Sapphique: By Catherine Fisher

SAPPHIQUE

SUMMARY

The only one who escaped . . . And the one who could destroy them all.

Incarceron, the living prison, has lost one of its inmates to the outside world: Finn’s escaped, only to find that Outside is not at all what he expected. Used to the technologically advanced, if violently harsh, conditions of the prison, Finn is now forced to obey the rules of Protocol, which require all people to live without technology. To Finn, Outside is just a prison of another kind, especially when Claudia, the daughter of the prison’s warden, declares Finn the lost heir to the throne. When another claimant emerges, both Finn’s and Claudia’s very lives hang on Finn convincing the Court of something that even he doesn’t fully believe.

Meanwhile, Finn’s oathbrother Keiro and his friend Attia are still trapped inside Incarceron. They are searching for a magical glove, which legend says Sapphique used to escape. To find it, they must battle the prison itself, because Incarceron wants the glove too.

REVIEW

When I first read Incarceron I was shaking with anticipation for its sequel Sapphique. Now after reading it I’m happy to admit Sapphique is a good end to an excellent series.

Unlike most books published as of late Incareron and Sappique do not comprise two of the three pieces of a trilogy. Instead these two books comprise the entire series. And personally I found that a little refreshing. Yes, authors are better able to strut their plots and better develop their characters in a trilogy, but Fisher does a great job developing the characters in this two book series that I don’t think a third book would have improved it to any great degree.

Fans of The Maze Runner will instantly like Sapphique and Incarceron as like Dahsner’s New York Time’s bestselling series the setting acts as an interesting and significant character to the series, setting it apart from the rest of current YA trends of dystopian futures, vampires, zombies, and angels. Not only that but Incaceron, the prison, not only acts as a character, but evolves like a character. This is an interesting development that really moves the story forward and sets Fisher’s duology apart from the rest of current YA books.

That said, I was disappointed in some of the characters in this book, such as Keiro. Fisher really built Keiro up in Incarceron and I felt like there wasn’t any evolution of his character nor was there any real reason for the level of importance attributed to him. Not only that but I was a tad disappointed with the way Sapphique ended. I felt like while it wasn’t an abrupt ending, it did seem to end just a little to cleanly, and felt like a lot of the excitement and tension that had been built up was just lost.

That said I really liked both Incarceron and Sappique. They were well written, full of action, and had interesting and unique plot lines. Not only that but they didn’t drag on a lot of unimportant plot points in extra books. All in all this was a good series and I can’t wait to read some of Fisher’s other works as well.

RATING

8 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Dial

Published: December 28, 2010

Price: $17.99

Blank Confession: By Pete Hautman

BLANK CONFESSION

SUMMARY

Shayne Blank is the new kid in town--but that doesn't stop him from getting into a lot of trouble very quickly. The other kids don't understand him. He's not afraid of anything. He seems too smart. And his background doesn't add up. But when he walks into the police department to confess to a murder, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems. There's more to Shayne--and his story--than meets the eye. As the details begin to fill in, the only thing that becomes clear is that nothing about Shayne's story is clear at all.

REVIEW

I’ve been looking forward to this book since I read about it a few months ago. Blank Confession looked exciting, suspenseful, and well written (I’m assuming the last thing from Hautman’s previous books and level of writing in general.)

I wasn’t wrong.

Blank Confession tells a sensational story detailing the trials and troubles of drug use in schools today. But Hautman doesn’t just leave the story as a simple drugs are bad and look at what they do, instead he interlays it with a suspenseful murder mystery, a courageous yet dishonest hero, and a telling of the story from the end, allowing the reader to sit and wonder what just went on. But while the story is fantastic and the craftsmanship superb, the most impressive aspect were the characters.

In a short period of time (and words) Hautman slices to the core of each of his characters. They are interesting, unique, and humanistic, but most importantly they are well written. Mikey has obvious issues being short, but the real crux of his character flaw deals with his family issues with his father. Shayne is the complex and heroic protagonist who has unresolved issues that are not mentioned until the end of the book. And even the officer who Shayne confesses to has unresolved issues that Hautman ties into the story.

But what I found interesting about these characters is that Hautman seamlessly connects all these characters in a very realistic manner. He doesn’t have Mikey suddenly get a backbone, he doesn’t have Mikey’s sister suddenly get over big bad boys, and he doesn’t have Shayne suddenly change his personality. Instead they all remain just as they are but perhaps alter 15% over the course of the book. A very realistic change.

All in all Blank Confession is an intricate, well written book. The characters are well developed, the plot interesting, and the style masterful. While the book is short it’s defiantly worth the read, and weather readers choose to get it from the library to save money or buy it for Christmas, Blank Confession is a good read.

RAITNG

8.5 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Published: November 16, 2010

Price: $16.99

The Spirit Rebellion: By Rachel Aaron

THE SPIRIT REBELLION

SUMMARY

Eli Monpress is brilliant. He's incorrigible. And he's a thief.

He's also still at large, which drives Miranda Lyonette crazy. While she's been kicked out of the Spirit Court, Eli's had plenty of time to plan his next adventure. But now the tables have turned, because Miranda has a new job -- and an opportunity to capture a certain thief.

Things are about to get exciting for Eli. He's picked a winner for his newest heist. His target: the Duke of Gaol's famous "thief-proof" citadel. Eli knows Gaol is a trap, but what's life without challenges? Except the Duke is one of the wealthiest men in the world, a wizard who rules his duchy with an iron fist, and an obsessive perfectionist with only one hobby: Eli.

It seems that everyone is hunting for Eli Monpress.

REVIEW

It’s often hard to keep the same level of action and mystery in the second book of a series. This has to do with the author having to create a new situation to capture the reader’s attention while at the same time stringing the reader along in the central mystery to the series arc without giving away to much. It’s hard and it’s complicated, but if you can get it just right it can put the series just in the right spot to really take off.

In The Spirit Rebellion, Rachel Aaron does a terrific job of introducing readers to an exciting new situation that brings back all your favorite characters. Miranda gets put into a pickle when political action starts playing against her and she soon finds herself tossed out of the organization she’s given her life to protect. Nico is forced to confront the realities of her situation as a demonseed. Josef must face his connection with the Heart of War. And Eli walks into a blatant trap he may not be able to get out of this time.

Like The Spirit Thief, Aaron does a great job maintaining both fun dialog and complex characters, but what I found most interesting about The Spirit Rebellion was the back story and cliffhanger like ending that Aaron introduces in this sensational sequel. Readers really get to see a new side to Eli, as we get a glimpse into his past, but most intriguing is the relationship with Benehime, who plays a fascinating yet small character in this book. It’s obvious to readers she is going to play a much bigger role in books to come, but it’s very exciting to watch her story and relationship with Eli unfold.

Of course, while I wont say what the cliffhanger like ending entails, I will say that it sets up an engaging plot for the next book in the series, The Spirit Eater, that I’m pretty sure I wont be able to put down.

All in all The Spirit Rebellion is a great book. The characters are witty and robust, the plot is intricate and just starting to bloom, and the book as a whole contains action, suspense, and magic in just the right proportions to allow the book to move at an exhilarating pace. Making The Spirit Rebellion a fantastic second book in the Legend of Eli Monpress series.

RATING

9.5 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Orbit

Published: November 1, 2010

Price: $7.99

The Spirit Thief: By Rachel Aaron

THE SPIRIT THIEF

SUMMARY

Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief.

But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while.

Like a king.

REVIEW

Magic, mystery, and a little bit of good old thievery. All in all Rachel Aaron’s first book in her The Legend of Eli Monpress series is a truly fantastic book.

I’m a little embarrassed to say I didn’t initially recognize this book as the fantastic piece of literature it is. In fact I probably would have missed it, if not for the fact that Orbit produced it.

What I mean by this is that since starting this blog I’ve learned a lot more about the publishing industry, such as, who produces the best urban fantasy/ fantasy/science fiction, who releases books at a speed that can keep a reader happy, and who is the most consistent with the level of production they put out. And from all of this I have to say Orbit is one fine imprint. They release great books in time periods to keep readers happy, they are one of the most consistent imprints in the level of high quality material that they publish, and they’re constantly trying to make things cheaper and more affordable for the reader. But anyway enough about how fantastic Orbit is, the real crux of the matter is that I would have passed by this fantastic book without even knowing it, and that would have been the real crime.

The Spirit Thief is fun, well written, and full of well developed characters. Aaron does a fantastic job creating a story around this first chapter of the Eli Monpress series. She introduces just enough mystery to reel the reader into the next book, while maintaining an engaging action packed plot that will keep you up late into the night.

Not only is the plot well developed and intricate enough to entice readers to the next in the series, but the characters are all interesting and robust. None of the characters are bland or black and white, and even the minor characters are given enough great dialog to keep the story moving and entertaining. My personal favorite characters thus far in the series are Josef and Gin who are both strong, slightly sarcastic, interesting characters, who like almost all the characters in this series are filled with just a little bit of suspense and mystery about their back stories.

Of course besides being a fun exciting book, The Spirit Thief also happens to be dirt cheap ($7.99). So if you enjoy good books that are not expensive, then The Spirit Thief and the entire Legend of Eli Monpress series just might be for you. And if you've already read it then I'm sure it'll make the perfect stocking stuffer for the holidays.

RATING

9.5 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Orbit

Published: October 1, 2010

Price: $7.99

Right Hand Magic: By Nancy Collins

RIGHT HAND MAGIC

SUMMARY

Like most Manhattanites, aspiring artist Tate can't resist a good rental deal-even if it's in the city's strangest neighborhood, Golgotham, where for centuries werewolves, centaurs, and countless other creatures have roamed the streets.

Her new landlord is a sorcerer name Hexe, who is determined to build his reputation without using dark, left-hand magic. As Tate is drawn into Hexe's fascinating world, they both find that the right hand does not always know what the left hand is doing-and avoiding darkness is no easy trick...

REVIEW

While this book is called Right Hand Magic there certainly wasn’t that much “Right” about it (yes I do know how corny that sounds, I’m ok with it, considering how corny the actual book is).

While the premise of the book sounds like it could have been interesting (creature centered area in Manhattan, landlord who wants to try to only use right “good” hand magic, filled with an abundance of different creatures and magic), it wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of presence in the main characters.

Tate is a flat, poorly written, un-redeeming protagonist who is both boring and painful to read. It feels like there were sentences that could have been easily cut that would have made the character/book much better. Another character that was a disappointment was Hex. While Hex’s lines weren’t as choppy as Tate’s Hex’s story just never really grabbed me like it needed to take the book to a dynamic level.

Of course Collins, the author, does a great job creating a world of interesting and unique magic that if the characters were a little stronger, would mark this book as fun and interesting. There are normal were-animals, and whatnot, but there’s also strange new magics such as Hex’s.

All in all while the premise and magics were interesting they can’t make up for the characters and general plot line/annoyingly predictable nature of the book. Because of this I hope that Collins is able to give it another shot, because she really did create a fun exciting world, just maybe possibly go through a few more rounds of edits to make the dialog and characters better crafted next time.

RATING

4 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Roc

Published: December 7, 2010

Price: $6.99

Empty: By Suzanne Weyn

EMPTY

SUMMARY

It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.

Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.

Teens like Nicki, Tom, and Leila may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again.

REVIEW

I was looking forward to Empty. I had read Xisle by Steve Augarde and Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi, and this book sounded in my opinion a lot like these books, because of its dystopian future based on a lack of resources. I thought it looked fun, exciting, and like a great book to read.

Boy was I wrong.

Empty bored me from page one. It was a preachy book that was filled with hollow characters and a poor plot. No one wants to read about the horrors of the environment without a decent story behind it, and this is especially true in a young adult/children’s book. But that’s exactly what Empty did, it read like a boring memo about the frightening rate we are using our resources.

Not only that but what little story the book did have felt disjointed and jumbled together because of the splintering of the many points of view of all the different characters in the book. If the author had chosen just a few of these characters to concentrate on then I feel confident she could have at least salvaged part of the story line.

That said, what really annoyed me was that this book could have been really good. The author did a horrible job breaking the book into too many perspectives and ultimately making it too preachy. Yes, there are successful ensemble books, and there are many books which convey important messages about the environment that contain decent if not good plots, but this just doesn’t happen to be one of them.

RATING

3 out of 10

INFO

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Published: October 1, 2010

Price: $17.99

Hero: By Mike Lupica

HERO

SUMMARY

Fourteen-year-old Zach Harriman can feel the changes. The sharpening of his senses. The incredible strength. The speed, as though he can text message himself across miles. The confidence and the strange need to patrol Central Park at night. His dad had been a hero, a savior to America and a confidante of the president. Then he died, and the changes began in Zach. What Zach never knew was that his father was no ordinary man--he was a superhero, battling the world's evil. This is a battle that has been waged for generations and that knows no boundaries.

And now it's Zach's turn to take on the fight. It's Zach's turn to become a hero.

REVIEW

When it comes to elementary and middle school sports novels, Mike Lupica is king. He’s written countless books about everything from football to basketball to baseball, and so when I saw he was coming out with a superhero novel I thought he’d be a great person to write one, (because of his experience with suspense and pace in the story) and so I marked it in my calendar and I couldn’t wait to pick up a copy for myself.

When I picked up Hero though I was a little disappointed, this wasn’t the all inclusive for any age book for I was expecting, this was a superhero book for kids in middle and elementary school (I don’t know why I was expecting anything else, but I was.) Of course even with that disappointment I still decided to finish the book, and I have to say it was pretty good.

Ok, now understand when I say that this book was pretty good, I had decided to try to put myself in the mindset of someone in middle school to better evaluate the book. So when I did that I found the book much more enjoyable and a great book for kids.

Hero is full of mystery, action, and superpowers, what’s not to love? The characters don’t develop as much as one might hope, and the end seems a little corny, but the story and the fun a reader will have reading it are top notch, and in my opinion that’s what matter most. Making this a good book for middle school and elementary school kids (especially boys).

RATING

8 out of 10 (for elementary/middle schoolers)

INFO

Publisher: Philomel

Published: November 2, 2010

Price: $17.99