Category Archives: Clean Fiction

Review: Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie N. Holmberg

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, New Adult 18up, , , ,

magic-bitterMagic Bitter, Magic Sweet
Charlie N. Holmberg
47 North

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Maire arrives in Carmine without any memory of how she got there. A kind couple take her in and she spends her days baking sweets infused with love, hope, or strength. That is Maire’s gift: she can impart these things through her cakes. She has a good life, one which she may yet share with Cleric Tuck. But before she can find out what an ordinary life in Carmine might hold for her, she meets a ghostly form from her past, a winged man named Fyel, who desperately wants her to remember who she is.

Before she can pursue her lost memories, marauders tear through her home, capturing her. Maire finds herself enslaved by the cruel Allemas, who demands that she make magical cakes for him. Fyel promises to help Maire, but she must recover her memories before Allemas destroys her.

This story has a really fresh, unique feel to it. I think one of my favorite elements was that when Allemas asks Maire to make cakes for him, the orders and customers come from familiar fairytale stories. For example, she’s asked to make a gingerbread house covered with candy. A lonely woman begs her to make a living gingerbread boy. It definitely added this feeling that the author and readers were sharing an inside joke that the characters were unaware of. I liked that a lot and thought it was pretty clever.

I loved Fyel. At first, I wasn’t sure I’d like him. But as the story progresses he shows such devotion to Maire, yet he allows her a lot of independence and respect. I liked that he didn’t just bulldoze over her and push her around, but he’s no weakling either.

Fans of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone or Melissa Grey’s The Girl at Midnight should definitely give this book a read. This is the first novel by Charlie N. Holmberg that I’ve read, but I now I’m eager to read others. I’ve heard great things about The Paper Magician, so I hope to give that one a read soon.

Also, special thanks to author Jeff Wheeler, Jolien at The Fictional Reader and Carrie at Reading is My Super Power for recommending Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet to me!

Cultural Elements
The fantasy landscape is vast and drives by the identities of various cultures as Maire wonders where she’s from. As she recovers her memory, her skin turns a deep red. She learns that others from her home come in different colors.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Maire remembers making love to her husband in a brief scene. She shares kisses with him and with another man.

Spiritual Content
The characters believe in many gods and in the existence of assistants who craft the landscapes of worlds. The gods breathe life into creation but crafters create the world before they arrive. At one point, Maire interacts with a silvery substance like a soul.

Violent Content
Raiders capture Maire and others and sell them as slaves. Maire’s new master treats her with some cruelty, locking her in a cellar and forgetting to feed her. He’s a bit creepy.

Drug Content
None.

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

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Review: The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

The Year of the Book
Andrea Cheng
HMH Books for Young Readers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

When a social shift at school leaves Anna without her best friend, she turns to books for companionship. When she feels pressure in Chinese class because she doesn’t know as much as the other kids, books are her refuge. But as the people in Anna’s life begin to experience troubles of their own, she learns that sometimes, just like the heroes in her stories, she must step out into the unknown and offer help. Sometimes, Anna learns, this is precisely what makes for the best friendships.

Anna charmed me from the first page. I loved the descriptions of the stories she read, and though I hadn’t read all of them myself, it was easy to understand why the stories mattered to her. I liked that she found herself faced with other people’s needs. Reading is awesome, but sometimes it isolates us from others. And when people in Anna’s life needed things, it drew her out of her books and allowed opportunities for her to have relationships with them. I loved the sweet, subtle way the author explores learning how to be a good friend.

I also liked the sense of community in the story. Anna’s class experience felt very real, and her relationship with the elderly man her mother cares for also felt authentic and added a lot to the story.

Cultural Elements
Anna and her family are Chinese American. She takes Chinese classes with other kids her age, but finds it frustrating not to know as much as they do because her mother insists on speaking English to her at home.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to Chinese traditions.

Violent Content
At one point a man bangs on the door of Anna’s family’s apartment looking for his daughter, Anna’s friend. The girls are scared, but Anna’s parents send the man away.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

The Choosing
Rachelle Dekker
Tyndale

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Seventeen year-old Carrington Hale is at the top of her class, a sure pick for some lucky man on her day of Choosing. Only, no one chooses her. Devastated and forced to leave her family behind, Carrington joins the masses of other unworthy, unchosen girls to serve as Lints, laborers whose only value lies in completing the menial tasks assigned to them.

Authorities are troubled by the murder of several Lint workers. The brutal killer must be stopped before he undermines the Authority of the Law and upsets the people. To reassure the people, when widowed leader Isaac makes the unorthodox request to choose a second bride, the ruling leaders ask him to choose a girl from among the Lints. And Carrington realizes this may be the second chance she’s been hoping for.

I liked that this wasn’t strictly a dystopian story. It definitely had all the elements of one, but it’s also the story of the pursuit of a serial killer. I’ve never seen a mash-up of those two genres before, and I think it really worked.

That said, I’m super squeamish to violence, particularly anything sexual or creepy, so this was not an easy read for me. If you have similar sensitivities or abuse history, consider this a trigger warning. You might want to steer clear of this one. The details are limited to a few scenes, but it definitely creeped me out.

I enjoyed Carrington and Remko’s characters a lot, though. She’s a great strong yet sensitive heroine. Remko definitely fits that strong silent type, so he definitely had me won over. I loved the banter between him and his friend Helms.

Since this is a Tyndale book, I expected a strong spiritual element, and there definitely is one. I felt like the story was a bit all humans are good, it’s the system that tries to tell you otherwise. I didn’t think it translated well to Christian doctrine. That said, often Christian fantasy follows the thread of a Creator God and leaves out the Jesus elements of the faith, so maybe I’m being too strict in my interpretation. But that was my opinion. For more on that, see the Spiritual Content section below.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief kisses.

Spiritual Content
Carrington’s people believe a sort of perverted version of the Bible, handed down to them by a historical leader. According to the rules, women are unworthy second-class citizens to be helpers and laborers. A spiritual revolutionary named Aaron challenges the ideas of the current leadership, telling his followers, you are blameless, perfect, worthy.

The twisted version of scripture used by leadership to control the populace reminded me a little bit of the book used by leadership in Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I found Aaron’s teaching to be really more Unitarian than strictly Christian, if that makes sense. I felt like the idea that we are blameless and perfect sort of flies in the face of the Christian doctrine that it’s only by Jesus’ sacrifice that we are found blameless.

Violent Content and Trigger Warning
An assassin slashes the throat of a guard before killing himself.

A man at first woes his potential bride with kindness, but soon turns to threats and abuse.

A serial killer has been killing women laborers using bleach internally and externally. Some scenes feature the killer with a bound victim who begs for help.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: That’s Not Hay in My Hair by Juliette Turner

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

That’s Not Hay in My Hair
Juliette Turner
Zonderkidz

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Jules finishes fifth grade just in time to move from her tiny New York apartment to a 300 acre ranch in Texas. While her mom overflows with confidence that she and Jules can care for the longhorn cattle, horses, dogs and cats on their own, Jules carries some doubts. Sure enough, zany adventures abound as she and her mom struggle to find their inner cowgirls. Through it all, Jules determines to remain positive. When tragedy strikes, though, she’ll have to reevaluate her feelings for her new Texas life.

Turner really hits her stride in the scenes in which one wacky event follows another. In one, Jules struggles to get ready for school in the morning amid animals running amok. Another shows her frantically helping her party diva grandmother prepare for a Fourth of July barbecue. Lots of good-humored, clean fun.

The writing feels young, which mostly works for a story in the middle grade genre. At times the story loses focus, and lingers in scenes and dialogue that don’t really move the plot forward. Overall, it’s a sweet story with a lot of humor and heart. Jules’ struggles over changing schools definitely seem believable. I wished her peer community had been better developed. I expected there to be a little more connection with friends in the story, as those relationships become more and more important in the middle grade years. The story primarily focused on Jules’ relationships with her family members, and those feel genuine and fun.

Something about the story reminded me a little bit of the stories by Bill Wallace called Beauty (one of my favorites!) and Buffalo Gal. That’s Not Hay in My Hair is a lighter story about a modern city-girl-gone-cowgirl. But readers who’ve enjoyed one should consider trying the others.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Several mentions of animal poop. At one point Jules slips on a cow patty.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Jules mentions the church she and her mother attended weekly while they lived in New York. She also attends a Christian school, and at one point her teacher asks her to share a favorite Bible verse. Jules doesn’t know one off the top of her head, so she names a reference she sees on a classmate’s notebook. She or her mom pray at different points in the story. After the death of one of the animals, Jules wonders if the animal is in heaven. She sees an image of the animal that makes her believe so.

The vet briefly references a Native American burial tradition.

Violent Content
Jules and her mom live on and work a 300 acre ranch with cattle, horses, dogs and cats. At one point, an animal has to be put down. A vet handles everything.

Drug Content
None.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

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Top Ten Underrated Books

Blogger's Favorites, Clean Fiction, Lists, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, ,

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme lists underrated books, or books with fewer than two thousand ratings on Goodreads. I’ve talked about a lot of these books before. Some are indie or small press novels. Others remain largely undiscovered for reasons I can’t quite figure. All are books I would happily pick up and read all over again.

Top Ten Underrated Books

Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurke

You know when you find one of those books where the writing itself is as beautiful as the story? Glass Girl is like that to me. Big emotions, great characters, and a totally swoon-worthy romance. I’m no cowgirl, but I totally loved this Wyoming story.

To Get to You by Joanne Bischof

This one took me by surprise. After reading the back cover copy, I wasn’t totally sure what I’d be getting into. Something about best friends and a cross-country trip? Reuniting with an estranged parent? It sounded a little Hallmark-y to me, in all honesty. Bischof won me over with her straightforward writing. She kept it real when it came to Riley’s relationship with his dad. I liked the way she set up the relationships – the history between Riley and his parents, and his developing relationship with the girl.

The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

Seriously. If you have a girl in early teens and you’re looking for clean, funny books with a lot of heart, and you haven’t read anything by Stephanie Morrill, just stop now and fix that. I always laugh. I always cry. I always wish for another chapter. Good stuff. (Did I mention she has a historical mystery coming out next year?! I. Can’t. Wait!!!)

I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke

Every time I read historical fiction, I think I should read more of it because I enjoy it so much, especially when it’s as done as well as Christy Award-winning author Cathy Gohlke’s novels. This novel goes deep and paints the Civil War in stark detail. For history fans interested in a clean read, this is a must.

Chasing Lilacs by Carla Stewart

I love when authors tackle difficult subjects with poise and honesty, and that’s just what Carla Stewart does in her debut novel Chasing Lilacs. Twelve year-old Sammie faces her mother’s mental health issues and suicide during a time (the 1950s) when these things were hushed up. It’s a bit darker than some of my other selections here, but still a worthy read.

Wind and Shadow by Kathy Tyers

Okay, don’t read the Goodreads copy because it’s really confusing. This book is a continuation of Tyers’ Firebird series, so it’s probably best to start there. I read this one first, and I promise it’s not as confusing as Goodreads makes it sound. Wind Haworth was my favorite character. She’s a young diplomat trying to find her place in a very tense politically volatile situation. I really liked the marriage of politics and sci-fi in this novel.

Liberty by Annie Laurie Cechini

This is a light, fun sci-fi story that I think would appeal to fans of Firefly. A quirky crew and a space mission. What’s not to like? Definitely worth checking this one out.

Update – sorry. It looks like this one is currently out of print!

Mercy’s Prince by Katy Huth Jones

I remember being really impressed with the fact that the characters don’t whine when they’re faced with really tough choices. (I mean, let’s face it. Whining can ruin a great story. Even Luke Skywalker’s whining got old, right?) I found the whole can-do attitude and the story itself really intriguing and refreshing.

Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson

I love fairy tales retold, so as soon as I saw this retelling of Cinderella, I was intrigued. This isn’t a classic Cinderella. Davidson’s heroine finds herself recruited to spy for an unknown Lord who promises, in exchange, the one thing she wants most: freedom from her step-mother’s domain. What will she do when completing her task requires her to betray the prince with whom she’s falling in love?

Curio by Evangeline Denmark

I read this book months ago and I still wake up thinking about it sometimes. I loved the story-within-a-story element to this novel. What is it about a boy with wings that I find so intriguing, too? Gah. I loved it. If you’re a fan of dystopian stories or steampunk, you definitely have to check this one out.

Have you read these books?

If you’ve read and enjoyed any of these books, help the author out. Take a few minutes and rate them on Goodreads and post a quick review! You don’t have to do anything fancy. Think of two things you liked and a book or genre that you found similarly enjoyable whose readers might also enjoy the book. Post, and you’re done!

Doing this really helps an author out. Amazon and other sites have goofy rules about what promotional tools authors can access based on the number of reviews posted for their work.

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Review: Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

Paper Wishes
Lois Sepahban
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Ten year-old Manami loves her home on peaceful Bainbridge Island. Then her family and other Japanese American members of the community are forced to relocate to internment camps. Manami tries to smuggle her family’s dog, Yujiin, into the camp, but is forced to leave him behind. The foreign circumstances and grief over her lost dog cause her to stop speaking. Instead, Manami expresses herself through drawings she creates every night. She draws memories of Yujiin and writes asking him to find her family. She will only find her voice again if she can work through her guilt over losing Yujiin.

This realistic debut tackles a dark moment in US history, when in 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the incarceration of many Japanese Americans. As is so typical of the experience of a child, Manami focuses on one traumatic change—having to leave her dog behind—and this becomes representative to her of all that her family has lost and the grief they suffer. Sepahban’s story stays true to many elements of the historical account of Manzanar, an internment camp in California. While this is a heavy subject for middle readers, the tale walks a fine balance between capturing the true injustice of the camps without relaying too much for young readers to understand.

I love that an author has written something about this moment in our history. I think too often we want to forget the bleakest moments, especially in our own history. To do so leaves us vulnerable to making the same mistakes again. Certainly this story comes as a timely reminder even today, that to judge an entire group of people by the actions of a very small number of radicals, is not only tragic but terrible and wrong.

When I read Paper Wishes, it reminded me in some ways of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. In Number the Stars, Lowry follows the story of a girl whose best friend must go into hiding because she is Jewish. While the story doesn’t delve into the true horrors of Nazi occupied Holland, it does give readers a view into those events that is child-sized, both in its simplicity and its relating of historical facts.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Manami learns that her brother has a girlfriend, and her family is unhappy about it. She wrestles with her own feelings about the relationship.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Manami learns of a riot in the camp. Her parents rush her inside and away from noises of an angry crowd. One boy has been killed. Another dies soon after. She’s largely sheltered from the actual events.

Drug Content
None.

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

 

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