Nose in a Book

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Read for: RIP IV Challenge

This is the third (and I believe final) book in The Mortal Instruments series.  (The first two book are called City of Bones and City of Ashes.)

I can’t say I enjoyed this one as much as the first two.  Clary is still trying to revive her mother and Valentine is still on the loose.  The group plans to head to Idris to find a warlock who has the key to saving Clary’s mom and to chat with the Clave about what needs to be done to stop Valentine.  The foreshadowing about Jace and Clary not actually being siblings gets stronger and stronger and eventually the truth is out.  I won’t give away anything more than that but more readers will have realized long ago that they weren’t actually related.  And of course, through much trial and tribulation, Valentine is defeated as well and everybody lives happily ever after.  We all knew it  had to end that way right?  The interesting part is how it all gets resolved.

It definitely took me a lot longer to get involved in the story this time.  I found certain parts of the beginning of the novel infuriating.  Jace and Clary both are quite annoying with all their angsty selfishness.  But then the plot gets rolling and you can almost forget about their more irritating qualities.   Somehow, parts of this book seemed more rushed too (even though it’s the longest of the three at almost 600 pages) and some of the plot lines were slightly less believable (even though it’s about vampires and werewolves and such) than the previous two books.  I just sort of felt like maybe the deadline was approaching and Clare didn’t get as much time as she needed to polish some of the storylines as much as was required.

That being said though, I still found it to be entertaining and well written and definitely a good gothic type read if that kind of thing interests you.

Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel (sequel to Airborn)

Read for: Canadian Books Challenge

This one was almost as good as the first one.  Right from the first page it was action, action, action!  This time around the legendary ship Hyperion has been spotted in the air and Matt is the only one who knows the coordinates.  The Hyperion is rumoured to be carrying a fortune in gold.  And whoever gets to it first gets to keep the riches.  The Hyperion is also said to contain quite a nice collection of animal artifacts, which surprise, surprise, Kate is dying to get her hands on.  The only problem is that the Hyperion is drifting at an impossible height so Matt and Kate have to find someone to help them who owns a very specialized ship.  And of course, Matt, Kate and their two new companions aren’t the only ones on the world searching for the Hyperion. So you can imagine all the action and adventure that is packed into this novel.

If I hadn’t just read the first book I don’t think I would have found this one to be lacking at all.  But since I did just read it, yesterday, I remembered the suspense and tension I felt while reading Airborn.  But Skybreaker was still amazingly entertaining.  I’m already deep into the third book of this trilogy and loving it just as much.  Of course, there’s a little bit of romance thrown into these books, but it’s done well.  There are no over-the-top declarations of love and it doesn’t seem to be an add-on to the plot.  It flows well with the story, without taking over.  And I love Oppel’s writing.  He has a way of describing things that allows me to see the events unfolding in my mind without getting too bogged down in long, flowery explanations.  This one gets a 10/10 too.

Other Reviews:

• Canuck Librarian
• A Book a Week
• Goddess Librarian
• The Inter-Galactic Playground

Did I miss yours?  Please post a link in the comments.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Read for: Canadian Books Challenge

Why haven’t I read this sooner?!  I loved the Silverwing books and somehow I just forgot about Kenneth Oppel.  Then just last week I read a review somewhere (sorry, I can’t remember where) for the third book in this series and remembered that Oppel is Canadian and realized I’d better get on these books! I read this book in a day and I couldn’t put it down!

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on a luxury cruise ship but this cruise ship doesn’t float in the ocean, it floats over the ocean!  From the first page Matt and the crew on the Aurora are in for some major adventure.  And just when one mishap (or worse) seems to be just about cleared up, something else comes along to cause more mayhem and definitely some of the most captivating story I’ve read in a long time.  I don’t want to give anything away about what happens to Matt and the rest of the crew so I guess that’s going to have to be my summary for this one!

Not only was this book very well written, it really was adventure from start to finish.  And I just felt like I was right there in the middle of it.  And it was truly unpredictable, I was never sure what was going to happen next.  As I read, my heart was pounding, I was chewing on my thumbnail the suspense was so great!  (And it’s not often a book can do this to me!)

Overall this book was amazing.  My library had it shelved in the juvenile section but I’m not sure it should be there.  Not that there is any mature themes or anything, I’m just not sure a younger child could understand everything that went on.  (And there were people killed in the book.)  All I’m saying is that I wouldn’t read it to my 6 year old.  I remember the Silverwing books to be aimed at a younger audience.  Overall I would give this book a 10/10.  I’m so glad I have the next two sitting on my night stand waiting to be read!

Other reviews:

• Bart’s Bookshelf

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Can I just say that I love this series?!  It’s everything I was hoping Twilight would be, but wasn’t.  I know I always bash Twilight, but I have to say that I liked the story.  I just hated the writing and the characters were so one-dimensional and sometimes everything was just a little over the top, ya know?  It definitely had potential and I actually liked the movie a whole lot more than the book!

Anyway, back to the review at hand!  Also, a warning, if you haven’t read the first book yet, there’s no way I can summarize this one without spoilers from the first one.

So, anyway, Clary has rescued her mother, but she’s still in a coma in the hospital.  So Clary is living with Luke and is avoiding Jace because he’s her brother (but he’s not really, I can so see this coming, I was so sure it would be in this book, but so far so proof) and she’s in love with him.  (So not “ew” as it sounds, somehow.)  Anyway, Valentine (the bad guy) is slowly gaining more power and working toward his final evil plan and the governing body of this other world is totally blind to the whole plot because they are more worried about getting Jace to confess that he was in on the whole “your father is really the evil bad guy” thing, even though he wasn’t.  So this crazy “inquisitor” (who BTW is uncannily Umbrage-like) comes to take Jace into custody and ends up wrecking all kinds of havoc on Jace, Clary and everyone else’s efforts to try and stop Valentine.  Of course there are lots of demons to fight and Jace and Clary both discover that they have special abilities to help them as Shadowhunters.

This book was equally as well written as the first and just as action-packed too.  There isn’t a whole lot of boring/cheesy dialogue (like Twilight - another complaint).  Every page in this book counts.  As I mentioned in my review of the first book, City of Bones, I know this genre isn’t for everyone.  But, if you like this genre, this book is definitely a must read.  I can’t wait to get the third one (there are 56 people ahead of me on the hold list) and read it too.  And I just read online that Clare is planning a fourth to go with these three and she’s also planning a prequel series with an entirely new cast of characters.  I would rate this book a 9/10.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Book One of The Mortal Instruments Series)

Read for: What’s in a Name Challenge, Book with a body part in the title

Clary is 15 when she sees a shadowhunter for the first time.  Shortly thereafter, her mother disappears and she finds herself immersed in world of demons, vampires and the shadowhunters.  I can’t say more without giving away too much of the plot.

This novel just jumped right into the action and then never stopped.  There were several plot twists (some of which were fairly predictable and others that were completely unexpected).  I want to compare this book to Twilight, but there really is no comparison.  The books fall into the same young adult genre that deals with otherworldly beings but that is where the similarity ends.  Clary, the teenage protagonist, is so much more likable and believable than Bella who I always found to be insipid and annoying.  In fact all of the characters were more real.  They had depth and dimensions.  And the writing – well it can’t even be compared.  Clare can actually write!  I found this book to be very witty.  The characters quite often had fun, clever comebacks and the prose was clever as well.

Once I got into this story (and it didn’t take long) I couldn’t put it down.  I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next (my husband was getting pretty annoyed with me, when I kept bringing the book to the dinner table!).  It was definitely an easy, fun read which didn’t require a lot of extra thought (I read a bunch last night while watching the Miss Universe pageant and I didn’t miss much of either).  I’m sure this isn’t destined to become a classic but I can definitely agree that it deserves to be a bestseller.  I can’t wait to read the next one.

I don’t want to sound like I’m gushing over this book, because I can see that there is probably a lot of people who wouldn’t enjoy this novel.  If you are into this genre, it’s definitely worth a read, or even if you are looking for some mindless summer reading (even though summer’s almost over).  I don’t generally read this type of book so I’m having a hard time coming up with a rating.  I think I’d give it a 9/10, keeping in mind that this type of novel isn’t for everyone…

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

I decided to read this book after reading The Hunger Games also by Suzanne Collins.  This book was entirely different (which I was expecting) but I still really liked it.   I’ve got the next four books on hold at the library and I’m hoping they come soon!

Gregor, young boy (I think he’s 10) is helping his mother out by doing the laundry and watching his younger sister (2) when she disappears behind the dryer.  When Gregor goes to investigate he is sucked into the vent and into the Underland.  There he meets the Underlanders who are human and a bunch of giant bugs.  He ends up going on a quest with several underlanders.  I don’t want to say much more because it would give away too much.  This book moved fast and lacked depth but not in a bad way – the book is intended for younger readers and I will definitely read this to my son when he’s a little older.  Some of it might be a little scary to him right now, but I know he’ll love it in a few years.  I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series and I would  give this one an 8/10.

Has anyone else read this book?  Please leave your reviews/links in the comments.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I was just walking through the bookstore looking for something to read when I saw this book.  I knew I had read a ton of reviews for it, so I decided to pick it up.  When I got home, I found it was on my TBR list twice!  Good thing I bought it.

David, who is twelve, loses his mother to an unnamed disease and shortly afterward his father remarries and has a new baby.  This leads to David and his father moving to a new house in the country.  David loves to read and Rose (his new step-mother) gives him a room covered in bookshelves that are full of books that once belonged to her uncle.  David, who is having a hard time adjusting to all the new changes in his life, spends a lot of time in his room, reading his books.  Eventually, David finds himself in a new world, where his favourite stories have become a reality, but with odd twists to the traditional tales.

David must find a way back into his own world, but in order to do this he must face his fears and do some growing up.  As David travels through this other world, searching for the way home, he finds he has a role to play in many of these twisted fairy tales.

I really enjoyed this book, but I found I was left wanting more.  I wished the Connolly had taken the story a little farther.  I’m not really sure in what way so I’m afraid I can’t explain it better than that (sorry!).  I really liked David as a character though.  He was an extremely believable 12 year old.  He was smart, but not too smart.  He was brave, but not too brave.  And he was noble, but not too noble.  Sometimes, I read books and I find the perfectness of the characters just a little too unbelievable.

I also enjoyed some of the other characters in the novel.  There were scary parts and funny parts and touching parts.  And I really liked Connolly’s writing style.  It really fit with the fairy tale theme of the book.  It was an easy, lilting prose, just as we usually read in fairy tales.

I would give this book an 8/10.

Other reviews:

• Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books
• Random Wonder
• Stephanie’s Written Word
• Stuff as Dreams as Made on
• Things Mean A Lot

Did I miss yours?  Leave a link in the comments.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I don’t even know how to start to summarize this book.  A young man, Tristran and the young lady he is in love with are out walking one night when they see a shooting star.  She tells him that if he finds the star and brings it back to her, she will give him whatever he desires.  Tristran sets out on a journey across the boundary between our world and the world of Faerie to find the star.  It turns out that several other people are looking for the star too.  The story is so fun and fantastical.  I loved it.  Even though I’ve seen the movie I was constantly surprised by the turn of events.

I did enjoy the book, but I think I liked the movie more. The ghostly brothers were hilarious in the movie and played a major role, whereas in the book they were just minor characters and not at all humorous.  Also, the ending is different and there are a lot of added and expanded characters in the movie.

Overall, though it was a good book and I would give it a 7/10.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Short and sweet…except not really sweet in the traditional sense!  This one was great, although I liked The Graveyard Book better.

Coraline, for those of you that don’t know, is an average little girl, a little bored with the summer holidays and looking for some excitement.  She goes through a mysterious door in her apartment and finds an alternate world that almost identical to the real world but a lot more exciting (and creepy as Coraline soon finds out.)  Her “other mother” who seems great at first, is actually an evil being trying to trap her forever in her “other house” and sew buttons onto her eyes!

The book was creepy, but deliciously so.  I loved it!  And it was a quick easy read (as children’s books usually are – duh!).  I think my son (6) would love it.  It might be our next read.  Keeping in mind that this is a children’s book, I would give it an 8/10.

Once Upon a Time III Challenge books and reviews:

• Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
• The Onion Girl – Charles de Lint
• Daughter of the Forest – Juliet Marillier
• Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary – Brandon Mull
• Inkheart - Cornelia Funke

COMPLETED!

I really enjoyed this challenge.   It’s the first one I’ve completed as I am relatively new to the book blogging world.  It was really fun and I read a bunch of really good books that I wouldn’t have read otherwise.  I’ll definitely participate in this challenge again next year!