The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
Adventure Historical Fiction
Historian Eloise Kelly continues her research into the Napoleonic espionage society around the Pink Carnation and finds herself swept up into a historical romp and possibly starting a present day romance.
This is the second in the
Pink Carnation series and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. These books are silly and exciting and romantic and should definitely be read in order.
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison
After reaching a crisis point in his life, an aimless Ben Benjamin trains as a caregiver and begins working with a sexually frustrated teenager with muscular dystrophy and a wicked sense of humor.
I spent an entire month (or more) promoting this book as part of my Library's community read and speaking about the positives of this book. It boasts a strong sense of place that if you live on Bainbridge Island, Washington you will sincerely appreciate; everywhere is recognizable. Trevor, the teenager who at first resents Ben, feels very real and though I personally found many of his jokes disagreeable, like an honest and true representation of a nineteen year old boy struggling to come to terms with his situation.
The Manual of Detection of Jedediah Berry
A lowly clerk at the Detective Agency gets an off-the-books promotion when his supervisor gets murdered and a famous detective goes missing.
What a strange book. My whole reading experience with this was entirely surreal. It was challenging to keep track of what was real and what was just a paranoid construction and what was part of the magical realism of this fantastically mundane universe. A little unsettling and required attention while reading, this reminded me of
Paul Auster's New York trilogy and
The City & The City by China Mieville. Both are also mysteries (sort of, more or less) and have fluid definitions of reality.
The Reader's Advisory Guide to Street Literature by Vanessa Irvin Morris
Whether you are new to Street Lit or looking for expert information on what's new in the genre as well as insight into cornerstone works, Morris' engaging voice provides context, insight, and guidance for readers and reader advisers alike.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Death is kept quite busy during World War II, but a German foster child with a penchant for petty theft and a warm heart catches his attention.
I didn't expect this book to be quite so funny -- it is a Holocaust story after all -- and was pleasantly surprised. I listened to this as an audio and the narrator, Allan Corduner, did an excellent job capturing the humor in Death's voice. This is a great book club read.
Doll Bones by Holly Black
When Zach's father tells him that he can no longer play the games of make believe with his two best friends, they set out on one last adventure to lay the china bones of a haunted doll to rest in this eerie tale of young friendship.
I'd heard so many wonderful things about Holly Black - so atmospheric and creepy - but I thought
Doll Bones was underwhelming. It was too scary for the age group it targets and by the time you're "old enough" to read it, the plot feels too juvenile and that's the feedback that I get from Library patrons too. Parts of it reminded me a lot of
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, like the relationship dynamic the kids have based on games of make-believe. It was definitely strange and I wouldn't
avoid it, but if you want to start dive into Holly Black novels, this isn't the one I would suggest starting with. For young readers, try
The Field Guide (book one of
The Spiderwick Chronicles). For teens or adults, try
The Darkest Part of the Forest.
The Young Elites by Marie Lu
A survivor of an epidemic that claimed her mother and hundreds of others across the country, Adelina now possesses mystical, otherworldly powers that make her of interest to a secret society bent on overturning the corrupt government.
The magic system in this series is interesting and I hope it is further developed later in the series - a lot was left up to the reader to fill in. For another dark series fill with undertones of political unrest and one of the most interesting magic systems I've ever encountered, check out the
Abhorsen series by Garth Nix (start with
Sabriel -- the audiobook is narrated by Tim Curry and he does a
marvelous job).
