A couple of books to try

Book one: Ready Player One by Earnest Cline

This is a dystopia book set in the 2040's. It involves a world with a very highly developed virtual reality system that many people escape to, avoiding real life. When the creator of the whole thing dies, he leaves his fortune to the first one to find the easter egg he's hidden somewhere in the thousands of worlds he created. And, because he was obsessed with the 1980's, the book and the characters and the mystery all refer heavily to the 1980's games, music, movies, and culture. I enjoyed as much as I got to, and wished I had had time to finish it. (And I don't enjoy dystopia books.)

(Unfortunately, the book was due back to the library before I finished it, but I've been assured by those who have finished it that it is well worth reading. I enjoyed the half I read. Also, there is more language in this than I usually prefer. If that bothers you, you are forewarned. And, Kristen, I'm pretty sure there's even some romance involved, I just got to the very beginning of that part.)

Book two: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

This is a book on my list of need to read. It is a children/young adult fantasy. Three siblings in an orphanage find an atlas that allows them to travel through time and get caught up in the fight between good and evil. It is the first book in the trilogy. Both my husband and my 9 year old have recommended it to me, so it has wide appeal.

Good Books

She Walks in Beauty, by Siri Mitchell
Abandon, by Meg Cabot

I enjoyed abandon more than Cabot's recent YA offerings. I feel like she's back in the game with this one. Also, looking forward to Overbite - her 2nd in her vampire series.

32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny

I picked this book out from Amazon to give to Elle's teacher.

Elle and I spent a great deal of time clicking on the "Surprise Me" button on Amazon reading excerpts.

I finally checked it out of the library, and we've been laughing hysterically at all the fun stories!

New Brandon Mull!

Beyonders comes out March 15, (happy birthday to me) and is the first book in a new series by Brandon Mull, who wrote the FANTASTIC Fablehaven books. I snagged the description from Amazon:

The first book in a new series (Beyonders), A World Without Heroes is an addictive blend of fantasy, humor, and heroic quest. Jason is an ordinary 13-year-old involuntarily transported to Lyrian, a world ruled by the evil wizard Maldor. Jason stumbles across a book bound with human skin and learns of a secret word with the power to unmake Maldor--knowledge that puts Jason in grave danger. Galloran, a blind king who once searched for the word himself, introduces Jason to Rachel, another Beyonder (as people from Earth are called) who had appeared in Lyrian at the same time. Jason and Rachel set out to retrieve the word, and the resulting pages are filled with adventure, drama, loyalty and betrayal—a treat for fans of Mull’s Fablehaven series or those discovering this bestselling author for the first time.--Seira Wilson

YA Paranormal Bug

As I typed the title to this post I realized that I really can't claim that the bug has recently bitten me. I read my first YA Paranormal nearly ten years ago, when I started Meg Cabot's Mediator series, and I've pretty much been searching for more at a desperate pace ever since.

It's just so stinking fun to read!

I recently read several, and I liked nearly all of them, so I'm sharing. Tess Oliver has three books available on Amazon as kindle editions right now - but I cannot find them in hard/paperback form. Not sure if she's publishing straight to kindle or what. Anyway, I'm currently reading the 3rd (they are not a series) and have enjoyed them all immensely so far. There is a little language in Safe Landing , and some "British" language in Camille:

Which is about a werewolf hunter who falls for a recently infected young man. It was loads of fun, and all three books total $4.97 on kindle. Love!

The others I have recently enjoyed are:

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver. I don't remember, but there is probably some language in that one.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefavter. Not super deep, and I'm not interested in reading about other characters in the 2nd and 3rd books, but it was a fun take on the werewolf legend.

And then there's Immortal, by Lauren Burd. Of this book, two things are certain:

1. The editor, if there was one, should be fired. (the sentence structure was SO bad.)

2. S. Meyer could probably successfully sue the lady. The characters, situations, even the conversations are that similar. I made it 70% of the way through the train wreak before I tossed it away in disgust. And it is not often that I cannot bring myself to finish a story and see how it ends.

Enjoy!

Paranormalcy

I'm too fresh off the high of just having finished a really fun book to give you all a proper what's-it-all-about here so I'll just say:

Kiersten White has a great, great voice. Reading her is easy - like Meg Cabot easy (better? dare I say it?) and the pacing was simply fantastic. I was not given the option to put this book down. My children had ramen for lunch and I am still in my 6 a.m jogging clothes because after I got home and sat down with it I did nothing else until I finished.

Now elation and despair are warring within me, elation from reading such an enjoyable story, and despair at my ever, ever actually hammering out a text of my own. Argh!

Just, go read it.

Good YA Fantasy

Star Crossed was written by the same lady who wrote A Curse Dark as Gold. I didn't read her earlier work, but I enjoyed Star Crossed more than I have enjoyed a YA Fantasy for a LONG time! There is magic in her world, but no unicorns or fairies - it's more like a magical tale set in dark-ages earth. Not too fantastical, for you non goblin story lovers.
The plot of Secondhand Charm made a turn around 1/3 of the way through the book that was interesting and fun to read and completely unexpected. Loved the book! This one seems to be set in a very earth-like world, with christianity and place names being the same. But there are some fantastical creatures and some magic.