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Review: A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

Book Review and Content, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

A Crane Among Wolves
June Hur
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 14, 2024

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About A Crane Among Wolves

June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul’s and Daehyun’s fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

My Review

I enjoyed this book a lot. The story balances the character relationships and the larger political plot with its murder investigation and coup preparations really well. I felt like I truly got to know Prince Daehyun and Iseul, so it was easy to root for them to achieve their goals.

I love sister stories, so I couldn’t help investing in Iseul’s desperate mission to rescue her sister. Though the girls weren’t close before her sister was kidnapped, losing her made Iseul realize how much she appreciates and needs her sister. It makes her realize how much her sister protected her, and she wants to protect her sister now, too. I love that.

Another thing I really enjoyed is the enemies-to-lovers slow-burn romance between Iseul and Daehyun. I giggled through the moments where they would be like, hmmm, I can’t stop thinking about [the other person] for some reason.

The author’s note at the end clarifies some of the story elements that depart from the historical account and why those changes were made. This is the first book by June Hur that I’ve ever read, but I definitely want to read more. I liked this a lot. Readers who enjoyed Descendant of the Crane by Joan He should check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Korean.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few instances of mild profanity. One f-bomb.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to rape (not depicted on scene). Some men (minor characters) treat women like property to be traded or collected.

A girl who was sent to the king (for sex) appears dissociated and traumatized afterward.

Spiritual Content
Someone predicted that the prince would die in the year the story takes place.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some brief battle scenes. References to rape and suicide (not depicted). Some descriptions of murder scenes. The king uses his position to force people to do cruel, terrible things, such as kill others. He beats and abuses people. He kidnaps women.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of A Crane Among Wolves in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Cats of Silver Crescent by Kaela Noel

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

The Cats of Silver Crescent
Kaela Noel
Greenwillow Books
Published April 30, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Cats of Silver Crescent

In this stand-alone novel with themes of friendship and family, eleven-year-old Elsby discovers a family of talking cats living in the house next door and must help them harness the magic that made them that way. From the author of the acclaimed Coo, The Cats of Silver Crescent is for fans of Kathi Appelt and Katherine Applegate. With her mother busy traveling for work, Elsby isn’t thrilled to be spending a few weeks with her great-aunt Verity. Luckily, she has her notebook and a lush garden to sketch to help pass the time.

But a visitor takes Elsby by a cat standing on its two hind legs and dressed like a sailor dashes across the garden and into the neighboring woods! Elsby can’t believe her eyes, and Aunt Verity doesn’t seem to believe Elsby, either. But that night, the cat and three of his cat companions approach Elsby. They need Elsby’s help. While the cats can talk, think, and behave like humans, the magical spell that made them that way will revert if it’s not renewed soon. Elsby might be the only one who can save them—but every enchantment comes at a price.

A contemporary fantasy about family, friends, trust, and the magic that’s inside everyone, The Cats of Silver Crescent will captivate animal lovers and fans of Jenn Reese’s A Game of Fox & Squirrels.

My Review

First of all, I love Elsby’s name. I’ve never heard that as a nickname for Elisabeth before, but I love it. (In the book, it’s something Elsby has made up, which is even better!)

I also enjoyed the fact that Elsby is a young writer. She has a problem, though, where she only writes the first chapter of a story before getting stuck. I love the way the story resolves this.

I also like the cat characters. They’re a bit whimsical with their Victorian clothes and Marzipan’s love for poetry. They were very cute.

Elsby has a hard time connecting to others. She keeps to herself a lot and doesn’t seem to trust her feelings. I really identified with that and the obstacles it presented in relationships. That said, I thought it was really cool the way her aunt builds a relationship with her, and even the way Elsby connects with Penelope.

The playful storytelling and magical elements of the story reminded me a little bit of The Hunt for the Hollower by Callie C. Miller. I think readers who enjoy that kind of magical adventure with some nonhuman characters will enjoy The Cats of Silver Crescent.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Elsby is white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can perform magic. In the book, there’s a difference between a magician, a sorcerer, and a witch. The cats have some magic on them that needs to be periodically renewed, or they’ll lose the ability to speak.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Plain Jane and the Mermaid
Vera Brosgol
First Second
Published May 7, 2024

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About Plain Jane and the Mermaid

From Eisner Award winner Vera Brosgol comes an instant classic about courage, confidence, and inner beauty.
Jane is incredibly plain. Everyone says so: her parents, the villagers, and her horrible cousin who kicks her out of her own house. Determined to get some semblance of independence, Jane prepares to propose to the princely Peter, who might just say yes to get away from his father. It’s a good plan!

Or it would’ve been, if he wasn’t kidnapped by a mermaid.

With her last shot at happiness lost in the deep blue sea, Jane must venture to the underwater world to rescue her maybe-fiancé. But the depths of the ocean hold beautiful mysteries and dangerous creatures. What good can a plain Jane do?

From Vera Brosgol, the author of Anya’s Ghost and Be Prepared, comes an instant classic that flips every fairy tale you know, and shows one girl’s crusade for the only thing that matters—her own independence.

My Review

Oh my gosh, this book is absolutely brilliant! It takes some familiar fairytale tropes and flips them on their heads in a way that makes them both funny and thoughtful. The illustrations show such a broad range of expressions. I loved the seal’s faces! He’s got these dark eyebrows and grumpy expressions that hint at so much underneath.

I love that Jane is not the pretty girl. More stories where the heroine isn’t a bombshell babe, please. Jane knows she’s not classically beautiful, but she wants so much to believe that she has more value than how she looks, even when she keeps getting the opposite message from even the well-meaning people in her life. This is one of those stories that doesn’t feel immediately female-centered, but it really is. I liked the way that the story developed or used its female relationships to show how toxic relationships harm one another, but loving (nonromantic, in this case) relationships strengthen and empower us.

It also models loving relationships that protect one another without infringing on one another’s autonomy. I liked that the story didn’t depend on tropes about the handsome prince but left room for there to be more to that character, as well.

PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID takes all those great elements and puts them together in this magical way that allows it to become more than the sum of its parts. I loved the way it integrates modern and classic fairytale elements to create something utterly engrossing and not preachy about its message.

I’m trying to limit my graphic novel purchases this year because of space constraints, but this is one I really need to have on my shelf.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Jane is a plus-sized girl. She visits a village of brown-skinned people.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A mermaid and her sisters prepare for a wedding.

Spiritual Content
The story contains mythical creatures such as mermaids and a water demon.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Jane endures and remembers fatphobic comments and cruel words about her appearance. One scene hints at someone getting killed by lobsters. In another scene, a giant, sharp-toothed eel-like creature chases Jane and her allies. Someone learns that their captors plan to eat them.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs posting about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry

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

Tree. Table. Book.
Lois Lowry
Clarion Books
Published April 23, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Tree. Table. Book.

Everyone knows the two Sophies are best friends. One is in elementary school, and one is . . . well . . . in a little trouble of late. She’s elderly, sure, but she’s always been on her game, the best friend any girl struggling to fit in could ever have. The Sophies drink tea, have strong opinions about pretty much everything, and love each other dearly.

Now it seems the elder Sophie is having memory problems, burning teakettles, and forgetting just about everything. It looks like her son is going to come and get her and steal her away forever. Young Sophie isn’t having that. Not one bit. So she sets out to help elder Sophie’s memory, with the aid of her neighborhood friends Ralphie and Oliver.

But when she opens the floodgates of elder Sophie’s memories, she winds up listening to stories that will illustrate just how much there is to know about her dear friend, stories of war, hunger, cruelty, and ultimately love.

My Review

I read this book cover to cover in one sitting. Sophie’s voice drew me in immediately. She’s chatty and clever, and I loved the connection she shared with the other Sophie. Her neighborhood was also really neat, with families that had close connections and looked out for one another.

Sophie’s desire to prove that her friend is not unwell drives the story forward. She looks up information about cognitive testing and then proceeds to try to walk her friend through the questions in the test. As she does this, she begins to see her friend in a new way, and her friend shares stories with her about her childhood in Poland.

I was a little older than Sophie when my grandmother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of dementia. It happened so quickly that I missed those beginning days, and by the time I understood what was happening, it was too late for her to tell me the stories she still needed to share.

Reading about Sophie having those moments and sharing those memories brought me back to those early days of my grandmother’s illness and made me wonder what stories she would have told me about her childhood.

Sophie learns a lot about how to support a friend gracefully and what it means to work to stay connected. Her family also supports her connection with her friend, and I loved that, too.

This is a bittersweet story about the power of intergenerational friendships and the importance of passing stories from one generation to the next. I loved it.

Content Notes for Tree. Table. Book.

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Elderly Sophie is Jewish. One of the neighbor boys is neurodivergent.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
On one page, a word is written with the first letter and the rest marked with asterisks.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
References to Catholic beliefs. References to Sunday church services.

Violent Content
Sophie learns some information that she pieces together to realize is about the Nazi occupation of a Polish village during World War II. She hears a description of men rounded up and shipped somewhere to work.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Deep Is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson

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

Deep Is the Fen
Lili Wilkinson
Delacorte Press
Published April 16, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Deep Is the Fen

Merry doesn’t need a happily-ever-after. Her life in the charming, idyllic town of Candlecott is fine just as it is. Simple, happy, and with absolutely no magic. Magic only ever leads to trouble.

But Merry’s best friend, Teddy, is joining the Toadmen—a secret society who specialize in backward thinking and suspiciously supernatural traditions—and Merry is determined to stop him. Even if it means teaming up with the person she hates most: her academic archnemesis, Caraway Boswell, an ice-cold snob who hides his true face under a glamour.

An ancient Toad ritual is being held in the sinister Deeping Fen, and if Merry doesn’t rescue Teddy before it’s finished, she’ll lose him forever. But the Toadmen have been keeping dangerous secrets, and so has Caraway. The farther Merry travels into Deeping Fen’s foul waters, the more she wonders if she’s truly come to save her friend . . . or if she’s walking straight into a trap.

There’s nothing the Toadmen love more than a damsel in distress.

My Review

Something about this book reminded me of some of my favorite things in Mary Watson’s books. I guess it’s that it feels both like it’s set in the real UK world and simultaneously in a separate, fantasy world at the same time. I love that worldly/otherworldly vibe in this book.

The story also contains some themes that beg to be explored. (Think THE TROUBLED GIRLS OF DRAGOMIR ACADEMY, but YA) Women who have power are witches and imprisoned. Men form secret societies in which they promote and celebrate forbidden power. It invites some thinking.

It also has a great rivals-to-lovers thread weaving through it, and since that’s one of my favorite tropes, I knew I would be hooked on it. And I was! I loved Merry and Caraway’s characters. (And their names.) I liked the pacing of their getting to know one another and learning things about each other. Also, I liked the evolution of Merry’s besties trio. I liked that the author didn’t write Teddy and Sol out of the story.

I devoured this whole book in a single afternoon. The setting is immersive and the characters engaging. By the time I finished the last page, I was already looking at what else Wilkinson had written so I could get more of this incredible storytelling.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
One of Merry’s best friends is Black and transgender. Several characters are queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Merry stumbles onto two people in bed together and quickly leaves.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic, most often women. These people are labeled as witches and imprisoned in a forced rehabilitation program. Only 100 spells are legal. Anything outside the legal spells must be purchased from an approved vendor, one of the three companies that basically run everything.

Merry can see threads of magic in people. Some people have unnatural threads that she believes come from using illegal magic. The threads can be used for other nefarious things.

The Toadmen are an elite society with secret, sacred rituals that promise power and opportunity to members.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some brief torture and scary images. A man severs a nerve in another man’s face, effectively making him unable to smile ever again. Someone tortures a man in an attempt to manipulate someone. Someone cuts a man’s throat. Another man dies by suicide in order to protect someone else.

Someone uses stones and rings to control others.

Drug Content
Drugged (or magicked, I guess) food and drink make people see things that aren’t there or make them easily manipulated.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of Deep Is the Fen in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

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

Dragonfruit
Makiia Lucier
Clarion Books
Published April 9, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Dragonfruit

From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt … gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.

Every wish demands a price.

Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two choices: to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time – hope.

But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.

My Review

I got lost in the world-building of this book– in only the best ways. The author perfectly balances the politics, traditions, and historical information of the setting, offering enough information to anchor the story in a specific, memorable place without distracting from the characters or plot of the story.

The chapters (and sometimes scenes within a chapter) alternate between Hanalei’s and Sam’s points of view. Both characters have distinct voices, so I never lost track of whose point of view I was in. I loved both characters pretty quickly. She has a complicated past and a lot of shame and grief, but she also has a pure love for seadragons. Sam feels the pressure of his position as a prince in a matriarchal society (a refreshing plight for a young male character), knowing a marital alliance would strengthen and protect his people, but holding out hope that he could marry for love instead of politics.

I like that the minor characters also have key roles, and in those, the author also demonstrates some pretty great balancing skills. I had no trouble keeping track of who each character was (not always easy with as many named characters as there are in DRAGONFRUIT), and these secondary characters contributed without stealing the scene or pulling the reader away from the central part of the story.

So much happens in this book. Adventures at sea with a dangerous dragon-hunting captain and his crew. Rescue attempts for a princess trapped in a poisoned sleep. Magic, mythology, and a splash of romance. DRAGONFRUIT has a lot to offer fantasy readers.

Readers who enjoyed SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo, or FOREST OF SOULS by Lori M. Lee will want to put this one on their reading lists immediately.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Inspired by Pacific Island mythology and set among islands.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity used.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Several gods and goddesses mentioned. When someone uses a dragon egg to revive a dying person, terrible tragedies occur, and people believe this may represent vengeance by the god of the dragons for taking something sacred. More than one character questions whether the gods listen or can hear prayers or walk among them.

Some characters have a special mark. It’s a tattoo that appears on their bodies and moves over their skin. The mark can take physical form and serve as a helper to its host.

Violent Content
This isn’t actually violence, though this character does function as a weapon in one scene, but the queen has a tattoo of a spider on her body that moves and comes alive. If you’ve got spider fears, be aware.

Battle violence and situations of peril. One character uses children as labor, hostages, and sacrifices. Dragons are harmed on-scene in the book. Another animal is harmed off-scene.

Drug Content
Several characters are poisoned.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.