Between Writing Reading

The Magicians by Lev Grossman Quentin Coldwater is brillant but miserable. He's a senior in high school, and a certifiable genius, but he's still secretly obsessed with a series of fantasy novels he read as a kid, about the adventures of five children in a magical land called Fillory. Compared to that, anything in his real life just seems gray and colorless. Everything changes when Quentin finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. But something is still missing. Magic doesn't bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he though it would. Then, after graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads One of the most common quick and dirty summaries...

A Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls: Your Favorite Authors on The Vampire Diaries by Red , Vee, Sarah Rees Brennan , Heidi R. Kling , Karen Mahoney , Bree Despain , Jennifer Lynn Barnes , Alyxandra Harvey , Vera Nazarian, Jon Skovron , and Kiersten White In A Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls, YA authors—led by Red and Vee of premier Vampire Diaries resource Vampire-Diaries.net—take a closer look at Mystic Falls: its residents (both alive and undead) and its rich, inescapable history. Claudia Gray delves into the events of 1864 and how they’ve shaped not just Mystic Falls but the success of the show itself Sarah Rees Brennan tells us what it takes for a girl to hold her own against a vampire boyfriend (or two), placing Elena squarely between fellow vampire-daters Buffy and Bella Jennifer Lynn Barnes takes Mystic Falls to task for poor treatment of Caroline Forbes Jon Skovron examines the male-female vampire dynamic, in history and in The Vampire Diaries Plus a guide to the book s...

Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan   Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads I don't even know where to start with this review, because I loved the whole damn book. It...

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered. Since then, Mac's life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac's hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy's killer: A white werewolf. Lupine syndrome--also known as the werewolf virus--is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control. Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy's boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads I've read a few YA werewolf books this year (the other two being Raised by Wolves and Nightsha...

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl Seventeen-year-old Althea is the sole support of her entire family, and she must marry well. But there are few wealthy suitors--or suitors of any kind--in their small Yorkshire town of Lesser Hoo. Then, the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. There's only one problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way. And, as it turns out, Fredericks has his own set of plans... -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads Here is another book that has been likened to Jane Austen's novels (as well as another favorite of mine, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith). This time, it's done in a much more self-aware, tongue-in-cheek way, without feeling like either a mean spirited satire or a watered-down knock-off. You'll probably know from the opening sequence if this is a book for you: We were walking in the castle garden. The silvery light of early spring...

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis Katherine Ann Stephenson has just discovered that she's inherited her mother's magical talents, and despite Stepmama's stern objections, she's determined to learn how to use them. But with her eldest sister Elissa's intended fiancé, the sinister Sir Neville, showing a dangerous interest in Kat's magical potential; her other sister, Angeline, wreaking romantic havoc with her own witchcraft; and a highwayman lurking in the forest, even Kat's reckless heroism will be tested to the upmost. If she can learn to control her new powers, will Kat be able to rescue her family and win her sisters their true love? -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads Ok, my last few books were fairly dark and/or heavy reads, so here is one that is light, fun and clever. It's Jane Austen, with witches! A plucky heroine! Magic cupboards! A Regency house party! Highwaymen! There is nothing here not to love. The three sisters are all well-drawn i...

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life. Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death. - Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads One word: atmosphere. This book will transport you to the sticky, cicada whirring, screen door slamming town with murder on its mind. There is something very invasive about this book, and it's no stretch to imagine the oppressive, threa...

Green Angel by Alice Hoffman Left on her own when her family dies in a terrible disaster, fifteen-year-old Green is haunted by loss and by the past. Struggling to survive physically and emotionally in a place where nothing seems to grow and ashes are everywhere, Green retreats into the ruined realm of her garden. But in destroying her feelings, she also begins to destroy herself, erasing the girl she'd once been as she inks darkness into her skin. It is only through a series of mysterious encounters that Green can relearn the lessons of love and begin to heal enough to tell her story . -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads This is one of my very favorite books of all time. It is so hauntingly beautiful, achingly sad, and still suffused with hope. The prose is steeped in imagery, but it never feels overdone or flowery to me. This is one of those books where the physical construction of the book matters. It's written in green ink, and there's something that feels very right ...

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they'll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl. But that relief doesn't last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both. Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship--one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing ...