"The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes" by Soman Chainani Book Review

A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The School for Good and Evil, Sophie and Agatha are home, living out their Ever After. But life isn’t quite the fairy tale they expected.

When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed.

Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within.

Soman Chainani has created a spectacular world that Newbery Medal-winning author Ann M. Martin calls, “a fairy tale like no other, complete with romance, magic, and humor that will keep you turning pages until the end.”

Since this is the second book, there shouldn't be a need to tell you there will be spoilers for the first book. My review for the first book, "The School for Good and Evil" can be found here.

This was an excellent sequel! I find the second book/movie in a trilogy is usually the weakest point in the series because it's the second book: there isn't any of the excitement of the introduction to a new world, you usually aren't introduced to anyone that matters too much to the overall story line, and by the end things haven't been completely resolved and tied up in a nice bow. It's the book you read so you can kind of figure out what might happen in the third volume.

This book is a bit different.

In this one, we are introduced to a new world, or rather the one we saw in the first book has been changed. Basically, everyone becomes a sexist jerk and/or confused about their sexuality (I'm looking at you, Tedros.) The Evers and Nevers kind of swap places. For example, the Nevergirls cover themselves in makeup, while the Evergirls cut off their hair and stop bathing. I liked that the characters were trying to find their individuality while also following the course of a fairy tale. Just like middle school, which is the age group these books are aimed towards. It was funny to read how the girls are just like, "I'm eating whatever I want now" and they are learning how to defend themselves, so yah equality! And then the boys.... I knew that boys can get pretty close and develop similar emotional relationships just like girls do. But apparently they practice sword fighting shirtless, which makes no sense since they are so vain about their appearance, wouldn't they cover up so they would be less likely to get scars? (I'm looking at you, Tedros.) Also, some characters go to some lengths to change their gender mostly just to stay alive in this new world order. (I'm looking at you... Everyone?!)

There is one major edition to the characters, who messes up the status quo for the dumbest reason ever. She's known as Evelyn Sader, but of course, you'll remember her as that eaves-dropping bitch who has an annoying gap in her teeth and an affinity for butterflies...for their super sonic hearing ability? Not the first thing I associate with a butterfly, but to each their own.

As with the first book, there are some pretty hilarious moments, like when they gift the returning heroes (or should I say 'heroines') with a carpet made from actual prince hair. And also has the darker elements that define this series, again, the rug made from shorn prince hair. I don't mean to say that the princes were scalped when they made the rugs, though that is pretty disturbing.

I read in other reviews how some people were disappointed in Agatha. In the first book, she was witty, questioned authority, stood her ground, and was very intelligent. But in this book, that went right out the window. But I think that was from her not having a firm stance on things. Like in the first book she knew what she wanted: to go home safely in the company of her only friend. In this book, she doesn't know what she wants. Sophie or Tedros. It's a hard decision, to choose between a boyfriend/prince and a best friend. Who do you spend more time with? If you start living with the boyfriend, the decision makes itself. But it is very hard on the other person involved.

I felt so bad for Tedros. He needs whatever therapy they give out in fairy tale land. He suffers so much, especially in the latter half of the book. He's already separation anxiety with the people he just chooses to care about. Although who can blame him: mother left him and his dad when he was little, his father died a broken man, his princess ran off with her best friend who is also their nemesis, and everyone only likes him when he is at the top of his game sorta speak (he's rich, handsome, famous family). Otherwise, he faces horrible mistreatment for the very same reasons. Poor Tedros, he's got issues.

I still feel for Sophie. Even after this ending, I still understand why she does the things that she does. She pursues her goal of being Good again, even though in this world it's too late for her. She's like, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" in every decision she makes. I am very curious about her lineage as well. What is with her family? Was she always doomed from the moment she was born?

There are so many questions and I cannot wait for the next book to come out!

I just wanted to add, I especially loved the part where Tristan belly dances!

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5 out of 5 shorn heads.

My review for the third book is coming soon!

"Fearless" by Cornelia Funke Book Review

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
"Jacob Reckless returns once again to the Mirrorworld--filled with profound characters, extraordinary creatures, and epic life-or-death treasure hunts that could only come from the mind of the master storyteller of our generation, Cornelia Funke.

"Jacob Reckless has only a few months left to live. He's tried everything to shake the Fairy curse that traded his life for his brother's--legends such as the All-Healing Apple, the Well of Eternal Youth, the blood of a northern Djinn. And yet hope after hope is extinguished. After months of fruitless searching, Jacob journeys through his father's mirror one final time to deliver the bad news to Fox.

"But there they hear of one last possibility--an item so legendary that not even Mirrorworlders believe it exists: a crossbow that can kill thousands, or heal one, when shot through the heart. But a Goyl treasure hunter is also searching for the prized crossbow. Jacob must find it first--and somehow convince Fox to do whatever it takes to save him."

I just finished this one and I cannot wait until the next book! According to this site there will be three more! They need to get the translation going pronto!

I read the first of the series, "Reckless", a long time ago and I remember kinda being meh about it, but I gave it four stars, so maybe I couldn't decide what I thought of it at the time? I will have to reread it now. At the end of the first book, I wasn't sure if there would be more, although leaving the main character facing almost certain death is quite a cliff hanger. (I should not have to put *spoiler* here; Jacob trying to save his own life is the main plot of this book. Also, 'almost certain' is the only oxymoron I ever use. I'm pretty sure that's the only one I use. Maybe...Ironic, since I hate it when people say 'whole entire', like 'My whole entire life has led to this.' It's like, wait, just using one of those words wasn't good enough for you?)

But anyway, I feel this book was so much better than the first. I'm glad there is more to read. I am a huge fan of Cornelia Funke and her "Inkheart" trilogy which I totally recommend if you're even considering giving this a look. It's fantastic!

I read in some reviews (not on Goodreads) that some people found the writing beautiful and elegant on some pages and clunky on others and it did feel that way at times, but I would attribute that to maybe some stuff being lost in the translation from the original German to English.

One thing that really bugs me has nothing to do with the author, unless Funke said to her American editors, "Can you make the hardcover editions not match? That would be great." They look nothing alike and the book collector in me is loosing her shit over that.

I'm not sure what the next book will be about, but I can't wait to see the Alderelves (that's an actual spoiler....or is it?) although it's open to interpretation whether they still exist or not. Maybe the Red Fairy will continue to be angry? That seems more like her problem now though.


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5 out of 5 northern Djinns.

"Polly's Secret" Book Review

Polly's Secret by Harriet A. Nash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Polly Jane Brooks is the youngest daughter of a landlord who owns a hotel in a little town. Polly dreams of bigger things in her life besides work. In particular, she doesn't like to miss the ball happening tonight, with her specially made silk dress and dance slippers sitting away in her room while she toils with her sister in the kitchen, making food for the guests. A sick and elderly traveler arrives at the hotel. Polly is ordered to bring him some gruel and it is there that she makes a solemn promise to keep the deeds to his house and property safe from greedy relatives until his son, William Train, should arrive back from India and claim them.

Since no one else has read this (I had to manually add the book), I feel obligated to provide an honest review. Here I go.

This is a growing-up tale about a young girl in a small town in Massachusetts. The ending is as happy as you would expect. The women get married and they all get rich, and the bad guys are shamed though not outright punished because that would be a bad trait to develop in a young woman.

It's cute and quaint in its way. It has a nice charm to it and it has all of the ideals from when it was written. It has aged considerably. The book does a good job of looking like it's neutral but it doesn't quite spare anyone. There is some anti-feminist and a few racist remarks that are subtle because this book strives to be a book written for young girls. I didn't mind that too much, but it did rankle my pc sensibilities a bit. There was one word that I didn't expect to see but wasn't surprised to see considering when it was written. To give a hint: It was published during the 1920's when the Ku Klux Klan was at its peak in membership and "Birth of a Nation" was a huge movie for its time. I'm sure you know what word I'm referring to now, but I will not state it here.

There's a scene where basically everyone pulls their daughters from the only school in town. Polly seems perturbed by this but is quickly quieted by the local old spinsters down the block. Although other women lament not being able to understand their husbands at times. And pretty much everyone gets married to the one they are "most suited" for even if it seems to be kind of against their will. But that's to be expected.

They didn't treat the older sister as well as the younger. She marries the richer husband, for most of the book anyway, but they keep saying how plain she is, how matronly, how dull, how dumb. Especially next to Polly, who is beautiful and smart and fun. But Deborah's work ethic is much better; all the more ironic that she gets a rich husband and doesn't have to do anything but have kids. She must be bored out of her mind.

The book's very into the idea of honest men doing honest work on the farm rather than becoming lawyers and doctors. The most intelligent person in the town is the schoolteacher and he's kind of nasty but makes a few good points. But he is chastised into retirement onto his farm and the only other teacher is a nonentity.

It was a cute, like I said. It has aged a bit, but its romanticism of the old way of life won't be lost on a few people. As far as I can tell, the author got the accent down right, but I'm not sure if all the poor people speak like that. The few illustrations it has are beautiful. Not sure if I should marker that word out or not. It does bother me that some young person will read it and wonder what the hell it is doing in this book.

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I give you 3.5 out of 5 yonder stars.

"Cruel Beauty" by Rosamund Hodge Book Review

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Graceling" meets "Beauty and the Beast" in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", "Cruel Beauty" is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

There are so many things to say about this book. I don't know where to start. My head is a little light with the pleasure of having read this wonderful book. I loved it. It was everything to me for about a day and a half. It was beautiful and fun and majestic.

It's an odd retelling of the classic tale Beauty and the Beast. It also had the ancient legends of the Greek gods to borrow from and a little bit of the horrific story of Bluebeard. I loved that there were keys in this story and that they always seemed to cause a sexy moment.

This is definitely going to be a case of book-hangover for me. Damn you, Hodge! May your next book be as awesome and wonderful as this one! And for the gods sake, don't ask the Kindly Ones for help!!!

It's funny, I know about the Kindly Ones via Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" graphic novels, and they're just as horrible in there. I still have no idea why they have anything to do with the Greek gods. I guess I need to brush up on my ancient stories. I want a sparrow god. That's adorable. And it was so kind, too.

Oh my god, Ignifex/Shade! Ugh, I would like a man that is anything like either of those! Snarky, humorous, gorgeous, blue-eyed, red-eyed, can fly, bargains well - I would never get cheated by an old car salesman ever again! Also, the fact that he more or less fights demons makes him sound so incredibly sexy to me!

Nyx was pretty awesome. Strong but very bitter and that made her so much more real than most heroes. I would compare her to Katniss Everdeen, but less action and more sensual. This is not necessarily a book for very young, young adult readers.

I guess you could say that the ending is bittersweet, but I'm having trouble digesting all that it means. Maybe there's a sequel in the works? I'm not sure if that would ruin it for me or not. I definitely want more.

I have to link to the review that caused me to buy this wonderful book - it was written by Emily May, otherwise known as the Book Geek and you can find it here - A great review, I wish I could write half as well.

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5 out of 5 roses.

"Wolf Rider" by Avi Book Review

Wolf Rider by Avi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On an ordinary evening, just as he's about to leave for a party, 15-year-old Andy Zadinski receives a phone call from a stranger that changes his life. The caller, Zeke, confesses to the murder of a young woman named Nina Klemmer. Andy immediately calls the police, who shrug it off as a gag or a crank call. But Andy persists when he happens to meet Nina, who is just as Zeke described her. She takes his warnings as harassment, however, and everyone now thinks that Andy himself made up the call. His attempts to ferret out Zeke and protect Nina, while compromising his own safety, make for an exciting tale of the terror lurking beneath everyday surroundings and behind ordinary events.

I'm not sure what to think of this book. I know it was meant for a younger audience, so I feel I must give it some leeway.

I'm not convinced that most of what happened wasn't just coming out of Andy's own mind. (view spoiler)[ For one thing, the man who is apparently a vicious murderer, doesn't actually commit any murders. At least, not in this book. He just seems to want to live out horrible fantasies. Which isn't great, but totally better than killing people. There's no mention of past murder victims being found. Lucas could've just wanted to kill to hide from the embarrassment of being found out that he even has them. And I'm not entirely sure that he would've killed Andy. He did tie him up, but he wasn't exactly dressed for murder: he was running the risk of anyone seeing him in his usual clothes. And he had to have been a reasonably well-known personage around the town. Professors don't exactly make enough to have their initials put on their snazzy cufflinks with their salary.

And the ending didn't answer anything. Lucas was never found out and he died, but that part didn't bother me so much as the strained relationship between Andy and his father. Instead of thinking that his son might have been right the whole time with his finding of the fancy cufflink, he could easily assume that Andy might be a killer. For all he knows, he was stalking some woman (which is exactly what he did) and trying to put the blame on someone else. So now, with the finding of the cufflink, he could also think that his son succeeded in killing a beloved professor and making it look like a car crash. The sequel for this would probably have a lot of therapy and 'medicine' for Andy when he gets back from his Aunt's.  (hide spoiler)]

I don't know. It was certainly a fast read. But I'm so used to CSI and thorough investigations on TV, maybe this was a step too far down for me to enjoy.

I read another of Avi's books before, "Blue Heron" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...), way back in middle school and I loved it. I'm wondering if I would like it now. It's a completely different story from this one, so possibly.

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3 out of 5 stars.

"Beauty" by Robin McKinley Book Review

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A strange imprisonment....

"Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.

"When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, 'Cannot a Beast be tamed?'

"Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: 'Beauty and the Beast.' "

This whole review is full of spoilers. I'm not blocking it out. Read at your own peril.

This is one of the many novels retelling the famous fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" - in fact, this is only one of two that this author has written - I heard the other one is mostly about roses. I enjoyed this book, it was a very fast-paced read. It kept pretty close to the original story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.

But there were a few things that bothered me. For one, when Beauty wants to leave in her father's stead, her family protests at first and then they just let her go. So in short: "NO! NO! NO! NO! Fine." I mean, they are sad, but I expected something a bit more dramatic and realistic to happen. I totally expected her to runaway in the middle of the night and then get rescued from starving and freezing to death by the castle's sudden appearance. At least in the original story it is said that her family is a bunch of vain jerks that don't care that she may be going to her death.

I can rely upon my imagination to add to the details that the author supplies. But this may in fact be the laziest description of a main character that I have ever read. Frankly, I'm confused as to what the Beast was supposed to look like in this version. There are a lot of mentions about gryphons and then there's a mention of a lion's mane, but that's it. Did he have hooves? Was his face a weird bird-like beak thing? In that case, did he have wings? If I had been Beauty and he had had wings, I would have married him in a heartbeat.... And then been promptly disappointed when he turned into a plain non-magical albeit handsome human being.

And the ending made little sense while being anti-climactic. There should have been some drama when she finally said "I love you" to the hideous creature that she was so scared of when she first saw him. Instead it was said and then a few sentences later, it's wedding time! There wasn't any painful transformation, no fireworks, or fairy lights. Nothing! At least they had a chaste kiss, I suppose.

And then, if the magic was gone, how in the hell did her family know to go to the castle then? There's no magical way to send the message, and they would have had a hard time believing that anyway. There was no mention of the Beast sending a human liveried servant to them to let them know of the happy tidings. How did they know to go and what persuaded them to undertake the journey?

And then the townsfolk.... I can imagine how that conversation went down: "Hey, Beauty is getting married to a king we forgot existed for at least two centuries." "Wasn't she with her aunt in the city?" "Oh, about that, it's a terrible lie and a long story. Anywho, let's just walk right into that enchanted forest that we have been making up terrifying stories about that have TURNED OUT TO BE TRUE!!!!" On a scale of one to never ever happening, it's definitely the latter.

Magician? Really? Wouldn't 'witch' have been a more appropriate name for that guy considering the time period of this story? And that was the dumbest reason to curse an entire family. I mean, I've heard of people murdering each other for stupid reasons, but I would never turn my enemy into a literal killing machine. That sounds like a plan that should've backfired instantly. But it was nice of the guy to let the Beast know that he just had to make someone fall in love with him to break the spell, because no one has ever fallen in love with an ugly King/rich guy before. The witch, as I'm calling him, could've just waited until the incestuous relationships in the royal family began to manifest into freakish deformities in the future generations instead of performing a curse that didn't even work right away.

By the way, when was this supposed to be happening? That library really threw me off. I can understand if they were in an alternate reality that they would have future books in it, like the world's most Tardis-like castle ever. But when the magic is gone at the end of the story, did all of those future books just disappear?

And then the Beast forgot his own name, which okay, if no one is saying your name to you for two hundred years you might forget it. But you'd think, being surrounded by all of those books, he would've gotten the idea to write down the most emo of all biographies ever. Even though no one would have read it, being inside a castle that everyone has forgotten existed that is also inside a horrifying enchanted forest that no one enters willingly, it probably wouldn't have an audience. But it would have kept him busy and he might have remembered his name, provided he started with a title page. " 'My Ugly Face by King -', eh, I'll fill that in later."

And then, Beauty. It's not really her fault she didn't know she was pretty. She started off an awkward teenager that has lost everything and happens to have sisters who could double as models if they felt like it. There aren't any mirrors in the castle the whole few months she is there. And when she visits home no one thinks to give the whiny bitch a mirror just to shut her up? In fact the only person who does make her look in a mirror is the Beast who has avoided mirrors out of habit for obvious reasons.

I swear I liked the book before I started this review, I guess I started thinking about it. But I would certainly hand this to a teenager or a tween since this would be right up their alley. Ms. McKinley was very faithful to the original story, perhaps too faithful. But it was an enjoyable read.

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3 out of 5 stars, for the Stockholm Syndrome. 

"The Patchwork Girl of Oz" Book Review

The Patchwork Girl Of Oz by L. Frank Baum

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Ojo and Unk Nunkie visit a magician, who uses the Powder of Life to bring a Patchwork Girl to life. But then a terrible accident turns Unk Nunkie into a statue! Ojo must go on a quest to gather the strange ingredients needed to restore his uncle. Joined by Scraps the Patchwork Girl, Bungle the glass cat, and a host of other creatures, Ojo sets off on his travels around Oz."

This is the second book involving Baum's Oz book series that I've read so far, so needless to say, I am reading the books out of order. Not that that matters overmuch, since the plots of each of the books tie up nicely at the end of each and aren't mentioned in the next. If anything needs to be known, it is quickly summarized and then they move on. I wish more authors would do this - it would save me a lot of headaches.

As for the characters, I liked Ojo from the start, even though he sorely needed a confidence booster. Apparently other characters needed to be made more humble. More on that later. The Woozy was kind of useless. The Patchwork Girl herself needed to grow on me, by the end of it I liked her the most and now I'm a Scarecrow/Patchwork shipper. (Does anyone get the feeling that the Tin Woodsman is gay? Oh, just me, nevermind.) One character wasn't explained though: What was with the Mysterious House with its disembodied voice and free bed-and-breakfast deal?

***SPOILER ALERT*** You have been warned (I didn't feel like blocking half of my review).

While I enjoyed this book, I can see how easy it was for Gregory Maguire to turn the rulers of Oz into despotic dictators. I mean, it's a fairyland but no one is allowed to use magic?! That's awful, I thought that was the point of living in a fairyland. And nearly all of Ozma's friends were produced by magical means, so I don't understand how she could hold such a grudge towards it, even with the awful witch who enslaved her and turned her into a boy.

(On that note: Why didn't she stay that way?! She could pee standing up - men will never know how much more free they are because of that slight advantage. I mean, think about it - they can go anywhere, they can make it fun by aiming at stuff, and they're done so quickly! Although they need to wash their hands more - don't think for a minute that no one noticed you guys don't wash your hands! Ewww!)

I'm glad they fixed the Crooked Magician's extreme Rheumatoid Arthritis, but they had to give him something after taking all of his magic away. And it wasn't like he was a bad man with it, or just crap at it, he was doing amazing stuff! Everyone liked his creations: the Patchwork Girl was some much needed sass next to Ojo's downtrodden behavior and the Glass Cat was pretty if not really useful and kind of annoying at times. He was dabbling with things like the Powder of Life! That has to be difficult to make, even for one who is used to practicing magic. Ozma could have used him is all I'm saying.

And then they took the Glass Cat's pink brains out so she would be more humble. How terrible! Instead of waiting for her to mature into a better person(cat?) or develop humility on her own, they took away a physical characteristic of hers to suit their own needs.

And since they went through the trouble of doing that, why didn't they 'fix' the poor Phonograph? His problem was easy, you just switch out his crappy record for a better one and everyone is happy. If I don't see him in the next book, then that means someone destroyed him for doing the one thing he was made to do and that was to try to entertain them, which is sad.

Also, I love how Ozma is slowly putting all of the people she needs to keep an eye on very close by. But since this is a children's book, I'll keep a few of my 'conspiracy theories' and 'observations' to myself.

And Glinda the Good is a bitch! She watched Ojo walk all over Oz to get all this stuff to fix his Uncle who he feared he wouldn't see alive again for at least six years, if ever, only to fail to get all of the items needed when she knew the whole time a simple way to fix his problem.... Oh, wait, that's how she rolls.

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Ozma of Oz says 5 out of 5 stars!

"The School for Good And Evil" Book Review

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New York Times Bestseller * Indie List Bestseller * Indie Next Pick * Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2013 * Soon to be a Major Film from Universal Pictures 

"The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

"This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

"But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

"The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one."

Oh my god! I cannot wait for the next book in the trilogy! I loved it! Everything! Poor Tedros! I don't have a clue what he is going to do!

While reading it I felt bad and sympathetic for all of the characters, but after reading and thinking about I feel much more sympathetic towards Agatha and not so much towards Sophie. She's quite horrible at many different stages throughout the book, but it's understandable.

It was a very clever take on witches and princesses and how fairy tales come about. To a certain degree everything is fairly sad. Just punishments and so forth. There were parts of this book that were downright disgustingly awful to read. They were horrible to each other. I'm not sure I would let a little kid read this, but I guess if video games happen, ehh...

It's a middle school age book so don't expect too much of a deeper reading into good and evil, but it is very enjoyable. I devoured it in a day and I didn't expect to do that.

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Five out of five stars.

My review for the second book, "The School for Good and Evil: A World Without Princes" can be found here.

My review for the third book is coming soon!

"Sever" Book Review

Sever by Lauren DeStefano
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book isn't as long as it looks at first glance. There's a lot of space on the pages and the print is pretty big.

This was a disappointing read and I was ready to have my mind blown because I liked the first two, so much! I'm actually very upset about this.

This book could easily have been called "Rhine Severs Her Brainstem" and it would've been more factually accurate. Rhine doesn't think in this book. The strong woman who kept escaping the clutches of vile doctors and mad madams (while under the influence of drugs she was forced to take, by the way), who fought with all her heart to be free, doesn't THINK in this entire third book. In the first part of the book she eats, cleans, hides from Vaughn, and plays with wildflowers, all pretty much thoughtless activity. And in the second part, she's just stupid. She might be thinking, but she keeps any and all important information from the other people around her who need it, which makes her ability to think absolutely pointless.

There's many a time where the narration says she moves before she even realizes she has moved, which explains most of her stupid actions, which consists of:

• running towards an empty plot of land where a building would've stood if her brother hadn't blown it up. This wouldn't be so bad, except it results in her friends and herself being captured by a mob.
• not saying anything that could defuse a horrible outburst between Linden and Cecily. Her reason: "I'm not a sister-wife anymore. It's not my battle." Okay, be useless, you stupid, lazy bitch.
• When the evil doctor Vaughn shows up to collect her idiot brother and herself and explain his flimsy reasoning behind murder, entrapment, and enslavement of other people, her only reaction is, literally, "Okay."

What the hell, DeStefano? She's obviously upset (having needles shoved in your eyes will do that), but you didn't have to completely cut her balls off and make her an auxiliary character. She's supposed to be the one making the story move, not just have a story move around her.

I liked how Linden's character changed - "Oh my god, everyone has been telling me for ages how much of an asshole my father is. And now, I can't believe how right they are, or were, since most of those people are now dead as a result of my father's insanity." Unfortunately, it was pointless. If only every story could be satisfactorily completed with the death of a much-beloved character. But then every conclusion would probably look like this:

"As they looked to the horizon, they smiled and hugged each other for warmth

against the chill of a new day. They had the rest of their lives to be together.

"And then the world exploded."

The End.

Technically, that is a definite ending, no bullshit and no future bad sequels to worry about, but not one I want to read from every new author. (I'm looking at you, Suzanne Collins! Although I thought your surprise death made more sense than this one did.)

I will say this though: DeStefano is at her best when she's writing about despair over the loss of a loved one.

I was even okay with the cover on this. Seriously, am I the only one in this universe okay with the color green? Is it bad or something? Does it spit in everyone's morning coffee and steal their favorite chair in the lunch room while I'm not looking? It's just a background, you idiots! Not everything in the young adult section has to be red, black and white. "Oh no, it's a bright color! My eyes cannot handle it!"

I don't understand Rowan at all. At the beginning of the trilogy he doesn't trust anyone and always goes into protective mode around his sister. And then his sister 'dies'..... and he trusts the first person he meets. That is so completely random, I don't know what to say about it, except maybe he shouldn't have been in this book series to begin with if that is all that happens with him. Also, when she shows up, he's just like, "Hey! Join the party! Here's my evil doctor friend!" Dude, show some compassion or something; why were you written so badly? And then at the very end, he almost seems pliable: one insult towards his sister and he's on her side without having been told anything.

Believe it or not, I actually did find things that I liked about this last book and helped it earn the 1.5 stars it did get:

• Cecily wasn't just a hateful piece of regret wandering around. Her callousness had a use this time!
• Reed was cool.
• Vaughn dies; it wasn't as horrible a death as I would've liked to have seen (for that I suggest Stephen King - he brutally murders his bad guys and it is awesome.) and it wasn't a surprise, but it was nice to see happen.

To be honest, I am not sure if I will read any more of DeStefano's books. Most of the book was disappointing and the ending was just okay.

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I give this book 1.5 out of 5 stars.

"Short Story: Career Day" Review

I Hunt Killers - Free Preview (The First 10 Chapters): with Bonus Prequel Short Story "Career Day" by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"ENJOY AN EXTENDED PREVIEW [The First 10 Chapters] OF THIS ANTICIPATED NOVEL!

"Jazz is a likable teenager. A charmer, some might say.

"But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, "Take Your Son to Work Day" was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could-from the criminal's point of view.

"And now, even though Dad has been in jail for years, bodies are piling up in the sleepy town of Lobo's Nod. Again.

"In an effort to prove murder doesn't run in the family, Jazz joins the police in the hunt for this new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret-could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

"Also included: a 3,000 word short-story prequel CAREER DAY!

"When your dad is a serial killer, things like Career Day don't go over so well. While classmates might be looking forward to joining the family business, Jazz knows he needs to find a new path in this original short story by Barry Lyga."

I actually enjoyed this short story quite a bit. I do wonder if it could've been added to the preface of the book "I Hunt Killers", but I think it's better that you know the characters first. A few surprises are in here: Howie's a lot more charming and funny this time, you read about how Jazz got his nickname and how he started going out with Connie. All very interesting.

You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/IHuntKillers....

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"I Hunt Killers" Book Review

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

"Jasper 'Jazz' Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

"But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view.

"And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

"In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?"

Let me start this review by saying I was originally attracted to this book because of its cover. It is awesome! The book jacket was very eye-catching, but I was more interested in the book itself: that really caught me off guard, but it looks really cool.

I saw a friend of mine reading this book on Goodreads and thought I would give it a try.

I've never read "Dexter", but I imagine if I compared the two books together, this one would be the younger brother version.

But, also, wow. Loved this book. It was fast and an interesting take on sociopaths - whether they're born that way or nurtured into becoming that way!

I really felt for Jazz, too. It was pretty cool to watch a possible sociopath use people but not to damage them, like his father. And Billy was just so much of a threat.

Even though I loved it, I can't give it 5 stars because Howie's character was a bit of the usual, silly best friend (which is a character I usually hate, but thankfully Lyga gave Howie some smarts and actually funny things to do and say and also made him matter to the story). Although I bet in the sequel he has some more growth to him.

Also, I knew who the Impressionist was way too soon, but the twist at the end totally made up for that.

A few warnings: It is a teeny bit gory (which doesn't stop me) but I know some people are squeamish, so beware. Also, the next book in the series, called "Jasper Dent", isn't out until April 2013 and it has the provoking but unrevealing title of "Game".

I can't believe I have to wait so long to find out how the story goes on!

Got picture here: On A Book Bender Blog.

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I was so inspired, I drew a comic:

"Diva" Book Review

Diva by Jillian Larkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Parties, bad boys, speakeasies—life in Manhattan has become a woozy blur for Clara Knowles. If Marcus Eastman truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another girl so quickly? Their romance mustn't have been as magical as Clara thought. And if she has to be unhappy, she's going to drag everyone else down to the depths of despair right along with her.

"Being a Barnard girl is the stuff of Lorraine Dyer's dreams. Finding out that Marcus is marrying a gold digger who may or may not be named Anastasia? A nightmare. The old Lorraine would have sat by and let the chips fall where they may, but she's grown up a lot these past few months. She can't bear to see Marcus lose a chance for true love. But will anyone listen to her?

"Now that the charges against her have been dropped, Gloria Carmody is spending the last dizzying days of summer on Long Island, yachting on the sound and palling around with socialites at Forrest Hamilton's swanky villa. Beneath her smile, though, Gloria's keeping a secret. One that could have deadly consequences . . ."

I really enjoyed this one. I liked how all of the strings were pulled together in the end.

*SPOILERS* Read at own risk:

Lorraine gets redeemed and a new reliable love of her own. Clara and Marcus get back together. Jerome and Gloria find each other at long last. The right people get arrested.

The only thing I didn't like, which is to be expected, was Ruby and Forrest. I liked them as characters, I liked their story, I liked how they referenced Gloria and Jay Gatsby from Fitzgerald's little literary classic. But I had been hoping for a different ending for those two characters in this story. I even loved them to an extent, but it was never meant to be.

But an otherwise wonderful ending to an excellent series. I hope for more from Ms. Larkin in the near future.


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"The Midnight Palace" Book Review

The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery. . . .

"Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .

"Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night—and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces."

This was good, but "The Prince of Mist" was better as far as Mr. Carlos Ruiz Zafon's young adult fiction is concerned.

*SPOILERS* Read at your own discretion.

I feel as if the characters had different traits at each end of the book. Take for instance, Ian: in the beginning of the story he's regarded as a scared and wimpy person, the last person to take a risk "and therefore more likely to survive". But by the end of the book, he's the first to try to suck snake venom out of someone's arm, the one the group of friends (called the Chowdar Society) calls upon to talk to Ben, and the one who is trying to become a doctor, which is not for the weak of heart or stomach. And then the Aryami Bose character was the most cowardly of all. She's mentioned at the beginning of the book as this powerful sorcerous in the heart of the Black City part of Calcutta, but when it came time to prove her worth against this monster, she runs, leaving one twin all by himself at an orphanage.

Another problem I had, was when Jawahal wants to take over his own daughter's body to keep existing. "Your lips will be my lips." Ewwww. That whole part was very incestuous. And then in the beginning of the book, Ben is flirting with Sheere. I realize he didn't know that they were twins, but still kind of disturbing on the part of the author. About as bad as George Lucas, come to think of it.

I feel like some parts could have been explained better. Like the part about how Jawahal couldn't kill Ben outright and had to trick him into doing it. And why Jawahal was so powerful. He was like an insane ghost that attached itself to a machine???

Very confused. But I know this one is for kids. I still enjoyed it, just not as fond of it as his other work. Looking forward to more "Cemetery of Forgotten Books" stories and "The Watcher in the Shadows" which comes out in Spring 2013. It looks good!


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"Ingenue" Book Review

Ingenue by Jillian Larkin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Power . . . love . . . scandal . . .

"There’s never enough to go around.

"In the city that never sleeps, Lorraine Dyer is wide awake. Ever since she exposed Clara Knowles for the tramp she was—and lost her closest confidante in the process—Lorraine has spent every second scheming to make her selfish, lovesick ex–best friend pay for what she did. No one crosses Lorraine. Not even Gloria.

"True love conquers everything—or so Gloria Carmody crazily believed. She and Jerome Johnson can barely scrape together cash for their rent, let alone have a moment to whisper sweet nothings in the dark. And if they thought escaping Chicago meant they’d get away with murder . . . they were dead wrong.

"Clara was sure that once handsome, charming Marcus Eastman discovered her shameful secret, he’d drop her like a bad habit. Instead, he swept her off her feet and whisked her away to New York. Being with Marcus is a breath of fresh air—and a chance for Clara to leave her wild flapper ways firmly in the past. Except the dazzling parties and bright lights won’t stop whispering her name. . . .

"INGENUE is the second novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic Flappers series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . where revenge is a dish best served cold."

I had a hard time rating this one. While I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as the first one. So my rating is actually a 3.5 but I put it as 4 stars.

It was pretty good, I felt so much sympathy for many of the characters. Excepting maybe the mob bosses. I even felt sympathy for Lorraine - she really is a dumb duck.

I liked seeing things from Vera's point of view, the first book just made her look like a bitch. I missed Marcus though - his romantic gestures filled me with hope in the last book.

Also the humor that was in the last book wasn't here in this one. It's understandable though, because people are starving and other people plan on killing other people. This book made the actions of the characters have much more serious consequences.

It was very cathartic to go from those rich houses in the first book to the almost starving Gloria and Jerome and kind of normal Clara and Lorraine's apartments. I felt slightly closer to the characters in that way. I find it slightly ironic that the dresses were still awesome, even though everyone was poor.

*SPOILERS*

We finally meet Gloria's dad, who turns out to be the jerk we always knew him to be.

The ending was good, but I would've liked the assassin to have been someone we already met. That part felt really odd.

Still gonna read the third one though.


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"The Silver Blade" Book Review

The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A stirring tale of magic and revolution- fans of The Red Necklace won't want to miss it. The year is 1794. With his beloved Sido safely in England and the Reign of Terror at its height, mysterious Yann returns to revolutionary France to smuggle out aristocratic refugees who will otherwise face the guillotine. But while the two are apart, Yann's Gypsy origins prejudice Sido's guardian against their marriage, thwarting their longed-for reunion. When Sido is kidnapped under strange circumstances, however, Yann must use all his strength and courage to outwit the evil Count Kalliovski, rescue Sido, and help save all of France.

"As she did in The Red Necklace and the award-winning I, Coriander, Sally Gardner spins an epic tale that combines a vivid sense of history, characters full of Dickensian drama and fascination, and a sizzling adventure with touches of magic and romance."

I liked this part of the series, but I think the first book was better. But I felt as if this book could've used a better editor in some places. I also thought that Anselm's part of the story could've ended differently, more drastically maybe. But otherwise I liked it.

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"The Red Necklace" Book Review

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The winds of change are blowing through Paris in the winter of 1789, both for France and for our hero, a striking and mysterious Gypsy boy named Yann Margoza. He was born with a gift for knowing what people are thinking and an uncanny ability to throw his voice, and he has been using those skills while working for a rather foolish magicia. That work will soon end, however, and on the night of the magician's final performance, Yann's life will truly begin. That's the night he meets shy Sido, an heiress with a coldhearted father, a young girl who has only known loneliness until now. Though they have the shortest of conversations, an attachment is born that will influence both their paths.

"And what paths those will be! While Revolution is afoot in France, Sido is being used as the pawn of a fearful villain who goes by the name Count Kalliovski. Some have instead called him the devil, and only Yann, for Sido's sake, will dare to oppose him."

I really enjoyed this book. Some of its characterizations were a bit typical: the bad guy was referred to as the devil at times, there was a damsel in distress whose parentage was questionable, and the hero was a bit annoyingly virtuous, but overall it was very well written.

I don't usually like historical fiction because even though I'm not a huge historian and I don't know all of the details from that time, if it is written from the point of view of a very famous person from that time and I don't agree with how they are perceived and written about according to the author's point of view, it makes it hard to read and also makes me question how much time they took researching for a fictional account of a very well-known time in human history.

But this one was good! And I also love the time of Marie Antoinette so I was sold there, although I find the French Revolution appalling. I also liked that it was from a point of view outside of the royal family and the aristocracy, to a point. I would never have imagined the revolution from the point of view of an orphaned Gypsy. That was very clever on the part of the author. The magic was fun too, and the horror scenes weren't too graphic so young people could read it without getting nightmares. So I enjoyed it and recommend it to people who like young adult historical fiction with a twist.


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"The Luxe" Book Review

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Pretty girls in pretty dresses, partying until dawn.Irresistible boys with sly smiles and dangerous intentions.

"White lies, dark secrets, and scandalous hookups.

"This is Manhattan, 1899.

"Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone - from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud - threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future.

"With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear....

"In a world of luxury and deception, where appearance matters above everything and breaking the social code means running the risk of being ostracized forever, five teenagers lead dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip to the age of innocence is anything but innocent."

I originally got this book for its cover - you could say pretty dresses are my Achilles heel.

Anyway, I thought it was okay. It was the usual unrequited love story. You know the kind - boy and girl cannot love each other because they don't belong to the same class and the girl has to marry for money to save her stupid, prudish family.

The 'bad guy', if you will, was almost a cartoon version of evil and selfish. She had a small dog that she would pet as she made devious plans and she even had a No. 2 or a gay henchman of sorts. That part was very predictable and now I feel like laughing about it.

But I am kind of interested to finish the series, or at least read the next book, because the ending left a lot open, in terms of the people I cared most about. I'm certainly at least going to try to read the next book.


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"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" Book Review

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I actually really enjoyed this book. I got through it in less than two days with work and life getting in the way the whole time, so it was a fast read if nothing else. I thought it was well-written and the character was very likable. I liked the beginning; it was easily the best part of the book because there was just enough exposition and it was really creepy, almost horror novel worthy.


I would put it on par with "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern in some ways - the writing is a bit different (this book is for a younger audience and the romance isn't so romanticized, but it's there and it's lovely) but it has the same mysticism about it.


There is a note towards the back of the book that claims that all of the pictures are really that peculiar and they were collected by actual photography collectors for that reason. Even in this day with Photoshop I actually do believe that statement. You can do some strange things with film photography that you can't do with a digital camera without making it look obviously fake - I know this from personal experience.


The only thing I have doubts about is the author's name - that has to be a pseudonym (what parent would name their kid "Ransom"?).


On that note I thought it was designed very well - it's a beautiful book.


The thing I'm really excited about is whether there will be a sequel or not. The ending practically begs for one. But there may be problems with that due to whether there will be more peculiar old pictures to use that will match his story and whether the author meant there to be more to the story. It may be awhile before it comes out if Mr. Riggs actually comes up with something. I hope he does want to write more to this story, I would love to go on a journey with these wierd people.


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"Mockingjay" Book Review

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, I cried a lot during this one. A very bittersweet ending to this. Mostly happy, but very bittersweet.


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"Catching Fire" Book Review

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, I've just finished "Catching Fire" and I am so pumped to read the next book. So much goes on in this book that I can't even try to explain a part of the plot without giving everything away and I don't want to take the opportunity away from anyone who may want to read this book series. I will say this though: this is not one of your typical "middle book" to a series. It is so exciting and powerful and unexpected. I love this series!


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