Random Musings of a Bibliophile

I know there are still a few weeks left to go, but this is the perfect time for me to do this. My reading slows way down in these last few weeks of the year anyway. Disclaimer: Any references to MG Speculative Fiction reflect only my own thoughts and feels and not those of my fellow Cybils committee members or the committee as a whole. Much thanks to Jamie at Perpetual Page Turner for her work in putting together this survey every year and letting us all use it (and her graphics). All links to my reviews. Best Books by Genre MG Realistic: The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson MG Speculative Fiction: The Homeward Bounders  by Diana Wynne Jones YA Realistic: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass  by Meg Medina YA Speculative Fiction: Black Dog  by Rachel Neumeier Adult Romance: Private Politics  by Emma Barry

A Face Like Glass  by Frances Hardinge was one of the books I had to read for the YAMG Book Challenge. It was the only book potentially destined to come my way in the brackets that I had not previously read. Why? Because it has not been published in the US yet. And this is a TRAGEDY. Synopsis: In the underground city of Caverna the world's most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare. They create wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned. Only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear — at a price. Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all ...

Every year I like to do a list of the characters I've fallen in love with during that year's reading. This list always ends up including some books that don't make my end of year Top 10 and it feels good to spread the love. This is only for new-to-me in 2014 characters. I may have read a book that includes characters I love but met in previous years. They won't be on this list. Here are my previous lists for the blog: 2011 2012 2013 All the residents of Dimilioc (especially Ezekiel) from   Black Dog  by Rachel Neumeier I fell for all the characters in Black Dog fast. And then they were all in immediate peril. This book was stressful to read let me tell you. I love the family dynamics in this book. All of the relationships are so well done, expressing closeness, but also the hardness that comes with living with people and fitting your lives together. The character Neumeier created for this and the voices, personalities, and struggles she gave each just make them ...

Since Waiting on Wednesday is no longer linking, I am starting my own feature that I will probably do once a month to highlight 1-3 upcoming releases I'm excited for. If you are interested in joining me for this, let me know and I can make it more formal with a linky and an actual schedule.  This is technically an ALREADY favorite, but I feel like I haven't done enough to bring attention to the fact that  A Face Like Glass  FINALLY has a US release date. This is my favorite Hardinge novel and I've never been able to figure out why it is the one book she's written not available here. Well fear not Americans, as of May, you can easily procure a copy.  In the underground city of Caverna, the world’s most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare—wines that remove memories, cheeses that make you hallucinate, and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. On the surface, the people...

I love Frances Hardinge. She is one one of those writers for children that doesn't talk down to her audience and is unafraid to confront harsh truths and darknesses in her plots and characters. She is an auto-buy author for me and I anticipate her books so much. It is unfortunate that in the US we often have to wait even longer for them. (And even then may never get them. Seriously, how has A Face Like Glass not been published here yet???? It is amazing.) Hardinge's newest US release is Cuckoo Song , a book that came out in the UK last year to rave reviews from everyone I know who read it. I'm happy to add my voice to the chorus singing its praises. Triss wakes up after a dunking in the river on holiday. Her mind is muddled and memories hazy. She is missing all the hours leading up to her accident in the river. Her sister Penny is resentful toward and angry at her, but that is not a new development. The level of Penny's rancor and distrust is new however. Wrapped i...

Top Ten Tuesday  is a Meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish This week's TTT topic: This week is a freebie so I've decided to do Books with Spies and Sneaky Times since that is one of my favorite types of book to read. That is the only common thread for most of these books. They are all very different in the ways they use these tropes.   The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner: Because you know a list without these books is almost impossible for me to make, but they really do set the bar for spies, sneaky times, and all the political intrigue there is. The Sherwood Ring  by Elizabeth Marie Pope: This is a tale of American Revolutionary War spies. Trust me when I say you will never find a more swoon worthy British soldier trying to hinder the Revolution anywhere else.   Mara Daughter of the Nile  by Eloise Jarvis McGraw: Mara is one amazingly crafty sneaky girl. There is plenty of political intrigue and romance to make me happy ...

Here are some shorter musings on some recent YA reads. The Lie Tree  by Frances Hardinge I wish someone would have warned me that 2016 was the year the majority of my favorite authors would disappoint me. This book has won a lot of awards (including the Boston Globe Horn Book Award for fiction announced today an hour or so after I finished reading it), yet I feel it is the weakest of all Hardinge's books to date. The concept of the tree itself is intriguing but the way it manifests itself in the narrative is unimpressive. It is a tool of supernatural forces in an otherwise realistic setting that allows the heroine to investigate her father's death, but then conveniently doesn't need to be dealt with further at the end. When you add to that the feeling I could not shake that I was meant to be taking a lesson in how dumb religion is and pure and perfect science is form its thematic presence, well....I lost all tolerance with the book. I would LOVE a book that explores the ...

I did this last year . Not only did I enjoy it, but I heard from many that it was a resource they enjoyed and found valuable so I'm doing it again. If you are looking for a book to buy a kid in your life, here is one place where you can get some recommendations. This is clearly not an exhaustive list and I hope others will add their own ideas, either by making their own posts or mentioning books in the comments. These are all book I have read, and I can't read everything. There's not enough time. NOTE: In publishing the term Middle Grade (MG) refers to books marketed toward the 9ish-12ish range. This is not a reading level recommendation. Some kids can read them much younger, others enjoy reading MG well into adulthood. They're just good books. (I will do the Young Adult books for the 13 and over crowd next week.) These are mostly books published in the past three years or so, but I have added a "tried and true" option to every category. I've put the g...