Series Review: The Raven Cycle (#1-3) by Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2012-2014
Pages: 1,246
Source: Gifted
Rating: 5 Stars

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.
His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In short: The Raven Cycle proves once again that Maggie Stiefvater ranks up there with the most masterful storytellers and visionaries.

Finally. Finally! My reading of The Raven Cycle has been a long time coming. From the moment I learned about The Raven Boys, I knew it was a "me" book that I would love to death. But I also knew that my feelings about books can be heavily influenced by my current mood and because I had been a wee bit stressed the past few years, I put off reading it. Cut to years later, my schooling is done, and I have now finally read the first three books in The Raven Cycle - just in time for the finale, The Raven King! And the series was every bit as special as I was hoping it would be.

Having said that, I'm honestly having a hard time phrasing my thoughts in a way that would truly do the series justice. How would I even describe the premise?? It's hard because a) it's unlike anything I have ever read before and so it's hard to draw comparisons and b) The Raven Cycle is definitely a series best appreciated if you go into it knowing as little as possible. But suffice it to say, the conclusions you should draw from this are that a) The Raven Cycle is a wholly original tale with no comparisons and b) Maggie Stiefvater always keeps it interesting with one intriguing and unexpected twist after another.

I think where the series really shines for me though is in the characters, each more carefully drawn and complexly unraveled than the next. While the plot is wildly imaginative and the prose correspondingly artistic, it is the characters that bridge the gap between magic and reality and elevate the series to a wonderfully memorable saga. The Raven Cycle proves once again that Maggie Stiefvater ranks up there with the most masterful storytellers and visionaries.

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Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: September 9, 2014
Pages: 299
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 2 Stars

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial. 

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail. 

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him. 

So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing. 

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future. 

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

In short: Unfortunately, The Iron Trial just smacked of unoriginality to me.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's certainly true, and it may have been the thought process behind The Iron Trial, the first in a Middle Grade series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare with a storyline that is remarkably similar to that of Harry Potter. We've seen how successful the story of the young boy going to magic school - marked at birth for greatness by an evil dark overlord who wants to be immortal - has been with Harry Potter, so why not just repeat this exact same storyline and make a few changes along the way?

I probably don't need to tell you that I'm pretty crazy about Harry Potter and its premise and concept. It's everything to me. But do I need to see it repeated almost exactly in another book? No, there's no point to that. The Iron Trial just smacked of unoriginality to me. It was hard not to constantly be making comparisons to Harry Potter while reading it. And what's more, not only was it an HP doppelgänger, but it was not a particularly great one. When compared to Harry Potter - which as I mentioned, is impossible NOT to do - The Iron Trial is undoubtedly the weaker of the two.

Would I have liked The Iron Trial if I had read it in a world where Harry Potter didn't exist? Yes, absolutely, the premise and concepts in that case would have seemed wholly original. And I find I can always appreciate the work that Holly Black and Cassandra Clare put into the engaging personalities of their characters. I still don't think I would have LOVED it though because I still found The Iron Trial to be missing that extra special something in the end. Overall, I'm sorry to say I was pretty disappointed by the unoriginality of The Iron Trial and I will not be continuing with this series.

Other Reviews:
Books and Other Happy Ever Afters
My Precious
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Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: October 18, 2011
Pages: 404
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Stars

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

In short: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater is a brilliant and memorable story with fantastic characters and beautifully descriptive prose.

Maggie Stiefvater, where have you been all my life? Okay, I know, it's totally my fault for only clueing in now and finally caving to peer pressure after reading countless reviews that have raved about her books and her writing. You guys were SO right. I loved The Scorpio Races entirely. And I couldn't be more impressed with Maggie Stiefvater's writing and her mastery at utilizing imagery to craft the most beautiful sentences and scenes. Plus, growing up I was one of the horse-crazy girls who wanted nothing more than to spend her time frolicking with ponies (I still do, really). So naturally, I was pretty crazy about a storyline revolving completely around horses.

Maggie Stiefvater's genius wasn't immediately apparent to me, however. The Scorpio Races is a quiet book, one that kind of snuck up on me. At first the pacing seemed slow and it felt like nothing was happening. At some point though - not sure exactly when - it just hit me: this book is BRILLIANT. The Scorpio Races has a quiet grace to it. The story, the characters, the setting - they were all understated, yet completely impactful and memorable in retrospect.

I had a hard time wrapping my head around the water horses at first. As someone who has once witnessed a horse become spooked by a bit of floating plastic, it was hard to picture horses as predatory and vicious. It didn't help that these water horses apparently looked much the same as regular horses, with no predatory morphological characteristics whatsoever. Evolution be damned! But I digress... I'll just call it pure fantasy and be done with it.

And it wasn't long until I was lulled and convinced into believing in the concept of killer horses thanks to Maggie Stiefvater's descriptive prose. I don't know much about her or her interests, but it was immediately apparent to me that she knows what she's talking about when it comes to horses. Not only did she get the terminology right, but she completely captured the personality and quirks of horses that are so uniquely equine. As a horse-crazy and detail-oriented girl, this was SO important to me. If I had read a description that wasn't at all in line with how I know horses to act, it would have taken me completely out of the story. Thankfully, this never happens. Maggie Stiefvater NAILED it.

But horse personality isn't the only thing she got right. Nor is it hardly the most important aspect of the novel - The characters were fantastic. Puck is my favourite kind of protagonist: very flawed and not immediately likeable until you get to know them and you realize they have a heart of gold and a fierce spirit hidden behind their faults. I also loved Sean, the novel's other narrator, for his quiet, no nonsense demeanour. And I ESPECIALLY loved the bond between Puck and Sean and the bond between them and their horses. Just perfect. The antagonists are definitely note-worthy, as well. They were truly horrible and intriguing and memorable and did I mention HORRIBLE? There are very few thing that get me riled up quite as much as animal cruelty, so I was sufficiently repulsed and enraged by the novel's baddies.

Alright, I could go one and on about all that I loved about The Scorpio Races, but this review is getting quite long (for me anyway) so I'll stop here. I just loved it a lot, you know? I loved the understated yet powerful story, the moving characters, the gorgeous prose. AND THE HORSES!!

Other Reviews:
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Poetry to Prose

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Review: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: January 1, 2013
Pages: 304
Source: For Review from Scholastic Canada
Rating: 4 Stars

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.
Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

In short: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington is a tightly plotted murder mystery with relatable characters.

The Dead and Buried is my first foray into Kim Harrington's writing and I have to say it was an absolutely positive experience. Kim Harrington specializes in murder mysteries and it was with this knowledge that I entered into The Dead and Buried expecting to get a good one. Though perhaps slightly predictable, the mystery was indeed well executed. It was tightly plotted, fast paced, and often surprising. I enjoyed this The Dead and Buried quite a bit, actually; it was a breath of fresh air in the wake of some less than impressive books I've read recently.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the characters and the romance in The Dead and Buried. Not that I was expecting to hate those things or anything, but I just had been expecting character development to take a back seat to the murder mystery, considering the shortness of the book. But I found Jade to be completely relatable, mature, and level-headed and the romance to be sweet and genuine. I also very much appreciated the time that went into the development of the secondary characters. It was these aspects of The Dead and Buried that I enjoyed most, even more than the well thought out mystery, and that's what surprised me. I was also surprised at how un-annoyed I was with all the high school drama; I usually HATE that stuff.

I can't say The Dead and Buried is a book that is particularly memorable or left much of an impact on me. But do I care much about that when what I got out of it was an entertaining mystery with relatable characters? Not particularly. Kim Harrington has herself a new fan in me!

Other Reviews:
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Stories & Sweeties
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Review: Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: January 1, 2013
Pages: 250
Source: For Review from Scholastic Canada
Rating: 3 Stars

A new generation is creating a monster....

Giselle and Ingrid are the twin daughters of Doctor Victor Frankenstein, but they are very different people, and when they inherit his castle in the Orkney Islands, Giselle dreams of holding parties and inviting society -- but Ingrid is fascinated by her father's forbidden experiments.

In short: I had fun with Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn, but ultimately, I wanted a story with a little more substance.

Set sometime after the events of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters tells the story of, well, Dr. Frankenstein's orphaned twin daughters, Giselle and Ingrid. The girls - complete opposites in personality - inherit Castle Frankenstein on a remote island in Scotland. Beautiful and shallow Giselle takes on life as the new Baroness of the castle while intelligent and ambitious Ingrid takes up in her father's footsteps in performing secret experiments. Life is not so great, however, as the girls are soon plagued by the news of mysterious murders in the area. I had fun with Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters for the most part, despite a few quibbles. I particularly loved the historical cameo appearances - the most notable of which was Mary Shelley, naturally. That was pretty clever.

Chapters alternate between Giselle and Ingrid's point of view, told in diary format. The diary-style story device was probably my main criticism of Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters. There were often lengthy scenes of dialogue included in their diary entries and that seemed odd for someone who is supposedly recording their thoughts of events after the fact. The entries just didn't sound like someone writing in their diary. There was really no purpose for this particular story device and the author, Suzanne Weyn, could have easily written the story without it and accomplished the same thing.

I was also a little disappointed because Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters wasn't what I expected it to be, though I realize that's a bit unfair. I had been expecting Frankenstein's Monster to be a major part of the story and make many appearances, but he only does once in a flashback. I was hoping for more of a scary gothic horror vibe, like in the original Frankenstein, but instead the story seemed geared more towards a younger age group, specifically younger girls. Ultimately, I prefer books with a little more substance, but I would recommend Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters to gothic horror fans of a younger age group.

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Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Publisher: Scholastic

Published: March 2007

Pages: 534

Source: Bought

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Caldecott Honor artist Brian Selznick's has 284 pencil drawings and actual photos (an old train engine falling from upper story to street below, Harold Lloyd in "Safety Lost", film stills) basing his story on facts. Automatons who could draw pictures, write poems, and sign the maker's name Maillardet, really existed, neglected in a museum. George Méliès, 1861 magician turned film-maker, son of shoemaker-magnate, built his own camera Kinétographe, and was rediscovered in 1926 working at his Gare Montparness railroad station toy kiosk. Fiction: orphan clock-winder 1931 Paris lad Hugo steals to eat and repair robot from father's notebook, until he meets Méliès' pretty god-daughter Isabelle accompanied by helpful film student Etienne. An unusual blend of graphic novel and history lesson results.

I was very curious about The Invention of Hugo Cabret when I first saw the trailer for the movie adaptation, Hugo, a few months ago. Though I was at first intimidated when I saw it in the bookstore due to its thickness and weight, I quickly realized that The Invention of Hugo Cabret is made up of mostly illustrations and its heaviness is due to the heftier paper used. It's these elements that make The Invention of Hugo Cabret truly a masterpiece in presentation.

It's the gorgeous illustrations by Brian Selznick that truly made The Invention of Hugo Cabret - every page was a treat to turn, every illustration perfectly plotted and drawn. I loved how the illustrations were laid out in a sort of flip book or storyboard series that seemed to mimic an old movie, lending itself perfectly to the theme of the book. I guess it doesn't technically count as reading, but it was a pleasure to follow along image by image. And to be honest, the writing was nice but not particularly special in any way - though perhaps that's because it is aimed toward a young age group.

Despite the average writing, I do still recommend reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret based on the wonderful illustrations alone. And it's a quick read! And I also highly recommend the movie adaptation, Hugo, which I actually liked more.

Other Reviews:
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Muggle Monday (14): Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

It's time for Muggle Monday, in which I post a quote, a video, or a significant piece of news from the Harry Potter franchise. This is somewhat inspired by the Mundane Monday posts by The Mundie Moms.

But let's be real as to why I made up this meme: I just want the opportunity to post something about Harry Potter.


This week, I'm posted my completely unbiased review of the final book in the Harry Potter Series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling.

WARNING: I usually try my best to avoid spoilers in my reviews however, for this review, I made no such attempt. You should not read this review unless you've read every book in the Harry Potter Series (and if you haven't, then why the heck not?)!

Publisher: Raincoast Books

Published: July 21, 2007

Pages: 607

Source: Bought

Rating: 7 STARS

Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfil the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with. In this final, seventh installment of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling unveils in spectactular fashion the answers to the many questions that have been so eagerly awaited. The spellbinding, richly woven narrative, which plunges, twists and turns at a breathtaking pace, confirms the author as a mistress of storytelling, whose books will be read, reread and read again.

I've been staring at the keyboard, wondering what to type for this review, for a very long time now. You see, even though I am a self-confessed Harry Potter Addict and built my blog around that theme, I never actually planned to write reviews of the Harry Potter books themselves. I never thought it was doable and I'm still not sure if I can complete this review. How do I review a book series that has meant the world to me? I simply can't. I could not possibly be able to put into words, put into even the most gushing praise, how I feel about this series and about this final installment. I can't do the books justice. But I will give it a go, I think.

As any self-respecting Potter Super Fan, I lined up to buy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at one minute past midnight on July 21, 2007 and proceeded to devour it as soon as I received it. This is one heavy action book. It both starts and ends with intense and epic action sequences, perfectly put together by J.K. Rowling to induce heart-pumping fear for the lives of our favourite characters. Jo had previously stated that book seven was going to be a bloodbath and thus, I spent the entirety of the book more tense and prone to random bursts of crying than I've ever been when reading a book. My copy of this book still has stains from my tears from when Hedwig, Dobby, and Snape died. Though at no time was I more of a sobbing mess than when Harry is walking to his death in the most horribly and beautifully poignant scene in the series.

There were no really big surprises in this book for me. Again, like any self-respecting Potter Super Fan, there wasn't a day that passed from 2005 (when Half-Blood Prince was released) to 2007 when I wasn't pondering about what was going to go down in the final book. I correctly predicted that R.A.B. was Sirius' brother, that Slytherin's locket was the same one they found when cleaning Grimmauld Place in Order of the Phoenix, that Snape was ultimately Dumbledore's man and the two of them had planned Dumbledore's death together, that Snape was in love with Harry's mother, that Harry was a Horcrux that would need to be destroyed, and that ultimately, Harry would make it through the battle to marry Ginny, and Ron would marry Hermione.

But I admit I was taken by surprise by the reveal of Dumbledore's past. Of course I should have known better. J.K. Rowling excels at writing complex characters that do not fall under the too easy "good guy" and "bad guy" categories. I had been fooled once before into thinking James Potter was an all around good guy only to have been rudely awakened to the reality in Order of the Phoenix, so I feel dim that it didn't once occur to me that Dumbledore could be anything but the complete anti-Voldemort. But if anything, the realization that he is susceptible to the draw of power, and therefore not perfect, makes me love the character oh-so-much-more. With the inclusion of his flaws, he ironically becomes the perfect character in my view.

There are some amazing character moments in this final installment. Not only do we get to see the return of many characters that we hadn't seen for awhile, but our most beloved characters of the series receive shining moments to showcase their audacity and nerve one last time, one last hurrah, for the last book. Neville really comes into his own, becomes a badass, really, and leads the cause against the Death Eaters that have taken over Hogwarts. We see for the first time a man who could have been The Chosen One, as he truly might have been had Voldemort chose him as his equal instead of Harry. Molly Weasley also has one of the most brilliant showcases of badassery in her showdown with Bellatrix Lestrange. "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" will forever be one of my favourite lines of the series.

Jeez, I just looked up and realized how long-winded this review is. Sorry guys. I guess that's why it's good to plan out what you want to talk about in a review first before just writing willy-nilly all of your thoughts. I think I'll stop here even though I could probably go on for several more paragraphs. If you're interested, I wrote a guest post for The Book Addicted Girl talking about my Top 10 favourite moments from the second half of Deathly Hallows.

I guess I'll just say that in summary, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling is the perfect ending to the perfect series. But I think you all probably could have guessed that I would say as much.