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The Silvered Serpent by Roshani Chokshi

Cover of The Silvered Serpents

“You cannot protect everyone from everything. You are only human, Severin.” With these words Laila inadvertently plants a seed in Severin’s mind: if he were immortal, he could save everyone. All he needs is the book, The Divine Lyrics. All he needs to get the book are his friends, the people he cares most about, the people he must keep at arms-length in order to reach his goal. With reluctance, the team gets back together and travels to the ice-covered location of the Sleeping Palace to find the book before the winter meeting of the magic-wielding Houses convenes. For when they do, the possible will become impossible.

This is the second in a series (hopefully only a trilogy!) It won’t make sense unless you read the first. The characters are individuals with their own quirks, desires, and opinions. Love them, though Severin gets pretty annoying in this title with his one-minded goal that tears his friends apart. I hope the spark remaining in him at the end will burn brighter in the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the preview copy. The book is scheduled to be published September 2020.

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Org vs. Com …

This blog used WordPress.com for publishing. Apparently, WordPress.org is the correct service to use for flexibility, etc. So I’ve paid for hosting in order to experiment with this editor. Once again I’m willing to pay to learn something new. Lifelong-learner, that’s me!

One thing I’ve learned so far is that exporting and importing doesn’t go smoothly. All my 2019 posts disappeared. Now the question is whether it is worth posting them again. Actually, I could probably delete everything except that it makes me feel good to look back on where I’ve been.

Update: I’ve copied some of my posts and uploaded them here again. Can’t seem to get them exported and imported correctly!

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National Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Today happens to be National Tell a Fairy Tale Day. Who knew?! I’ve always been a fan of fairy tales. Now I’m a fan of retold fairy tales in the young adult genre. (I’m sure there are good adult versions out there, but YA is what I read.) There are many out there but here are a few of my favorites.

The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_0797-e1551229669947.jpg

Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride.
Description from Goodreads.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cover of Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She’s reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she finds herself at the center of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen – and a dangerous temptation.
Description from Goodreads.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Cover of Beastly by Alex Flinn

I am a monster. … And I’ll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. Description from Goodreads.

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African-American History

February is a time to focus on the amazing African-Americans who may not have yet become household names. From singers to scientists to writers to athletes, many extraordinary African-Americans deserve recognition for their accomplishments.

On the North Creek High School Instagram, I posted a different figure each day. (Well, I didn’t really get started on it until halfway through the month. A snow storm in Seattle messed up my routine.) You are welcome to browse through the account archive to view the posts. Or you can see my text and hashtags here:

celebrating-african-american-historyDownload

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Don’t give into hate

I always spend a good portion of the summer reading young adult books for the Evergreen Teen Book Award. I haven’t been too excited about the titles I’ve been reading lately, but this one is worth pointing out, especially since it will be released as a movie this fall.

Cover of Angie Thomas' book The Hate U Give

Starr is an African-American teenager living in two worlds. The community she lives in can be dangerous: a poor, inner-city neighborhood. Her parents send her and her brother to a private school in a suburban area where they are definitely minorities. When she witnessed the shooting of an old friend by a police officer, she is forced to reconcile her place and find her voice in any community.

Her father stands out for me as he shows inner strength and total commitment to his family. Many YA books have “absent” parents or ones that contribute to whatever crisis the teenagers are going through. Starr’s father is integral to her life and to the story.  It is his strength that allows Starr to find her own.

As always, I highly recommend reading the book prior to seeing the movie.

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Cory Doctorow writes a graphic novel

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang 

An internatCover of In Real Lifeional industry has developed where people with more time than money are paid to play for hours on massive multiple player online (MMO) games to earn virtual wealth that can then be sold to people with more money than time. The ethics of this are debatable but the reality is that the “farmers” are often poorly paid and have very little influence on their working conditions. It is this that Doctorow addresses in this graphic novel collaboration with illustrator Jen Wang.

Anda is a socially awkward girl who joins the Fahrenheit Clan, an all-girl team in a virtual world. She distinguishes herself quickly as a fierce fighter and is recruited by another to track and kill virtual “gold farmers”.  Anda doesn’t really know what she is doing but she is getting paid real money for the “work” and continues to earn the respect of other fighters in this alternate reality. When she actually meets and talks to one of the virtual farmers, she finds a real person with real problems. Her perspective changes but her attempt to correct a wrong might create a bigger problem.

I have been a Doctorow fan since “Little Brother” and like his ability to bring up real world problems in young adult stories without hitting them over the head. The graphic novel format complements the storytelling and makes this complex problem accessible to young and older readers alike. It is a worthy purchase for all libraries.

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Heir of Fire

Heir of Fire book coverThe King’s Assassin, Celaena, has traveled to Wendlyn to kill the King and Queen on her employer’s orders. Once again, she finds that she cannot; the rulers of Wendlyn are beloved by their people because they are good. Celaena spirals into a self-pitying depression that lasts and lasts, even when the Fae warrior, Rowan has dragged her to the edge of her aunt Maeve’s Fae kingdom and proceeds to train her to control the magic within her. She will not forgive herself for letting down so many people nor will she accept her true name, Aelin, Queen of Terrasen.

Moran, a Blackbeak witch, enjoys killing. Enjoys the hunt, the fear, the screams, the taste of blood, human blood. She is the heir to the Blackbeak coven and proud leader of the Thirteen, a tight-knit fighting unit of witches. She is heartless, soul-less, and proud. She is training to compete in the War Games on the back of a wyvern but surprises herself by caring about her animal, and quite possibly, other beings.

Aedion, cousin and childhood friend to Aelin, has been outwardly working for the evil King of Adarlan while secretly protecting the rebels and working towards freedom. He meets with Chaol, Aelin’s former lover and captain of the guard, and Dorian, heir to the throne of Adarlan and possessor of forbidden magic. Individually the three have secrets that may help each other but their distrust prevents sharing and might possibly cost all of them their freedom.

Maas has once again created compelling characters and woven their stories into the fabric of Erilea. There are several newly introduced characters which limits the voices of some of the others. The relationship between Chaol and Dorian has unfortunately deteriorated and their interactions have none of the easy banter that made them irresistible in the first books. While it is easy to despise Moran, she is complex and worth watching. The same with fae warrior, Rowan. Celaena/Aelin struggles to deal with her inner demons (but personally, it was tiring hearing her whiny voice for so long.) All in all, an exciting read that will be snapped up by those following the series. Just a little disappointing to find out that instead of a trilogy, the series will encompass six titles. It is just so difficult to sustain interest for that long.

Sarah’s webpage: http://sarahjmaas.com/

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Laughing at My Nightmare

Book Review:Laughing at my nightmare book cover
Always on the lookout for biographies to pitch to teen readers, I jumped in to a galley of Laughing at My Nightmare. I couldn’t put it down. Shane Burcaw is a 21-year-old writer who has amassed a following for his LAMN blog on Tumblr in the short time it has been on. He writes quirky observations on random stuff, answers real and ridiculous questions, and lays it on the line on how it is to live with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, his own personal Nightmare. SMA is a degenerative disease that doesn’t allow his body to create muscles, making his life one of depending on others for help. And he lives with the knowledge that it might take one respiratory infection to overwhelm his ability to clear his lungs enough to breathe.

In spite of that, Shane spends his days laughing.

Shane’s irreverent sense of humor rings clearly through his writing. While wincing at the indignities he has to endure, you laugh at the way he views them. The book is a collection of moments that have made him who he is, self-perceived warts and all. From playing football with his neighborhood friends, to the rides in the “short bus”, to the realization that he isn’t as strong as he was ten years ago, to finding a girlfriend, Shane comes through as a funny kid with lots of friends, a gift for writing, and a mission to make others laugh.

I joined Tumblr just to be able to follow his blog and the book will be on my library shelf as soon as it is published in October.

Read his blog here: http://laughingatmynightmare.tumblr.com/