Across the Library

Title: Year One Author: Nora Roberts Cover: A decent cover that represents the start of the plague and the crows that come with the darkness. *Mild Spoilers Ahead* Review: I will say first that I am not a typical Nora Roberts fan. In fact, I've only read three other books by her, that being the Seven Signs Trilogy that starts with Blood Brothers. If I remember correctly, those also had a fantasy/paranormal feel to them, while her typical books do not. It was the fantasy elements of this book that appealed to me. A plague strikes, first taking a family, but since it is highly contagious and they are traveling after the holidays, it quickly spreads, wiping out large numbers of the population. There are already some people with gifts before the plague hits, but after, these gifts grow stronger, and others gain powers as well. These people, from witches, elves, fairies, and more, are called the Uncanny, and some people blame them for the plague, or are just generally hateful...

Title: Renegades Author: Marissa Meyer Some spoilers contained below.  Read at your own risk. Cover: At first I didn't particularly care for the cover, but after reading the book, I feel that it fits the book pretty well.  Still not sure that someone would pick it up based off the cover though. Review:  I really wanted to like this book.  I loved Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, and I enjoyed her book Heartless.  But I felt going in that I might not like this one as much, and I was right.  Actually I was pretty disappointed with it, and maybe that was because I was expecting to be disappointed.  Right from the start, before the book even started, there is a character list that includes the powers of the characters, and some of those powers made me cringe.  More on that in a moment. The premise is that some people, many people, have super powers and these people are called prodigies.  Years ago a prodigy named Ace Anarchy ...

I've still been thinking about All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater. It's just been stirring around in my brain, trying to work itself out. Then I saw where she posted this on Facebook about why she wrote it, and the book makes more sense now. Thought I'd share it. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157223223254466&id=412830324465

Title: Turtles All the Way Down Author: John Green Cover: I had two concerns for this book -- its cover and that the publishers may be relying on the author to carry the book, therefore it wouldn't need an exciting cover.  The spiral on the cover makes sense once you've read the book, but going in, it seems boring and the color isn't all that great.  Relying solely on the author, if that is what they did, may not have been a great idea since it has been years since John Green wrote a book, and the young adult audience that he once appealed to has since grown up.  He still has adult fans, but this is, after all, meant for young adults.  Would this cover appeal to young adults?  We try to say not to judge a book by its cover, but as librarians, we can't deny that people do, especially young adults.   Review:  Aza, our main character, suffers from seems to be Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  It is not diagnosed as that in the book,...

Well, you've probably noticed that there was a big gap in the time frame that I posted reviews.    When I first started the blog, I posted an introduction, as such:  Also, I suppose I should mention a little bit about me.  Name's Tonya.  Oh, and the reason it was so important that I connect with the blog name is because I've never connected with my own real name.  Anyway, I'm currently 30 years old, living in Northwest Louisiana with my husband of 10 years and our 4 dogs (Sassy, Sasha, Ben, and Boots).  I love to read and write when I have the time.  I work at a public library in circulation, reference, and teen services.  As the sole person in teen services for my library system, I'm constantly trying to come up with ideas and find the time to implement them. I'm also on the committee for the Louisiana Teen Reader's Choice award, so most of the books I'm reading are young adult books that were published in the current year.   O...

Title: All the Crooked Saints Author: Maggie Stiefvater Cover: The cover artwork reflects two or three aspects of the book. It has a magical feel to it, which certainly fits the book. I like the color scheme and find the cover appealing. Review:  What a strange and magical little book. Well I suppose it's not magic specifically, it's miracles. The book is about the Soria family, who can perform miracles, but not like you'd think. People come to town in search of a miracle, and a Soria, usually Daniel at this point in time, gives them their first miracle. This makes their darkness visable, which is now something the person has to deal with on their own, finding a way to heal themselves for the second miracle. The first miracle, or the darkness, manifests in some fantastical way. For example, one man now has a coyote head. A woman is constantly rained on. The list goes on. These individuals are called pilgrims, and after the first miracle, the Soria family can not in...

Title: Odd Child Out Author: Gilly MacMillan Cover: I really like the cover of this one.  The investigation in the book is trying to find out what happened to cause young Noah Salder to end up in a river, so it is fitting that the river is the main focus on the cover. Review: This adult fiction book was a pretty quick and enjoyable read, though I did find at least three of the characters unlikable at times.  Let's talk about the writing style first.  Two of the characters' chapters, Noah Sadler and Detective Inspector Jim Clemo, are written in first person, while the rest of the book is written in third person.  This always throws me off a little bit.  It's normal for a book to be in first person and then talk about the other characters in third person, but to have chapters from their point of view in third person, and then switch back to first person for the other characters just makes it feel a little too disjointed for me.  I've actually compla...

Looking back over my past blog posts, I see that this will be my be my third review of a Libba Bray book. She is one of my favorite authors after all. I recently finished her Before the Devil Breaks You , the third book in her Diviners series. I believe there is to be one more book in the series. Usually I have a hard time rating books and avoid doing so, but I did give this one 4 stars on Good Reads. I thoroughly enjoy her writing. The series is about a group of young people that have special abilities. One can read an object's past when she touches it. Another can heal. Another can keep people from seeing him. There are two that can walk in dreams, etc. Not necessarily a new idea, but Libba Bray makes it her own. The books take place during the 1920s, the age of prohibition and flappers, and sure enough we see plenty of drinking and partying. In addition to the special abilities there are ghosts, sleeping sicknesses, and other paranormal bits. There are also important issues, ...