"The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater

(image borrowed from goodreads.com)

5/5 stars

I loved this book!  Oh my goodness!  I listened to it on an MP3 borrowed from my public library, and loved it so much, that I bought a paperback copy.  Just so I can shove it in my friends’ faces and say “here!  Read this!”

Maggie Stiefvater takes the legend of the water horse and makes it her own (there is an author’s note included in the book about her thought process).  She gave us two wonderful characters: Sean, who has grown up around the water horses and loves them, despite their carnivorous ways; and Puck, a girl who is trying to keep her family together after the death of her parents.

The story revolves around the Scorpio Races; a deadly race where riders attempt to control the water horses to the finish line.  People die during this race.  Sean has won the race 4 times on his horse Corr.  Puck, in an attempt to keep her older brother from leaving their home town, enters the races as the first female rider ever. 

There is so much courage and love and growth in these two characters.  Sean is quiet and tends to keep to himself, not really trusting many other people.  He lost his father to the Scorpio Races when he was a child, and seems most comfortable with the water horses.  He loves his horse, Corr, and is happiest when riding him.

Puck is feisty.  She’s grown up with two brothers and has no trouble keeping up with them.  Entering the Scorpio races will hopefully not only keep her older brother from leaving, but also raise the money needed to pay off the debt on their home that has accumulated since her parents died. 

The romance between the two is perfect.  It’s subtle.  It also takes a while to develop, which to me, seems so much more realistic then a lot of the romances found in today’s YA novels.  Sean and Puck are a team.  They support each other and come up with a plan to make sure they both survive the races.  This is the kind of relationship I like to see in books.

I was very surprised by how much I loved this book.  I had attempted to read “Shiver” several years ago, but quit half way through when I realized it was a little too similar to “Twilight”.  I never thought I would like a book by Stiefvater.  This is truly her current masterpiece!  It totally deserved the Printz Honor and I really hope that Stiefvater writes another amazing novel like this one.

"The False Prince" by Jennifer A. Nielsen

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5/5 stars

Oh this was another fun one!  I've wanted to read this book for some time now, and I was finally able to!  Totally worth the wait!

The kingdom of Carthya is on the brink of civil war after the murder of its entire royal family.  But there is still one hope left.  Prince Jaron, who was lost at sea four years ago, could still be alive.  A nobleman named Conner has chosen four orphan boys (well, really three) with physical similarities to the lost prince, in the hopes that after two weeks, one can be presented to the court as Jaron.  Sage is one of the boys picked.  He definitely doesn’t trust Conner, but also realizes that for the good of the kingdom, he must be chosen as the false prince.

I loved the character of Sage.  He was such a smart alec, defiant boy, but you could tell that underneath, he was really very clever and would always pick the right path when it mattered.  He is kind to many, but also just and fair.  Many of the other characters tend to underestimate him, but he ends up surprising them all, including the reader!   

So, I’m one of those horrible people that looks at the end of a book to see the outcome, so I kind of knew how the story was going to end, but I loved seeing how the author took the audience from point A to point B.  It was brilliant!   I wish I could say more about this, but I don’t want to give everything away.  But Nielsen does an excellent job steering the reader in one direction, and then, at the last minute, pulling them into a different one.

This is a book that I have in my school library for my older kids to read.  I will definitely be book talking this one the next chance I get!  I loved it and am really looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

"Cruel Beauty" by Rosamund Hodge

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5/5 Stars

I do really enjoy a good “Beauty and the Beast” retelling.  What I liked about this book is that it took a different path than most of the ones I’ve read.  In this story, Beauty is an assassin by the name of Nyx.  Promised since birth to wed the evil demon ruler, the Gentle Lord, Nyx has been trained to destroy her future husband once she enters his castle.  But the Gentle Lord, Ignifex, isn’t exactly as evil as Nyx has been taught to believe.  Soon she realizes that Ignifex might be just as much a victim as the rest of her kingdom.

Cruel Beauty is a wonderfully written debut novel!  Nyx is a well-developed character, with visible flaws and growth throughout the book.  You can actually watch her go from a scornful and angry girl, to a loving and confident woman who understands what is important in life.  Ignifex is quite the charmer and you cannot help but immediately like him once he is introduced.

The story line definitely follows that of Beauty and the Beast, but it also has many unique additions that keep you guessing as you read.  I also greatly enjoyed the Greek mythology that is prominent in the story and how it is interwoven into the plot.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fairy tale retellings with a new twist.  I am looking forward to what Ms. Hodge will come up with next!

"Doll Bones" by Holly Black

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5/5 Stars

I cannot stop gushing about this book!  I don't normally read a lot of ghost stories, but this was so well written and fun that I just want to tell the whole world about it! 

Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been best friends for a very long time and the big thing that bonds them together is "the game", which they play with their action figures. But when Zach's dad says it’s time to grow and throws away his toys, everything changes between the three friends.  Desperate to get Zach’s friendship back, Poppy and Alice unknowingly release the spirit of a girl that is connected to an old doll.  Now they have to take the doll to the girl’s grave or she will haunt them forever.

I think my favorite part of this book is the history behind the haunted doll.  It is extremely creepy and even maybe a little gruesome when you really think about it.  But Holly Black went into such detail about it and it’s fun to finally put all the bits and pieces of the story together at the end.  And although the characters don’t exactly interact with the ghost (she usually sends them messages while they are asleep), there is clearly a lot of evidence that she is real and wants to be laid to rest.

It’s also an underlying theme about growing up.  The characters are 12 years old, so I’m guessing they are in 6^th or 7^th grade.  This is such a hard time for kids, and that is displayed in the way the characters develop through the story, and voiced by Poppy, who fears her friends changing while she stays the same.  I feel like several students would be able to relate this change and may even have the same fears as Poppy.

As an elementary school librarian, my students are always asking me for “scary stories.”  In the past week I have book talked this story to many of my 4^th and 5^th graders and have been desperate to find a quick way to get multiple copies for my kiddos.  This book has been my favorite ghost story since “The Seer of Shadows” by Avi.  Read this book!  It won a Newbery Honor for a reason!