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Review: Snow Witch by Rosie Boyes

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , , ,

Snow Witch by Rosie BoyesSnow Witch
Rosie Boyes
Published on October 1, 2018

Amazon | Goodreads

About Snow Witch
A GRANDFATHER CLOCK. A GLASS LOCKET. A POWERFUL CURSE UNLEASHED ON CHRISTMAS EVE.

Twelve-year-old Kitty Wigeon can’t wait for Christmas at St Flurries, a grand old manor house in the countryside, until one chilly night she vanishes without a trace.

One hundred years later… Still grieving over the death of their mother, Kes Bunting and his younger sister Star, are sent to live at St Flurries. They find a house steeped in mystery and brimming with secrets.

Who, or what, is making footprints in the snow?

And what evil force is taking a cold grip on Star?

Wrap up warm as you join Kes, and a cast of eccentric snow creatures, in a race against time to solve a hundred-year-old curse. Will he succeed? Or will the fate of his sister be decided by a shivery kiss from… the Snow Witch?

My Review
I enjoyed a lot of things about this story: the brother/sister relationship, the family history and how it tied in with the current mystery, the fun English setting. Snow Witch has a lot of good things going for it. I want to call it a really cute story, but I’m worried that will backfire! Haha. I really just mean that it’s a sweet, fun winter tale with some mystery and magic.

I liked Kes a lot. He has such a big heart and has clearly been through so much already. His relationship with his sister is really sweet. I wasn’t as deeply moved by the section of the story from Kitty’s point-of-view. It’s kind of a long flashback, and I totally get why the story follows her memories. I think I just liked Kes so much better and wanted the story to get back where he has a chance to piece everything together and save the day. I liked both of the older ladies in the story, too. Honestly, I should just say it had great characters! Some, like the older ladies, were quirky and surprising. Others, like Kes and his sister, had so much courage.

If you’re looking for a book to read on a winter night with a cup of cocoa, check out Snow Witch. I think it would also appeal to fans of The Griffin of Darkwood by Becky Citra. For more about this book, check out my interview with author Rosie Boyes.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white or not physically described. The story is set in England.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
A traveling fortune teller casts a curse on a young girl she believes stole something from her.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Some references to a man drinking too much alcohol. At one point, a child nearly drowns while the man is supposed to be watching him.

Review: Christy by Catherine Marshall

Book Review and Content, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Christy
Catherine Marshall
Turtleback Books
Published June 27th 2006 (first published January 1st 1967

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Christy
At nineteen, Christy Huddleston left home to teach school in the Smokies — coming to know and care for the wild mountain people, with their fierce pride, terrible poverty, dark superstitions…and their yearning for beauty and truth. But in these primitive surroundings, Christy’s faith would be severely tested by the unique strengths and needs of two remarkable young men — and challenged by a heart torn between desire…and love.

My Review
Christy is one of those books I’ve read probably almost a dozen times. I think I first read it at thirteen or fourteen years old. Most recently I listened to the audiobook version, which I enjoyed, too. I’ve been meaning to actually post a review of it for years, though, since I still talk about it pretty regularly. I’ve mentioned it in several list posts.
So what makes it so special? Wow. Well, I love the spiritual journey. Christy relates her faith in this unassuming, humble way, and it comes across so genuinely. I feel like you could argue that the whole young protégé learning from an older, wiser woman has been done lots before, but for some reason, it never bothered me in this book. I think because it just feels so organic to me. Every time I read the book I get lost in Christy’s journey, and it makes me want to love others more and open myself to a deeper spiritual life.
I love the colorful cast of characters, especially the people of Cutter Gap. Fairlight Spencer, Christy’s best friend in the Cove, and Ruby Mae, with her chattering and adoration for Christy. I always catch myself grinning in the scene about Creed Allen and his raccoon and when the doctor gives Christy a hard time about her overly keen sense of smell.

For me, listening to the story gave me a little more distance, so for the first time I feel like I was able to step back and see the story as a whole a bit more. Usually I’m so caught up in each moment and each relationship that I feel like I don’t get to see the Cove as a whole and the arch of Christy’s journey that first year as a teacher. I still wish there was more to the story. I still cry every time the typhoid epidemic begins. I still get all teary at the end. Every. Time. Can’t help it, I guess.

Maybe because of the age that I was when I first read Christy but I feel like this is a great book for kids in seventh and eighth grade. Certainly it’s a great read for teens and adults alike, but there’s something about those early teen days that make me feel like this story is a great fit for the age. I guess it’s because Christy is very much on the journey toward understanding who she is and how she fits into her larger community, and that journey seems to begin for a lot of people in their early teens.

I absolutely recommend this book. As I’ve said, it’s one of my favorites, and has been for years (let’s not say how many). I love it so much. If you’ve read it and want to chat about it, YES! Let’s. If you haven’t read it, then go read it. And then let’s chat about it! Haha. But yes, read it.

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some brief kissing. Christy attends a Cove wedding at which the bride and groom celebrate with a couple of more crude traditions – descriptions are brief and very vague.

Christy learns about one woman’s past in which she was sexually abused and assaulted by a family friend. Details are vague, but sensitive readers may still find this triggering.

Spiritual Content
Christy volunteers to teach school in Cutter Gap after hearing a missionary speak at her church. She believes she’s been moved by God to be part of the mission school, but learns through her experience at Cutter Gap how little real love and selflessness she possesses on her own. Through mentorship with Alice Henderson, another mission worker, and her experience with the mountain people, she begins to develop a deeper faith and spiritual life which overflows into the way she loves and serves others.

Violent Content
Christy witnesses and deals with some schoolyard fighting in which children get injured, sometimes by bigger kids. A couple of people get shot, one fatally so.

Drug Content
Men create a moonshine still in the Cove, which is against the law. A few scenes show people drinking alcohol or drunk. In one scene, a teen bride and groom drink alcohol with their friends. Christy feels very negatively about this and does not drink alcohol herself except at one point when the doctor offers her brandy “medicinally.”

Review: Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

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Bitter Kingdom
Rae Carson
Greenwillow Books
Published on August 27, 2013

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Bitter Kingdom
The champion must not waver.
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.

Elisa is a fugitive.

Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa né Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead her three loyal companions deep into the enemy’s kingdom, a land of ice and snow and brutal magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne. Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover on this, her final journey, could change the course of history.

But that is not all. She has a larger destiny. She must become the champion the world has been waiting for.

Even of those who hate her most.

My Review
The Fire and Thorns series might be my favorite fantasy series. Which is really saying something, right? But I loved the way faith is incorporated into the story so smoothly. I love that Elisa is super smart and not the stereotypical beautiful heroine with the willowy figure. I LOVE the relationship between her and Storm. That whole feisty, grudging respect thing totally had me hooked! I’m actually smiling just thinking back on it.

I only had one hiccup in the whole story, and it’s not a major thing in terms of plot or character. Just something I thought about that seemed odd to me. Lots of times someone with a holy calling or deep faith has mandates or guidelines for physical (sexual) purity. Elisa doesn’t really seem to have been brought up with any teaching or spiritual beliefs concerning her body in that way. I just found it a little odd, but it didn’t really affect the plot or story so much.

Elisa begins the first book in the series as a girl leaving her home to participate in an arranged marriage. So in the first book, she definitely seems like a teen, especially toward the beginning. By the end of this third book, she seems so much older. After all, she’s ruling a country and navigating some pretty tricky political situations. I still very much enjoyed the book, but younger readers who crave young protagonists facing more typical teen situations might not connect with Elisa and Hector as much.

On the whole, definitely a cool series. I’m glad to see a faith-positive story out there, too.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are described as having brown skin. Most are from a desert climate.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Elisa makes plans to have sex for the first time, including taking an oral form of birth control. She shares several passionate kisses with a man and invites him into her room to sleep with her. It’s clear they have sex and there are some vague details about it being wonderful but no play-by-play description of the event.

Spiritual Content
Elisa prays a lot and wants very much to please God with her life and her actions. (There’s no spiritual directions concerning her romantic relationships in any way. Or at least she doesn’t ever question whether sleeping with her lover would be wrong.) She remains faithful to her beliefs though there are a few moments where she realizes that what she was taught about history and the way her power works aren’t accurate.
Violent Content
Some descriptions of battle and fatal or near fatal injuries. Some descriptions of torture. One torture victim pleads to die by suicide. A swarm of scorpions kills a traveler.

Drug Content
None.


Review: A Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

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A Crown of Embers
Rae Carson
Greenwillow Books
Published on September 8, 2012

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About A Crown of Embers
She does not know what awaits her at the enemy’s gate.

Elisa is a hero.

She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country’s ruler should be secure. But it isn’t.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears, once and for all, Elisa must follow a trial of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues, from the deep, hidden catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man whom—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she’s lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

My Review
I sometimes forget how refreshing and wonderful it can be to read about a really smart girl. I like that Elisa cares about people around her and that her faith is a deep part of her life. One of my favorite things in A Crown of Embers had to be watching the relationship between her and Storm develop. They started as unlikely allies, but seemed to really grow to respect each other, and I liked that a lot.

Court politics plays a large role in the plot of A Crown of Embers. Elisa struggles to balance what she wants with what her country needs and on top of that has to navigate around people who would use her for their own gain. It also becomes pretty clear pretty quickly that someone wants her dead, and it might be someone within her court.

I was a fan of Hector from Girl of Fire and Thorns, so I definitely wasn’t sorry to see him have a more significant role in A Crown of Embers. I also loved the little prince Rosario and Elisa’s attendants. Each of the characters has a really specific voice and some of them really kept a spark in the story with their dialogue or banter.

I enjoyed the first book in the series, and I loved A Crown of Embers, too. I’m looking forward to reading the third book—definitely eager to see what happens to Elisa and her kingdom.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Elisa has paler skin and black hair, but her people have brown skin and dark hair. The enemy sorcerers are very fair-skinned with blond hair. Two men (both minor characters) are discovered to be lovers.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Elisa asks her handmaiden about love (sex) and she shares that she’s had lovers before. She and Elisa take an herb that is meant to prevent pregnancy, each hoping to have sex soon. Elisa considers whether she’d take a lover as many monarchs do. She’s tempted by her feelings for a man she believes she would never be allowed to marry.
Intense kissing between a man and woman. Elisa discovers two men embracing.

Spiritual Content
Elisa bears a gem in her navel which marks her as God’s chosen one. She prays often and recites scriptures which resemble Christian scriptures. Some rituals and ideas, like the quoted scriptures, resemble Christian faith and others are less connected (like the stone in her navel, which changes temperature when she’s in danger or God’s presence is with her.).

Carrying the stone means Elisa will have to perform some great act of service, so Elisa is always on the lookout to understand what she’s called to do.

Violent Content
Some situations of peril and assassination attempts. At one point, a man shouts threats at her and then lights himself on fire. Another assassin attacks an unarmed woman, leaving her for dead. A soldier is beheaded as a traitor. Elisa witnesses the executioner’s arm raise but can’t see more because of the crowd. A man begins vomiting after ingesting poison. Servants are flogged for negligence. A man holds a woman at knife-point.

Drug Content
Wine is served with dinners.

Review: White Rabbit by Caleb Roehrig

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White Rabbit
Caleb Roehrig
Feiwel & Friends
Published on April 24, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About White Rabbit

Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian—the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Just as Rufus is getting ready to move on, Sebastian turns up out of the blue, saying they need to “talk.” Things couldn’t get much worse, right?

But then Rufus gets a call from his sister April, begging for help. And then he and Sebastian find her, drenched in blood and holding a knife, beside the dead body of her boyfriend, Fox Whitney.

April swears she didn’t kill Fox—but Rufus knows her too well to believe she’s telling him the whole truth. April has something he needs, though, and her price is his help. Now, with no one to trust but the boy he wants to hate yet can’t stop loving, Rufus has one night to prove his sister’s innocence…or die trying.

My Review

It’s been a while since I read a book purely for the fun of it, but I think I needed this book. It was so much fun to read. I got carried away by mystery elements and the complex relationships between characters.

As the story progressed and Rufus drew closer and closer to the murderer, things got more and more dangerous. I was totally biting my nails and practically jumping at every noise while I read. Add to that the fact that Rufus has this really fabulous voice, which again made it great fun to read. I loved the side comments and the way the dialogue gave these light moments away from the tension without disrupting the storytelling.

I loved that Rufus (okay, first, I loved that he’s called Rufus. There aren’t enough Rufus characters in literature. Love it!) battles this deep anger, part of which seems perhaps hereditary and part of which might be environmental. But he doesn’t just make excuses about Hulking out. He recognizes how damaging it can be and really wrestles with his angry impulses. That made him so easy to understand and so admirable to me.

Also, I loved his relationship with his mom. It felt very real, and I felt like there was this great balance in the story where she was there, and obviously a big force in Rufus’s life, but the relationship with her didn’t dominate the story. I also loved the moment where one character has to confront a family member about a secret he’s been keeping. He’s worried the family member will reject him over it to the point that he’s expecting to lose the relationship. And instead, the family member talks about how they love him no matter what. We need those kinds of stories and moments, and the reminders that there are good parents out there, and that sometimes we expect to be rejected but are instead surprised by love and acceptance.

Anyway, I read this book in less than a day, I think. I had so much fun reading it, and I absolutely want to read Roehrig’s other book, LAST SEEN LEAVING.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Rufus and Sebastian are both gay. Sebastian is black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Regular use of extreme profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. References to sex. Some details leading up to the event. Some sexual comments.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Rufus has some pretty serious anger management issues which he speaks pretty candidly about. He’s trying his best to manage via medication and other healthy strategies, but he’s still bearing some consequences from fights in his past. In several scenes he’s very tempted to fight again. At one point a man threatens him and handles him pretty roughly. A couple characters are downright physically threatening. Someone fires a gun at another person in two scenes. A character threatens others with a gun in another scene. More than one character gets drugged.

Drug Content
Teen alcohol use is pretty normalized. Some references to smoking pot. References to a dangerous psychedelic drug that causes some violent outbursts.


Review: Speechless by Adam P. Schmitt

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , ,

Speechless
Adam P. Schmitt
Candlewick Press
Published on November 6, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
About Speechless
As if being stuffed into last year’s dress pants at his cousin’s wake weren’t uncomfortable enough, thirteen-year-old Jimmy has just learned from his mother that he has to say a few words at the funeral the next day. Why him? What could he possibly say about his cousin, who ruined everything they did? He can’t recall one birthday party, family gathering, or school event with Patrick that didn’t result in injury or destruction.

As Jimmy attempts to navigate the odd social norms of the wake, he draws on humor, heartfelt concern, and a good deal of angst while racking his brain and his memory for a decent and meaningful memory to share. But it’s not until faced with a microphone that the realization finally hits him: it’s not the words that are spoken that matter the most, but those that are truly heard.

My Review
I found Speechless to be one of those unexpected books. Instead of being this soft, sweet look at grief, it has this very frank, unapologetic look at some of the uglier stuff that a family goes through in a bad situation like this. Jimmy didn’t have a good relationship with his cousin Patrick. In fact, he can’t remember a single time Patrick did something admirable or noble. But there’s no way his parents will let him out of giving a speech, so Jimmy sifts back through his memories desperately looking for something he can share which will help his grieving family.

As he looks back, he notices some big dysfunctional patterns, which really doesn’t help him in terms of finding something positive to say. It really only makes him more resentful and full of dread about having to speak.
But as Jimmy’s memories and lessons learned come together, he realizes some important truths. And while the truth may not be pretty, he finds a way to share it that opens a door for healing within his family.

I enjoyed the frank way Jimmy relates his memories and the fact that he doesn’t give up on figuring out what to say, even though speaking is the last thing he wants to do, and he feels like it really isn’t fair. It’s not easy to convey a family with issues as openly as Schmitt does and still preserve the sense of family, especially through a young narrator. I definitely feel like it’s a good read for later elementary-aged readers or anyone who’s been through a complex family loss.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are not physically described.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some references to swearing. At one point, the narrator cuts off mid-swear.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
References to attending mass on Easter and Christmas as well as during a wake and funeral. Jimmy tries to pray but feels awkward and worries that he’s not doing it right. He doesn’t seem to have any deep faith or deep understanding of church rituals.

Violent Content
Some instances of an adult physically harming a child. Some descriptions of a child bullying or attacking others.

Drug Content
Adults drink alcohol at a party. One gets very drunk and behaves violently. Jimmy recalls him drinking a lot at other times, too. Lots of people seem upset by the behavior but no one really tries to stop him or confront him.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.