Review: The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda’s Land. Magical winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods, and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass. Ida is an outsider in these parts who has only visited the islands once before. Yet during that one fateful visit the glass transformation began to take hold, and now she has returned in search of a cure.

The cover of The Girl with Glass Feet and the flap copy pretty much lasso'd me into reading this book.  My imagination went wild picturing things.  A harsh, snowy landscape inhabited by strange creatures.  Magic.  Fairies.  A cruel, spiteful witch.  A curse placed on a desperate young girl, and the handsome prince that would save her.  True love.  A quest!

 Oh, I do so love a quest!  It gives meaning to hiking!

  So I nestled in for the evening, and with trembling anticipation I began to read. 


After a bit, a little voice in my head began whispering:


"I wonder when the fairies are gonna show up..." 


and


"The witch should be making an appearance anytime now..." 


Then the whining began.


"But he's not swooooooonyyyyy!" 


The Girl with Glass Feet was nothing like I imagined.  I was expecting a cute little entertaining fairytale, but what I got was something I like to call:

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*

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A thinking book

It wasn't an easy read at first, but that was entirely my fault; I dug in the heels of my preconceived ideas, and wasn't giving the story a chance.  Several times I was tempted to toss it.  I'm very, very glad I didn't.  Once I let go and trusted the author, I began to enjoy the book with a renewed appreciation for storytelling. 


Ida Maclaird returns to St. Hauda's Land to find a cure for her mysterious glass ailment, and enlists the help of a local young man to help her.  Introverted and a touch neurotic, Midas reluctantly agrees.  Ida wants to deeply connect with someone because of her condition, but Midas is so shy and afraid of showing emotion that their relationship is awkward.  As the story unfolds, several characters are introduced and a common thread weaves them together.  


I brushed up on the meanings of metaphor, simile and allegory, jotted a few lines about each character, and thought...and thought, and thought some more until I figured out what I think the author is trying to say.  

Go me! Go Book Fiend! 

Of course, as these things go--and what makes literature so interesting and fun--is that my interpretation may well be completely different than yours.  There's no right or wrong answer.  I won't discuss my interpretation here because I don't want to spoil anything for you in case you plan to read it, but I firmly believe that how we interpret this story--and how we feel about its ending-- says something deeply personal about ourselves.  Oh, and there are magical creatures, and strange things happening on St. Hauda's Island.  But no witches or fairies, and it's all the better for it.  Honest.  


Ali Shaw's story is a well imagined fairytale that would make a great book club selection.  It wasn't until I finished the novel that I learned The Girl with Glass Feet won The Desmond Elliott Prize in the UK.  


In addition to the questions in the reader's guide, I wonder:


*Why did the author choose glass for Ida Maclaird's transformation instead of, lets say, stone or graphite or fudge covered oreos?


*Why her feet?


*Why does the other character's transformation begin in another part of the body?


It took me a few days to fully appreciate this novel, and it will stay with me for a while, so for that I'll add it to my favorites, and will most likely read it again.  The cadence of the writing felt a bit off, but that could just be me (I'm sort of nerdy about sentence rhythms).  The cold, monochromatic setting totally fits the theme of the story.  The author's use of stumbling dialogue (err, umm) was annoying at first, but once I changed my mindset, even that made sense to me.  

Overall, The Girl with Glass Feet was :

Give this one a try.  Be open to it, and let me know what you think. It's not the usual fodder, but that's a good thing.  Sometimes we need to exercise our literary muscle.

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth has grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

This is a story about a girl that's more than she seems, a story about a war pitting angels against demons, a story about star-crossed lovers.  You may be thinking it's all been done before, and sounds so familiar that perhaps you may want to pass this one by, but I implore you, don't.  Please don't.  This book is so much more than readers can imagine from the jacket copy.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the magical story of seventeen-year-old Karou, an orphan with a yearning for love and a  “normal” life.  Raised by Brimstone in his secret shop in Prague, she knows nothing of her origins.  She travels through portals gathering teeth for him for reasons he won't reveal. Often she feels she should be doing something else, be someone else.   While running an errand in Djemma El Fna, the marketplace in Marrakech, the powerful seraph, Akiva, glimpses her, and suddenly her life is in danger.  Who is Akiva, and why does he want to kill her?

                                                                             Karou by Jim DiBartolo

Karou is a sympathetic character; we can relate to her immediately.  Terrible ex-boyfriends have a way of doing that, but she doesn’t lose herself in her heartache.  She’s strong, intelligent, and a little vindictive, but who can blame her?  Zuzana, Karou’s best friend, is the perfect funny sidekick.  It was easy to lose myself in this book because it’s beautifully written, and the characters leap off the page.  It's a riveting page turner. Oh, and Thiago… the most villainous of villains.  Taylor definitely knew how to make us hate him.

The US book trailer:

From the first paragraph of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I knew I was in good hands.  The story flows gracefully like a lover’s dance between author and reader, as Taylor leads us into Karou’s mysterious, magical world without a single misstep.  Writing good stories isn’t easy, but she makes it seem easy, effortless.  Her love of writing shows in her beautiful prose, explains her crossover appeal, and is why she’s my favorite author.  Every sentence is meaningful, and the rhythm, and evocative language turns the story into a memorable experience.

“Happiness.  It was the place where passion, with all its dazzle and drumbeat, met something softer:  homecoming and safety and pure sunbeam comfort.  It was all those things, intertwined with the heat and the thrill, and it was as bright within her as a swallowed star.”  (I have never read a better definition of happiness.)

“Karou with her wry smile and crazy imagination…creamy and leggy with long azure hair and the eyes of a silent-movie star.  She moved like a poem and smiled like a sphinx.”

“For the way loneliness is worse when you return to it after a reprieve—like the soul’s version of putting on a wet bathing suit, clammy and miserable.”

“Ah, Zuzana.” (Oh, Susanna?  I couldn’t help but smile and wonder.)

The UK book trailer is brilliant!  Love.  Love.  Love.




 Daughter of Smoke and Bone is crazy imaginative, extraordinary and smart, and I loved every delicious word of it.  It's not just a story about love and self-discovery, but also about the tragedy of war, of hope when life is tragic, and the strength to fight for what you believe in.  No one writes like  Laini Taylor.  The only problem with the books is that I devoured it.  My eyes couldn't move fast enough when I really wanted to slow down and savor every exquisite sentence.  I rarely say a book is phenomenal, but Taylor's novels are a combination of everything I look for in a good book: originality, well developed characters and plot, tight writing with beautiful language, believable actions and dialogue.  The only book Daughter can be compared to is the author's own Lips Touch Three Times.  Epic love.  Read it while you're waiting for the release date: September 27th.

Young Adult
432 pages
Advanced Readers Copy

Release date:  September 27, 2011

Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Review: Mark of the Golden Dragon by L.A. Meyer

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The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea (Bloody Jack Adventures)by L.A Meyer is the spirited and entertaining ninth installment in the epic story of Mary “Jacky” Faber, taking readers on an adventure through the South China Sea from Rangoon to London. There is high hilarity and scandalous scheming on land and sea as only Jacky can manage, making the book fun to read; however, the story takes an ominous turn that will keep readers turning the pages to find out what happens next.

The story opens with Jacky seated in her cabin aboard the Lorelei Lee with Jaimy, Higgins, and other loyal friends and crew celebrating their recent escape from the penal colony in New South Wales. Suddenly the wind and waves pick up as a typhoon moves in. It’s all hands on deck. The treacherous storm pummels the ships, and the mast of the Lorelei Lee is severed. Jacky becomes entangled in the lines, and pulled overboard into the roiling sea...

Jacky survives against the odds like I knew she would--bobbing up like a cork-- but finds herself washed ashore in a strange land desperate to get back to her loved ones and clear their names of crimes against the crown. And here the new adventure begins! You won't find any spoilers here, but Jacky meets some new and important people, one that's deeply satisfying and made me cheer for the scared little orphan girl that still exists deep within our heroine, while also running into some old enemies in some very gratifying ways. Awesome sauce!

I really enjoyed Mark of the Golden Dragon, and its a must read for fans of the series. Meyer does a great job with the series, and with each new book the characters continue to develop and grow and change.

Kudos for the tale he’s telling. It’s not a story focused around a single event or conflict that can be quickly resolved, but the story of an orphaned girl’s life as she makes her way in the world during the early nineteenth century. With paranormal romance being all the rage these days, it’s refreshing to take a break from the supernatural and read historical fiction, especially a series with such a fun-loving, spirited, and unpredictable protagonist as Jacky Faber.

Although written from Jacky’s perspective—often upbeat and witty—this story is just as much Jaimy Fletcher's as Jacky's. Meyer uses letters written by Jaimy as a tool to give readers a glimpse into his anguished mind after Jacky's presumed death. He's tortured by all the wrongs done to them in the past and vengeance coils inside of him, dark and sinister.

The only issue I had with the story was Jaimy Fletcher's limited point of view. In The Wake of the Lorelei Lee, Meyer expounded on Jaimy's point of view to give us the full impact of the brutal treatment he suffered at the hands of the guards aboard the Cerberus, and his eventual mutiny of the ship. It would have added more to Mark of the Dragon if he'd done the same, giving readers the chance to experience Jaimy's decent into madness. Jaimy has become such an interesting, dynamic character that I'm almost sorry the story is told from Jacky's limited point of view.

So is this the book where Jacky and Jaimy finally get their happily ever after? It’s safe to say without spoileriness that they don’t. The more I read, the more unpredictable this aspect of the series becomes. Jacky and Jaimy fell in love when they were very young, around nine or ten years old. How many puppy love romances like theirs actually survive the changes of growing up? Is their love strong enough to withstand all they've gone through?

Also, Jacky is a flirtatious young woman that loves to be the center of attention, and admits that she has feelings for Joseph Jared (the salty sailor that nicknamed her Puss-n-boots) and the suave and sophisticated Richard Allen. Jaimy, although he loves Jacky, has had his share of sexy business with Clementine by the river and in the hayloft. Tsk, tsk, you rascal!

How will this romance end? Meyer isn't giving us any clues, and in Mark of the Golden Dragon, he shows us that matters of the heart are never simple.

Mark of the Dragon is another fun addition to the Bloody Jack Adventures. If you haven't started the series, what's stopping you? Sail the seas, buckle some swash, and fall in love!

Addendum: LA Meyer agreed to an interview, plus I know something you don't know-na na--well, maybe you do know, but he actually told me this himself last summer while I was in Maine so I'm really rather excited about it, and relieved, and curious and frustrated (the man can really keep a secret) but all of this will be posted near the release date of Mark of the Golden Dragon

Posted on goodreads.com and shelfari.com

Review: Blood and Ice by Robert Masello

Blood and Ice by Robert Masello

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars Recommended

For most of the book, Blood and Ice, is two incredible stories, beginning 150 years ago with the harrowing events that transpired on the ship, Coventry, once it was blown far off course into the dangerous waters of the South Pole. Sinclair, an affable, idealistic young soldier, and his beloved, Eleanor, are chained together and thrown overboard into the freezing glacial waters. What crime did they commit that the crew thought they deserved such treatment?

Fast forward to present day, to Michael Wilde, journalist, an adrenaline junkie high on life until a terrible accident forces him to withdraw from life because of a freak accident that's left the woman he loves unconscious in a hospitable bed, her prognosis grim. Michael's employer, after months of waiting, pushes him to take an assignment on scientists working in the most extreme climate in the world, the South Pole.

The author does an excellent job of alternating between both stories with thrilling suspense until they collide, mixing science and folklore in an exciting way. I'm almost afraid to say the word....shhh, come closer...closer....vampire...because perhaps you might think I'm giving something away. But I'm not, it's on the back of the book (but strangely not in the classification for the Library of Congress) and told in a way not expected.

The magic is the unique story and how it brilliantly unfolds. Robert Masello is a wonderful storyteller. There's nothing cliche about his writing and it's not like any other vampire novel I've read before. His masterful descriptions made me feel like I was there along side each and every character, experiencing it all for myself, and isn't that why we read--to live vicariously through the characters? To feel the excitement and pride of the soldier eager to fight for his country? To feel the bone chilling bite of the arctic wind on our skin, or feel the claustrophobic dive in freezing arctic waters and, seeing with our minds eye, a glacier wall descend and disappear into the dark depths below?

There's a lot that's scary in this book: arctic diving, living in the harshest environment in the world, the Crimean war, and the post war conditions, and for those that love the paranormal, the vampire- still scary, even if you know it's coming.

As always, what makes me love a book, is the way an author makes me love the characters so much that I can't put the book down, the way they can turn a phrase making me shudder with fear or my eyes well up with emotion. (I'm weird that way) It's awesome when that happens! This is a great story blending history, science and horror. I ~almost~ want a sequel. I can't help wondering what the characters are up to now.

Don't think I've told you everything about the story! Experience the book; put on a parka, and travel to the Pole!

Faithful Place by Tana French

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First U.S. Edition edition (July 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780670021871
• ISBN-13: 978-0670021871

Flap copy:

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and his girl, Rosie Daly, were all set to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.

But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd given him the brush-off--probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.

Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes or not.

Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he's a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he's willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.

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My thoughts:

5 Stars: Loved it

Tana French knocked her third book, Faithful Place, out of the park. It isn’t just any old whodunit sleuthing story, but a great, emotionally charged story about love, longing and dysfunctional relationships that definitely raises the bar in the mystery genre. Her voice is fresh and believable. The prologue completely sucked me and I had to buy this book. I don’t normally read prologues; they often seem weird and confusing to me so I skim the first few sentences, head straight for chapter one, then maybe I'll go back and read them once I’m committed. But not this time, not this one:

"In all your life, only a few moments matter. Mostly you never get a good look at them except in hindsight, long after they've zipped past you: the moment when you decided whether to talk to that girl, slow down on that blind bend, stop and find that condom. I was lucky, I guess you could call it. I got to see one of mine face-to-face, and recognize it for what it was. I got to feel the riptide pull of my life spinning around me, one winter night while I waited in the dark at the top of Faithful Place.

I was nineteen, old enough to take on the world and young enough to be a dozen kinds of stupid..."

Brilliant. Tana French does an outstanding job of setting the tone, setting up the main character, Francis Mackey, as the now long suffering middle-aged detective haunted by an event from his past.

“…Over more than half my life it had worn itself a nice little corner in my mind, like a bullet lodged too deep to dig out; I didn’t feel the sharp edges, mostly, as long as I didn’t touch.”

I couldn't help but fall in love with Frank Mackey, and find out his story. He's complicated, real, and oh so believable. The pacing was perfect and as the plot unfolded, I was on the edge of my seat. Flashbacks are handled skillfully and without confusion. Every character is rich and well rounded with their Irish slang and quick wit. I laughed. I cried. I wanted a pint of Guinness. I felt the full gamut of emotions on a visceral level.

Faithful Place wins a spot on my "favorite book" list, and Tana French as a new "must read" author.

Excellent story and highly recommended if you enjoy mysteries. And even if you don't. Enjoy!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

5 Stars. Highly recommended.

Suzanne Collins has done it again. Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, is just as emotionally charged as the first book. It quickly grips the reader by the heart and squeezes. Raw emotions are ever present. Survival is number one on the hierarchy of need but big surprises await Katniss, Peeta and Gale, ones they could never have predicted. The dark and powerful Capitol looms large over the lives of everyone in the 12 districts, and President Snow wants revenge...

I don't read book jackets because they contain a certain measure of spoileriness and I like to be surprised, so I'll never write a review that gives anything away. Suffice to say, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire are intense must read books about a future dystopian North America. (Lots of big words in that sentence but I'm not but a humble pirate. Argh!)

Suzanne Collin's active writing style pulls the reader in. There's nothing passive or extraneous in the writing, not a single verb or adjective is out of place. Every word, every sentence, every dialogue propels the story forward and all we can do is hold on. Just enough back story is layered in to remind the reader of important events from book one. Descriptions are brief but distinct. The reader knows the characters and the environment -very much a character in its own right- without being hammered over the head with details. The author leaves room for readers to use their imaginations and personalize everything. Deep point of view allows us to know and love Catniss Everdeen. She's strong yet vulnerable, but never evokes pity. She's our girl on fire.

Book three can't come soon enough! The book is brilliant and I'll read the series again, which for me, is really saying something.

Let me know what you think. Happy Reading!