Name That Book, Episode 23

Name that Book is a (not so) biweekly game where you get to guess a book title from the photo clues.  Occasionally I offer prizes for those who guess right!

Back from an overly-long hiatus (and probably still not regularly returning), I bring you another episode of Name That Book!  This time, I'm focusing in middle grade books, to help celebrate March of Middle Grade Books over at The Owl.  Leave your guesses in the comments!

Book 1:

Book 2:

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

1000 Posts!!

It seems an awful waste of a post just to say this is my 1000th post, but I'm doing it anyway.  I hope some of the 1000 have been worthwhile. :)  Thanks to everyone who reads and comments here at One Librarian's Book Reviews - you make me want to shoot for another 1000!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication date: November 2011
Pages: 336
Source: Library
For: Fun (and the Dystopian Challenge)
Series: Legend, Book 1

Day is the city's most wanted criminal, sneaking around causing havoc for the Republic.  Little do they know he's a teenage boy.  June is a genius student preparing to be a top military leader.  When she's commissioned to find and capture Day, she takes it very personally - after all, he killed her brother.  When their two paths cross, they little expect the deadly secrets they are about to discover about the Republic and each other.

Things I Liked:
This book boasts a truly fantastic story.  It's very cinematic, with sweeping scenes and action-packed story lines.  I loved June and Day and the things they deal with and overcome that seem at once so different - rich vs poor, wrong sides of the law - but in the end are the same.  June was so interesting to me and one thing I loved was that she didn't have an immediate understanding of just what her society was doing.  Sometimes characters have completely unbelievable revelations and instantly know their society is evil.  In this, at least, she took the time to think it through.  Complex, layered, and yet still very readable and filled with action.  A fabulous dystopian debut that left me already wanting the sequel!
 
Things I Didn't Like:
I was so swept away with the awesome that is this future look at society that I honestly can't think of things I didn't like.  It was so believable that I can completely see our future looking like this.  A great read.

Read-alikes:
Definitely a Hunger Games readalike
Reminded me just a little of All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Divergent by Veronica Roth

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: ! 
a little here and there

mrg-factor: none 
just kissing really

v-factor: -> 
some fighting and action violence

Overall rating: ***** 

Do you think we will forever be comparing all dystopian books to Hunger Games? 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty

The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publication date: October 2011
Pages: 356
Source: Library
For: Cybils

When one day Sacha can't see witches and the next he can, things go from bad to worse.  He's snached up to become an inquisitor's apprentice, to help eradicate magic from the streets of New York.  But when he becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate Thomas Edison, his job and his life become a lot more complicated.  Will he be able to figure out who's trying to kill Edison before he loses his own life?

Things I Liked:
The story in this one had me caught in its web.  It intrigued, it surprised, it made me laugh and cry.  The book was more than its story though.  It had real characters - Sacha was so complicated and so vulnerable and so powerful at once.  I loved the view of society in New York during the early 1900s - the historical detail was fantastic.  The racism and the many different cultures, and the difference between ideals and reality and rich and poor in America.  All of this was cleverly reshaped with magic as its basis - a very well done alternate history.  I adored it.  Here's a favorite quote: 

Working miracles is like letting out a pair of pants: You can only stretch the fabric of the universe so far before you run out of cloth.  After that, you're stuck deciding whether you want cold ankles or a cold tushie. p 181

Things I Didn't Like:
It was a bit difficult at times to get into, mostly, I think because of the Jewish cultural elements I simply didn't get.  I think if I were Jewish or had grown up in NY with more exposure to Jewish culture, I would have thought this book was perfect.  But sometimes I didn't quite understand what a word meant and I definitely felt confused about what a dybbuk actually is for nearly the entire book.  Many Yiddish phrases were explained, but quite a few were not.  It might be a tough sell for kids and it might be they would see the story and forget about all that other stuff.  It just depends on the kid, I guess.

Read-alikes:
Reminded me of the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld
Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: ! 
one or two

mrg-factor: none 

v-factor: -> 
a little bit, but mostly it has some scary elements

Overall rating: **** 

Do you like reading alternate histories with magical elements?  What's your favorite book like this?

Bonus: for more middle grade greatness, check out Jill at The Owl's March of Middle Grade Books event!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Covers of 2012

I'm finally back participating in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is favorite covers.  I simply couldn't do an all-time favorite top ten, so I narrowed it down to 2012 books.  Here they are, in no particular order:

I discovered I'm a sucker for blues and reds and swirling colors. Also, covers with stars tend to get an automatic spot on my favorites list.

What do you love in a cover? What are your favorites for the year?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Listless Monday: Winged Edition

Listless Monday was inspired by both Amanda at A Bookshelf Monstrosity's feature Books by Theme and Court at Once Upon a Bookshelf's Listed feature.  Be sure to check out their lists!

While trying to figure out what to do for Listless Monday (I'm so bad at getting them out), I realized I kept seeing a new cover trend.  It seems like there have been a lot of winged covers lately, though if I'm limiting it to newer releases, I didn't find quite that many.  Here are the ones I could find:

Any additions?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication date: October 2011
Pages: 352
Source: Library
For: Fun (and cause I heard much raving about it)

Jill is trying to find a new normal after her father died, and she copes by pulling away from everyone she loves.  Until her mom decides to adopt a baby, probably in order to replace the missing part of their lives.  Mandy is pregnant and doesn't want to stay where she is with her mother who doesn't care, wants to give her child a better life.  When these two girls' lives intersect, can they find a way to get along?

Things I Liked:
This book felt so real.  I mean, I don't read a lot of realistic fiction, but this book reminded me of why it is so good.  The characters are flawed and struggling and reminded me so much of how I feel sometimes that it really drew me in.  The story is fascinating and difficult and makes you want to cry and rage against all that is wrong in the world.  But it is Jill and Mandy that keep you reading, keep you hopeful, keep you invested in the story.  At first, you think they are so different they will never get along, but as it progresses you begin to see things that are the same between them.  I just loved how slow and steady and real the development of their relationship felt.  A wonderful book that reminds us all how it is to learn to trust, to deal with grief, to do hard things.  Loved it!  Some of the lovely writing:

The hardest thing of all is loving my mom without him to show me how.  Loving, maybe, isn't the best way toput it.  Obviously, I love my mom.  Understanding, appreciating, showing kindness and compassion and basic friendliness toward - which, you know, are the things that express love, because otherwise it's just a word, right? - those are the challenges. p 4

It's the quiet kind of crying that can go for hours, when over and over again you try to stop, try to tell yourself it's going to be okay, but another part of yourself can't stop thinking about the thing that's breaking your heart. p 97

Things I Didn't Like:
You know, I'm not sure I could come up with something I didn't really like.  I guess maybe the ending felt a tiny bit too neat, but there didn't seem to be any other way to end it (that wouldn't make you gag).  Just fantastic.

Read-alikes:
Reminded me of Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
A bit like Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly 

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@# 
regularly throughout, and one f-bomb

mrg-factor: XX 
not explicit, but it definitely plays a part

v-factor: none 

Overall rating: ***** 

What was your favorite thing about this one?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Classic Double Challenge: March

Another month already gone?  Seems like this year is flying past and I'm not doing so well on my challenges.  Not even my own!  I did make some progress, reading my first book that counts, New Girl by Paige Harbison, a retelling of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.  I am planning to write a joint review/comparison when I get Rebecca reread, so no real evidence that I'm making progress.  I picked a winner for the month of February, this time it was:

Tammy Gillmore

This month, I've decided to (try to) jazz things up.  You can earn extra entries into the monthly contest if you link up with any participating posts OR if you comment on the topic I mention below.  You are, of course, automatically entered in the contest just by signing up for the challenge (Classic Double Challenge sign-up page).  But you DO have to be signed up to win.  You can still comment if you have an awesome idea, though, whether or not you are joining the challenge.  So, what is this fabulous topic, you ask?

Today, we are doing a little dreaming.  I want you to come up with your dream retelling/sequel/related book.  Pick your dream author to write it, the original tale it's based on (or related to in some way), the setting, the genre, and any other details you want to tell us about it in the comments.  You can do as many dream books as you want (or dream series, if you're ambitious). 

Want an example?  Here's mine: I want a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Scott Westerfeld (hey, I dream big), set in a futuristic/sci-fi world - can't you just picture Edmond being exiled to some distant planet, striking it rich and remaking himself as a powerful interplanetary leader? 

Ok, so it was a lot harder than I thought.  I'm excited to see what you guys do with it.  Your turn!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage