Review: The Starlight Claim by Tim Wynne -Jones

Title: The Starlight Claim

Author:  Tim Wynne-Jones
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publishing Date:  September 10, 2019

Pages: 240
Genre: YA Survival/ Thriller Suspence

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

Four months after his best friend, Dodge, disappeared near their families' camp in a boat accident, Nate is still haunted by nightmares. He'd been planning to make the treacherous trek to the remote campsite with a friend -- his first time in winter without his survival-savvy father, Burt. But when his friend gets grounded, Nate secretly decides to brave the trip solo in a journey that's half pilgrimage, half desperate hope he will find his missing friend when no one else could. What he doesn't expect to find is the door to the cabin flung open and the camp occupied by strangers: three men he's horrified to realize have escaped from a maximum-security prison. Snowed in by a blizzard and with no cell signal, Nate is confronted with troubling memories of Dodge and a stunning family secret, and realizes that his survival now depends on his wits as much as his wilderness skills. As things spiral out of control, Nate finds himself dealing with questions even bigger than who gets to leave the camp alive.

I liked the sound of this one so I grabbed it on NetGalley a while back. My life got in the way and well I didn't get around to it til recently. I wanted a fast paced chase scene, scared to look around the corner, kind of book. I thought by the sound of the premise, I would get this. The book was okay and it had some quite good scenes, but it didn't quite deliver in the way I needed. 

Nate and his best friend Dodge, grew up together, and there was a camp in the woods where both boys' families stayed for vacation. The last time Dodge went up with his family, they didn't come back. Nate is desperate to find him, find out what happened, and get closure on the entire thing. He ends up going to the camp on his own and when he gets there finds there are strangers staying in his cabin. Strangers that are dangerous and don't want to be found. Snowed in, no way out, and in a dangerous situation, Nate must quickly figure out how to survive the weekend.

The book sounded so good when I first grabbed hold of it. It was okay, for the most part I enjoyed it. I had a few issues with it. The story was good and interesting. I enjoyed the survival and the danger. I think my main problem is that I didn't feel it was suspenseful or thrilling enough for what I was promised. It did have a few good scenes, but for the most part the book read as a coming of age for me. Which is fine, just not what I expected. 

The main character, Nate, I liked. He was very resourceful and strong. He is quick thinking. He has some guilt going on that is weighing him down. He goes to his families cabin to get answers about his best friend. He gets answers, just not the answers he was expecting. When his world becomes dangerous and turned upside down, he does what he needs to not only survive, but still do the right thing. 

The book was promised to be fast paced. For me, it was a bit slow. The entire book happens in one weekend and I felt the weekend lasted forever. I wanted more chase, more shadows lurking, more bone chilling and thrilling moments and didn't get that. 

What I did get was an interesting, a little emotional, slow burn through a very broken mind. Which was a good journey for what it was. I think if you go into this read expecting it for what it is, an emotional coming of age journey, you will enjoy this read. Just didn't feel it was a suspenseful thriller at all. 

It was an okay read. I enjoyed it, just not what I was expecting and wanted at the time of the read. 

 Wynne-Jones (born 12 August 1948) is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Juvenile (2001): The Boy in the Burning House
Edgar Award
◊ Best Young Adult (2002): The Boy in the Burning House

Review: Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Title: Red Hood

Author:  Elena K Arnold
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publishing Date:  February 25th  2020

Pages: 368
Genre: Fairytale Retelling

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  ARC

 

You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked.

And the wolf is angry.

Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.

I love retellings and this one looked really good and intense. I was very excited to get to. I read it a while back and I have put off the review because I  just didn't  know what I wanted to say about this read. I have such mixed feelings. I still don't know exactly what I want to say about this book but I will do my best. This has been a very controversial book for me. I haven't had these feelings for a book in a very long time. I will put my thoughts out there and hopefully not ramble too much. 

Bisou is a girl that has had a bit of a hard life. She lives with her grandmother since she was a little girl. Her mother was killed and her grandmother took over as her parent. She lives a pretty quiet life away from most of the world. She does well in school, she has a great boyfriend, and she is pretty happy with her life. Bisou is a late bloomer and once she experiences becoming a woman, her life suddenly changes. Wolves and boys and violence. This is now Bisou's world.

I am going to try and put all my thoughts into words. There were many things I enjoyed about this book. The mystery, the backstory, woman power. The pacing of the book, the writing for the most part. It was good. I was totally into this book. But I feel the negatives of the book, really just made it hard to purely enjoy the book. 

The characters, I will start with the characters. I loved the characters. I loved Bisou, I loved her grandmother, I really liked Bisou's boyfriend. The relationships in the book are really good. There is a real sense of loyalty and bonding. That I loved. The main characters all had their own strength and weaknesses. I felt they were flawed but in a real way. 

I loved the story of Bisou's grandmothers life. I enjoyed going back and seeing what she had done and why things were the way they were. 

The mystery was good, but it wasn't the mystery of the boy that was killed it was the mystery of Bisou's grandmother and the curse or blessing that is on Bisou's family. Also the mystery of Bisou's and her mother's past. I was totally into wanting to know more. 

What I didn't like. There was good girl power in this book and I enjoyed how the girls stuck together however, I felt as if this book was more on the side of girls good boys evil girls fight back and take over the world. I felt there wasn't enough balance of good and evil among the sexes. There is good and evil in all people in the world. The evil is shared among girls and boys. Its not the chromosomes that make you good or evil. I wish there had also been more of the lives that the boys lived.... what made them think they could get away with violence against other especially woman. I think we as a society need to focus more on why boys get away with what they get away with and what makes them make these violent choices as teens and young adults. Also... there are evil girls out there too. I am female here me roar, I am all about woman sticking together and standing up for each other but there are some bad seeds among us too. I think the message this book wanted to put across was well intended but not well done. 

Another thing I did not like... too much detail about periods and sex and all things I don't want to read about. There were some pretty disgusting things in this book. I do not need to see these nasty things in my mind. It was just too much. Also, I am all for a woman's sexual choices are hers, we shouldn't be treated differently on those choices.... however I am old school when it comes to ages of these things. I this book is a little much for teens, especially the younger ones.

I think this book could have been so good for girls if know there are others out there who would disagree with me and I am okay with that. But these are the issues I had with this book. Mixed feelings all around. There are some other books I read about girl power and girls standing together against violence against woman... one that comes to mind is Reputation by Sara Shepard. Loved that book... it was also marked for the college age kids. I really loved that one and the message was Strong but also done tastefully. I feel this book was a too much on the less tasteful for me.

If you took out the detailed period and sex scenes and the total man bashing.... the writing was beautiful and I was addicted. I had to finish the book. Side note... there was boy bashing but there was two decent male species that were highlighted. So yes not 100 percent boy bashing.  

I also strongly feel this should be more a new adult or adult read not a ya read. 



I think some might really enjoy but it was a little too much for me.... yet I somehow enjoyed it too. So I rated it a three which is confusing with the issues I had with it.... I think the fact I didn't want to put it down had something to do with it. Lots of stuff I didn't like but there were things that kept me reading. 

ELANA K. ARNOLD writes books for and about children and teens. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of California, Davis where she has taught Creative Writing and Adolescent Literature. Her most recent YA novel, DAMSEL, is a Printz Honor book, Her 2017 novel, WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her middle grade novel, A BOY CALLED BAT, is a Junior Library Guild Selection. A parent and educator living in Huntington Beach, California, Elana is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writers’ conferences. Currently, Elana is the caretaker of seven pets, only three of which have fur.

Review: In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund

Title: In the Hall with the Knife

Author:  Diana Peterfruend
Publisher: Harry N Abrams
Publishing Date:  October 8, 2019

Pages: 304
Genre: YA Mystery Thriller

Series:  Clue Mystery #1
Source:  Audio

 

When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students—including Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry—are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it’s very clear his death was no accident. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder. Fans of the CLUE board game and cult classic film will delight in Diana Peterfreund’s modern reimagining of the brand, its characters, and the dark, magnificent old mansion with secrets hidden within its walls.

I only just discovred this book when I was raoming the book store trying to find something calling my name. I hadn't read in a while and I needed something to pick me. This book did that. I love boardgames, I love murder mysteries and thrillers, I love the movie Clue. This book souned perfect. It wasn't perfect but it was good. I did enjoy the read. Lots of characters, a body with the name Boddy, and of course a good mystery. I do wish it had been stormy night when I read the book, but it wasn't stormy or at night..... maybe the next book I will try and get it right. Anyways, it was a good read with much of what I was looking for. 


There is a school with smart and rich kids. Among these there is Orchid, Mustard, Green, Plum, Scarlet, and Peacock. There is a Headmaster named Boddy, there is a house mother named White. The story takes place during winter break in Maine. These characters and a couple of others get stranded in the house during a storm. No power, kids with issues...some anger issues... and of course a murder. Everyone is a suspect, there are clues everywhere, it just a matter of time before the murderer is found. 

So there were many things I enjoyed in this book. I will start with the names. I was so happy to see the kids with the names from Clue...I mean it would be a strange clue mystery without the correct names of the characters. I was a little confused by Orchid. She wasn't in clue but I guess the author wanted 6 kids and wanted to keep Ms. White as the maid type. It wasn't a big deal, just a little confusing. I did like seeing how the names were assigned and how it all fit in. It was just a lot of fun. I was very happy to see that the one murdered was headmaster Boddy. I mean it had to be Boddy that was murdered. It wouldn't be right if not. So all of that was pretty much in order and pleased me. I also loved the title of the book. How does that name not grab you. 

The setting was also very fitting. It was an older house with many rooms and it had a study and a hall and a living room and so on. So also very fitting. The weapons also made their appearance. Candlestick, knife, lead pipe, wrench. All great fun, reminiscent of the game and movie and was just put together well. 

The mystery was good. I thought it was a couple of different people at different times. I liked how there were extra characters so I wasn't sure if it was one of the main characters or a supportive character. I didn't figure it out til the very end. The mystery and the murder made sense too. So it did come together quite well. 

The things I didn't enjoy so much that made my rating come down just a bit. Two things really. One... The story kept going between the 6 main characters. Which I don't normally mind but in this case, the characters were missing a connection for me. I couldn't connect very well and it made it sometimes hard to remember whose point of view it was from. I think they changed back and forth too much. I loved Orchid and Green and Mustard but really didn't feel much for Scarlet, Peacock, or Plum. I feel that there wasn't enough of each to really get to know them. 

Two....I was hoping for more suspense and thrills. It was really a mystery at it's core but just a mystery. Which this isn't bad as it was well done. I think if there were more thrills and suspense, the lack of connection to the characters wouldn't have been an issue. Since there wasn't I needed a bit more to really feel the story. 

Now I mentioned the two things that could have been improved... but I want to say I enjoyed this read. I will read the next installment and the one after that. I think it states it is supposed  to be a trilogy. So I am excited for the next books and I will get them as soon as they come available. I think maybe the characters will grow on my more now that the introductory to them all is out of the way. The mystery was so much fun and the nostalgic vibe that comes with the book... I will need more when they come available. 


I enjoyed this book, it was a great mystery. If you choose to read this..try and schedule it for a stormy dark night. It would set the perfect tone for this read. 

Diana Peterfreund has been a costume designer, a cover model, and a food critic. Her travels have taken her from the cloud forests of Costa Rica to the underground caverns of New Zealand (and as far as she’s concerned, she’s just getting started). Diana graduated from Yale University in 2001 with dual degrees in Literature and Geology, which her family claimed would only come in handy if she wrote books about rocks. Now, this Florida girl lives with her husband and their puppy in Washington D.C., and writes books that rock
Her first novel, Secret Society Girl (2006), was described as “witty and endearing” by The New York Observer and was placed on the New York Public LIbrary’s 2007 Books for the Teen Age list. The follow-up, Under the Rose (2007) was deemed “impossible to put down” by Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist called the third book, Rites of Spring (Break) (2008), “an ideal summer read.” The final book in the series, Tap & Gown, will be released in 2009. All titles are available from Bantam Dell.
She also contributed to the non-fiction anthologies, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, edited by Jennifer O’Connell (Pocket Books, 2007), The World of the Golden Compass, edited by Scott Westerfeld (BenBella Books, 2007), and Through the Wardrobe, edited by Herbie Brennan (BenBella Books, 2008).
Her first young adult novel, Rampant, an adventure fantasy about killer unicorns and the virgin descendents of Alexander the Great who hunt them, will be released by Harper Collins in 2009. When she’s not writing, Diana volunteers at the National Zoo, adds movies she has no intention of watching to her Netflix queue, and plays with her puppy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Rio.
 

It's Graphic Time! Ice Cream Man Vol. 2: Strange Neapolitan by W. Maxwell Prince

Title: Ice Cream Man Vol 1: Strange Neapolitan 

Author:  W. Maxwell Price
Publisher: Image Comics
Publishing Date:  December 18th, 2018

Pages: 128
Genre: Horror Graphic Novel  Anthology

Series:  Ice Cream Man #2 (issues 5-8)

 

The critically acclaimed series of not-so-sweet singular stories continues with four more tales of woe and wonder. Here: the ballad of a falling man; a three-flavored silent meditation; a young girl’s quest with her dead best friend; a potpourri of suburban emergencies. Plus: more is revealed about the mischievous Ice Cream Man and his history with the dark cowboy, Caleb. Collects ICE CREAM MAN #5-8

These comics are just strange but for some reason I can't stop reading them. I tend to enjoy them more than I think I do or more than I should. As strange as they are... I do enjoy reading them... so that is what I do. This one was interesting. I felt it was a bit stranger and less ice cream man than the first volume... but well I liked. 

I don't know what it is about this comic that I enjoy but I do enjoy they. The art work is just crazy fantastic and creative and nostalgic, bright and colorful and fun. The short stories are interesting and strange and very entertaining. It's really hard to get really invested into the characters because they are in just one story... but that being said I am able to root for them, love them, or hate them just enough to say I did. 

The stories were more into the weird than the first volume and I do have one complaint that the Ice Cream Man was in very few of the issues and he seemed so different this time around. The last volume I felt that the Ice Cream Man was more vengeance and justice...this one saw more of an angry evil side. Not sure how I feel about that. 

Anyways... I enjoyed the stories, the artwork, and I plan to keep reading this bizarre graphic novel because even though they make me scratch my head, they also make me smile. 

I liked it, I was entertained, I will read more. 

 
Author: W. Maxwell Prince writes in Brooklyn and lives with his wife, daughter, and two cats called Mischief and Mayhem. He is the author of ONE WEEK IN THE LIBRARY (Image), The Electric Sublime (IDW), and Judas: The Last Days (ibid). When not writing, he tries to render all of human experience in chart form.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
Illustrator: Argentinian artist Martín Morazzo made his major American comics debut with the 2012 environmental sci-fi saga, Great Pacific, the first Image Comics series he co-created with Joe Harris.
Martín has since co-created Snowfall, a sci-fi epic, again with Joe Harris and Image Comics, and the stylish crime adventure series, The Electric Sublime, with writer W. Maxwell Prince at IDW Publishing. A talent on the rise, his art has recently appeared in Marvel Comics’ Nighthawk, Elektra and Occupy Avengers along with Vertigo’s Cyan anthology.
Ice Cream Man, a new collaboration with W. Maxwell Prince, is being published by Image Comics.
She Could Fly, a miniseries with writer Christopher Cantwell –co-creator and showrunner of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire– and editor Karen Berger, is also being published by Berger Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics.
Martín lives in Buenos Aires. When he isn’t absolutely consumed with drawing and comics deadlines, he likes to spend time with his lovely wife, Victoria, and his daughters, Nina and Lupe.

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Curse

Author:  Marie Rutkoski
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Publishing Date:  March 4th, 2014

Pages: 369
Genre: YA Fantasy 

Series:  The Winner's Trilogy #1
Source:  Audio

 

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction.

Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

This has been on my TBR for a bit and to be honest I wasn't sure I wanted to read it for the longest time. I felt everyone was gushing over it so much that I was afraid I wouldn't be that into it. I can say that I did enjoy this read. I think I would have liked it better with a different narrator. I am not a big Justine Eyre fan and at the time of this book, she was doing a bunch of ya books on audio. So I didn't mind her but I would have liked it better with some one else. I had some issues with the world building and the the pacing. I did however really like the characters and I think I liked the romance for the most part. So this book has lots of potential for a series for me but I did struggle a tad in the beginning. 


The world in which this book exists has two kind of classes... The rich society and the slaves. There really wasn't any in between. Kestrel is the daughter of a general and Arin is a slave. Kestrel is intrigued by Arin and buys him at the auction. She later feels guilty, since she is not approving of slaves. They become friends and more but Arin has a secret. He is a part of the secret rebellion and they want to take their lands back from Kestrel's people.

I found this to be quite an interesting read. It took a while to get off the ground for me. I found the beginning to be slow. There was a ton of building up but the building up didn't seem to have really much of anything of interest. I get that the relationship between Kestrel and Arin was finding it's footing but I felt it was a bit too slow and boring for me. About half way through or a little more the story really took off and I couldn't put it down. So it did pick up but it took a while. 

The characters were great. I loved the complexity and the layers of both of the main characters. Kestrel is for sure who own woman and really wants to make her own  life. She loves music and in her world music has no place. It's made for the slaves to use for entertainment. Kestrel loves to play the piano. This is what made her buy Arin, the auctioneer said he could sing. I felt she was strong, brave, independent, and loyal... which this caused her some issues. She wanted to be loyal to her people and her father but she didn't agree with how they live. She doesn't agree with the rules her society has upon the citizens, but she will play her part because she is loyal. 

Arin is a great character too. He is deceitful but that is because he started out with an agenda... for his people and his freedom. He fell in love with Kestrel and this causes many issues. He is torn between his freedom and his people and Kestrel. 

This book does have some great moments, great action moments, sweet romance moments, and just some though provoking moments. I feel the romance just got started and I am sad I didn't get more of that but hoping maybe in the next book. I hope to see more action too.... more planning and strategy and war. 

As much as I struggled to really get into this book at first, I did end up enjoying it and I am excited to read the next book, but it didn't quite live up to the hype I have seen. Maybe the next book will blow me away. 

Oh and the ending was killer and had me in tears and wow. Yup just wow. 

A great start to what I hope to be an awesome series. 

Marie Rutkoski is the author of the YA novel The Shadow Society and the children's fantasy series The Kronos Chronicles, including The Cabinet of Wonders, The Celestial Globeand The Jewel of the Kalderash. Her next project is a YA trilogy that begins with The Winner's Curse, which is scheduled to be published in March 2014.

Marie grew up in Bolingbrook, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), as the oldest of four children. She holds a BA from the University of Iowa and a PhD from Harvard University. Marie is currently a professor at Brooklyn College, where she teaches Renaissance Drama, children's literature and fiction writing. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons.