This is funny, guys! And well-written! (At least to me it is.) We have R. F. Jackaby, an American Sherlock type who can see things that others can’t. Not just notice things others don’t, but things others physically cannot comprehend. There’s magic here, and Jackaby has a gift. And just like Sherlock, a lot of people thing Jackaby is crazy. Or on drugs. “All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with view behind […]
“No one is truly honest.”
I picked this up because it appeared to be a YA book with a The Night Circus feel, and I liked that book, so why not? The premise is kind of similar. There is a traveling extraordinary circus show that performs once a year. The audience can either participate or watch, but the participants are playing a giant game to win a prize. This year’s prize just happens to be a wish. Scarlett Dragna has always wanted to see the mysterious Caraval, encouraged […]
Classic second book syndrome.
Man, last year when I read the first book in this series, I read it so fast and got so super into it. I was expecting something similar to happen when I picked up book two several weeks ago, but my experience was pretty much the exact opposite. I read the first one in practically one sitting over the course of one day. This one took me weeks to finish, and I had to force myself to pick it up. While reading, I enjoyed myself, but […]
The Power of Words
Jacqueline Woodson’s 2014 poetic memoir Brown Girl Dreaming won a slew of awards: a National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, an NAACP Image Award, just to name a few. It is the beautifully told story of Woodson’s childhood, of the people and environments that formed both her and her dream of becoming a writer. It also offers glimpses into the civil rights movement and the experience of racism through the eyes of a child who witnessed […]
Run far, run fast, keep the wind in your hair
Memories of Ash picks up about a year after the conclusion of Intisar Khanani’s Sunbolt. Hitomi, now using the name Hikaru, has been under the tutelage of Brigit Stormwind, learning to perform healing magic and attempting to regain her lost memories. This interlude comes to an end with the visit from representatives of the High Council of Mages. Stormwind has been called to the council to answer charges of treason. Hitomi must emerge from hiding to confront her enemy Arch Mage Blackflame in order to save her […]
I accept that I am a writing-craft snob
If I hadn’t read “The Night Circus”, I would probably be giving this book a higher rating, but I think many of the things this book does well, “The Night Circus” did better. “Cruel Beauty” is also a YA, and I habitually have issues loving YA as much as I love adult books with similar themes. I had serious issues with the craft, and I realize after looking back through my other reviews, that I’ve become kind of a writing-craft snob, but this book was all tell […]
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