Book: Fruits Basket, Volume 5 by Natsuki Takaya

Pages: 208 (Paperback)

My Thoughts: In this volume of Fruits Basket, Tohru and the Sohma’s go to a Sohma summer house for Golden Week.  Once they get back from vacation, they find Hatsuharu holding a small tiger- Kisa, who ran away from home.  She got teased a lot because of her orange hair, but Tohru and Yuki help her through it.  Meanwhile, Yuki’s fan club visits Hanajima in order to find her weakness- they go through all this because they resent Tohru for being so close to Yuki.

It’s another good volume and again, the artwork is amazing!  It keeps getting better.  We also learn about the year of the boar, we have the final installment of an interview with the author, and we have more fan art!  I love how she includes fan art, and it’s cool to see what the fans come up with.  And all of her side notes are really fun too.  She mostly talks about video games, and while I don’t play a lot of video games, it’s still interesting to see how she’s doing with them.

As for the actual story, I like it!  We’re always getting introduced to new members of the zodiac, but it is hard to keep all of them straight.  Yuki’s fan club is hilarious, especially the way they worship him…but at the same time, it’s a little frightening.  Ayame (Yuki’s brother) really is a character, especially when you get him together with Hatori and Shigure.  Yuki and Kyo not arguing is strange, and I can see why it would worry Tohru, who blames herself for saying something to offend them.  Everything works out, and they start arguing again, much to Tohru’s relief.  Now onto Volume 6!

Rating: 5 out of 5- it’s a good story, and it keeps getting better!

Book: The Dreaming by Queenie Chan

Pages: 175 (Paperback)

What Did I Think? I’m really not sure what to think about The Dreaming.  The Dreaming is about Jeannie and Amber, who are twin sisters that get accepted into an Australian boarding school.  However, the school is really creepy, since the entire school is surrounded by bushlands…and every once in a while, students disappear into the bushlands, never to be seen or heard from again.  The vice-principal is creepy as well, having a hatred for twins. 

It was an interesting story, and since this is only the first volume, the rest of story is probably revealed in the following volumes.  The artwork is interesting- detailed, but the shading is amazing!  I find it especially interesting that Chan manages to convey a certain darkness throughout this volume, and giving off a weird, creepy vibe.  This volume didn’t really live up to the horror tag on the back off to the book, but you did get a sense that there was something waiting in the shadows. 

Rating: 3 out of 5.  I liked it, and it was interesting, but I found it a little hard to get into.

Book: Avielle of Rhia

Pages: 397 (Hardcover)

What Did I Think? Avielle of Rhia is about 15 year-old Avielle.  Avielle resembles her Dredonian great-great-grandmother, with her silver skin and silver hair.  Everyone thinks Avielle will turn evil, just like her great-great-grandmother, so she’s hidden away, and shunned by everyone around her, including her own family.

One night, though, the Bretgren of the Black Cloaks (evil wizards/priests) attack the castle, which kills the royal family and hundreds of other people.  Avielle escapes, keeping her identity secret since the Brethren want to kill her.

The book was just okay for me.  The people of Rhia don’t particularly like the Dredonians, and thonl they’re evil, and measures are taken against those with silver skin.  There’s definitely a theme of hatred and prejudice, and you really can’t miss it.  It’s not really explained why people don’t like the Dredonians- in fact, the only reason I can think of is Avielle’s great-great-grandmother, who accidentally killed the birds of Rhia, and so all people with Dredonain traits are considered evil.

While Avielle’s hiding, the High Council rules in her place, but in the end, she takes her rightful place as Queen, and everyone accepts her because she defeats the Brethren and brings the birds back to Rhia.

It wrapped up too nicely, but I wasn’t surprised that she became Queen and was accepted as Queen, because it was pretty clear that’s what her journey was.  I would have liked Calhoun to have gone deeper into the reasons why people didn’t like the Silverskins.

The ending was slightly ambiguous- if Calhoun wrote a sequel, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Rating: 2 out of 5.  It was just okay, and while I liked the concept, there was something…off about it.  The cover art was beautiful, and Calhoun is a good writer.

Book: Sorceress by Celia Rees

Pages: 343 (Paperback)

What Did I Think? Sorceress is the sequel to Witch Child, and picks up where Witch Child left of…kind of.  Agnes, who is also known as Karonhisake (or Searching Sky), is a college student who reads Witch Child.  She thinks there might be a connection between herself and Mary Newbury; she thinks Mary might be one of her ancestors, a medicine woman whose personal belongings are treasured by her family.  Agnes contacts Alison, the person who edited Mary’s journal and published it.  It goes back and forth between the past (Mary’s story) and the present (with Agnes finding answers).

I didn’t like it as much as Witch Child.  While I was curious about what happened to Mary at the end of Witch Child, I didn’t particularly care for the two distinct storylines, even though they fit together rather well.  I didn’t like Agnes, and found her rather boring. 

I was also a little bored with Mary’s story after fleeing Beulah, although her first section (the 1st couple pages) were really interesting.  After that, though, it was hard to care about mary and what happened to her.  There was also little mention of her former life as the story continued, which does make sense, but you’d think that would be something that stayed with her.

My Rating: 1.5 out of 5.  I’m fine with Mary’s story as it was at the end of Witch Child, and hope her story would have been more interesting.

Book: Jinx by Meg Cabot

Pages: 262 (Hardcover)

What I Thought: Jinx is about Jean Honeychurch, a preacher’s daughter who moves to New York City (from Iowa) in order to escape a stalker.  Jean has the nickname of Jinx, because she has a lot of bad luck.  Her cousin Tory has a lot more issues than the last time Jean saw her, a lot of which are revealed in the book. 

It was a fast read, but I found Jean slightly annoying- she was really naive, and for someone who was being stalked, she seemed to relatively fine.  I don’t know what it’s like being stalked, but I imagine it’s something that would have some sort of effect, no matter how much distance is between the two.

Tory was an interesting character- she called Dylan, the guy who was stalking Jean, and asked him to be her date to the spring formal.  It was all to get back at Jean, who she had a vendetta against for most of the book.  Tory had this whole plan to tie up Jean, drink a few drops of her blood, and then force Jean to drink a poisonous potion so that Tory could get Jean’s magical powers.  Jean is a witch, and Tory pretended she was one. 

Honestly, I did like it, but Jean was just too innocent for me, and I didn’t feel like there was a lot of depth to her.  She seemed sweet, but really insecure, and not willing to go to her aunt and uncle even though she knew Tory was taking prescription drugs and even after Tory put a dead rat in her locker.  It was definitely predictable (as Meg Cabot’s books tend to be), but still enjoyable.

My Rating: 3 out of 5.  I liked it, but something was missing.  It was still pretty fun to read though.

Book: Witch Child by Celia Rees

Pages: 260 (Hardcover)

What Did I Think? Witch Child is the diary of Mary Newbury, who set sail for America after her grandma was killed for being a witch. 

I loved how it was set up as a diary found in a quilt from the 1600’s that was later published.  It was really intriguing to see Mary’s thoughts on her grandmother’s death, and her escape to America in order to avoid suspicion that Mary herself was a witch.  Just as she settles into her life in America, she once again faces suspicion that she is a witch, and it ends rather abruptly.  I’m fine with the abrupt ending as it’s clear Mary can’t stay in the town she escaped to.  There are a few pages after that which gives a brief account of what happens after Mary left. 

I picked up, thinking that that it looked and sounded really interesting, and after I started reading it, I realized I had already read it!  But I decided to keep reading it, and I loved it as much as I did the first time I read it. 

The diary format worked really well, as did the abrupt ending.  It was definitely set up for the sequel, but it really made you wonder what happened to Mary and if she was okay.

There is a sequel, which is next on my reading list, and I really want to see how Mary’s story continues. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.  Overall, it was really interesting, and gave a good look at what life might have been like for someone accused of being a witch.

Book: Airhead by Meg Cabot

Pages: 340/Hardcover

My Thoughts: I love Meg Cabot, and I thought I’d read Airhead.  The title (and cover) intrigued me.  It’s about Emerson Watts, who dies after a tv falls on her.  Her brain gets transplanted into Nikki Howard, a teen supermodel.  Nikki just happened to have an aneurysm burst or whatever around the same time that the t.v. fell on Emerson, hence the brain transplant.  Emerson is a nerdy tomboy, and especially loves video games, which she always played with her best friend Christopher. 

It took Emerson a while to realize that her brain was transplanted in Nikki, since we see Emerson in the hospital right after the accident, and then the next thing we know, she’s awake, and everyone’s acting really vague.  It isn’t until Lulu (Nikki’s best friend) comes by and gets her out of the hospital that we discover Emerson’s brain is in Nikki’s body. 

Yeah, that part was a little strange, but I swear it’s not as convoluted as it sounds.  We don’t know exactly what’s going on, and then we go on this weird journey where Emerson clearly doesn’t want to be in Nikki’s body, but in order for her parents to not pay the $2 million in bills that are the result of the transplant, she has to keep up with Nikki’s contracts and endorsements. 

“Nikki’s” forgetfulness is explained as amnesia from hitting her head, and it was slightly entertaining to see Emerson in a supermodel’s body.  It was a pretty fast read, and I certainly liked Emerson.  But…while I like Meg Cabot, this definitely is my least favorite book I’ve read.  Mostly because of the whole brain transplant thing- it was definitely weird, especially with the huge contrast between Emerson and Nikki.

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5.  Like I said, the brain transplant thing was weird, but I really did like Emerson.  And the ending is rather abrupt too, which made me wonder what was going to happen.

Book: Cybele’s Secret by Juliet Marillier

Pages: 432/Hardcover

What Did I Think? Cybele’s Secret is the 2nd book in the Wildwood Series.  In this book, we follow Paula and her father in Istanbul, as they try to buy an ancient pagan artifact, Cybele’s Gift.  Paula ends up going back to the Other Kingdom, with her bodyguard, Stoyan, and Duarte Aguilar, a pirate, and another who bid on Cybele’s Gift. 

I loved the detail, which really made the book come to life.  But it took me most of the book to actually get interested in it, the Other Kingdom making it’s grand appearance towards the end.  It was only hinted at for most of the book. 

I didn’t like it as much as Wildwood Dancing- it was missing some of the charm that Wildwood Dancing had.  Plus, Stoyan and Duarte were clearly set up as romantic interests for Paula, though it was fairly obvious that it was Stoyan that Paula would end up with. 

Paula’s sister Tati, who went to the Other Kingdom in Wildwood Dancing, made a few appearances in Cybele’s Secret.  Tati had her own quest to fulfill, which would allow her to see her sisters.  She only sees Paula, so if Tati does visit her sisters, it’s likely to be in any sequels.

Rating: 2 out of 5.  I didn’t like it as much as Wildwood Dancing, but I did like the detail Marillier put into it.