At a high school with an ever-changing mascot, Melinda begins her year friendless and alone. She’s the pariah who called police at a summer party. The one where the awful thing happened. Through a caring teacher and a challenging art project, Melinda struggles to piece herself back together. But when the familiar face of that boy materializes out of the halls of her new school, she spirals into silence and isolation. As the boy, Andy, draws closer to Melinda’s former best friend Rachel, Melinda tries to reach out, to warn her. Rumors swirl that he’s hurt other girls, the same way he hurt Melinda.
The way he raped Melinda.
Notes in a bathroom stall and the tenuous friendship of another girl draw Melinda back from the edge until Andy comes after Melinda again. This time, she fights back. Others hear her and rally to her aid.
Speak is undoubtedly one of the most powerful novels of its time. Anderson’s gritty yet hopeful tale paves the way for dialogue about one of the most difficult and sensitive topics. She describes not only the pain of the victim, but depicts the rallying of her community and offers hope for healing. While there are a couple of instances of strong language, this is almost entirely a clean book with a very hopeful and inspiring ending.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild. The word b***h appears a few times.
Sexual Content – TRIGGER WARNING Melinda was raped at a party. The description is brief.
Spiritual Content None.
Violence Melinda faces her rapist again, and fights back. Brief scene, few graphic details.
Drug Content
Teenagers, including Melinda consume alcohol at a summer party. The consequences are heavy, and Melinda herself calls the police.
Shadowhand
Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Bethany House
Published January 28, 2014
“She Will Take Your Own Two Hands
To Save Your Ancient, Sorrowing Lands.”
By her father’s wish, Lady Daylily is betrothed to the Prince of Southlands. Not the prince she loves, handsome and dispossessed Lionheart, but his cousin, the awkward and foolish Prince Foxbrush. Unable to bear the future she sees as her wedding day dawns, Daylily flees into the dangerous Wilderlands, her only desire to vanish from living memory.
But Foxbrush, determined to rescue his betrothed, pursues Daylily into a new world of magic and peril, a world where vicious Faerie beasts hold sway, a world invaded by a lethal fey parasite . . .
A world that is hauntingly familiar.
To celebrate the cover reveal, author Anne Elisabeth Stengl is hosting a giveaway on her blog. One lucky winner will receive a mug with the gorgeous covers of all six books on it. Enter the contest here!
Shadow Hand will be the sixth book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series. Fans will remember brave and guarded Lady Daylily and her betrothed from Stengl’s third book, Moonblood. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying the series, there is plenty of time to catch up! Shadow Hand will only be available beginning early next year. For more information, visit the Shadow Hand blog.
Hidden in a valley north of her homeland, Charynite princess Quintana waits for the birth of her son. Only in her dreams does she sense Froi, her love and the father of the child she carries. Even there, she is not certain if he survived the attack she barely escaped. Another person haunts her dreams as well, one she can’t place at first. She fights the woman’s presence, certain she is an enemy.
Queen Isaboe of Lumatere wakes with Froi’s name on her lips, an occurrence she can’t explain to her husband satisfactorily. Frustrated and feeling betrayed, Finnikin leaves her and their unborn child behind to join the men who seek Froi and the truth behind rumors about why he hasn’t returned from his mission to enemy Charyn.
Following the death of the Charynite King, Quintana’s father, Lord Bestiano has seized control of the palace. He bribes filthy street lords to bring him the dead body of the princess, along with her living son, the first child born to Charyn in nearly twenty years. Froi, his father, and uncle journey to the last Provincaros to rally support for an army to protect Quintana and return her safely to the castle. The only problem is, no one seems to know where the princess has gone. With the city leaders squabbling over rights and power and Bestiano’s men scouring the countryside, Froi must find her before anyone else.
Queen Isaboe, whose entire family were slaughtered by Charyn warriors when she was only a child, refuses to offer refuge to the daughter of her enemy. Though Quintana’s child will break the curse which has made her people barren, her unborn son may not be enough to heal the hate between the nations of Lumatere and Charyn.
In the last book in the Lumatere Chronicles, Marchetta delivers a powerful tale of two nations still reeling from deep wounds of war, and the few brave souls who will dare to pay the price of forgiveness. Packed with high emotion and witty dialogue, this is a fantasy series which does not disappoint. Though it does contain some brief but explicit romance, Quintana of Charyn eloquently explores themes of forgiveness in the wake of horrible crimes.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild.
Sexual Content Several brief scenes of sex or reference to sex.
Spiritual Content Some characters worship a goddess. Many believe the land of Charyn was cursed.
Violent Content References to miscarriages. Scenes of brief warfare and injuries from swords or arrows.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
In honor of summer’s approach, I wanted to do something a little different today. (A new review will be posted on Wednesday.)
When I was in school, I looked forward to the summer for all the usual reasons. One of my fond memories is taking family vacations with my family. We’d visit my grandparents in rural North Carolina and tube the creek, shop the flea market, hike in the woods and play Nintendo until deep into the night. But one of my most cherished evening activities during those lazy summer trips was reading. I’d often stumble upon an unexpected gem in one of the rundown flea market used book shops. Some of those books I read and reread until my copies came apart. Here are a few of the finds that never left me.
Beauty by Robin McKinley
In a breathtaking retelling of the classic fairytale, McKinley never fails to recapture me with the story of a girl who doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Even her name, Beauty, isn’t right for her. But when her family is in danger, it’s Beauty who steps forward and volunteers to go deep into the woods to live in the enchanted castle with only the terrible Beast as her companion. In the years since I found this treasure, I returned to it often when I was too sick to get out of bed. Once, I finished the story, turned the book over and began it again.
The Maestro by Tim Wynne-Jones When life at home becomes more than Burl Crow can bear, he flees to the woods. He finds himself following the strange sight of a grand piano dangling from a helicopter and lands on the doorstep of a brilliant conductor and recluse. Their unlikely friendship challenges each to live beyond the small and safe, and though he wants nothing more than to escape his past, he must find a way to face his past before it destroys all the good the Maestro has brought to him. (Does contain moderate language and violence, as Burl’s father is physically abusive. His mother is also addicted to valium.)
Christyby Catherine Marshall A young girl from a prosperous Asheville family volunteers to give up all the comforts of home and journey deep into the poverty of the Appalachian mountains to teach at a mission school in Cutter Gap. Though she feels armed with everything a young woman could need to teach children, Christy learns how far she is from prepared as she faces the horror of disease, ignorance, and deep-rooted family feuds. With her mentor and friend Alice Henderson at her side, she learns to see beauty in the harsh mountain lives. Every time I read this book, Christy’s spiritual journey comes alive for me again.
Hawk’s Flight by Carol Chase Following an attack on a merchants’ caravan, Taverik Zandro discovers that his best friend and partner isn’t the man he claimed to be. In fact, he’s not a man at all. Torn between feelings of betrayal and intrique, Tav agrees to keep young Marko’s secret and join the charade, helping to hide her and her sister from an unknown enemy bent on killing them. But life for Taverik doesn’t stop getting complicated there. As he tries to uncover the identity of Marko’s enemy, word reaches him of a traitorous plot, and he finds himself on the run, soiled by his family’s sordid reputation despite his own commitment to honor. Taverik flees for his life, leaving Marko behind but vowing to find her again. (Be warned: the cover is kind of ugly, but don’t judge! Light language. Mild violence. Excellent spiritual themes.)
The Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff
As the youngest contestant in the Ernest Bloch Young Musician’s Competition, twelve year-old Allegra spends the weeks of summer before the competition practicing Mozart’s fourth violin concerto. Battling her fingers and her will, she struggles to learn balance between pleasing those she loves and being true to herself. Wolff pulls the story together beautifully toward the climax of the competition. (I can’t speak to content, unfortunately, as I don’t remember this one as well as the others.)
The entire court of immortal faeries is distraught when beloved and beautiful Lady Gleamdren is kidnapped by a fearsome dragon-witch. Two of her most devoted admirers race to her rescue, and the Bard Eanrin is determined to be first to reach his ladylove. On his journey he encounters a human girl locked in a spell of sleep and finds he cannot simply leave the unlucky mortal to her fate.
Eanrin wakes Starflower from her sleep, intent upon sending her on her way, but the maiden knows little of the treacherous Wood. As she accompanies Eanrin on his quest, a deep connection emerges between the girl and the dragonwitch. It may be Starflower alone who can rescue Gleamdren and battle an ancient dark power.
Fans of the Tales of Goldstone Wood will recognize Eanrin as the wise and mischievous cat who often kept company with the Princess Una in Heartless, the first novel in the series. Starflower predates Heartless and tells the tale of a much younger and more, often humorously, self-centered Eanrin and adding still more depth and breadth to the already rich and lustrous story world Stengl has created.
Starflower is a tale of love, not strictly romantic love, but of the journey toward choosing to put others first, to risk losing total autonomy, and to show love to others even when they are not outwardly deserving of it. It is the fourth book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series and was just named a finalist for the 2013 Christy Award. The fifth book, Dragonwitch, will be released in the summer of 2013.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content A kiss.
Spiritual Content
Starflower’s people are under a curse and cannot speak. To remove the curse, she has to learn to love her enemies. Over and over through the story, characters are challenged to love others at expense to their own desires or safety.
Violence References to a dog being beaten by its owner. A girl is surrounded by young men who mean her harm (she is not injured). Two dogs fight. References to human sacrifices. A man is killed saving his daughter. These scenes are short and do not contain a high level of detail.
A mysterious narrator gives an account of a young girl who has an unusual vice: she steals books. Death comes for the girl’s brother as she and her mother wait for a train to take them to a foster home where the children will be safe. It is he, the collector of souls, who is the only witness to the girl’s first thievery, and he begins to follow her story.
Life in Liesel’s new home is a difficult adjustment, plagued with nightmares, but through them, she and her foster father form a bond through reading the book Liesel has stolen: a grave-digger’s manual. As Liesel grows, over and over written words touch her life: a book stolen from the embers of a Nazi bonfire, from the mayor’s library, written to her by a man in hiding.
Death follows her story as a foreigner in her world, relaying the sequences of events with raw imagery and striking language, often creating the feel of a black-and-white picture with one color highlighted through it. Liesel’s journey is both joyful and heart-rending, harsh and beautiful. This is the most unusual World War II story I’ve ever read.
Okay. Honestly, the above is kind of an understatement. The Book Thief claims the top spot as my favorite book. I loved it so much that I called friends and family members, like listen. Then I made them listen to me read a passage of the book. The language, the use of metaphors totally blew me away. The characters and the emotions between them absolutely leapt straight off the page. I loved them all. Rudy. Oh, gosh, Rudy.
Seriously. Trust me. Read this. And call me when you find those passages that demand to be read out loud. I’ll be right there with you.
Update 2017: Check out this costume with book pages from The Book Thief as the skirt! You know you’re jealous….
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity. Leisel’s foster mother calls her a saumensch, which basically means pig. It becomes a term of endearment between characters.
Sexual Content
Very mild. A boy kisses a girl.
Spiritual Content
The story is told from the viewpoint of a spirit-being who collects the souls of the dead.
Violence
Some war violence – not hugely graphic or explicit.
Drug Content
None.
Watch the trailer that won the 2006 Teen Book Video Award below…
