Fantastic Prequel to Graceling!
Fire is the exciting prequel to Kristin Cashore’s Graceling. I am a huge fan of Graceling and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one! Fire lives up to Graceling beautifully! The only character in both books in Leck, only in Fire he is a young child instead of a king. The first chapter gives us King Leck’s much anticipated background story.
Fire is the last of her kind. She is a human monster. There are monster versions of all kinds of animals. She was the only child of the human monster, Cansrel, a dangerous man who used his powers for his own greed and pleasure. Besides her unnatural beauty and hair the color of fire, she has the ability to enter and control the minds of those near her. Now Cansrel is dead. She lives in the estate of Lord Archer, both her lover and protector. Human monsters have a hard time surviving. Monster preditors such as raptors and leopards hunger for their flesh more than any other human. She must be guarded at all times. Fire is uncomfortable with her mind control powers, and keeps her hair covered whenever she leaves her home. The very sight of her can be so shocking to humans, they can’t control themselves around her. They either want her for their own or want to kill her.
Fire is summoned to King’s City to use her powers against the king’s enemies, making her question how she lives, who she should love and what she should do with her powers.
Although the characters are different from Graceling, the book has the same feel and excitment. I love that Kristin Cashore has created another strong female character for teens! She tells us just enough of what a “monster” is and lets is fill in the blanks with our own imagination. How I picture Fire may be very different how another reader will imagine her. The introduction to the child version of Leck is brilliantly creepy! I really can’t wait for book three, Bitterblue.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
What makes Fire monsterous? What about Cansrel?
Does she have a right to probe and control people’s minds? Would you want that power?
Fire does not want to have children. She wants the monster line to end. Is she right? If you were her, what would you do?
If the teens have read Graceling, talk about the character of King Leck as both a king in Graceling and a child in Fire.
Discuss Fire’s relationship with Archer.
Discuss Fire’s secret involving her father.
Do you see Fire as a strong female character?
Compare her with other female characters in young adult fiction.
Fire uses music to comfort herself. Do you have a similar talent that makes you happy?
More Fallen Angel Fantasy!
After reading Eternal I was hoping for more fallen angel fantasy. Lauren Kate is writing a new series about just that. The first book is called, Fallen. All her life, Luce has been tormented by shadows that seem to follow her everywhere. It kind of reminds me of the movie, “The Sixth Sense.” She’s sent to reform school because a mysterious fire killed a boy she liked. She’s implicated in the crime even though she can’t remember what happened.
At school Luce meets Daniel. Not only is he supernaturally gorgeous, Luce feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. Although Cam, another attractive boy, is clearly interested in her, Luce only wants Daniel, the boy whose interest runs both hot and cold. Daniel tries to keep Luce at a distance, telling her the truth would kill her as it has many times before. The first chapter is fantastic! But I was disappointed that it took so long in the rest of the book to get back to the supernatural. But this won’t stop teens from loving it anyway!
Unfortunately Daniel falls into that familiar theme of “boy is mean to girl” so “girl becomes obsessed with boy.” We never find out what really caused the fire that killed Luce’s friend. It also seems strange that Luce and Daniel are able to go off into the woods. I would think a reform school would have more security. The cover is fantastic! It is dark, dramatic and beautiful! Teens will love it!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
What is appealing about fallen angels vs. vampires and other characters in fantasy?
What do you think caused the fire that killed the boy?
Why do you think the “boys are mean and girls love them anyway” is so popular in teen books?
Talk about Luce’s shadows. What do you think they mean?
Scary Short Stories From Popular Teen Authors!
This is a fun collection of short stories involving popular authors of young adult fantasy. Sarah Mlynowski of Bras and Broomsticks tells a story about two girls going on a cruise. They are scoping out guys so one of them can lose their virginity. The two girls befriend another girl who warns them about a string of vampire attacks on cruise ships. Bodies are found overboard drained of blood. When Kristin finds the guy of her dreams and they are finally alone, we find out she has a secret of her own. Virginity has an entirely different meaning to these girls.
Claudia Gray, the author of the Evernight series, takes on a witches vacation filled with rivelry. Every year this coven gets together to work magic. Her mom’s coven from college and their families meet and the men in the family really have no idea that their wives and daughters are witches. Cicely hates Kathleen. The two have been rivals since they were little kids. When Kathleen brings a new boyfriend on vacation, Cecily suspects the boyfriend has been bewitched. Now Cecily must decide whether to risk performing powerful magic beyond her years.
Maureen Johnson of 13 Little Blue Envelopes fame writes about two sisters, the French countryside and a strange curse. When people hear a story about the French Revolution they are compelled to commite murder.
Cassandra Clare, author of City Of Bones & City Of Ashes, writes about a family that vacations next to an ancient witch. The villa staff’s warnings are not enough to keep two curious teens from approaching her beach house.
The story that was truely terrifying was saved for last. Libba Bray, author of A Great And Terrible Beauty, scared me to death with her “Nowhere Is Safe.” A group of teens backpack through Europe and decide to go off the beaten path near Budepest for a little adventure. They go to small village for a festival with a dark history. They find ghosts, a frightening history of devil worship and a terrifying evil shrouded in mist and dense forests. I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep after reading this one!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
How is reading a collection of short stories different than a full novel? Which did you like better?
Talk about which stories were your favorites?
Did you think the students in Nowhere Is Safe were brave or stupid?
Talk about superstitions and how legends can shape the way we think.
Desperate circumstances can make people do horrible things. Talk about what would make a village sacrifice their own children.
Could Fallen Angels Be The Hot New Trend In YA? I Think So!
17-year-old Miranda has a guardian angel named Zachary. He watches her night and day. When she and a friend are lured into a cemetery by a vampire, Zachary displays his radiance to stop her from falling into a fresh grave. Revealing yourself to humans is taboo. Zachary is punished by losing his wings. He is charged by God to fix his mistake if he ever wants into heaven again. Zachary’s radiance caught the attention of an old vampire who makes Miranda into a vampire princess, treating her as his own daughter. Miranda finds herself no longer an average teen, but a high society vampire on the cover of magazines and celebrated at lavish parties, and who feeds off humans without batting an eye. Zachary, distraught over his fallen status, searches for her in attempts to save her and kill the old vampire Miranda calls, Father. Zachary answers an ad to become her personal assistant. (Many high society vampires use humans as servants.) Miranda becomes equally frustrated and enthralled by him at the same time. Zachary finds out in the end his mission is not what he thought, and now he must choose between what he wants, as he falls in love with Miranda, and saving her soul.
I really loved this book! Smith’s writing is much better than what you will find in most vampire fantasy books. That angels are making a big presence in fantasy writing is very exciting to me. They are beautiful and immortal, like vampires with without the blood lust. They are not your Sunday School angels. They have flaws and forbidden romance between angels and humans are becoming a common theme.
Smith creates a dark and violent vampire world where the vampires treat humans like cattle. Their wealth is immense and they live in castle like structures. Dracula is mentioned often in this book with subtle references to the classic. In fact, Father, holds the title of The Dracula. He is not the original, but a leader in the vampire community. These are not your nice, vegan Twilight vampires, but blood thirsty, keep humans as slaves, vampires.
Smith has also written Tantalize and her new book combining characters from both Tantalize and Eternal is called Blessed. Blessed will be released in 2011.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Talk about how Miranda changed from being an average teen to a celebrity. What did that do to her personality? Which would you rather be?
If appropriate, you can discuss angels in biblical terms. How do they differ from what is represented here with the archangels? Talk about heaven and hell. What are their thoughts on both?
Can vampires be redeemed? Where do you think the story will go from here?
Fallen angels vs. vampires? Which will make the better series?
New Twilight Read Alike Where The Guy Is A Merman
I picked up Aimee Friedman’s Sea Change after a friend remarked that this could be the new Twilight. Supernatural romance is very popular right now. We’ve seen vampires, faeries, werewolves. This time the creatures in question are merfolk. Miranda is meeting her mother on an island to sort out her eccentric grandmother’s estate. Her mother was long estranged from her grandmother, making the decision to leave the family’s summer home on Selkie Island to her quite a surprise. Miranda’s mother hails from Savannah’s high society. During Miranda’s ferry ride to the island, she is warned about the creatures that inhabit the island. Selkie Island is the summer playground to the Savannah’s rich upper crust. The locals live in Fisherman’s Village, a place where the wealthy stay away. The local gossip girl type gang befriends her but she’d rather read about science (marine biology to be exact) than wear high fashion and flirt with boys. She meets Leo at the local museum. He is not like any boy she’s ever known before. He loves sea life too, but he’s a local which complicates things. Miranda also has a birth defect that keeps her shy about showing her feet. She was born with webbing between her toes. The webbing was removed, but the scars make her self conscious.
I really liked the fact that Miranda is a brilliant girl who is interested in science. You don’t see a lot of that in teen romance books. I also liked the way the girls were portrayed. They were selfish and spoiled, but never mean. In fact, they genuinely liked Miranda and wanted her to spend time with them. This was also a welcomed change. They never come out and say, “Leo is a merman”. The author drops subtle hints and lets the reader decide. The first chapter felt a little contrived, when the older seaman was warning Miranda. But after that, I really enjoyed the book!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Talk about legends of selkies and merfolk.
Miranda is a brilliant student. Discuss why smart girls usually not portrayed in teen romances.
Discuss how the society girls were spoiled, but not mean. Why do you think the author changed this stereotype? Do you think it is realistic?
Leo is also a really nice person. Is he realistic? Why do nice guys rarely make an appearance in teen supernatural romance?
New Twists About Bianca’s Origins in Evernight’s Second Book
Stargazer, the #2 book in Claudia Gray’s Evernight series starts with plenty of pining. Bianca is missing Lucas terribly. She is constantly plotting to meet him again. Lucas’s Black Cross family still has no idea she is a vampire, a precarious situation that could get ugly very fast. The beginning made me lose interest a little. I became tired of all the longing. However, when the ghosts started showing up and taking a big interest in Bianca, I was pulled right back in. The ghosts, or wraiths, as they are called in the book, want Bianca. She has many terrifying encounters with them before we find out why. This part of the plot is well written and woven in a way that made me want to keep reading. We also learn more about Balthazar’s background, which is very interesting. He will need to form an alliance with Lucas in order to save his sister from the clutches of Black Cross. We also find out why Bianca has a special affinity for the stars.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Did Claudia’s parents have the right to lie to her about her origins?
Talk about the wraiths. What do you think they are? What do they represent?
Why do you think Miss Bethany really is allowing humans at Evernight?
Lucas says he will never become a vampire for Bianca, even thought he is only one bite away. Talk about the differences between this exchange and Bella’s willingness to join Edward as a vampire. What does this say about these two very different characters?
Balthazar wishes he had died with his parents and not been made a vampire. Talk about whether human life or vampire immortality is more appealing.
A Twilight Read Alike For the Youngest Twilight Fans
My 10-year-old daughter loved Twilight, do you have anything like that for her? This is a recent challenge that often has me at a total loss. (First of all, why are 10-year-olds reading Twilight? The content is a little mature for that audience.) Most of the other vampire or supernatural romance books that are Twilight-ish have content aimed at a much more mature audience. But if you do let your 10-year-olds read Twilight, Aprilynne Pike’s Wings is a good read for them. Sex is mentioned in a casual non-reproductive way, although never actually takes place.
Laurel is an unusual girl. She can only eat fruits and vegetables and she does not have a pulse. However, she is very much alive and very healthy. Her parents live a holistic lifestyle, so her unusual tendencies go unnoticed. She has just moved to a new town and school and after years of home schooling she attends high school. An over friendly boy, David becomes her new best friend. David can be compared to Twilight’s Edward in that he is both gorgeous and almost obsessively devoted to Laurel. Laurel discovers a bump on her back that grows into a beautiful wing-like blossom. She is terrified and tries to hide it. During a visit to the woods near her former home, Laurel meets a gorgeous stranger named Tamani and discovers she is not human at all but a faerie. She is more plant than human. She must convince her mother not to sell the land that has been in her family for generations in order to save the faerie realm. Many girls growing up will be able to indentify with the body changes and the fear that can surround them. I don’t mean that the girls will sprout wings, but pubescent changes none the less. The writing is ok, not spectacular, but fans of supernatural romance will love it.
Wings is the first book in a series of four. No word at this time on when the next installment will be released. According to Pike’s website, Disney purchased the movie rights to Wings. Miley Cyrus may star in the film.
Ideas for discussing with teens:
Why do you think supernatural romance is so popular right now?
Does David seem realistic? Compare him with Edward Cullen.
Should Laurel choose David or the male faerie, Tamani?
If you were a friend in David’s circle, how would you react to Laurel?
Laurel cannot get pregnant by traditional means. So what will sex mean for her?
Book Three Still Strong in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series
The Sorceress is full of action just like The Alchemyst and The Magician. This time, as the title suggests, we get more of Flamel’s powerful wife, Parenell. At the end of the Magician, she was trapped on the island of Alcatraz surrounded by monsters. The sphinx was draining her of her powers and the Morrigan (crow goddess) showed up for a fight. With the help of an Alcatraz ghost, and a giant spider elder, Parenell fights her way through the book.
Josh must deal with his newly awakened powers and the magic of the sword Clarent. New characters from history join the fight, including William Shakespeare. Nicholas Flamel is growing older by the hour and time is running out. I am so glad Scathach is back! She is my favorite character! She is a vampire you know.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
The phrases “the two that become one” and “the one that is all” are re used over and over again. Do you think they mean the twins or the swords?
Talk about the history of Stonehenge.
What should the elder’s do with Dr. John Dee?
Since all the previous twins have died, should the Flamels have put the twins at risk?
Talk about Perenell’s fights on the island. Would you have trusted the Morrigan or let her die?
New Vampire Romance Series – A Twilight Reverse!
Bianca senses there is something very wrong with her new school, the Evernight Academy. She wants to go home to her small town where she grew up. But when her parents get teaching jobs at the exclusive boarding school, she has no choice but to move. Clearly she is surrounded by vampires. She is one too, although we are not clued into that until later. Bianca is different. She is one of the rare vampires born instead of made. A boy named Lucas is one of the few peers she can relate to in her new surroundings. But he may be more dangerous to her and her family than anyone realizes.
I started reading this with low expectations but I was drawn in quickly and it was hard to put down. I really enjoy reading different authors take on vampires. Claudia Gray’s vampires are more traditional like Dracula or Anne Rice’s Louis and Lestat. I also enjoyed the role reversal where the girl is the more powerful one. It’s a nice change! Evernight Academy is described in such a way I could picture the dreary castle in the isolated woods. It is a school for centuries old vampires who are trying to assimilate to the modern world. A good point of humor is when a vampire from the dark ages cannot understand there are not spirits inhabiting ipods and radios. He can’t comprehend technology, thinking evil spirits are making them work instead of circuits and chips.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
How do you feel about the girl being a vampire this time?
Did you realize what Bianca was before she bit Lucas?
Both Bianca and Lucas were not honest with each other. Who is the most at fault?
Where you surprised at how Bianca revealed herself?
Talk about how the Evernight series is different than other popular vampire series. How do different authors portray the myth?
Stargazer is the second book in this series. Hourglass will be released in 2010.
The Best House of Night Book Yet – Hunted
Ok… this was the best book in the series. The action began with a very intimate moment where Kalona invades Zoey’s dreams. He’s convinced she is the Cherokee woman created to imprison him. Zoey and her friends are hiding in the tunnels with the red fledglings. Of course Heath shows up and puts Zoey in danger again. A Raven Mocker (the creepy man/bird children of Kalona) attacks her, leaving her close to death. She must drink from Heath again, making their once broken imprint even stronger. So now there’s another love triangle between herself, Heath and Erik. And of course there is also Stark, the kid she kissed in the last book before he “died” and became a red fledgling. He is not without his charms.
The action in this book moved much faster, making this a really fun, guilty pleasure read for me. I can’t wait until Tempted – House of Night Book 6 which comes out in October. Check this out while reading the book http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/yearbook.html it is fun!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Zoey still has a love triangle, although it is different than before. Discuss which of the guys (if any) are right for Zoey. Who would you rather be with, Erik, Heath or Stark?
Talk about religion. How the worship of the Goddess Nyx is like or unlike their own religion.
What does it mean to be marked? Talk about how tattoos are becoming more common.
