The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull

"Feel any different?" Pigeon asked eagerly.

"A little," Nate said. "Sort of tingly. It tastes really good. I almost feel..."

He moved to take a step and floated right up into the air.

Any Fablehaven fans in the house? The Candy Shop War is by the same author, Brandon Mull.

Nate Sutter just moved to Colson, a small town in California. His first day in town he meets Summer, Trevor and Pigeon (known as Paul to his mother). He is relieved to be initiated into their club, The Blue Falcons, so he has some friends when they all start 5th grade at Mt. Diablo Elementary.

The four friends meet Mrs. White, a grandmotherly woman who just opened a candy shop in Colson. After earning her trust, she reveals to them that she is a magician and she makes candy with magical side effects such as: "Rock candy that makes you weightless. Jawbreakers that make you unbreakable. Chocolate balls that make you a master of disguise." These candies prove to come in handy as Mrs. White has The Blue Falcons search the town for a long lost treasure.

Enter Mr. Stott, an ice cream truck driver that Summer and Pigeon have known their entire lives. He turns out to be a magician himself and tries to recruit The Blue Falcons as well. They don't know who they can trust and it doesn't take long before they are in way over their heads. The mysterious man in the fedora hat and dark overcoat that is following them around does nothing to rest their minds either.

This book was fast paced and very funny. Like Fablehaven, Mull's characters are witty and age-appropriate. I reread the last few chapters because there was so much to take in! How authors can keep track of all the details and tie everything together at the end is amazing!

Let the war begin...

P.S. For those who haven't heard yet, I got accepted to graduate school and will start working on a Master of Library Science in Children and Youth Services degree in January. One of the first classes I will be taking is History of Children's Literature. Wahoo!

East, by Edith Pattou

Rose has always been different...

In keeping with the fairytale theme, I decided to post about East, by Edith Pattou. People often mistake this as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While it is definitely Beauty and the Beast-esque, it is actually a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon , a Scandinavian fairytale (the Norwegian version, to be exact).

Here is the synopsis from the back of the book:

Since the day [Rose] was born, it was clear she had a special fate. Her superstitious mother keeps the unusual circumstances of Rose's birth a secret, hoping to prevent her adventurous daughter from leaving home...but she can't suppress Rose's true nature forever.

So when an enormous white bear shows up one cold autumn evening and asks teenage Rose to come away with it - in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family - she readily agrees.

Rose travels on the bear's broad back to a distant and empty castle, where she is nightly joined by a mysterious stranger. In discovering his identity, she loses her heart - and finds her purpose - and realizes her journey has only just begun.

Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective, namely: Rose, Neddy (Rose's brother), Rose's Father, Troll Queen, and White Bear. Each chapter is fairly short, so I give you a fair warning: You will be tempted to read "just one more chapter" and the next thing you know it is 1am and your alarm is set to go off in just a few hours but you HAVE to find out what is going to happen.

So, that being said: Enjoy at your own risk :)

Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

This book is a twist on the fairy tale Snow White. I've really enjoyed this trend in young adult literature i.e. taking a fairy tale and expanding it. So many of us can connect with these stories because the fairy tales are familiar, but also because the authors do a great job (in most cases :D) of making the characters seem human and real. But that is just my opinion. You might recognize Gail Carson Levine's name from her book Ella Enchanted. I really liked Ella Enchanted, but I think I liked Fairest even more.

Aza, the main character, is someone I think a lot of us can relate to. She feels ugly (her skin is "too pale" and her lips are "too red") and is all too aware that her larger body shape doesn't match that of the kingdom she lives in (If you escaped your childhood/teenage years unscathed by thoughts like Aza's, you should write a book to let the rest of us (and the rising generations for that matter) know how you did it. You could make millions. You should dedicate the book to me for giving you the idea :D).

Aza's parents are not her biological parents. They are innkeepers and baby Aza was left by a mysterious woman on a rainy night. Aza loves her father and mother and they love her as if she were their own, but Aza often wonders who her biological parents are and why they abandoned her.

Because the kingdom in which they live revers elegance and beauty, Aza often works behind-the-scenes at her family's inn. This is more by Aza's choice than her parents demands. She feels she is bad for business because of the way she looks. But one of Aza's gifts is her singing voice. Aza's kingdom revers singing even more than they revere beauty. She discovers that she can "illuse", meaning she can "throw" her voice and mimic other people's voices.

A duchess comes to stay at the family's inn and through a series of events, Aza is asked to accompany the duchess to the palace to attend the King's wedding (his first wife died). The new queen discovers Aza's gift of illusing and threatens to punish Aza's family if she does not become her lady-in-waiting and illuse for her (the vain queen can't sing worth a dime). Aza feels she has no choice but to comply. This leads Aza down a tangled path and ends up having to flee for her life in some incredible plot twists. Along the way, she discovers true friendship, self-worth, and love.

Gail Carson Levine did a fantastic job getting inside the mind of a self-conscious teenager. The plot is fast-moving and I think readers will relate to the beauty-obsessed society that Aza lives in.

I Love Books

I am a bookworm and bibliophile (according to Wikipedia, there is a difference). I love reading, particularly Young Adult literature. Occasionally, friends and family will ask me for recommendations, so I've decided to make a book blog. I will try and post about one or two books each month. I realize my Mom and my sister, Jen, might be the only ones who ever look at this blog, but they are reason enough =)

Love,
Kim