The Forgotten Book, by Mechthild Gläser

Somehow I was interested in reading a fantasy book and this book quickly grabbed my attention. The Forgotten Book was engaging with mysteries that paced the story. From the pages of the magical  book we glimpse its past, present and future. All of which, pieced together, form a story of its own. Every journal entry, despite their jumping timelines, made me feel like I was that much close to getting to the truth. There was no telling what was next but I knew it would be good. 

I loved the originality of the story. The magical book has such a rich history. Learning about its origin and what events it has made true since then was both scary and exciting. The unpredictable nature of the magic made anticipation high. It was super fun to see how the book interpreted the words on its pages. I was flipping fast to see what would come next.

I really liked the cast of characters. Emma was smart and persistent but also a little careless at times. Her friends made up for it - Charlotte was cautious while Hannah was just plain hilarious. There's a small bit of romance which felt very abrupt at first (a confession that came out of nowhere) but later grew on me. In many ways Darcy was misunderstood so it was extra satisfying to see the two work out their differences and get together.

All in all, The Forgotten Book was a delightful read. The story was original, the mysteries held me rapt and the ending was beautifully wrapped up. So if you like storybook adventures, definitely give author Mechthild Glaser's book a go! *JK*

The Secret of a Heart Note, by Stacey Lee

The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee is a perfect spice of romance. In addition, Lee adds a nice little touch of magic to the general story with our adorable main character, Mim, being an Aromateur. A type of "Witch" that has a nose unlike any other. Mim can smell the heart notes and the personality of the people around her and her ability to do this allows her to create love potions.

I loved her growth throughout the story. Mim goes on an incredible journey discovering her true self along the way. She also finds love on her path, with a sweet-hearted  boy who challenges her all the way. The romance, while very very subtle, was heartwarming and it was a crucial part of the story but it wasn't the main focus.

The Secret of a Heart Note is an interesting read. It was very quirky with all the elixir-making and surprisingly, those were my favorite scenes of the book. I loved all the descriptions of the scents, the process of making the elixirs and the effect of using these potions. There was something very magical about the whole thing.

Family is one of the themes throughout The Secrets of a Heart Note. Lee excels at developing relationships and at showing all the nuances and complexities there are to relationships. In this story, we get to experience the complicated, yet heartfelt relationship between a mother and a daughter. As they come from a long line of aromateurs, they have a family legacy with lots of expectations. While Mim enjoys creating these potions, part of her desires a normal teenage experience and she battles with that throughout the story. Family expectations can be rough on teenagers and I loved how deeply Stacey Lee explored that here. There were tense moments between Mim and her mother, but there were also those scenes that portrayed the pure love and respect they had for each other. It was a complicated and messy relationship, but it was inherently very authentic.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read! Great characters, great plot, great writing. I very highly recommend this one. *JK*

Maybe A Fox, by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

No matter how fast Sylvie, 12, can run, she always wishes to be faster. Faster than the fastest racehorse. Faster than a speeding bullet. Faster than the speed of sound. So fast she can... Well, Sylvie never speaks her reason out loud. Even when her little sister Jules presses her for an answer. She does, however, write these wishes on Wish Rocks, which she throws into the nearby river. A river so dangerous the girls' father warns them never to go near it. Ever.

But does Sylvie listen? No.

One snowy morning, Sylvie doesn't return from her secret trip to the river. Could she have moved so fast Jules missed her return? No. Readers will learn that Sylvie slipped on a patch of snow and fell into the river. 

But at the exact moment Sylvie drowns, a fox cub is born. But not just any fox cub. Senna is special. She is "Kennen," meaning she is a spirit animal born with an important purpose. And the reader later learns that purpose is Jules. But why? 

Right away, we see that Maybe A Fox, by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee deals with some pretty heavy topics: The sisters lost their mother at a young age. Jules loses Sylvie. And other characters experiences losses as well. Maybe A Fox sounds like a very depressing book, indeed! But that's just it: It isn't depressing. Sure, it's sad. But it's also filled with mystery and the hope that things will get better. And things do.

Personally, I was really excited to finally read Maybe A Fox. Kathi Appelt is one of my favorite Tween authors, having penned one of my favorite Tween books, Keeper. While I didn't like Maybe A Fox as much as I liked Keeper, I still found it to be a fantastic book. One of the things Kathi Appelt does best is weave a bunch of seemingly unrelated storylines together. She is also the master of creating believable, well-rounded characters.

I can (and WILL) definitely recommend Maybe A Fox. --AJB

Impossible, by Nancy Werlin

Ok, so I loooove the cover of Nancy Werlin's fantasy about curses, family, and true love.  And I admit this is why I originally picked up Impossible. This book is something I tried reading several years ago, but got distracted from the task by life and other shiny things. And maybe, then, I wasn't in the mood for something of that genre (it does, after all, involve magical creatures...and I'm not always in the mood for magical creatures).

I recently revisited the story after downloading Simon & Garfunkle's version of Scarborough Fair (you'll remember I'm a big classic rock fan) and, naturally, remembered this story. Why, you ask? Easy--the song's lyrics are a major plot point of the story. 

Impossible centers around Lucy Scarborough, a 17 year old girl who is soon to be the latest victim of a terrible curse that's plagued the women in her family for generations. According to the curse, Lucy will have a child by the time she turns 18. She will then go insane, and the curse will be passed to her daughter (it's always a daughter). The only way to break the curse is to complete the three seemingly impossible tasks outlined in the Scarborough Fair song before her next birthday. But since the beginning, not a single of her relatives has been successful at this. So Lucy is not very hopeful for her own future. 

However, Lucy is the first Scarborough woman to have a supportive family (adoptive) and a caring, understanding boyfriend. So there just might be hope for her after all.

Maybe.

Impossible will keep you reading. It's a bit predictable (of course the reader knows she'll break the curse), but it's still worthwhile. A word of caution, though. There are a couple mature-ish topics covered (a character is raped and decides to become a teen mom rather than give the child up), so Impossible might not be the best choice for younger teens or those with conservative parents. 

Just the same, a good story.--AJB

Teen Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Teen reviewer Sierra N, 13, read and loved Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling.

Here is her review:

"I loved this book (and the whole series) because it's all about adventure, magic, romance, villains, heroes, and all the bits and pieces that make up a good book. This book is all about Harry Potter and his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He finds friends and enemies. Harry was involved in a horrible murder--that of his parents--which he miraculously survived. The accused? Lord Voldemort (aka He Who Must Not Be Named). Harry was not killed, but was left with a lightning bolt scar that somehow connects him to Voldemort."

Sierra would recommend Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (and the whole series) to others.

Eye of Zoltar, by Jasper Fforde

Jenny Strange, 16, Orphan, Indentured Servant, and acting manager of Kazam Mystical Arts Management has been assigned with perhaps the biggest (and strangest) task of her young life. 

In the Eye of Zoltar, the third installment of Jasper Fforde's Kazam Chronicles, The Mighty Shandar, greatest wizard of all times, is back--and he's got a vendetta against Jenny for unknowingly foiling his centuries-old evil plot to rid the world of any and all dragons. Shandar gives Jenny a deal: He will spare the lives of her two young dragon friends if Jenny retrieves for him the legendary Eye of Zoltar. The Eye is an egg-sized ruby of untold power that was supposedly last seen in the possession of the legendary Sky Pirate Wolff, who supposedly has a hideout within the legendary Sky Leviathan graveyard atop the mysterious mountain Cadir Idris, located at the heart of the deadly Cambrian empire. The odds are against her even before she begins her quest: Surviving the untold dangers of the Cambrian Empire are 50%...and the odds of returning alive from Cadir Idris are 0%. Furthermore, any unmagical person who touches the Eye (or even an unworthy magician) will be instantly transformed to lead. Yes, there are risks. But being a girl of considerable bravery and resourcefulness, Jenny accepts this challenge. She really has no choice.

Joined by wizard boyfriend Perkins, a princess in disguise, a rubber dragon (who is really a real live dragon), a rag-tag trio of adventure-seeking idiots, and a juvenile tour guide who is so hard-core she could scare the crap out of Chuck Norris, Jenny sets off on her impossible quest. What she learns while chasing legends is there is a reason for all the horror stories and secrets surrounding Cadir Idris. In fact, there is a reason for all the legends of the Cambrian Empire. Eventually, the ugly truth reveals itself: The Mighty Shandar's evil plot is to start the most vicious Troll War ever, and it seems the only one who can stop him and save the world as she knows it is the very non-magical Jenny. A cliffhanger ending promises a fantastic fourth installment in the (hopefully) very near future.

I can honestly say I haven't enjoyed a fantasy series this much since Harry Potter...and I think that, maybe, I like The Kazam Chronicles even more. The Eye of Zoltar makes an awesome addition to the first two installments of the series, The Last Dragonslayer (book 1) and The Song of the Quarkbeast (book 2). The Kazam Chronicles have it all: Adventure, humor, great characters, and an awesome storyline. If you haven't checked out these books yet...what are you waiting for?

Highly, highly recommended! --AJB

Teen Review: Wizardology

Ciaran Grabowski, 11, read and loved Wizardology, a part of the 'Ology' series that is, you guessed it, all about magic, spells, and, of course, Wizards. In this entertaining volume, readers are invited to become apprentices to the Great Merlin himself. They learn how to make a wand, tell the future with a pack of cards, identify magical creatures, and much more. 

Ciaran thought this book was great!

"The book Wizardology is good for people who are interested in wizards and magic. It explains things about Merlin and his secrets." --Ciaran Grabowski.

Wizardology is recommended for teens age 14 and younger. Other books in the Ology series include Dragonology, Egyptology, and Pirateology. 

Teen Review: The Seventh Door, by Bryan Davis

Teen Reviewer Jillian Wolf also read The Seventh Door, book three of Bryan Davis' Children of the Bard series. In this fantasy-adventure, teenage Matt and his mother Bonnie must stop the apocalypse by traveling through seven doors (each one containing a different evil). Opening the final door will either doom or save the world, but they won't know until they're there.

"The Seventh Door will keep your attention from the first page. With fast-paced adventure, breath-taking fights, evil villains, heroic characters, and loving sacrifces, you won't be able to put it down." --Jillian Wolf

Jillian recommends this book for ages 13 and up.

Teen Review: The Serpent's Shadow, by Rick Riordan

Teen reviewer Jillian Wolf, 15, read The Serpent's Shadow, the third book in Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles (for those not in the know, The Kane Chronicles are about Egyptian mythology). In this exciting conclusion, it is up to siblings Sadie and Carter to save their family and prevent the evil god Apophis from ending the world. Will they be able to achieve this nearly impossible feat without paying the ultimate price?

Although The Serpent's Shadow was entertaining and "a pretty good conclusion to The Kane Chronicles," there were things Jillian found lacking:

"Although The Serpent's Shadow is packed with action and has a fast-moving plot, I didn't get to enjoy seeing the characters grow as people or learn from their mistakes." --Jillian Wolf.

Jillian would recommend The Serpent's Shadow for all ages.

Teen Review: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

Teen Reviewer Elizabeth Grabowski, 12, loved The Subtle Knife, the second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials (Golden Compass) trilogy. In this exciting follow-up to The Golden Compass, Lyra and her deamon companion have fled their world through a mysterious...and ended up in another. Here, she teams up with Will, a boy from our world. Using a magical artifact, the children learn more about the terrible Authority that threatens to destroy not only their worlds, but all of them.

"The Subtle Knife is really good. I would recommend this book because it is challenging and quite well-written. Also, it has a lot of action and adventure in it and, in places, it can get really intense and exciting!"--Elizabeth Grabowski.

Elizabeth recommends The Subtle Knife for teens 12 and older.

Teen Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Just as we love when our patrons discover a hidden treasure within our collection, we like just as much when a newcomer to the department re-discovers an old classic. This is what happened when Teen reviewer Gargi Ramekar, 10, read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first book in J.K. Rowling's now-iconic fantasy series about how the "Boy Who Lived" defeated "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" and had many fantastic adventures in the process.

"This is a great story about Harry Potter, his friends, and the Hogwarts school. I loved the way the author wrote the story and how she built up the suspense. I would recommend this book for all ages. I think you're never too young or too old to read it."

Teen Review: Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Teen reviewer Nathan, 16, read the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini on a friend's suggestion. Nathan loved this story, which is about a boy who discovers a dragon egg, becomes a dragon rider, and who fulfills his destiny to save his kingdom. He particularly liked the series finale, Inheritance.

"Inheritance is an outstanding book! It keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page."

Nathan recommends the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance) to teens 13 and up. The Inheritance Cycle is shelved in the Teen Series section.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel

Author Ransom Riggs created a sensation with his novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children a few years back. This story, which was constructed around some very, well, "peculiar" old photos told the tale of a boy trying to track down his family history and finding something extraordinary. 

This popular book is now a graphic novel. Even though the original format could practically be classified as a graphic (after all, it's a story told with pictures), this book gives the story a whole new dimension. Characters come to life through Cassandra Jean's drawings, and you'll find many people and places look just how you imagined them when you read the book book. Sprinkled throughout are photos from the original book. 

Even if you've already read the book, the graphic is definitely worth a look! --AJB

Teen Reviewer: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Kate Marsh also enjoyed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor. She didn't like this high fantasy romance as much as some of the other books she reviewed, but she found it entertaining enough to finish.

"Daughter of Smoke and Bone was really good. This was the first book in the trilogy, so most of it was world building. But once that was established, it was a really beautiful story. I enjoyed the main character, Karou. She was relatable in many ways even though her situations weren't. I fully think that Laini Taylor's writing is what really drove me to finish this book. The clear pictures she paints with her words are wonderful!"--Kate Marsh

The Smoke and Bone Trilogy involves an epic battle between good and evil, but neither the bad guys or the good guys are who you'd traditionally expect them to be. And many of the characters fall into that grey area. And of course there's the love story that is, really, central to the plot. Don't miss book two, Days of Blood and Starlight, or book three, Dreams of Gods and Monsters. All three books are published and available for checkout.

Midwinterblood

Centuries ago, on the remote Scandinavian island of Blessed, a viking king is ritually sacrificed in hopes that his death will end a mysterious curse that has been plaguing the land. The curse ended...or did it? Shortly after the king's death, the queen vanishes--only to reappear months later possessing a terrible secret. A secret that would change the island and its people forever.

Flash forward: In the year 2037, investigative reporter Eric Seven visits Blessed hoping to uncover the truth to the claim that the residents of the island have discovered the secret to eternal life. Upon his arrival, he meets Merle, a woman he feels he's known before. As history brutally repeats itself, Eric realizes he has known Merle--in another lifetime. Many other lives, in fact. What follows are seven chapters told in reverse chronological order, summarizing how Eric and Merle's souls have encountered each other again and again throughout the centuries. 

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick is this year's Printz Award winner. But despite the high honor bestowed upon it, the story is lacking. Chapters are too short to allow for much character development, and the way the plot jumps makes the storyline difficult to follow. What's more, clues linking the stories feel forced and are a little too convenient even for fate. Because of this, readers may have a hard time staying engaged. Lastly, the concept (two souls linked by tragedy doomed to follow each other throughout history) is stale. It's been done many times before: "Reincarnation" by Suzanne Weyn, "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell, "The Midnight Club" by Christopher Pike... The list continues.

While mildly entertaining, this one, unfortunately, isn't highly recommended. --AJB

A Tangle of Knots

Typically, we stick to reviewing teen books here, but not always. Every so often we'll read a book from other departments (Youth or Adult) that's so awesome we just have to recommend it to you--even though it's not, technically, a teen book.

This is one of those cases.

In A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff (a book you can find in the Youth Department), almost everyone has a special Talent. That's Talent with a capitol T, in case you're wondering. These Talents could be for anything: Spitting, knot-tying, cake-baking... Anything. One character even has a particularly diabolical talent--which you'll soon learn about as you read.

On an unusually foggy day, young orphan Cady is baking the perfect cake (her Talent) in the kitchen of Miss Mallory's Home for Lost Girls. Then, by chance, she is adopted by a strange man who works for an even stranger employer. She ends up at the Lost Luggage Emporium where she meets the Asher family, elderly mute V, and the mysterious Owner, who is obsessed with collecting powder-blue suitcases. Add to this the mystery of a missing recipe for the best peanut butter ever and an unexpected plot twist regarding Cady's missing parents, and you've got yourself a story you can't put down. Sure, it's a kid's book, but it's still awesome.

This one was a lot of fun to read. It's fairly short (less than 250 pages), and short chapters told from various viewpoints keep the action quick. Plus there's a happy ending for everyone. You really can't go wrong with A Tangle of Knots. Highly recommended! --AJB



Percy Jackson Read Alike

The empty shelf is evidence: Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" books have been experiencing a renewal in popularity lately. This is thanks in part to the "Sea of Monsters" movie and the recent release of "The House of Hades," the newest addition to the "Heroes of Olympus" series. As librarians, we love when books are so heavily circulated (means we're doing something right) except for one thing: Sometimes, there aren't enough of a certain book to satisfy demand. Of course we can always place a hold on our copy the coveted book or procure a copy from another library... But what if the patron wants something "now"?

Bummer, right?

Not really. Fortunately, there's a pretty good solution to this dilemma: The Read-Alike. 

In this case, I'd like to recommend Michael Scott's "Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel" series (Yes, this is the same Nicolas Flamel mentioned in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). Beginning with "The Alchemyst," this exciting six-book series boasts just as much magic, mythology, and excitement as Percy Jackson. The series follow the adventures of mortal twins Sophie and Josh Newman as they travel through time and space, assisting Nicolas Flamel in trying to retrieve a magical book stolen by the diabolical Dr. John Dee. If they don't retrieve it in time, the world (and everything and everyone in it) will be destroyed. Once you start this series, you won't be able to put it down! --AJB

Song of the Quarkbeast

With the infamous Dragonslayer incident (mostly) behind her, Jennifer Strange, foundling and acting manager of Kazam Mystical Arts Management finds herself with a new problem in The Song of the Quarkbeast, the sequel to The Last Dragonslayer. 

By order of King Snodd, the Kazam team is pitted against their biggest rival, iMagic (cause everything is more hip with a lower case "i" in front of it) in the biggest wizarding dual in centuries. The winner will win the rights to control all the Ununited Kingdom's magic, which has been growing since the dragon incident. But it's hard for it to be a fair contest when the king's personal wizard The Amazing Blix (who just happens to be the head of iMagic) has several of Kazam's wizards arrested on questionable charges. And that's not including the ones who have been turned to stone by an ancient spell gone wrong. 

Jennifer has only a couple days to find a way to reverse the stoning spell, get her wizards out of jail, and find the Great Zambini. Otherwise the future of magic is doomed. There are those who will stop at nothing to prevent her from succeeding. But the answers are found in the most surprising of places. And not even the Remarkable Kevin Zipp, Kazam's resident psychic, could have predicted how things would turn out. 

Author Jasper Fforde packs just as much awesomeness into The Song of the Quarkbeast as he did with The Last Dragonslayer. Both books combine the humor of Terry Pratchett with the creativity of J.K. Rowling, and are must read!  --AJB 

Cloaked

Best known for her literary hit Beastly (which inspired a movie a few years ago), Alex Flinn continues her streak of fairy tale re-mixes with Cloaked, a mash-up of The Frog Prince, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and a handfull of random obscurities originally penned by Grimm and Anderson. Unfortunately, this book boasts too many bits and pieces of interwoven fairy tale plots and not enough originality. And the story suffers for it: Characters (even main ones) are never fully fleshed out, bad guys don't feel threatening, romance lacks chemistry, and the ending wraps up too neatly--even for a fairy tale. The concept for the story is a good one. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat. Fans of Beastly will be disappointed, and fairy tale connoisseurs will feel short-changed. 

In Cloaked, we meet Johnny, a teenage shoe repairman (and closet shoe designer) who works at a fancy Florida hotel. When a visiting princess recruits him to go on a mission to rescue her brother, who has been transformed into a frog, Johnny accepts. Armed with a magic cloak that transports its wearer anywhere they desire, an earpiece that allows communication with transformed animals, and a magic ring, Johnny, accompanied by his friend Meg, go in search of said frog. They encounter a tedious amount of fairy tale and magical creatures and situations before finally rescuing the prince and returning him to the safety of his family. In the end, Johnny (rather predictably) gets the girl, convinces the thuggish bad guy to do the right thing, finds his missing father, and lands a $$$ contract to sell his shoe designs. And they all live happily ever after.  

Alex Flinn has a new book coming out later this month. A retelling of Rapunzel. I liked what Disney did with this particular tale, so have high hopes for Flinn's interpretation. Hopefully, she'll go back to what she did with Beastly and focus on modernizing a single tale rather than making an overstuffed mashup of many. --AJB 

Kill Me Softly--A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong

Mira never knew her parents (they were killed in a fire shortly after her birth). Her guardians, two well-meaning but overprotective women, refuse to tell her anything significant about her past except to stay away from the town of her birth (and her parents' demise), Beau Rivage. By her 16th birthday, the mystery of the forbidden town is so great Mira can think of nothing else.So she does what any self-respecting and rebellious teen would do, she runs away to see what the fuss is about. What she finds there is nothing short of bizarre! Beau Rivage seems to be populated by fairy tale characters...and not the bubble-gum sweet Disney-fied versions either: Vivian is obsessed with her appearance, but not in the way one might think. Jewel is constantly choking up flowers. In fact, everyone Mira meets seems to have decidedly odd, well, quirks.  Most notable are those two guys Mira just can't seem to avoid: Felix, who is so charming she can't help falling for him, and Blue, who is so infuriating it's practically hate at first sight. In fact, everyone Mira meets seems to marked for some unavoidable and tragic fate. And it's becoming clear that not every tale ends with Happily Ever After. There's more going on in Beau Rivage than meets the eye. And Mira better figure out what it is before it's too late. 'Cause she's marked for something too.

Although Kill Me Softly is predictable (you'll likely figure out what's going on early in the book and wonder why Mira is so clueless), it's still a highly entertaining story. And there are a few unexpected twists. Not my favorite retelling, but enjoyable enough to recommend. --AJB

p.s. Kill Me Softly is one of the Yalsa Top 10 recommendations for 2013.