Pretty Covers, Excited About the Books

Despite the date, none of the following is a joke. (Unlike this awesome one!)

Cover reveal!

Interview with Maggie where she talks about the cool premise (saints who grant pilgrims the miracle of seeing their own darkness) and the setting (1960s Colorado). Also no hints whatsoever about her promised Ronan Lynch trilogy. (Insert appropriate GIF with fireworks, balloons and dancing people.)(But, you know, cool, ironic ones.) A whole trilogy. About Ronan. Are we all squeeing yet?


Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor is now out! Will be reading this one soon. (Think I'll buy it in hardcover, just for the cover.)

Rachel Neumeier just released White Road of the Moon, and Winter of Ice and Iron is coming in the fall. She's so ridiculously prolific it keeps astounding me how good every one of her books is. (The Winter of Ice and Iron cover is the same artist as Mountain of Kept Memory. Just gorgeous.)

What else amazing is coming out this year that I need to be looking out for? (Don't worry, I know about Thick as Thieves!)(One more month!)

More K-drama, in case I managed to addict you with my last post about it

So, yeah. My Netflix icon is being shunted aside due to lack of use. North American shows just don't seem remotely interesting to me anymore, (sorry Hollywood). (Though I hear the new Anne of Green Gables is worth watching!)

Here is my first post about discovering K-drama (Korean dramas, in case you weren't in-the-know)(I wasn't in-the-know until a few months ago, so don't feel bad).

And here are some more shows I can highly recommend:

Goblin: Love the fantasy premise of this one and the way it's played out. A betrayed general is cursed to become an immortal goblin. 400 years later he's sharing a house in modern Seoul with a Grim Reaper (lovely irony), using his powers for good and searching for the Goblin Bride, the only one who can grant him death. Of course, when he finally finds her, he falls in love with her. Funny and poignant, with great acting, gorgeous scenery (nice use of Quebec City as a romantic backdrop), and interesting things to say about fate, free will and messing with what's meant to be.

Healer: Reminds me a bit of Arrow, except cuter (both show-in-general and lead actor!). Kick-ass martial arts expert does shady deliveries for people who don't like questions, until one job leads him to a girl struggling to make it as a reporter. They are both connected to a wrongful death from the past,  and Healer might be willing to go straight if it means he can protect her. Fun action, adorable romance, and another great performance from Kim Mi Hyung, who was my favourite character in Faith (The Great Doctor).

Kill Me, Heal Me: Fantastic acting in this story of a chaebol (wealthy corporation) heir with multiple personality disorder. One of his personalities falls in love with a girl (who happens to be a psychiatrist), and things start to get complicated. This is one of my favourite dramas I've seen so far. It is a treat to watch Ji Sung play five different personalities, and then play the main persona changing as he integrates each personality. Sounds serious but there's a lot of humour.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal: this one is just so fun and cute I never wanted it to end. Girl dresses up as a boy and gets into the Sungkyunkwan Academy. Hijinks ensue. There's romance (of course) and people plotting against the king (of course), and Song Joong Ki, who is reason enough to watch anything.

God Smites and other Muslim Girl Problems, by Ishara Deen

I read a review for this one right before I left on my Spring Break trip (can't remember which blog it was: thank you whoever you are!); since she's a Canadian author (and I'm a little patriotic) and the book was only 4.99 on Kindle, I decided to buy it (note to price-setting people: 4.99 is cheap enough that I'll buy something on a whim).

I did not regret my purchase.

God Smites is a very, very funny book about a Muslim girl who just wants to lead a normal life. Oh, and solve a murder. And maybe have a conversation with the boy she has a crush on.

Asiya's voice is so real, you can't help becoming best friends with her. Her inner and outer conflicts are achingly, hilariously believable. I loved the conversations she has with God, where she's genuinely trying to figure out the right thing to do, while justifying what she wants to do. I'm sure anyone who believes in God has the same kinds of conversations all the time. (I know I do!)(not that I've ever tried to justify breaking-and-entering, but, you know, same general idea!)

I loved that faith was presented matter-of-factly as a part of life. Asiya believes in God and is striving to live her religion. She chafes against her parents' strictness, she questions whether Satan will really appear if she's alone with a boy, she strongly dislikes her Imam (she and her friends have a great nickname for him that becomes a running joke), but she doesn't question being Muslim. It's a part of her identity and she's happy with it.

What was the last YA or children's book you read in which religion was a positive, normal part of characters' lives (what was the last book you read in which it was even mentioned??)

So, kudos for cultural and religious representation (and #OwnVoices). And for having a brown girl on the cover with her whole face showing, looking confidently out at the reader (what was the last book you saw ...). But mostly kudos for being well-written, engaging, and highly entertaining. I loved all the characters, particularly Asiya's parents, who are well-rounded and play important roles in the plot, not just as obstacles. Great relationship dynamics within her family, with her friends, and even with the other adults. The murder mystery was fun—there were a few scenarios that tested my suspension of disbelief, but any story with a teen sleuth is going to be a tad unrealistic.

There is room for a sequel, and I will be looking for it. I think Ishara Deen is going to be another Susan Juby or Eileen Cook—we've got some great humourous writers up here in Canada!

(Also you should go read the Book Wars review of this book, because it's hilarious.)

I'm going to go with fish pakoras for my food metaphor, because now that I've thought of them I'm craving some: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, little bites of yumminess.

Wolf by Wolf, by Ryan Graudin

Oh, my heavens, I need the second book now!

*checks Amazon. It's already written, and published! And there's a short story, too! I can buy it with one click!* *clicks* #theadvantagesofnotgettingtoabookonyourtbruntilitsalreadybeenoutforafewyears

Never mind about the review, I have to go start reading.

Okay, okay, I'll pause long enough to tell you THIS IS A FREAKING AMAZING BOOK—HAVE YOU READ THIS? WHY NOT? YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!

Oy vey. (I wish I were actually Jewish so I could convincingly use this phrase in daily conversations. I would use it all the time if I could.)

The premise is so breathtakingly brilliant that it will take your breath away: Germany won WWII, and the world is now divided between the Third Reich and Imperial Japan. Every year there's a celebratory (for the Axis powers) motorcycle race across Europe and Asia, and the winner meets Hitler and Emperor Hirohito at the Victor's Ball. This year, someone is going to win the race and kill Hitler at the ball. (Because, of course we're still trying to kill Hitler.)

Wait, it gets better: the heroine is a death camp survivor who, as a result of being experimented upon, can shift her skin to look like anyone she has seen. So she can mimic last year's race winner, and thus enter the race (so she can win it and kill Hitler). (No, really, this is a good plan. It will totally work.)

Are you thinking it sounds a little too implausible? This is crazy alternate history with a sort of paranormal kick, and Graudin pulls it off spectacularly. I was riveted from page one, completely pulled into the world, completely captivated by Yael.

Oh, Yael.  Fierce, broken, bitter, hopeful, with a will of iron and nerves of steel. She squeezed my heart until it ran dry. Then there's Felix, the brother of the girl Yael is mimicking, and Luka—her enemy? her lover? just what exactly happened between Adele and Luka during the last race? none of Yael's research can tell her, so how the heck is she supposed to navigate these relationships and not give away the fact that she isn't actually Adele Wolfe? (Yes, wolves are a bit of a motif in this book.)

So, yeah, great plot, great characters, fantastic pacing—tense, tense, tense all the way through. But the writing. Ryan Graudin's prose. Visceral, muscular, intense, poetic the way a boxing match can be poetic. Beautiful writing that never gets in the way of pacing because it creates the pacing. I started highlighting sentences that made me stop in my tracks they were so perfect, and the whole book is now pink. A few non-spoilery examples:

His irises were blue. The shade of a sky scraped bare and a skeleton soul. The color of veins just beneath skin, needle-ready.

Kilometers, cool darkness, and speed threaded through the gaps between Yael's fingers as she reached out.

His scarred, daughterless hand grabbed her marked, fatherless arm.

I found myself rereading passages the way I lick the bowl clean after eating something delicious and chocolaty.

But no, this is a meaty book: soy-ginger braised short-ribs served over garlic mashed potatoes to soak up every bit of the sweet-savory sauce. (And yes, I would lick the plate clean.)

Now, on to book 2!

Spring Break Reading

I'm escaping the multiple personalities that have been winter in Vancouver this year and heading to a sunny beach for a week, and this is what I'm bringing to read:

E-books borrowed from the library (a completely random selection of books from my TBR that happened to be available as e-book borrows):

I also put this one on hold, so hopefully I'll get it before I leave:

Books I bought for my Kindle:

These include the latest Lois McMaster Bujold Penric novella, a T. Kingfisher (otherwise known as Ursula Vernon) book I know nothing about but I bought it because it's by her, two different manga volumes (I don't really like reading graphic novels on the Kindle, but I'm buying Yona to support it (I've already read up to volume 24 online and I'm buying the official ones as they get published) and I bought Seraph of the End on a whim), all seven Chrestomanci books, because it will comfort me to know they're there, and a YA novel by a Canadian Muslim writer.

I'm also halfway through this one, which is amazing:

Physical books I'm carrying with me, because what if all electronics suddenly fail?

Plus the printed-out manuscript of my novel, which I intend to do another editing pass through.

Think I'll have enough to occupy me for a week??

Rest of the Cybils shortlist

Last week I posted about four of the seven books shortlisted for the 2016 Cybils YA Specualtive Fiction award, and now I'll tell you about the other three. Illuminae was the winner, (follow the link to see all the winners), but I really think all seven books deserve attention. And it was wonderful how diverse they were in style, theme, genre, characters and authors. A great representation of the impressive things going on in YA spec fic these days.

Keeper of the Mist, by Rachel Neumeier, is a fairy-tale-type fantasy about a magical kingdom under threat from its magical neighbours. I'm a big fan of Neumeier, so I was thrilled to see this one on the list. It has an engaging heroine: Keri the baker who is suddenly chosen to be the Lady of Nimmira (everyone knew she was the illegitimate daughter of the Lord, but no one expected the magic to descend on her) and has to rise to the occasion. The strength of this book is in the relationships between Keri and her Bookkeeper, Doorkeeper and Timekeeper, who have to figure out how to use their strengths to protect the kingdom, and between Keri and her older brothers, who think they could do a much better job than her but have to work with her and learn to trust her. Friendships and family bonds (and a little bit of romance) in a beautiful and original fantasy setting.

Labyrinth Lost, by Zoraida Córdova, is often called a Latina Alice in Wonderland. It starts in the real world, where Alejandra is about to come into her powers as a bruja. But Alex wants to reject her magic because of its potential for harm. When she disrupts her Death Day ceremony, her family are all whisked away to the magical realm of Los Lagos, and Alejandra has to travel through its strange, dangerous landscape with a boy she doesn't trust in order to rescue them. I really liked the depiction of a multi-generational family, with all the tensions and warmth of a normal family, plus magic to complicate things. Los Lagos is beautiful, surreal and frightening, and the magic is fascinating to me, based as it is on Latin-American mythologies I'm not familiar with. It has a great first line: "The second time I saw my dead aunt Rosaria, she was dancing."

The Door at the Crossroads, by Zetta Elliot, is a time-travel novel that connects post-9/11 New York with the Civil War era and the draft riots. It's the second book describing Judah and Genna's struggles to find each other after being transported back in time and encountering slavery and the people fighting to end it. It works as excellent historical fiction, highlighting a number of unfamiliar (to me) aspects of the time period (had you ever heard of the free black community called Weeksville? Worth looking up, it's pretty cool!) while being a tense story of modern teens encountering the brutality and humiliation of slavery and the sacrifices of those trying to free them. Judah and Genna are both well-drawn, engaging characters, and the writing is vivid and sometimes heartwrenching.

Cybils Awards Announced!

Ahem. Two days ago, actually. But in case you're as behind the times as I am, here's the link to all the winners. And the book we chose for YA Speculative Fiction is . . .

Illuminae, by Amy Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I reviewed it last year when I first read it, and on a reread I still found it a lot of fun. We judged that it would have a ton of appeal to teen audiences, and we were impressed by the innovative format, which made the whole reading experience a little meta.

We did have a lot of debate before deciding on Illuminae, however, because we got a stellar short list to choose amongst. So I want to highlight the rest of the books, because they all deserve notice and recognition.

This Savage Song, by Victoria Schwab, is a dystopian Romeo and Juliet (sort-of, except they don't actually fall in love, so really not at all, but it totally has the "Two households both alike in dignity" thing going on) in the same vein as Marie Lu's Legend series. I really liked the monsters—the concept of how they're created, and the way the story questions what it means to be a monster. I liked the way music is used; I liked the way family relationships are explored. I loved both protagonists, their struggles with their own identities, and the prickly friendship they develop. The story comes to a satisfying close but definitely needs a sequel, which I will be eager to read.

Still Life With Tornado, by A.S. King. Brilliantly written book about an artist who can't do art anymore. Or about a family falling apart, or starting to heal. It kept surprising me, as King's books tend to do. It didn't seem like speculative fiction, except that it was definitely surreal. The protagonist is incredibly annoying at first, but just funny enough to put up with, until she breaks your heart. It's one of those books with lots of pieces that are interesting enough on their own, but when they finally all come together you have to gasp a little at how beautiful the final picture is. Not an easy book to describe, but a book you have to read.

When The Moon Was Ours, by Anna-Marie McLemore is gorgeous, lovely, luminescent, tender, and a little bit unsettling. Magical realism at its most magical, it's a love story between Miel, who grows roses from her wrist, and Samir, who has a secret that, above all else, the four Bonner sisters cannot find out. There are glass pumpkins and cures for lovesickness and paper moons, and it's really not like any other book I've read. It has important things to say about choosing our own identity, and it says them beautifully.

I'll highlight the other three in my next post!