Review: The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, , , , , , ,
The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs

The Darkdeep (Darkdeep #1)
Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Published October 1, 2018

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About THE DARKDEEP

When a bullying incident sends twelve-year-old Nico Holland over the edge of a cliff into the icy waters of Still Cove, where no one ever goes, friends Tyler and Ella – and even ‘cool kid’ Opal -rush to his rescue… only to discover an island hidden in the swirling mists below.

Shrouded by dense trees and murky tides, the island appears uninhabited, although the kids can’t quite shake the feeling that something about it is off. Their suspicions grow when they stumble upon an abandoned houseboat with an array of curiosities inside: odd-looking weapons, unnerving portraits, maps to places they’ve never heard of, and a glass jar containing something completely unidentifiable.

As the group delves deeper into the unknown, their discoveries – and their lives -begin to intertwine in weird and creepy ways. Something ancient has awakened… and it knows their wishes and dreams – and their darkest, most terrible secrets. Do they have what it takes to face the shadowy things that lurk within their own hearts?

My Review

Equally spooky and full of heart, THE DARKDEEP is part campfire ghost story and part celebration of friendship and small town life. I remember really loving R. L. Stine’s books when I was in sixth and seventh grade, so when I saw the endorsement on the cover, I figured THE DARKDEEP would have at least some of the same spooky/otherworldly stuff in it, and it definitely does!

The friendships and adventure of the story make this a great read for late elementary school and middle school readers. There are some monster elements, but some humor mixed in, so that while the kids face dangerous situations, they’re not terrifying. I’m super curious about the next book in the series, THE BEAST, which comes out in October 2019.

Representation
None.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None in the text. There might be a couple places where it says something like “so-and-so cursed” or something.

Romance/Sexual Content
None. There’s some I-like-you energy between a boy and girl, but nothing beyond that.

Spiritual Content
When Nico and his friends perform a certain action on the houseboat, they awaken a figment of something they had in a memory. Maybe a cartoon they once watched or game they played. It might be something they’re afraid of. The figments gain power the more Nico et al interact with the houseboat.

Violent Content
Some situations of peril. Nico faces constant verbal bullying from a peer and his friends.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but help support my blog.

Review: Wicked Nix by Lena Coakley

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Wicked Nix
Lena Coakley
Abrams
Published October 9, 2018

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About WICKED NIX

Mischievous woodland fairy Nix is up to no good. His beloved fairy queen has gone away, leaving him with a very important job: He must protect the forest from a most dangerous enemy—humans.

When a determined invader trespasses on his territory, Nix’s skills are put to the test as he invents several wicked tricks to chase the sorry fellow away. But when his efforts don’t go quite according to plan, it becomes clear that this intruder—and this sprite—may not be at all what they seem.

My Review

WICKED NIX is the kind of book you can read in an hour. It’s short and the plot moves pretty quickly. I love the way Nix’s perspective differs so much from the human perspective, and yet both come through clearly in the story, even if Nix doesn’t understand. The reader can see beyond what he sees, but the story still stays true to only recording things that he knows and sees from his perspective.

I also enjoyed Nix as a character. He wants more than anything to please the fairy queen, and everything he does to rid the forest of a pesky human comes from that place of wanting to fulfill his job as a fairy. I loved how creative he was with his tricks. It created this back-and-forth with the man in the house that made the story really interesting. I wanted to know what would happen next.

The twist in the story didn’t totally surprise me. I kind of saw it coming, but the emotional parts of the reveal kept it engaging, and I didn’t mind that I wasn’t surprised.

Over all, a quick read and a sweet dip into a memorable fantasy world.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Wicked Nix lives in a forest where the fairies visit each year. They play tricks and sometimes lure children away from their families. Nix doesn’t understand the human perspective on fairies. He believes the fairy queen has left him behind in charge of the forest to keep the humans away. The humans use methods to keep fairies away, too– a ring of salt on the ground around a home, a chain of daisies.

Violent Content
Wicked Nix plays tricks on the human in the forest, but nothing that harms him personally. His arm is bent where it was broken and not set properly after he fell out of a tree.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links which cost you nothing but help support my blog.

Review: The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey

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

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2)
Melissa Grey
Delacorte Press
Published July 12, 2016

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About THE SHADOW HOUR

Everything in Echo’s life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.
   The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.
   Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she’s already overcome.
   She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.
   Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature–or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what’s left of her world to the ground?
   Welcome to the shadow hour.

My Review

I keep trying to figure out who my favorite character is, and every time I settle on one member of the cast, I remember another member who’s so amazing. I always loved Echo– right from the beginning of the first book in the series. She has such deep longing to belong and to protect her friends. I’m not sure it’s possible to dislike Ivy, Echo’s Avicen friend. She’s all the things a good friend should be: gentle but brave, loyal but not blinded by it.

Then of course there are the boys. I’m totally team Caius, and I forgot that Echo had a relationship with an Avicen before she left in the first book. So that was a bit startling to read, but honestly my fault for not remembering the first book very well. So that creates a bit of a love triangle, which kind of distracts from the story, but ultimately was okay.

I like the complexity of Caius, though. He’s torn between loyalty to his people– who’ve pretty much abandoned him now that his sister has taken the throne. And he loves his sister, even though she stole his crown and tried to kill him. He’s smart, and he pays attention to the people around him.

Ultimately THE SHADOW HOUR has that middle book feel, where you know it’s setting things up for the big final book. Echo has a quest, and she and her team pursue a specific goal (as do her enemies), but you can see all the pieces begin to come together for the final battle.

I think book two in a series with a really clever story world always has a hard time comparing with book one because we’ve lost the element of discovering that amazing world. Though liked the first book in the series better than the second, but I’d say THE SHADOW HOUR is still a good book. I enjoyed reading it. I want to read the third book, too, but I will confess that I flipped through the pages of THE SAVAGE DAWN and noticed that a character I like dies. So… hmm. It doesn’t change the fact that I want to read it, but it’s kind of slowing me down a little bit.

Read on for notes on content in THE SHADOW HOUR.

Representation
Characters have a variety of skin tones. Other than Echo, they’re from a made up world. Two prominent characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl and between boy and boy. Lots of romantic tension between the two boys. A girl and boy sleep side by side, but mostly keep to themselves other than some cuddling.

Late in the story, it’s clear two characters intend to pursue having sex.

Spiritual Content
At the end of THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT, Echo becomes the Firebird, a mythical creature with power that’s supposed to save her people. In THE SHADOW HOUR, we learn that there’s an opposite force to the Firebird, something that seeks to destroy her and anyone she loves. Echo also carries with her the memories of previous Firebirds, and at times relives their fears and loves.

Violent Content
Graphic battle scenes. A mysterious illness plagues battle victims, killing many. Some (not gross graphic, but still dark) descriptions of a prisoner, bound and tortured.

Drug Content
Echo briefly battles memories of her violent alcoholic mother.

Rock Star Book Tours Cover Reveal: Cold Falling on White by G S Prendergast

News and Fun, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

I don’t often do cover reveal posts, but this series sounded so cool that I really wanted to share it. Basically, I was hooked as soon as I saw the words “The Fifth Wave meets Beauty and the Beast.” So on to the cover reveal by Rock Star Book Tours and G. S. Prendergast! (Also, stick around for a chance to win a signed copy of book one in the Nahx Invasions series, Zero Repeat Forever.)

Cold Falling White (Nahx Invasions #2)
G. S. Prendergast
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publishes November 19, 2019

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The 5th Wave meets Beauty and the Beast in this fast-paced and heart-stopping follow-up to Zero Repeat Forever, which VOYA called “an edge-of-your-seat page-turner.”

Xander Liu survived the end of the world—just barely. For more than a year he has outsmarted, hidden from, and otherwise avoided the ruthless alien invaders, the Nahx, dodging the deadly darts that have claimed so many of his friends. When the murder of his friend Raven leaves him in the protective company of August, a rebellious Nahx soldier, Xander is finally able to make his way back to human controlled territory and relative safety.

But safety amongst the humans is not what it seems. Nothing is anymore.

Raven remembers dying in the arms of August. She remembers the pain, and the way he cried as she faded away. But months later when she wakes up on a wide expanse of snowy sand dunes, shackled to a boy she thought was dead too, she has a lot of questions. What has happened to her and the other reanimated humans gathered on the dunes? What is the meaning of the Nahx ships that hover ominously above them? And most pressing of all, where is August, who promised to keep her safe?

In the shadow of an unforgiving Canadian winter, Xander and Raven find themselves on opposite sides of an alien war neither of them signed up for. Left with little choice about their roles in the great battle that now seems inevitable, they search for answers and allies, all while feeling inexorably drawn back the place it seems their respective fates were determined, and to the one who determined them: August.

About the First Book in the Nahx Invasions Series

Zero Repeat Forever (Nahx Invasions #1)
G. S. Prendergast
Simon & Schuster BFYR
Published August 29, 2017

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The 5th Wave meets Beauty and the Beast in this fast-paced and heart-stopping novel about an invasion of murderous creatures and one girl fighting for her life at the end of the world.
He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.

Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.

His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.

Until a human kills her…

Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.

Shelter in place.

Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?

Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.

Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…

Watch the Zero Repeats Forever Book Trailer

About Gabrielle Prendergast

Website |  Twitter | Facebook | Intstagram

Gabrielle is a writer, teacher and designer living in Vancouver, Canada.  You can read about her books here. She is represented by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
In 2014 she was the Writer in Residence at Vancouver Public Library. In 2015 she was nominated for the BC Book Prizes and chosen to tour the province to promote BC Books. In 2017 Gabrielle took part in the TD Canada Children’s Book Week Tour. She has also been nominated for the White Pine Awardand the CLA Award.

Gabrielle won the Westchester Award for Audacious. Audacious was included in CBC’s list of 100 YA Books That Make You Proud to be Canadian. A poem from Capricious was chosen for the 2014 Poetry in Transit Program. Pandas on the East Side was chosen as an Ontario Library Association Best Bet for Junior Fiction in 2016. It was also nominated/shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Award, The Red Cedar Award, the Diamond Willow Award and the Myrca Award.

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Review: Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn

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

Caterpillar Summer
Gillian McDunn
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published April 2, 2019

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About CATERPILLAR SUMMER

Cat and her brother Chicken have always had a very special bond–Cat is one of the few people who can keep Chicken happy. When he has a “meltdown” she’s the one who scratches his back and reads his favorite story. She’s the one who knows what Chicken needs. Since their mom has had to work double-hard to keep their family afloat after their father passed away, Cat has been the glue holding her family together.

But even the strongest glue sometimes struggles to hold. When a summer trip doesn’t go according to plan, Cat and Chicken end up spending three weeks with grandparents they never knew. For the first time in years, Cat has the opportunity to be a kid again, and the journey she takes shows that even the most broken or strained relationships can be healed if people take the time to walk in one another’s shoes.

My Review

Oh my gosh THIS BOOK! I loved so many things. Cat begins fishing because she’s hoping it will be the key to relationships that matter to her, but then she falls in love with fishing. It becomes something she needs, an outlet and interest that’s just for her. I absolutely identified with this whole emotional process because it’s how I came to love fly fishing so much.

When my grandfather passed away, I watched my dad grieve and had this sudden realization that someday, I will be in his shoes. Someday he’ll be gone. I’d grown up going out in the boat fishing with him, and I still treasure those memories. But at that point, I hadn’t fished since I was maybe twelve or thirteen years old. So I decided to learn to fly fish, partly because it seemed more fun than lure fishing and partly because I wanted to spend more time with my dad, who also loves fly fishing.

Then I fell in love with fishing all over again. And it’s funny, I think that love for fishing has been as great a bond as the activity itself. It’s really fun to have those shared experiences and moments together, but there’s also something to having that passion and sharing in the excitement and celebration of a great day on the water, or the fight of bringing in a big fish.

Anyway, all that to say that CATERPILLAR SUMMER really captures those magical properties of fishing. The way it can make you fall in love with it, and the way it can bring people together. And the way it can be the thing you need without you knowing you needed it.

I think the relationships in the story are expertly done. Cat’s relationship with her brother and the battle between her love for him, her fears about something happening to him, and the frustration and disappointment every time her own needs or desires get overlooked feel so real and understandable.

I love the quiet way Cat’s grandmother notices the way Cat feels and eases some of the burden. She says something to Cat at one point about how keeping a family together can be a quiet kind of work– and it’s exactly the validation Cat needs at that moment. She realizes she has an ally and that someone really sees her.

Cat’s grandfather, too, is an amazing character. Gruff and distant at first, but such a tender heart underneath all of that. And I love that it’s nature walks and fishing that bring him and Cat together and help them open their hearts to one another.

The progression of Cat’s relationship with her mom is powerful, too. Cat has to find real courage to speak up, to voice things she knew her mom wouldn’t want to hear. She risks disappointing or angering her, both of which Cat really fears.

I feel like I could go on and on about this book. So many things about it are so well done and really resonated with me. I hope CATERPILLAR SUMMER gets the awards and recognition it’s due. I know it will go on my shelf as one of my treasured books, one I’m sure I’ll go back and read again and again.

Readers who enjoyed ELSIE MAE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY by Nancy Cavanaugh or THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS by Ann Braden absolutely need to read CATERPILLAR SUMMER.

Representation
Cat’s mom (and grandparents) are white and her dad is black. She talks briefly about how sometimes people don’t realize they’re all the same family because of the difference in the way they look. Cat’s brother has some sensory issues, and is maybe autistic (the story doesn’t specify).

Recommended for ages 8 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of CATERPILLAR SUMMER in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which don’t cost the reader anything when used. They help cover the costs of running this blog and occasionally provide an efficient caffeine delivery system for the blogger.

Review: The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Everlasting Rose (The Belles #2)
Dhonielle Clayton
Freeform/Disney Book Group
Published March 9, 2019

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About THE EVERLASTING ROSE

In this sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller, Camille, her sister Edel, and her guard and new love Remy must race against time to find Princess Charlotte. Sophia’s Imperial forces will stop at nothing to keep the rebels from returning Charlotte to the castle and her rightful place as queen.

With the help of an underground resistance movement called The Iron Ladies-a society that rejects beauty treatments entirely-and the backing of alternative newspaper The Spider’s Web, Camille uses her powers, her connections and her cunning to outwit her greatest nemesis, Sophia, and restore peace to Orleans.

My Review

I was a little hesitant to read THE EVERLASTING ROSE because a friend reviewed it and didn’t really like the writing and dialog. Based on her review, I kind of expected it to be trite or annoying or something, but I wanted to give it a try.

And I’m so glad I did. I fell in love with the story world and all its fantastical, steampunk elements. I loved the little floating lanterns and mini blimps and OMG the teacup dragons!

Camille won me over immediately, with her love for her Belle sisters and her desire to protect them and rescue those in danger. Even her anger felt easy to identify with. The story moves along at a quick pace, and Camille never wavers from her goal. I found myself staying up too late trying to fit in just one more chapter before going to bed because I really wanted to know what happened next.

My only difficulty was that I wasn’t already familiar with the story world, so I sometimes felt a little confused about some of the ways the Belle system worked. I’m not sure I understand the use of the leeches or how the Belles rebalanced their arcana. So I wish I’d read THE BELLES before THE EVERLASTING ROSE.

In terms of language and romance, this is a pretty mild book. Readers should be aware that two characters die by suicide on scene in the book, and the story does reference torture. Read the content section for more details.

Fans of THE RUBY AIRSHIP by Sharon Gosling should check out THE EVERLASTING ROSE.

Representation
Camille and some other characters have brown skin. Some minor characters are gay.

Recommended for ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point Camille sleeps in bed with a man, but it’s less romantic and more hiding from certain death.

Spiritual Content
Many gods and goddesses exist in the heavens, disconnected from earth. They’ve left various favors behind – including the existence of the Belles. Another favor is teacup pets – tiny versions of animals like dragons or elephants.

Belles have arcana in their blood which gives them power to do magic. They mostly use this power to perform beauty treatments on others.

Violent Content and Trigger Warning – suicide
Sophia tortures her enemies (happens off-scene, but Camille witnesses the results). Camille witnesses two characters suddenly commit suicide. It happens quickly, but it’s shocking to the reader and devastating to Camille.

Drug Content
Sophia gets drunk on champagne.

Note: I received a free copy of THE EVERLASTING ROSE in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which don’t cost the reader anything when used but which help cover the costs of running this blog and occasionally provide an efficient caffeine delivery system for the blogger.