Book: North Of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Book Info: Published by Little, Brown Books For Young Readers; 373 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the library

Genre: YA/Contemporary; Realistic

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Goodreads.com Summary: As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You’re the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face? 

It’s hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She’s tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably “flawed” face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob’s path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty. 

North Of Beautiful is stunning.  It is a very realistic novel, and I found Terra to be very relatable.  I think, more than anything, it is about family and how they relate to each other.  There were scenes were I wanted to cry, because it was so heart-wrenching.

I thought the element of map-making was very unusual, but it worked really well.  I think I might like to learn more about it at some point.  And geo-caching was also an interesting plot point.  I thought it added to the theme of self-discovery really well.

I am so glad I read this, and it’s beautifully written.  She does a great job of making everyone real.  The whole time I was reading it, I was reminded of different people in my life and how I relate to them.  You can’t help but be drawn into Terra’s world.

My rating?  I give it a 5 out of 5.  It’s something everyone can relate to.  I think this book will stay with me for a long time to come.

Book: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Book Info: Published by HarperTeen; 336 pages; purchased for my Nook

Genre: Ya/Dystopic and Romance

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Goodreads.com Summary: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I just loved The Selection.  I think it’s a really interesting idea, and I could see hints of Cinderella, The Bachelor/The Bachlorette and The Hunger Games.

You can definitely see the connections to the Bachelor, because Prince Maxon has to pick his wife from 35 women who are “randomly” selected from all over Illea.    They get randomly eliminated, and plenty of opportunities to talk with Maxon as well as go on dates with him.  As for Cinderella, America reminds me of Cinderella in the sense that she goes from being poor, and having to go without things, to being a potential princess who’s status has been raised just by being one of the Selected.  Plus, there’s the obvious prince/princess thing.

As for the Hunger Games, I know that seems random.  But there’s something about the way both societies are structured.  In The Hunger Games, each district has one thing they do and are known for, and the further you get from the capitol, the worse off you are.  In The Selection, there is a caste system, and each number is assigned a specific job.  The higher your number, the worse off you are.

As for the book itself, I loved the idea of it.  It was completely predictable, so I wasn’t surprised by anything that happens.  But as predictable as it is, I loved it.  I couldn’t wait to see what happened next, and there’s definitely an assortment of characters.

I completely hated the ending, because it really felt like Cass forgot to finish it.  It just ends, with no warning.  It’s going to be a long wait until the next one comes out.

I give it a 5 out of 5.  As irritating as the ending was, and as predictable the book was, I still loved it.  Great idea, and interesting elements abound in The Selection.

Book: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Book Info: Published by Dial; 563 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the libraryl check it out at: Goodreads~Amazon~Barnes and Noble

Genre: YA/Fantasy

Goodreads.com Summary: Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

I really liked Bitterblue!  In fact, Bitterblue is my favorite in the series.

I loved seeing Bitterblue try to break the spell that her father had over Monsea, and how little she knew about her kingdom and then go on to learning more about it.  I liked the connections to the other 2 books in the series; I also liked the new characters that were introduced.

I liked seeing bits and pieces of Leck’s reign, and his hold on people.  He is crazy evil, but I think Bitterblue will lead her kingdom well, and help them get past his reign of terror.

I think Bitterblue is an interesting character, and I understand her confusion about what’s going on and her need to figure it out.  She does have a sense of duty to her people and learns who she can and cannot trust.

It was a bit long for me, but it also wasn’t a surprise, given the length of both Graceling and Fire.  It also jumped around a little, and things felt very jumbled/mixed up.  I get Bitterblue doesn’t know what’s going on, and so we learn and see things as she does, but at the same time, I think it could have been a little more clear.

Overall, I think it gets a 4 out of 5.  I enjoyed it, and I liked the artwork throughout the book.  But I also think it could have used some work.  It’s still a good addition to the series.

Book: 1776 by David McCullough

Book Info: Published by Simon and Schuster; 400 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the library; Check it out at Goodreads or Amazon

Genre: Non-fiction; American History- The American Revolution

Goodreads.com Summary: In this stirring book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence–when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.

Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is a powerful drama written with extraordinary narrative vitality. It is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, noaccounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.

Here also is the Revolution as experienced by American Loyalists, Hessian mercenaries, politicians, preachers, traitors, spies, men and women of all kinds caught in the paths of war

At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books–Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who was made general at thirty-three, and Henry Knox, a twenty-five-year-old bookseller who had the preposterous idea of hauling the guns of Fort Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the dead of winter.

But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost–Washington, who had never before led an army in battle.

The book begins in London on October 26, 1775, when His Majesty King George III went before Parliament to declare America in rebellion and to affirm his resolve to crush it. From there the story moves to the Siege of Boston and its astonishing outcome, then to New York, where British ships and British troops appear in numbers never imagined and the newly proclaimed Continental Army confronts the enemy for the first time. David McCullough’s vivid rendering for the Battle of Brooklyn and the daring American escape that followed is a part of the book few readers will ever forget.

As the crucial weeks pass, defeat follows defeat, and in the long retreat across New Jersey, all hope seems gone, until Washington launches the “brilliant stroke” that will change history.

The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did.

Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough’s 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history.

I finally finished it!  It felt like it took me forever to finish it, but maybe that’s just because it’s been sitting in my room for 6 weeks.

Here’s what I liked: there’s a lot of detail, and McCullough has a knack for making the small details readable.  He seems to be really good at making sure that he’s impartial, and he also seems to be good at researching things.  I learned a lot from it.  I didn’t know that the Hessians fought in the American Revolution (on the British side), and I didn’t know that things were based in New York.  I really liked that it focused on 1776, which is a pretty important year in American history.

What I Didn’t Like: As detailed, well-researched, and readable his books are, I just can’t get into his books.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the way he writes, but there’s something so…boring and dry about it too.  It’s somehow manages to be boring and readable, all at the same time.

My rating would be a 3 out of 5.  I liked it, but I’m not sure if his books are my cup of tea.

Book: Grave Mercy by Robin LeFevers

Book Info: Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 528 pages; purchased for my Nook

Goodreads.com Summary: Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Book: Luminous by Dawn Metcalf

Book Info: Published by Penguin Group; 304 pages; purchased for my Nook

Goodreads.com Summary: As reality slips and time stands still, Consuela finds herself thrust into the world of the Flow. Removed from all she loves into this shifting world overlapping our own, Consuela quickly discovers she has the power to step out of her earthly skin and cloak herself in new ones-skins made from the world around her, crafted from water, fire, air. She is joined by other teens with extraordinary abilities, bound together to safeguard a world they can affect, but where they no longer belong.

When murder threatens to undo the Flow, the Watcher charges Consuela and elusive, attractive V to stop the killer. But the psychopath who threatens her new world may also hold the only key to Consuela’s way home.

This is such a strange book, and I get why reviews seem to be so divided.

There is something very lyrical and beautiful about Metcalf’s writing.  And I can honestly say that I haven’t seen anything like this novel before.  I finished it a few days ago, and I can’t get it out of my head.  It makes you think about your place in the world, and the consequences that our actions have.

But the Flow and the people who live there seemed very distant.  I felt like they were just there, and the Flow seemed like a very confusing place.  It could have been described better, I think.  I didn’t really get a good sense of who anyone was or where she wanted it to go.  As unique as it is, I felt like Metcalf could have done more with it, because I felt like I was on the outside, looking in.

But I still enjoyed it, and thought that it was very creative.  I give it a 3 out of 5.

Book: Endure by Carrie Jones

Book Info: Published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books; 272 pages; purchased for my Nook

Goodreads Summary: It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series. Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . . Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.

The end of the Need series by Carrie Jones has arrived with Endure.  I think this is my favorite book in the series, and what could be more interesting than an apocalypse involving pixies?

I wasn’t sure about Astley, but in this book, I really liked him.  I honestly had no clue who Zara would end up with, but I’m glad it’s Astley.  They do go well together, and I was surprised but not surprised, all at the same time.

I thought everything was wrapped up nicely, and it didn’t feel rushed at all.  It was great to see how much the characters changed from Need to Endure, especially Zara.  She went from reciting phobias, to leading an army, and really found out what she could do.

What’s interesting about this series, especially in comparison to a lot of other series I’ve read, is that you get recaps throughout the book about what’s happened before.  I like the lists Zara has throughout the book about what we know and don’t know.  I also love that we learn more about Norse mythology in the book, and I definitely want to learn more about it.

I think the only thing I didn’t like was Nick.  I thought he was a jerk, and it’s sad, because I did start out really liking him.

Overall, it gets a 4 out of 5.  It was a really good ending, and there’s a lot of action in it.

Book: The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

Book Info: Published by Ballantine Books; 473 pages; hardcover; from the library

Goodreads Summary: Following the tremendous success of her first novel, Innocent Traitor, which recounted the riveting tale of the doomed Lady Jane Grey, acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author Alison Weir turns her masterly storytelling skills to the early life of young Elizabeth Tudor, who would grow up to become England’s most intriguing and powerful queen.

Even at age two, Elizabeth is keenly aware that people in the court of her father, King Henry VIII, have stopped referring to her as “Lady Princess” and now call her “the Lady Elizabeth.” Before she is three, she learns of the tragic fate that has befallen her mother, the enigmatic and seductive Anne Boleyn, and that she herself has been declared illegitimate, an injustice that will haunt her. 

What comes next is a succession of stepmothers, bringing with them glimpses of love, fleeting security, tempestuous conflict, and tragedy. The death of her father puts the teenage Elizabeth in greater peril, leaving her at the mercy of ambitious and unscrupulous men. Like her mother two decades earlier she is imprisoned in the Tower of London–and fears she will also meet her mother’s grisly end. Power-driven politics, private scandal and public gossip, a disputed succession, and the grievous example of her sister, “Bloody” Queen Mary, all cement Elizabeth’s resolve in matters of statecraft and love, and set the stage for her transformation into the iconic Virgin Queen. 

Alison Weir uses her deft talents as historian and novelist to exquisitely and suspensefully play out the conflicts between family, politics, religion, and conscience that came to define an age. Sweeping in scope, The Lady Elizabeth is a fascinating portrayal of a woman far ahead of her time–an orphaned girl haunted by the shadow of the axe, an independent spirit who must use her cunning and wits for her very survival, and a future queen whose dangerous and dramatic path to the throne shapes her future greatness.

I really liked this book.  I’m a big fan of Alison Weir, and I thought it would be nice to read it after reading Innocent Traitor.

It felt a lot more historical accurate than some of the other historical fiction books out there.  This is most likely due to the fact that she’s well-known for her books on Tudor history, and while I’m not going to nit-pick about how historically accurate a book is (or isn’t), it was nice knowing that Weir’s book would be well-researched.  It’s definitely full of details that made everything come to life.

It was an enjoyable read, and nice to read about Elizabeth’s life from a young age, until she becomes queen.  You really get her innermost thoughts and her struggles with the different people and events going on around her.  I liked seeing her relationship with Mary, and how much Mary struggled with how to deal with Elizabeth.

I give it a 4 out of 5.  I really liked reading it, and there were times I almost forgot I was reading fiction.