Review of The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

                                                                                    

Roth, Veronica.  The Chosen Ones.  HMH, 2020.

 

Fifteen years ago, Sloan Andrews and four other teens helped to defeat “The Dark One”, a diabolical villain intent on destroying the world.  Since then, they have been hailed as heroes and become celebrities.  Sloan, living in Chicago, has PTSD and resents being dogged by the press, while Matthew Weeks, the group’s leader and Sloan’s boyfriend, attends many charitable events.  Ines and Albie also live in Chicago, and Albie is struggling with substance abuse.  Esther lives in California, taking care of her sick mother, and is a social influencer.  All of them have had a hard time adjusting to a “normal” life.

 

On the tenth anniversary of The Dark One’s death, the five heroes attend the dedication of the Ten Years Monument and the Ten Years Peace Gala.  Shortly afterward, one of the five commits suicide, and during his funeral, three of others are thrown into an alternate, parallel version of Chicago.  It turns out that The Dark One is not actually dead; he has just been waiting.   The three, now twenty-somethings, must learn new, magical powers to defeat him, once again.

 

Veronica Roth, well-known for her young adult novels, has taken the dive into adult fiction, with this first installment in a new series. The book is divided into three parts and is written in third person.  Part One, which deals with the backstory, is extremely slow, and I struggled through it.  However, when I got to Part Two, things began to pick up speed.

 

The author shows off her incredible world-building expertise, blending old and new architecture together to create a different but distinctive version of Chicago.  There are lots of action scenes, unusual magic, and a twist at the end of the novel that I didn’t anticipate.  The characters are highly developed and multi-layered.

 

Comprehensive interviews, government documents, literary works, and transcripts are included in the book to help the reader understand the backstory.  To prepare for writing the novel, the author read many government documents on the CIA website, as well as on The Black Vault, which is the largest privately-run archive of declassified documents in the world.  She also read many celebrity profiles in order to define Sloan’s character.

 

High school librarians might consider purchasing this book as an adult crossover novel.  Hand it to fans of Veronica Roth and those who enjoy action and adventure stories.  I recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it four out of five stars!

 

Thank you to Edelweiss and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read and review this book!

Review of The Shadow Wand by Laurie Forest

Forest, Laurie.  The Shadow Wand.  Inkyard, 2020.

 

The Shadow Wand, the third book in The Black Witch Chronicles, takes up where The Iron Flower ends.  Elloren Gardner now knows she is The Black Witch, which has been prophesized, but she must learn how to use her power in order to help the Resistance.  She is sent to her Fastmate, Commander Lukas Grey, Head of the Mage Guard, for protection.  They must work together so that High Mage Marcus Vogel and the Gardnerians under his control do not capture her and use her power for evil.

 

Not wanting to give too much away, Elloren finds out who are her allies and who are her foes.  However, since many who would ally with her don’t realize she is fighting for the Resistance, she is in grave danger from both sides.  She undergoes rigorous training and must learn alternative methods of using her power.  Readers will also learn what has become of Elloren’s friends and family who have been scattered far and wide in Erthia.

 

As in the previous books, Laurie Forest has again managed to weave lush and gorgeous world-building into this edition.  Not only that, but the characters and evil creatures are dynamic, and some are just terrifying!  The love scenes are extremely intense and steamy, which will be swoon-worthy and satisfying for many fans.

 

The book is divided into six parts, starting with character backstories.  The beginning of the book does start off rather slowly as the author works to catch readers up on what has happened to Elleron’s friends and family since the end of The Iron Flower.  Viewpoints change across chapters as we learn what has transpired with each character.  During the course of the book, the plot speeds up and becomes action-packed.  

 

There is still discrimination and persecution among races, as in the earlier stories; this only adds to the shock and empathy one feels toward the victimized species.  Much to my dismay, the Lupine siblings, Jarod and Diana, do not make an appearance in this book.  They are my favorite characters, and I hope we will see them in the next installment.  There is a shocking cliff-hanger ending!  I can’t wait for the next book, The Demon Tide, which won’t come out until June of 2021.  Yes, unfortunately, we must wait an entire year!

 

Hand this book to fantasy lovers and those who have enjoyed the series.  I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it 5 out of 5 fleur de lis!

 

Thank you to Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader’s copy of The Shadow Wand.

Review of The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

Forest, Laurie.  The Black Witch.  Harlequin Teen, 2017.

After their parents are killed, Elloren Gardner and her brothers move to a small town and live with their kind uncle, who serves as their guardian.  Their uncle does not want the siblings to become “wandfasted”, a type of ceremonial betrothal, until they have finished their studies.  Elloren looks just like her grandmother, Carnissa Gardner.  She has been told that she has no magic powers, unlike her famous grandmother, who was the prophesied Black Witch and had level five magic—the most powerful known.

Elloren’s political aunt, Vyvian Gardner, tells Elloren she will pay for her to attend the prestigious Verpax University and whisks her away to her spacious castle.   At a party given in her honor, Aunt Vyvian introduces Elloren to Lukas Gray, a handsome, eligible Gardnerian bachelor, because she wants Elloren to wandfast to him.  She refuses, so her aunt makes her life miserable at Verpax, forcing Elloren to live with two winged “demon” icarals, work in a kitchen where she is taunted by “low-class” Urisk servants and shunned by a mysterious, handsome Kelt.  Much to her horror, she is also forced to become lab partners with a male lupine in one of her classes.  There’s no way to avoid other races because Verpax accepts everyone!

Elloren is also bullied by the jealous Fallon Bane, who wants to wandfast to Lukas Gray, and is the person everyone believes might be the next prophesied Black Witch.  Elloren slowly begins to realize that everything she has been told about other races is veiled in lies, and Gardnerian history is not as she has been taught.  All races are looking for the next Black Witch and the coming of the new, powerful, evil icaral, both of which have been foretold.  As Elloren comes to trust her misfit roommates and classmates, she must ignore everything that she has learned about hate, judgment, and fear.

This recently released novel by Laurie Forest is the first in a new series by the same name.  This is Ms. Forest’s debut novel, and she has burst upon the scene amidst some controversy.  While some have heralded her novel, others have scorned it for its handling of prejudice and racism.  I happen to be among those who think it is a brilliant fantasy story.

The world-building in The Black Witch is lush and descriptive.  Verpax University is somewhat reminiscent of Hogwarts Academy.  The characters are well-developed, even down to the secondary characters.  After viewing Ms. Forest’s Pinterest page and her Twitter tweets, it is easy to see how much thought and research went into her characters' descriptions.  The prose and dialogue are beautiful and captivating.  I especially like the lupines and their blunt, literal outlook on life.

The main themes in the novel are prejudice, racism, xenophobia, and propaganda.  The different races in the book have been taught that all other races are evil, calculating, and inferior, and their race is the only one which is superior to all others.  Elloren, her friends, and her brothers learn slowly to ignore what they have been taught for many years and accept and befriend those different from them.  Although Elloren is not quick to realize that others’ views have influenced her opinions, there are more sequels to come so that she will be able to grow more in the future.  That she was able to work with others to bring about change was welcome and refreshing.

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This novel is a real page turner!  I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it 5 out of 5 fleur de lis!

Review of Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Raasch, Sara.  Snow Like Ashes. Balzer +    Bray, 2014.

On the continent of Primoria, there are four Season Kingdoms—Spring, Summer, Winter, and Autumn, which sit on a chasm of magic.  All of them have eternal seasons and female rulers who wield magic through conduits, talismans to control their kingdoms.  The Rhythm Kingdoms—Paisly, Ventralli, Yakim, and Cordell—go through all four seasons and have males who rule through their conduits.  The eight kingdoms lived in more or less in harmony until Angra, Spring’s evil conduit, and his army attacked and destroyed Winter, broke its conduit in half, and killed its queen.  Only twenty-five of Winter’s citizens were able to escape; they rest were killed or taken to Spring’s work camps.

Sixteen years later, only eight Winterians remain of those who escaped.  They are constantly moving around so as not to be captured by Angra or his general, Herod.  The eight citizens spend their days trying to survive and searching for their conduit.  Finding the two halves of their conduit would mean freedom, the return of magic, and the rebuilding of their kingdom. 

The two youngest Winterians—Mather Dynam, Winter’s future king, and Meira, an orphan—infants when the attack on Winter occurred, are now teenagers.  Their leader, Sir William, has trained them to fight fiercely for Winter.  Meira knows Mather will one day be her king and is of a higher class, but she still has feelings for him.  On her first journey to look for the conduit, not only does Meira have an encounter with Herod, but she also recovers half of Winter’s conduit.

This leads to a series of events in which Meira, guided by encrypted dreams, becomes first a commodity, then a soldier, and finally a prisoner.  She must deal with courtly politics and Angra’s evil magic to find her true destiny and place in Winter.

Snow Like Ashes, Sara Raasch’s debut novel, is a wonderful fantasy read.  The world building and the concept of designing kingdoms based on seasons are fresh and beautiful.  The main characters are strong, heroic, and selfless, ready to sacrifice anything--even death--for Winter.  The descriptions of the battle scenes are so real, the reader will feel he is right there on the battlefield fighting with the soldiers!  In addition,  if you like love triangles, you will not be disappointed!  The cover art is awesome; it depicts a chakram, a type of throwing knife, Meira’s weapon of choice, on a bed of fresh snow.

The only negative about the novel is the pacing.  The plot sometimes slows down and takes awhile to pick up speed again.  However, there is enough happening during the slow parts to keep readers motivated to continue reading.

Snow Like Ashes is the first in a series of the same name.   Icicles Like Kindling, a novella eBook-only prequel, was released in September.  It covers Meira’s life from her infancy to age sixteen and was originally intended to be the prologue in Snow Like Ashes.    Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes #2) will come out this year!

This book will be enjoyed by fans of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling series and readers of The Games of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin.  I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries.  I give it four out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Taken by Erin Bowman

Bowman, Erin.  Taken.  HarperTeen,    2013.

In Claysoot, boys become men at age fifteen, but women rule the town.  All men are heisted, vanishing into thin air at midnight on their eighteenth birthday.  No man has ever escaped a Heisting.  Those that try come back burnt and unrecognizable if they flee over the Wall that surrounds Claysoot.  The town holds an elaborate banquet and remembrance ceremony on each man’s eighteenth birthday so that friends and family and say goodbye.

Gray is devastated when his brother, Blaine, is heisted on his eighteenth birthday.  He discovers a secret about he and his brother that makes him determined to avoid his own heisting.

Gray goes over the Wall to find answers and is followed by Emma Link, who he secretly loves.  They find themselves in the city of Taem when rescued by members of The Franconian Order, the army that governs the city.   When Gray and Emma doubt the true intentions of the Order and its leader, Frank, they are captured.

Gray manages to escape and goes in search of the rebels that The Franconian Order is trying to wipe out.  What he discovers about Claysoot, its beginnings, the rebels, and The Franconian Order cause him to doubt everything he has been raised to believe.
This debut novel by Erin Bowman grabbed me from the start.  I had previously read several chapters as they were revealed on a blog tour, which compelled me to buy the book when it was published.  The concept of boys disappearing at the stroke of midnight on their eighteen birthdays I found extremely intriguing!

Ms. Bowman’s world building was amazing!  The people of Claysoot are very primitive and do not have ordinary things like cars, photos, guns, and glasses.  To read descriptions of new things as seen through Gray’s eyes was like playing a guessing game.  The way Taem is portrayed feels similar to a futuristic type city like the capital in The Hunger Games.

There are a number of surprises, twists, and turns that I was not expecting and a love triangle!  Readers, get ready for a great ride!  The sequel, Frozen, comes out on April 14, 2014!  I give this book 4 out of 5 fleur de lis and recommend it for high school and public libraries.

Review of A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner; Greenwillow, 2010.

This is the fourth book in the series unofficially known as "The Queen's Thief". Sophos, who is heir to the country of Sounis, hopes that he will never have to fulfill that role. However, his father has tried to prepare him for the throne, providing tutors who have instructed him in swordsmanship and battle strategy, as well as book schooling. One day, his villa is attacked, and Sophos is kidnapped and his estate is burned. He is sold into slavery, working for a power-hungry baron. After Sophos escapes, he discovers he is now King of Sounis. Unfortunately, the Mede Empire would like to rule all of Sounis, Attolia, and Eddis. It falls to Sophos, now called Sounis, to provide a solution that will allow his people to live in peace and freedom.

A Conspiracy of Kings was a fabulous adventure, filled with action, intrigue, romance, and even some mythology references. The plot is extremely complicated, filled with subplots and many characters. I had to keep a running list of characters and refer to it frequently! The descriptions of the characters, battles, and scenery were stunning, filled with minute details and nuances. It was interesting to see how Sophos matured from an unwilling heir into a true leader, outwitting the scheming barons. There is a surprising and unexpected twist at the end of the book!

Although this book could be read as a stand-alone volume, it would be advisable to read the preceding volumes first. Since I had not done that, I had to do some research in order to figure out what had happened previously in the series. Additionally, it took me awhile to figure out that once someone becomes a ruler in his country, he takes the name of the country. Hence, Sophos becomes Sounis because he was the King of the kingdom of Sounis.

A Conspiracy of Kings was on the "2010 Booklist Top Ten Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels for Youth" and was named a "2010 YALSA Best Fiction Nominee for Young Adults". I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries.

Review of hush, hush by Becca Fitzgerald

Review of hush, hush by Becca Fitzgerald
Simon & Schuster, 2009.

Dark, handsome Patch is new at school, and he turns out to be Nora Gray’s new biology lab partner. Nora is attracted to Patch, but she’s also rather scared of him. He seems to know a lot about her, even her deepest secrets, and she can’t find anything out about him! In fact, it’s almost like he appeared out of nowhere! It seems like everywhere Nora goes with her best friend, Vee, Patch is there, too. Could he stalking her? And who is the person disguised in the black clothes and the ski mask? Patch is actually a fallen angel who has lost his wings. He must decide if he wants to become a guardian angel by saving Nora’s life or if he wants to become human by killing her.

Fans of the Twilight series, you will not be disappointed with this novel! First time author, Becca Fitzgerald, holds readers spellbound with her descriptions of eerie characters and breathy romance. The main characters are extremely well-developed. Nora is smart and likeable; Patch is mysterious, handsome, and brooding; and Vee, Nora’s best friend, is impulsive and funny! Many times Nora found herself alone in dark, seedy places looking for Vee, which felt a little contrived, but was still exciting. The ending of the book had unexpected twists and turns and nonstop action! Chase scenes, attempted murder, mistaken identities, and mirages abound!

The book is a real page turner! I recommend it for high school and public libraries.

Review of Wings by Aprilynne Pike

Wings by Aprilynne Pike; HarperTeen, 2009.

Another fabulous young adult author has burst upon the scene! In her debut novel, Aprilynne Pike tackles the adolescent problem of a young girl who discovers she is actually not a human, but a faerie!

Fifteen-year-old Laurel was left on her adoptive parents' doorstep when she was a young child and has always been homeschooled. Her family has always lived in a house in the country bordering on the woods. However, recently they moved 45 miles away to a city so that Laurel's father could run a bookstore, and she must attend public school until their house and land sell. Laurel has always been a picky eater and loved being outdoors, unconfined. One day, she feels a blemish growing between her shoulder blades. She begins to think the blemish is cancerous because it continues to grow into a huge mass, and she is afraid to tell anyone. Imagine her surprise when she wakes up one morning, only to discover that the mass has turned into blossoms overnight! In desperation, she has to hide her "wings" from her family and classmates. Laurel finally confides in a friend, who helps her deal with being a faerie, saving her land, her father's eminent death, and murderous trolls! Throw in a love triangle, magic, and suspense, and you've got one heck of a fantasy novel! The characters are extremely well-developed; the storyline is delightful; and the book is an excellent read! Kudos to Ms. Pike for her tremendous efforts! Teen girls will love this novel...it's a real page turner!

Highly recommended for high school and public libraries!