Julie Kagawa Published by: October 8, 2014 Publication date: Harlequin Teen Pages: 464 Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance Summary from Goodreads: Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser. Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George. Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. I have to say that nothing is more disappointing than having exciting prospects (dragons! star-crossed love! historic rivalry!) dashed by cliché and boring storytelling. Julie Kagawa has a series called The Iron Fey, which I read a few years ago and enjoyed. I was hopeful for this book. However, within the first few chapters I started to wonder–maybe it’s just a start-up problem? You know how sometimes you read a book and the beginning is really rocky? Like, an author had a good premise for a book, but he struggled to set the groundwork in order to get to the actual story? This was not the case with Talon. The protagonists felt cliché, the history of dragonkind and the St. George rivalry seemed unimagined, and the love triangle was not very compelling. Ember is a beautiful, fiery redhead with a personality to match. In typical teen form, she wants to shed her responsibilities to embrace her freedom. Understandably, for she’s been living in isolation most of her life for her own protection. During her summer of freedom, she meets a bad boy on a motorcycle (Riley) who her dragon has an instant primal attraction. He will explain why Talon is not to be trusted (but you’ll have to get through 80 percent of the book first!) Ember meets Garret when she’s attacked and almost sexually assaulted by a frat boy. He takes this opportunity to infiltrate her life, rescuing her from chauvinistic frat boy. Ember has to be rescued by a boy, even though she’s a fierce dragon, because she can’t risk exposing herself while biting into the jerks throat. As Ember and Garret spend more time together, they fall for each other, despite being mortal enemies (though they don’t know they’re mortal enemies). Much of the book is spent developing Ember and Garret’s budding relationship (with a few dragoncentric Riley scenes to shake things up). Between Ember’s restlessness and Garret’s solemnness, there are long monologues about understanding their new feelings for the other. I wanted to know much more about Talon and St. George. Overall, I was a little bored. I picked up Talon because I knew the second book, Rogue, was publishing at the end of this month. Maybe we’re in for more history and excitement in the next installment. I haven’t decided if I’ll read it. Would I let my teen read this book? The content is mature enough that it’s firmly in the high school- age department. Despite that, there’s nothing to recommend against it, except that it might not be your kind of story. Your teen might like it better than I did! Age recommendation: 14 Language – moderate, 1 F-word Drugs and Alcohol – underage drinking Sex – Kissing; characters’ sexuality is ignited (meaning – lead couple is experiencing sexual attraction for the first time with lines like “I feel it low in my belly and pull her closer…” Violence – there are military scenes and battles with guns and explosions, but nothing described in gory detail; dragons like to talk about ripping people’s heads off My Goodreads rating: 2 out of 5 stars Buy: Talon on Amazon.com Buy: Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School Series Book 1) on Amazon.com Author: Gail Carriger Books: Etiquette & Espionage; Curtsies & Conspiracies; Waistcoats & Weaponry; Manners & Mutiny (pub Nov. 2015) Published by: Little, Brown and Company Genres: Science Fiction, Steampunk, Paranormal, Historical Fiction At the age of 14, Sophronia is recruited for a finishing school – Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. Little does she know that she won’t only be learning to pour tea and host a dinner party, but she’ll learn the arts of an intelligencer – lady spies hidden in society. Sophronia also doesn’t realize she’s going to be very good at intelligencing – one of the best. It’s 1851 in the British Empire. Mechanicals serve households and humans live alongside vampires and werewolves. All under the Queen: vampires, werewolves, and Picklemen (human evil geniuses) fight for power. Meanwhile, girls are trained at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Academy for Young Ladies of Quality and will someday have to choose patrons or sides in this power struggle. The finishing series is set in the same world as Gail Carriger’s other series – Parasol Protectorate. I haven’t read it, which may be why the details of this world’s society was confusing. It wasn’t until the third book that I started to understand the politics behind the story. However, that also may have been intentional, as the themes and topics of the books get more mature as Sophronia grows into a woman intelligencer. Despite the confusion, Carriger is a clever, imaginative writer who created a smart, capable heroine. Although the content of the books sounds dark, it’s remarkably lighthearted, especially in the first two books. Sophronia may combat a crazed werewolf and up-to-no-good flywaymen, but she also skirmishes with a mechanical chaise lounge guard dog (it’s exactly as it sounds). There are actual characters named Mrs. Barnaclegoose and Lord Dingleproops. If you’re disappointed Sophronia's world includes vampires and werewolves, you’re not alone. I resisted the series for that reason. I’m tired of the Twilight-induced obsession. However, I was able to enjoy the series, maybe because these characters don’t take center stage (at least not in the first book). One thing I loved about Carriger's series: there's an overarching story woven through, but each book has an individual story with a conclusion. No cliffhangers here! If you prefer to read a series all at once, this is a good year to pick up Finishing School. The final, fourth book, Manners & Mutiny, comes out in November. You can pre-order it on Amazon. Would I let my teen read this series? Like Harry Potter, this series matures with the age of the character. While Harry might be 10 in the first book, I’d take some time to consider if my 10 year old should read the whole series. Sophronia is 14 when the story begins, but she’s 16 by the third book. The third book is more mature, as the girls are introduced to lessons of seduction and Sophronia becomes more physically aware of her love interests. The publisher recommends 6th grade and up for this series, which is appropriate for Etiquette & Espionage (Book 1). If your teen is going to read the whole series, I recommend waiting until they’re 15. Age recommendation: 15 Sex – There’s some innocent kissing, and noticing of muscles Violence – Some fist and weapon fighting; violence associated with werewolves and vampires— In Curtsies & Conspiracies (Book 2) you read about a vampire feeding from several people to revive himself; In Waistcoats & Weaponry (Book 3) one of the characters is transformed into a werewolf (to save his life) which includes a violent bite to the neck. My Goodreads rating: 3 out of 5 stars Buy: Etiquette & Espionage (Book 1) - on Amazon.com |
Lindsey Learn
I read a lot. I'm a Mom. I'm officially in my 30s, but strangers often don't believe I'm old enough to drink. I love Young Adult fiction, and thought it was worthwhile to help teens and adults find age-appropriate options. Categories
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