Systematic Student:
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Today we are pleased to have joining us Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder, a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. Guys! Be excited! Cinder is a 2012 debut, and a little birdie on the inside tells me (Misty) it's fabulous! Make sure to stop back on Friday for a guest post from Marissa!

Now let's get down to business. "Serious" Questions:
~Can you tell us a little bit about Cinder and the series?Gladly! CINDER is a young adult futuristic retelling of Cinderella. In it, Cinder, a 16-year-old cyborg mechanic, must piece together her mysterious past in order to protect her country from an impending war. It's the first in a four-book series, each of which revolves around a different fairy-tale-inspired heroine (Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White), as they join forces to save the world and find their happily-ever-afters. CINDER is scheduled to release in early 2012.

~Why fairy tales? What is it that calls to you, personally, as a writer, and why do you think readers connect to them the way they do?
I’ve always loved fairy tales. When I was growing up, I loved them for the romance, the magical kisses, the dresses, the princes in their fancy castles. Now I’m drawn to them for their timelessness—these are story archetypes that have been retold and recycled in 8 billion different ways, yet authors and artists and movie directors are still coming up with new ways to tell them. And because they still relate to issues that every society deals with, whether it’s childhood neglect a la Hansel and Gretel or just wanting to improve your social status a la Cinderella—these stories hold as much meaning for us now as they did in the time of the Grimm Brothers.

~What’s your favorite scene you’ve ever written? EVER ever? Gosh, that’s a lot of scenes. Can I say every single kiss? I’m a big fan of kissing scenes. The fun part of writing a four-book series with four different heroines who have four different romances is that there’s lot of opportunity for great kissing! Book 2: SCARLET (Little Red Riding Hood) will have some particularly smoldering ones.

Quickfire, Silly and Random stuff:
~Rapunzel is named after lettuce; what odd thing would you be named after if you were in a fairy tale? I love this question, because I was tempted at one point to call my Rapunzel character “Arugula”! I ended up settling on “Cress” though, which is also a type of lettuce. If I were in a fairy tale, I think my odd name would be something geeky and literary, like maybe Pencil or Comma.

~ Using that name, give us a line from your life as a fairy tale: The fairy godmother waved her magic wand and Pencil found herself with this a real live book deal—a dream come true! She was about to retire to Hawaii and do nothing but lie on the beach and drink fruity cocktails for the rest of her happily ever after... when it occurred to her that she still had to write the rest of the books. And back to work the princess went.

~Best fairy tale villain and why? I’m partial to Rumpelstiltskin. He’s sly, crafty, can actually spin straw into gold (quite the feat!), and goes after what he wants. I also love that the story leaves open a big mystery: why does he want the queen’s firstborn at all? It could be very cruel and awful (maybe he plans to eat it!) or more sympathetic (maybe he just wants a family).

~Favorite tale from childhood? Favorite tale as an adult? Least favorites? I always loved The Little Mermaid—it was my favorite Disney movie as a kid, and I only fell in love with it more once I read the Hans Christian Andersen version and learned how truly tragic the story was. It has so much depth to it (pun kind of intended). As for now... it’s so hard to choose! Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are probably neck and neck for my all-time favs. As for least favorite... I don’t know that I really have one, although something about the end of Hansel & Gretel always bugged me. I felt like the dad got off way too easy in that tale!

~If you could be any fairy tale character, or live through any fairy tale "happening," who/what would it be? Cinderella’s ball! I love big beautiful dresses and dancing and food!

~Would you rather:
- — live under a bridge with a troll, or all alone in a high tower? Tower, definitely! Just think how much reading you’d get done.

- — ride everywhere in a pumpkin carriage (messy) or walk everywhere in glass shoes (uncomfortable)? I’ll take the carriage, with hopes that the fairy godmother had the sense to scrape all the guts out of it.

- — have a fairy godmother or a Prince Charming? Between getting engaged and getting my book deal for CINDER both in the past few months, I think I already have both!

Thanks so much for the fun interview, Ashley and Misty! Oh course! We were happy to have you, and can't wait for Cinder! Thanks for stopping by! So who else is super excited for Cinder? *raises hand* Stop back on Friday for a special guest post from Marissa Meyer. And don't forget to leave her some love in the comments!

Today is my first actual Memory Monday post, and I'm pretty excited about it! If you missed what Memory Monday is all about, you can read this post here for a more detailed explanation.

I thought for a while about which book I want to start with, but couldn't really settle on one book. Two of the books I read this week happened to be fairy tale retellings, and I have quite a few (a lot) more on my read and to-read lists, so I decided I would start my Memory Monday postings with the reason I love fairy tales so much. And that reason is:

Grimm's Fairy Tales as written and collected by The Brother's Grimm!

Have any of you read their collection of fairy tales?! It's wonderful!

I first read this when I was 10 years old. We were spending a week or so visiting my grandparents, and I was bored. I love my grandparents very much, but at 10 years old, just being in the same house is usually enough. I'm sure you can all relate...

Always having been a reader, I was looking for a book. They had a few picture books, a lot of plays (my grandfather and that whole side of my family is very big into theater), and a bunch of non-fiction — biographies and the link. When you are ten, all of that equals one big BLAH.

I can't tell you how much time I spent searching their shelves just hoping that something interesting would appear and give me something to read. There are only so many times you can play "River Wild" in the hammock. (That's another long story...) Ahem...

As I was searching the shelves, my grandpa pulled an old copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales from the bookcase and told me to give it a try. I was skeptical at first but soon because deeply fascinated by these dark and often morbid tales. Disney never told me that Cinderella's bird friends pecked out her evil-stepsister's eyes, or that Snow White 'dies' two or three times before finally eating the apple, and that it's the dwarf's who save her the first times. There were so many more tales that I had never heard of before and they were all so fascinating. Not all of the heroines are helpless, waiting for their prince to come. A lot of them are ultimately the ones who save their princes and even the tales that have a happy ending are not nearly as peaceful getting their as the current tales would have you believe.

I overheard my grandpa remarking how impressed he was with me to my parents because of my reading. I was sitting on the couch while my brothers were watching cartoons when my grandpa walked through the room. He assumed we were all watching TV, but was impressed and pleased to find me tuning out the TV and little brother noises to focus on my book. I was, as my grandma says, tickled pink. I remember that day, and I remember that book. I loved the stories so much that my parents got me my own copy that Christmas which I promptly sat down and read again, and would use night after night to read bed time stories to my younger brothers. I have such fond memories of these stories, and I love reading them in their original form and retold in new and unique ways.

Because of this book, I also read The Complete Tales of Hans Christian Anderson, and although there were a few favorites there (namely The Little Match Girl and Thumbina) the stories of the Brother's Grimm are most definitely the favorites. (Do you know that HCA has a fairy tale (no lie) about a dung beetle? Ya, I thought it was weird too).

The Brother's Grimm had a very definite impact on me early reading, and what interests me today. Do you have any old favorites? I'd love to hear about them! Leave me a comment telling me about your childhood favorites, or linking me to your blog post, or telling me about your experiences with Grimm's Fairy Tales! I'd love to hear from you!

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce was utterly wonderful. I've always love fairy tale retellings, but my especial favorites are the stories that take a familiar tale and make it entirely their own. Sisters Red does this marvelously.

The writing itself was captivating. It's told in chapters narrated alternately by Scarlett and Rosie. I loved that we got to listen to each sister. Their outlook on life is so different, their views so varied that their voices didn't need much help being unique. It was easy to tell which sister was thinking or talking. I also loved both the prologue and epilogue which were written as fairy tales. It's such a small detail that definitely makes a big difference. (Big smile).

Jackson Pearce is not the first author to take the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and turn the sinister wolf in the forest into a werewolf. It's been done before, but never have I read it done like this. Pearce is brilliant and I'll definitely be signing up to read any and all fairy tale retellings she writes up in the future. Scarlett is mauled while trying to protect her younger sister Rosie from the werewolf (Fenris) that killed her grandmother. She loses her eye and gains an intense hatred for the Fenris and a passion for hunting them down. And, she's good at it. It drives her life and often blinds her to anything else. This is her mission, her role. She needs to protect others and remove as many of these horrid monsters as possible, with the help, of course, of her lovely sister Rosie and their childhood friend Silas. (Side note to say thank you for not making the werewolf the love interest... Ahem... Very big thank you.)

Oh ya, and the red cloak — it's a lure. I just can't get over how much I loved that detail. Red is the color of passion, lust, desire and blood and the Fenris just can't resist the lure. It made me happy.

Anyway... I will admit that I saw the twist coming from a long way off. I can't remember actually being surprised at anything that happened, although I know we were supposed to. But, I'm okay with that. Pearce writes in such a way that I didn't mind figuring everything out long before the characters. It just felt like I was in on the secret. And, I'm much, much more lenient with fairy tales being predictable than I am with the average book. Fairy tales are supposed to be familiar. And, the great writing, and realistic characters more than made up for that. And, it was great writing. It's one of those stories that just pulls you in and holds you close until you finish the last page metaphorically gasping because you just can't handle it anymore.

And can I just add that I love when authors combine more than one fairy tale?! It makes me so happy! And before I go into that, understand that this may very well be me reading more into it than the author intended... Maybe she's not actually familiar with the tale Snow White and Rose Red, and I may have seen the slight correlations because I wanted to, but I wanted to. So there... It's really subtle and I noticed it more in the personalities of the girls and their relationship to each other than the actual story line, but the faint hint of this tale was there, almost like a perfume that lingers long after the woman has left.

If you haven't read this yet, and you have any enjoyment at all for fairy tales, strong heroines, dashing young men, exciting fight scenes and stellar writing, I suggest you locate a copy now, and read it. I finished it a week ago, and already I'm wanting to read it again.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through We Love YA Tours.

This review is posted as part of Once Upon a Bookcase's Body Image and Self-Perception Month.

Have you ever found yourself rooting for the bad guy? Knowing that the character deserves every bad thing coming his way, but hoping that, somehow, things will work out better in the end? I don't know that I had ever truly experienced that before reading Tenderness by Robert Cormier. I generally prefer (ahem-totally love) reading books where the bad guy totally gets his comeuppance. I'm all about hard-core justice for my villains. Mercy?! *Scoff,* What's that. Don't you know what he's done?!

Reading this book changed that. This is the first time (or at least the only time that comes immediately to mind) where I have truly felt bad for our bad guy. Other times when the bad guy is pitiable or shown mercy, it is because they aren't really all that bad, merely misunderstood. Eric Poole may be misunderstood. That's a distinct possibility. But, there is no denying the fact that he is bad. He's a sociopath. When we meet Eric, he's been in a Juvenile Facility for the last three years for the cold-blooded murder of his mother and step-father. Or course, it was justified because of the 'severe abuse' Eric has been living with, so the state tries him as a juvenile instead of an adult, which means he will be released after he turns 18 and his record will be expunged. No one knows about the three young girls Eric murdered, or so he thinks.

If I had to sum up my thoughts/feelings/idea of this novel in one sentence, it would be revolve around the quote that begins this novel: "To know the pain of too much tenderness" — Kahlil Gibran. One generally equates tenderness with only positive things. It brings to mind images of gentleness, kindness and love. But, what about the idea of too much tenderness? Is that possible? Apparently. Lori and Eric are searching for that tender emotion. Almost every action is driven by this desire to experience tenderness. They are always seeking it, they look for and find it in all the wrong places and they never grasp it for long. It creates intense dysfunctions within each character.

Eric kills young girls to find it and Lori subjects herself to all manner of unwanted and unwelcome sexual advances to feel it. Their paths cross and Lori decides that Eric is the one who can give her what she seeks. She goes with him, knowing that he murdered his mother and step-father (but he was so abused!) and later discovers that the murmurs about Eric killing young girls is also true. But, Eric is tender with her. She loves him. She informs Eric that she will stand by him, ignoring his past and assisting him in the future if he will simply remain tender with her. And how can he refuse that, especially once he begins to care for her, as much as he is capable of caring for anyone.

If we only heard from Lori's perspective, it would be incredibly easy to hate Eric and despise him for the crazed cold-blooded killer he is. But, he isn't, is he? I still don't know. We also hear from Eric. While Eric never demonstrates any remorse for what he's done, he too merely desires a little tenderness in his life. Before his mother remarried, she and Eric had a very close relationship. The man she married and Eric do not get along at all. Eric despises him and he thinks Eric is rather in the way. Eric seeks compassion and tenderness from these girls and finds that the only way he truly feels able to experience it is upon their deaths. However evil that is, I can't hate him for it. He seems genuinely puzzled when the main detective on the case calls him a monster and surprisingly, I found myself agreeing.

By the end of the novel, he seems genuinely concerned for Lori's welfare. He takes care of her, makes her feel special and begins to show her what she has been searching for. And there is no doubt that by the end, he truly cares for her. Although abrupt and a bit jarring, the ending suited the story perfectly. It was tragic, but it was the only way to end the story and be true to each character. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that I ended up heartbroken for each of our main characters. None of them really received their happy ending.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, and one that will influence my thoughts as well. I can't imagine someone with such a low image and perception of themselves that they would be willing to subject themselves to what Lori willingly puts herself through before and after meeting Eric. What would drive an attractive young woman to such lengths and who is to blame for not teaching this girl that she has value all on her own. This is a story that will both warm and break your heart and one that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is my first real experience with zombies, and I can't say I was disappointed. It was... Wow.

There were a lot of things that I really liked about this book, something I really didn't like about this book, and things I didn't really like, but couldn't have had it happen any other way. Sigh... I love when a book can bring such varied reactions at the same time while still being great! This is definitely a book that grabs your attention and keeps it, all the way to the end.

I do wish that we had learned more about the Sisterhood and the Guardians. Both groups (but especially the Sisterhood) gave off these real creepy sinister vibes, but we never really get to learn about them. It's hinted at and alluded too, but never spoken.

I also was fairly dissatisfied by the ending. It left a lot of unanswered questions, some I believe will be answered in the sequel(s), but some I imagine will never be answered. The very end was also the only time I actually felt that Mary was selfish. I've read quite a few reviews that complain about how selfish Mary is throughout the entire story, but I didn't see it. Sure, she was a teenager with the natural amounts of self-centeredness that goes along with that, but I didn't think she was anymore selfish than the average teenager, until her choices at the very end, which I won't tell you (obviously) because it would be a shame to spoil this book for you like that.

Although there were a few things I didn't love about this book, for the most part I was incredibly pleased. The writing was wonderful and captivating, beautiful and heartbreaking. I love that the undead were referred to as 'unconsecrated'. It changed the rhythm of the story (if that makes sense) and I definitely liked it. Any way you talk about them though, I definitely don't want to live in a world where zombies exist. ~shudder~

This book, although beautifully written and brilliantly designed is not a happy book. It's about the end of the world, and zombies, so it's to be expected. And, while I definitely prefer reading books with a happy ending and lots of closure, the stark realities of their world, and the unhappiness they have to live with is infinitely more logical, likely and realistic. So, even while crying, and wishing things had ended differently, this ending made sense to me, and felt right.

This is definitely a book that will stay with me for a while. And, I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to read the sequels.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff is the story of Mackie. Mackie is in high school, and he desperately wants to fit in, and live his life, but he has a secret, one that, if anyone found out, would likely mean the end of him.

He lives in Gentry, a quiet, unassuming town that hides a secret beneath the ground. Every so often, a child will disappear in the night, to be replaced with a child who looks similar but is, somehow, not quite right. Those children generally die soon after, and although the family grieves, no one acts like anything out of the ordinary has happened.

Until Tate's younger sister Natalie disappears, and Tate knows that what died in the crib was not her little sister.

The town of Gentry seriously creeped me out. Not because they have fairy like (evil) creatures living underneath their streets, but because no one ever talked about it, or acted as if it was anything out of the ordinary. I don't understand how people can live in a place like that, and do nothing about it. I would move. I especially don't understand why Mackie's mom stuck around. She hates the fey creatures that inhabit the underground, and is terrified of them, but (and this is a pretty big but) she stayed there. Why?!

Anyway, this was such a great book. The writing was wonderful, and I really felt like I could believe that these things were happening. It made me think about what I would do in a similar situation, which makes me think of Tate. I pretty much think she is like, the greatest teen heroine character I've read in a very long time. She's hard-core. She knows that what died in place of her sister wasn't really human, and she refuses to accept that everyone is just going to turn aside. She knows something isn't right, and she does something about it. I would like to feel that I would react like Tate in a similar situation. I've always been really close to my family, and I'm pretty sure that if you vanished with one of my little brothers, or my nephews I would raise hell to get them back and bring you down. Tate just made me really happy in that little angry place inside.:)

Mackie is also a great character, and I was amazed at how well he was crafted. (I feel weird saying crafted about a character that's so realistic to me.) High school is a hard time for everyone. It's when you are learning who you are, and trying to find and create your place within your surroundings. Everyone has those moments when they feel like they don't belong. How much harder would it be for someone like Mackie who wants to fit in, but knows that he really doesn't belong.

I loved watching Mackie learn more about himself, and why he is unique. Most of the replacement children die soon after being left in the human world, but Mackie has lived topside now for years (although he is sick all the time...) Anyway, watching Mackie learn that there were people who knew him, and understood him (more or less) but still loved him and wanted to be around him. It warmed my heart, because he's such a great character. He's a guy I'd like to run into in 10-15 years just to check up and see how he's doing.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Star Book Tours.

Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang is the story of young Emmajin, the eldest grandchild of the Great Khan. Her closest friend is her cousin, Suren, the eldest grandson of the Khan. Strength and fighting skills are valued in their culture, and Emmajin desperately wants to be allowed to serve in her grandfather's military. She would be the first.

Her grandfather gives her an important assignment. She is to become the companion and guide to the young traveler Marco Polo, and his father and uncle, who are traveling with them. She is basically a spy — sent to extract secrets that will make it easier for her grandfather to conquer their lands, and fulfill the prophecy from the Gods that their empire would unite the world.

Predictably, as Emmajin gets to know Marco better, she stops thinking of him as a stranger, or enemy and begins to consider him a friend, and then — more.

Although I found several parts of this story to be fairly predictable, I still really enjoyed the book. I thought that Emmajin was a great character, and we see a lot of growth in her over the course of the story. She really comes into her own. In the beginning, she is enthralled by the stories told in the courts about the mighty battles their warriors fought, and the grand acts of heroism and valor in battle. She can't imagine anything more rewarding or wonderful than being involved in something like that. But, as the story progresses, and she begins to learn more about Marco Polo's European ideals, and his desire for peace, she starts to question her belief systems, and view their culture from the eyes of an outsider. Eventually, Emmajin learns the hard way that battle is not all glory. The enemies have faces, lives, and stories of their own.

I loved watching her learn about differing points of view, and realizing that there isn't only one way of doing things. I thought Emmajin was a very well drafted and carefully thought out character. Unfortunately, she was about the only character I thought was fully imagined. Suren is Emmajin's best friend. They've been inseparable since they were tiny, and continue to be close as they grow. But, Suren is only ever fleshed out in relation to Emmajin. It's almost like he is only fully a person when sitting next to Emmajin. I felt like that about most of the other characters, including Marco Polo. To toss in a bit of philosophy, it reminded me of Idealism, which is the idea that there is no real reality. Everything we know/see only exists in relation to us. Sort of like The Matrix, except we aren't really plugged into any machines.

I wished that there had been more character development outside of Emmajin, but my biggest problem with the story was the ending. I thought that the ending was unrealistic. I don't want to go into details, because that really ruins the story, but I didn't believe it at all. I stopped believing what was happening as soon as Emmajin was sitting around the fire at the camp with Marco Polo, her grandfather and other members of the court and hunting party. It just would not have happened like that, and I feel like the author just needed a quick and happy resolution.

I do think this is a book worth reading. I wish the author had stayed a little truer to her characters when writing the ending. I think it was a disservice to both the characters and the reader to end it as she did. That being said, overall, I still enjoyed Emmajin's character and her discoveries about her world, and I enjoyed following her interactions with people.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Around the World Tours.

Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger won the John Newbery Award in 1925. I didn't know anything about the book when I picked it up other than it's Newbery, but I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by what I found.

I have always loved Fairy Tales. Like, a lot. If you remember, a few weeks ago I talked about my first experience reading Grimm's Fairy Tales, which helped cement my love for reading them as well. (If you are really interested, in my blog, and you can go back and read it.) So, imagine my delight when I realized this was a collection of 19 fairy tales recorded by Finger from South America. Although I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about other countries and their rich cultural histories as I'd like to be, I'm always open to learning more. And I think you can learn a lot about a society from their fairy tales and children's stories.

This was a real treat for me to read, and one I'm definitely looking forward to adding to my shelves and rereading, not only for myself but also to read to kids. I used to read some of the Grimm's fairy tales to my little brothers as a bedtime story, and I'd love to be able to add these tales to stories I can read/tell to young kids.

Although some of these stories might be classified as more mythology than fairy tale, I felt the same way reading these as I did reading the classic fairy tales. There's that sense of magic and possibility, where you know anything can happen, and although things might get a little rough along the way, and there probably won't be super happy ending, the good guys do win in the end.

I also noticed that the emphasis of each tale was placed on the struggles of each character rather than the resolution. The ending is always over so quickly. Normally, this is something that is a major no-no in writing, I mean, seriously. Who wants to read a 400 pg. build up to a 4 paragraph resolution?! But it seems to work in fairy tales. The stories aren't about what happens, it's about learning how to get there. We see their struggles, know their challenges and then we get to know they end up relatively alright in the end.

This is definitely a book I would recommend. The writing is a little older, but to anyone who is a fan of fairy tales in their original setting (or people who want to write a fairy tale retelling but are wanting new material) this is a great book to read and one that I strongly recommend.

Today is my birthday! Which means, of course, that for the next 24 hours, I am, most definitely, the coolest person alive.;)

I love my birthday. Having a birthday 2 days after Christmas can be quite the downer. Over the years, I've gotten a lot of those — Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday gifts, which are super annoying. Not because it's only one present, but because it's apparently not important enough to separate. Grr. Growing up, my parents were really great at not combining the holidays for me, and allowing me to be the most important person on my birthday. If you have kids, or know anyone who has a birthday near Christmas, I highly recommend allowing them to be completely special. It helps.

Anyway, I am going to enjoy today as my own very special day, and spend the next 24 hours just being awesome.

I thought about doing a book review today, or something else but decided that because it is almost Christmas, I am instead going to post a video of my favorite version of my favorite Christmas Song.

I love Carol of the Bells (instrumental only) and The TransSiberian Orchestra is awesome. So, I hope you enjoy listening to Christmas Eve in Sarjaevo. And really — how cool are those lights?! Although — I'd hate to live there.

Just Listen is my second attempt at a Sarah Dessen book. (Read my review for This Lullaby) I liked This Lullaby okay, but wasn't wowed by it the way so many people seemed to be. But, I did enjoy it.

Just Listen was better. I felt more of a connection with these characters, and I can most definitely see myself reading more by Sarah Dessen in the near future.

Owen was a great character. The boy has got a lot of bottled up anger, but he's got a huge capacity for love as well. Watching him open up was wonderful. I think he was my favorite character in this story.

Annabel was also a great character, and it was painful watching her struggle. You have a pretty good idea the whole time why she's struggling so much, but that doesn't make it any easier to read about. She is hurting, and distrusting, but she slowly begins to open up to Owen, and allow him a place in her life. I thought they were great together, and I really wanted for things to work out.

This book really reminded me of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I think that is a weakness of this story. Not because Just Listen isn't powerful or important, but because I believe Speak to be more so, and I read it first. That being said, I do honestly believe that Just Listen is an important story, one that needed to be told, and one that will touch just as many people as Speak has. Speak is powerful in its simplicity and sparseness, but Just Listen offers us a deeper look into the characters and their relationships with each other, not just focusing on the main character.

Music plays a hugely important role in Owen's life, and as they grow closer, it begins to change Annabel as well. This is a story that will reach certain people and that makes me truly happy, because people need to know that life gets better, that there can be an end to pain, that sometimes, all you have to do is be willing to listen.

The King of Attolia is the third book in The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. (Read my reviews of The Thief and The Queen of Attolia here) Eugenides is back again, although the bulk of this book is not narrated by him, but by a young member of the Queen's guard, Costis.

The Attolians are having a very hard time dealing with Gen as their new king. They distrust him because he is an outsider, the people we meet in the book know that he stole the Queen to force the marriage before her escape, and no one believes them truly in love, because of a certain event at the beginning of Queen. Costis loses his temper, and strikes the new King. Rather than have him killed, Eugenides makes him a member of his guard (ish) which is why so much of the story is narrated by him.

I was a little worried at first, when I learned that Eugenides was not our main narrator, because I love his character, completely. I think he's wonderful. (In fact, I think I'm making myself a little giddy, just thinking about it...) But, Turner handles it brilliantly. We are able to see Eugenides through new eyes, and the eyes of someone who strongly dislikes him. We all know how clever Gen is, and he knows how clever Gen is, but Costis does not. So, when we see these small pieces of the Gen we know and love pop through his image of boredom and weakness, we rejoice and cheer and laugh at how silly the people of his new court are, because they can't seem to pick up on his genius.

The scene where Costis finally realizes just how brilliant his new King is still makes me happy. (This is what I was referring to, as still being able to make me a little giddy...) . I won't give away any spoilers, because that would be criminal, but I will hint that it's the scene when the Queen (Irene) is discussing the difference between ninety-eight days and six months with Gen.

I think this is my favorite so far (there is a fourth already out, and I believe a fifth in progress) and it's my favorite because it combines the best elements of the first two. It contains the wonderful characterization of The Thief and the intrigues and intricacies of The Queen. Turner writes wonderfully. She builds up a huge tower of cards, and you can't possibly understand how she supports it all when BAM, you realize she was never using cards at all, and that it has always been completely stable. Brilliance!

Even though, as outsiders, we know that Gen just has to have something up his sleeve, it still hurts watching the way the people treat him. It has to be incredibly hard, knowing that everyone hates you and suffering through their constant belittlements. But Gen handles it well and when he finally begins to show his true colors, and turn the tables? It's perfection in a book. I love what he says on page 356, "You can always change the perceptions of fools."

I can't wait to see where the fourth book takes me! Sophos is back (a fairly important character in The Thief who in barely mentioned in The Queen and who has gone missing in The King.)

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larsen is the story of 16 year old Hattie, who has never felt like she has a home of her own. She's been moved around her whole life, and desperately wants a place of her own. Her uncle leaves her his Montana claim, if she is willing to move there to work it in time to meet the deadlines/guidelines for staking a free claim. Hattie gets her affairs in order and moves to Montana, without knowing anyone or anything about what she's really getting herself into.

There is a wonderful family that lives close to Hattie, and they do all they can to make her feel welcome, help her get settled in and survive. But, it's the middle of WWI, and the husband is German. It's a small town, and the people can't see past his German heritage to the good man they've known for so long. Hattie's never seen anything like it, and it, among other things, forces her to change her view of the world. The story also uses a series of letters Hattie is writing to a friend overseas fighting the war, and articles she sends back to her hometown newspaper about her life in Montana to earn a little money.

I thought this book was stunning. The writing is beautiful and engaging. Hattie is a wonderful narrator. She has a strong, independent voice, spoken, internal and written, and she knows who she is, but she also recognizes that she has room to grow, and she welcomes the help other people can bring to her. She is friendly to all the neighbors, and develops a really solid relationship with all of them, except the stories main antagonist, and even then, Hattie goes out of her way to be nice, and friendly. Chase and Mattie are the older children of the family mentioned above. Their father died, and it's their step-father who is German. These children were a wonderful part of the story. They reminded me of why I really do just love kids. They have a freshness and innocence to them as well as a firm pride in themselves and the man they call their father that you can't help but love them. Some of the most emotional, hopeful and heart-rending scenes involve those children.

Larsen is also a wonderful writer. I live in Idaho, which shares a border with Montana, and I've spent my fair share of time up in Montana and Wyoming both. Larsen nailed it. The area is beautiful, but wild and that feeling is really captured here with Hattie. Larsen's descriptions were so awe-inspiring that I found myself tempted to be a homesteader, and I know what it feels like to be so cold mere minutes outside freezes your blood in your veins, and you think if you close your eyes you'll never be able to open them again. It doesn't get to negative 65 degrees here anymore, but it sure gets cold. The terrain is majestic. When you stand at the edge of a huge expanse of open terrain, it makes you feel like you are a part of the land, like the earth is filling you completely. I can't imagine how much more powerful that feeling would be if you knew that you owned that land.

This is a book I think it would be a shame to miss. This book is one to break the heart. It's rough. Living on your own in the wilds of the Montana prairie would not be easy for anyone, but Hattie handles her trials admirably. Although the story is not always a happy one, it is always a hopeful one.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting was a wonderful read. One of the things I most enjoyed was it's simplicity and originality.

I'm not gonna lie, I've gotten a little tired of the seemingly formulaic YA books that have been released and super hyped recently, especially the paranormal types. I get tired of the predictable love triangles, instantly falling deeply in love with supernatural beings, repetitious and overly predictable plot lines etc. I do enjoy them sometimes, but I can't read too many too close together. I end up spending the whole time rolling my eyes because I can't get over it's absurdities long enough to really enjoy the story.

I was more than happy to discover that The Body Finder had none of these elements. Violet is a great character. She is strong and independent with a definite sense of self, even though she is still questioning certain parts of that self. I love knowing that Violet is aware she still has places to grow, even though she is okay with who she is. I also loved Jay and their relationship. Jay is a great friend to Violet, and really wants what's best for her. And, it's nice to read about a love story that has a real foundation in friendship before growing into love.

We also get to experiences several chapters from the POV of the killer. That is another awesome example of Derting's great characterization skills. I've always been fascinated by serial killers, and (I probably shouldn't admit this,) but I know a lot about them and how they think (ish). And I have to say, I believed in this guy. He really creeped me out, and I found myself with a mild case of the shivers when he popped up.

My favorite genre in my teenage years was murder mysteries and I especially loved Mary Higgins Clark. Can I just say that I loved that the major plot arc here was a murder mystery!? I still love a good murder mystery, so I truly enjoyed stepping back into those familiar reading shoes.

I was also very intrigued by the idea of Violet's power and the echoes death creates. That would be a horrifying ability to posses, especially for a young girl. I've never come across anything like it before and I found myself deliciously intrigued, and morbidly wondering what type of echo I would leave behind.

And, I must also speak about Derting's writing, and her ability to manipulate the mind of the reader and direct them where she will. I really enjoyed her writing style and found myself pushed and prodded into thinking what she wanted me to know at that point that I didn't even notice the pushes until something new came up and exposed them, which is something that does not often happen to me while reading mysteries. It definitely tossed me for a loop or two. Even when I knew without a doubt that she was throwing out a red herring, I still found my heart racing a little faster, because the writing was just that good.

I found that this story contained a believable plot with great characters that I was excited to root for and plausible/realistic situations. I am definitely in eager anticipation of the sequel, Desires of the Dead.

The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith is a book I was not expecting. I started the book pretty much knowing only that it was about two characters, one of whom saw ghosts. There are a lot of place that an author can go with that as a guideline, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect.

It's told in perspectives alternating between Katie, the girl who sees ghosts, and Law, a teenager struggling to meet the expectations of his parents — a white mom from a well to do family, and the black father who is THE name in black reparations — what you owe to the black man.

I like multicultural fiction, and have lately been making it a priority to read it more often. But, I didn't pick up this book knowing that, not only were our narrators of different races, but that race was a huge factor into the story as a whole. When I started noticing how focused Law's dad was on what it is the white man owes to the black man, I was a little worried. I don't enjoy reading books that are political agendas lightly disguised as fiction, no matter what the agenda. However, I believe that Smith handled the topic beautifully. She met at the perfect median, where I understood Law, and to a lesser degree, his father, but I never once felt bludgeoned by one view point or another. The ideas of race and reparations are vital, not only to this particular story, but also to the growth and maturation of Law.

I found it interesting that both Katie and Law seemed to find themselves torn between two worlds. Katie's is obvious. She has contact with the dead that alienates people, make them think she's simply crazy. She lives in our world, but must also learn to deal with those from the other side who want her help. Law's struggle is different. He has a white mother and a black father and he feels torn between two races. He isn't black enough to claim what his father has, but isn't really white enough either. He's stuck somewhere in the middle, and he spends the larger part of the book trying to figure out just where and what that is.

Law was my favorite narrator. Although I really liked Katie, and thought her voice was strong and well defined, the passages narrated by Law resonated with me more, and I felt more of a connection to law than to Katie. I think part of this is because everyone knows what it's like to feel like you don't fit in, with family or friends, but not many (if any) people have legitimate contact with ghosts. Although, I must say, Smith's imagery is amazingly vivid. I found myself shivering and looking over my shoulder more than a few times while reading this book, and was awed by the scenes she crafted.

I've already admitted that this book isn't what I expected, but I definitely think it was better. There is a strong sense of history within this novel, and it places a strong importance on the value of the past, our families and discovering who we are, and who we might become. This is a book I am happy to recommend.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Star Book Tours.

I have to say, that December is my very favorite month. It's Christmas time, which is excellent for lots of reasons. I love Christmas because I get presents (duh, and I think all of us lie if/when we leave this off) I get to give presents, which now that I'm older is just as exciting as getting them, and people just seem to be nicer.

Also, December is the best time to have snow. I love having a white Christmas, and snow has a certain novelty to it that always makes the first snow fall of the year exciting, even if you kind of hate it. But, December is the best time to have snow, and since I live in Idaho, where winter lasts longer than all the other seasons put together (almost) it's a good thing that I'm able to tolerate snow, at least for a little while.

And the best part about December?! It's my birthday, which means it just has to be awesome!:) I'm not a diva about it or anything, but I am definitely of the mindset that on my birthday, I am the most important person. I think I'd be a little like this no matter what, but the fact that my birthday is two days after Christmas means it has a tendency to be lumped into Christmas celebrations. Let me tell you, the absolute worst gift you could possibly give me is anything with 'Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday' attached to it. It definitely gives the gift a negative color, and makes me want to talk to my friends with birthdays in June and do the same.:) My birthday means it's about me, right?! It's great just having a day to celebrate my own awesomeness!:)

What do you love about December?!

Before I get started on what books I want to remember today, and the memories themselves, I need to give you a little background on my family and my childhood. Bear with me here. If you actually end up reading the whole story below... It's pretty funny, and totally true. (Welcome to my life... ;) )

So, my dad grew up in a theater family. His father owned a 'local summer theater' up in West Yellowstone, Montana (The Playmill, for anyone who's been out that direction) and my dad (the youngest of 7 kids) began performing in the Playmill when he was 6 or 7. I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say it's in his blood, which very likely means it's in mine as well (even though I haven't done much in the way of acting) which may explain why I have a tendency to be a little over the top.

Anyway, rather than divulge more family history, I'm going to tell you a story, that will segue nicely into my Memory, for Memory Monday.

As I believe I mentioned, or hinted, I tend to be dramatic, and I can get pretty intense, especially when I was a kid. One day, as the family was getting ready to go somewhere nice (I was in a dress) my father did something that upset me, and I decided that I was tired of it. So, I informed the family that I was leaving, and they could just go on/be happy without me, and I walked out of the house. I don't think I really intended to run away, it was (as it so often is with nine year olds) more of a punishment for my parents. We had a very long driveway/road (about 3 other houses along the road) and I walked to the end of the driveway, and then turned to watch, expecting my dad to be right behind me, waiting to drag me back into the house. Apparently, it took them a while to notice I was gone, so it was a few minutes before my dad came after me. But, by then I was so mad! I couldn't believe that they had waited that long before coming to get me! So, I decided to run away for real, which meant I definitely needed to get a move on.

As I mentioned before, I was a nine year old wearing a dress that had previously been worn in my aunt's wedding... Stiff fabric and a long, straight skirt. So, I didn't move very fast. My dad caught up with my just around the corner, in the libraries parking lot (fitting, I suppose) and dragged me back to the car. He made me get in, we started driving. My dad asked me if I knew what happened to young girls who tried to run away from home. He sounded quite ominous, and he spent the next 15 — 20 minutes explaining to me what exactly happened to nine year old runaways... In a nut shell, I could look forward to being picked up by a pimp and turned into a crack whore. (Did I mention that I was nine, and that I'm not making this up?!)

My mom was horrified, my older sister completely scandalized, my little brothers oblivious, and me? I was belligerent. Every bad thing my dad mentioned — some guy will grab you and force you to be a prostitute/he'll take all your money/he'll make you take drugs/you will have no choices etc and etc and etc was met with a very sincere, well, I won't let him do that. I was a little afraid, because what nine year old want to believe that her possible future includes hooking for some greasy, smelly old guy while completely high on some toxic mixture of meth, crack and heroine?! But, I refused to let my dad know he was upsetting me, and I honestly remained convinced that I would be able to get away, or overcome said greasy, smelly old guy. I believed that they same way I believed, when my mom would tell me never to open the door to strangers when my parents weren't home, that I could just 'shut the door really fast if they were bad' and there would be no problems. I could handle it.

My mom and I were talking about this a while ago (well, she was actually kind of mocking me) and it got me thinking about why I was so convinced I would be able to handle the world's bad guys as some fairly scrawny 9/10 year old kid. I was looking through some of my old favorite books, when I had an epiphany. I had discovered why I was convinced I could take anything those evil nasties threw at me: Willo Davis Roberts. (GR profile)

I read Roberts voraciously. Some of her books were 'issue' books (Sugar isn't Everything about a girl who is diagnosed with diabetes, Don't Hurt Laurie about child abuse etc) but most of her books are more in the vein of The View from the Cherry Tree, Scared Stiff, Twisted Summer, Baby-Sitting is a Dangerous Job, and Meghan's Island. That is to say — a mystery where the young (generally 8-13ish) protagonist(s) ends up matching wits with the sinister bad guy, and the kids always win! True, there are usually adults involved on the periphery, but there role is generally relegated to calling the police, or offering a small amount of moral support while their world collapses. It's always the kids who ultimately save the day, not only figuring out who the bad guys are, but also managing to subdue them until the police arrive, while also caring for the injured adult family member.

I read every single book by Roberts I could get my hands on. And a vast majority of the books I picked up involved a young kid outsmarting the adult criminal. So I ask you... What else was I supposed to think?! How could I not have believed I'd be able to 'take them down?' What we read often reflects on our realities, so in my reality, kids were definitely the heroes, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would be able to bring those suckers down. Those criminals had no idea who they would be messing with, and I was just itching to prove all these great abilities gleaned from Roberts wisdom.

Wanna know the craziest part? I went back and reread a few of my favorite Roberts' stories a few months ago and I can still believe what those kids get involved with! Her stories are just barely plausible enough to work, and if you don't think about it too hard, those kids really could have done everything she professes them capable of. While it's unlikely that they would be so lucky, by just the right combination of brains, luck, boredom and skill, it's a possible scenario!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your day be filled with love and happiness.

Today is a day of thanks, which I think can be celebrated by everyone, whether you live in the US or not. I love today, because it reminds me never to take for granted those things which have blessed my life, to appreciate those things I have been given, and to be grateful always.

I hope your day is wonderful!

Chronicle Books is hosting a contest for the Holidays. They are giving $500 in free books to one blogger! Seriously, how cool is that? To participate, explore Chronicle's online book store, select the $500 in books of your choice, list them in a blog post, fill out the entry form (visible here) and wait, hope and pray that they draw your name on Dec. 13.

But, it gets even better! It's hard to believe, but it definitely does. Not only will the blogger receive their choice of books up to $500, but so will one lucky commenter on their blog! That's right! Comment on this post, and if I win, you might win too! I think this is the greatest idea ever! I win the books I pick out, and so do you! (Win the books I pick out, that is...)

So, what books would I select if I had $500 to spend at Chronicle?! These:

• A Gratitude Journal (because it's always nice to be reminded of what we have to be grateful for, and I love new journals.
• Anna Sui Calico Cabaret Journal (ahem... It's pretty, and I love journals. Remember?)
• Blackbird Bakery: Gluten-Free (because my dad has a gluten allergy and is so sad that he rarely gets to eat dessert)
• Whip Up Mini Quilts (because my mom is definitely a quilter, but I don't have the patience for it. Mini seems like a great way to start, but if I hate it, I can pretend I bought it for her birthday. Hehehe...)
• Every Day's a Holiday (because crafting with kids (if you're okay with a mess) is just so much fun!)
• The Life and Love of Trees (because I just seriously love trees)
• Breaking Bounds 2011 Wall Calendar (because I need a calendar, and this looks ridiculously cool)
• How to Speak Zombie (seriously, like I need to explain why I want this?!:) )
• Mama, Do You Love Me?
• The Story of Little Red Riding Hood
• The Magic Flute
• Spinning Out
• The Space Between Trees
• A Child's Garden of Verses
• Aesop's Fables
• Sylvia Long's Mother Goose
• The Little Books Boxed Set
• Hush Little Baby
• Creature ABC
• Duck! Rabbit!
• Lullaby Baby
• Vincent's Colors
• Monet's Impressions
• The Lonesome Puppy
• Once Upon a Lily Pad

So, that's my list. I think it totals just under $480. I thought about adding another book or two, but decided that I didn't trust my math, and was too lazy to total everything up all over again. BUT, I'm pretty excited about my list, and now I think I'm probably going to cry a little if I don't win. Sigh... I guess a girl can only hope, right? Anyway, I hope you all comment away so that if, by some small miracle, I did win, you could too!

Happy holidays!

This is my review, and BTW, I'm totally going to spoil the ending... You have been warned.

Liam the Leprechaun by Charles A. Wilkinson is a short book, only 46 pages, with pictures placed throughout. I accepted this book for review because it looked like a fun, cute story that I could sit down and read with my nephews (ages barely 3 and almost 5) who already love books. (Yay! Big smile). When I received the book, I was excited, but quickly realized my nephews probably wouldn't enjoy the story. There are full pages of text with only a few pictures placed in between (7 pictures total). I was a little disappointed it wasn't going to work to read with the boys, but excited to read it nonetheless because I'm not too old to admit that I still like a good picture book.

But, I didn't really like it. I feel bad saying that, because most of the story was fun. It's a little bit wordy and repetitive, but overall, that wasn't too much of a problem. I think the writing is on the level of those I-Can-Read-Books, designed for kids who are just beginning to read on their own. So, the writing wasn't a problem for me, but the story itself, was.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book. Liam was a sweet little guy, who desperately wanted to fit in with the rest of the leprechauns. But his problem? He's short... Even for a leprechaun and no one notices him. Watching Liam attempt to find his place within the leprechaun society was endearing and he finally decides to seek out the wise, almost mystical O'Hoolihan to figure out what he can do to make a place for himself.

He takes 'Hooley's' advice, and begins to see an improvement. He's given a job finding lost things that are too small for normal sized leprechauns to see. I thought this was a great solution to his problem and was excited for the resolution, where Liam is so happy to be himself, because no one can contribute what he can and all that great stuff. But, that didn't happen.

Liam helps the department he works for find the missing emerald of Mzzzzzz. GloccaMoora McShaughnessy, daughter of the local judge, and a dumpy, screaming harpy/feminist. I'm not making this up. In two pages, she's described as having a rusty voice, screaming eyes, a voice like a worse than a Banshee, a terror, beady eyes and more. And on and on and on. But wait! Liam finds her missing emerald. Moora's daddy, the judge decides to reward him for ending the horridness that is Moora displeased, and has Moora give him a gold coin. And then, MAGIC!

Liam magically grows 8 inches taller, and Moora drops 20 lbs, and with another coin — 8 more inches and 20 more lbs. Somehow, this also makes her less shrewish and she becomes all sugary sweetness, and she and Liam are able to live happily ever after (or so it implies). So what lesson can we take from this people? No matter how useful you are, who you are isn't good enough if you don't fit the 'norm' and women who believe that men trying to put them in their "place" because we are "only a lass" and try to develop a "sense of themselves" as women are going to be labeled 'banshee' link or something otherwise horribly degrading and will never be able to find a husband, so you'd better get nice fast. (quoted from pg. 27)

I'm sure I'm reading more into their 'transformation' than was meant, but seriously. What else are you supposed to think?! It annoyed me that a book meant to teach you about accepting yourself and trusting in your heart instead teaches that you can't truly be great until you have changed who you are.

There will be people who enjoy this book, who really like and appreciate it, I'm sure, but I'm not one of them. I'll look for my moralistic stories in Stephen Cosgrove's Serendipity books (a favorite from childhood).

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.