Book Review: The Paper Magician

Considering it’s Christmas time and Harry Potter is starting to air on ABC Family, I was excited to read a YA (young adult) fantasy novel. So I picked up The Paper Magician, the first in a trilogy about a young girl and aspiring magician who becomes an apprentice to a renown Paper Magician after graduating from Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. 

However, Paper Magic, or Folding, is seen as a joke in the young magician community. Our character, Ceony, initially wanted to study Smelting, or Metal Magic. So when she gets an assigned apprenticeship to a Folder named Emery Thane, she has to learn to deal with it, because the material you bond with during an apprenticeship is a lifetime commitment.

However compelling this magical world seems, I don’t want to mislead you. This is not a generous review.

Book Review: Girl Online

If your Facebook feed looked anything like mine this week, then I think you have heard of the book I am reviewing today. Headlines described a 24 year old girl in the UK whose debut novel has outsold any other author in the UK in its first week. That is an insanely impressive statistic, made especially obvious by the list of names she has beat (J.K. Rowling? Dan Brown?). When I clicked the link to discover this juggernaut of the literary world, I was pleasantly surprised to see Zoe Sugg staring back at me. I have been an avid viewer of her vlogs for a couple of years now, and I have always found her to be a delightful breath of fresh air in the YouTube community. Knowing what I already knew about her, I was anxious to get my hands on a copy of her book, and that I did.

Book Review: Famous Last Words

I myself am not usually a fan of scary things. I avoid scary movies at all costs, but I do find it easier to read something that I normally would never want to watch unfold in front of my eyes. This month, when the girls and I decided we would tackle a spooky book for the month of October, I was hesitant to pick something to read, knowing that whatever I chose might give me nightmares. Luckily, I was informed that a friend of mine, Katie Alender, had a new book out that perfectly fit the description of what I was looking for: a murder mystery with a supernatural edge aimed at teenagers. I figured I was safe in assuming that since I knew the author, I live in the city that the story takes place in, and I was older than the characters involved, I would come out nightmare free. I may have been wrong. 

Book Review: I Am The Messenger

You recognize the name Markus Zusak, not just because he’s the only Marcus who spells his name with a “k,” but also because he’s the author of the best-selling novel, The Book Thief, which was recently adapted into a terrible movie (but don’t get us started on movie adaptations—ahem, The Giver).

One of the reasons I picked up I Am The Messenger is because I really admired the unique voice that Zusak uses to narrate his more popular novel. And while the narrator of I Am The Messenger isn’t exactly Death himself, the novel still includes a coffee-drinking dog, free beer at church, and a whole lot of playing cards, which is apparently enough to tempt me into reading.

Book Review: Paper Airplanes

I’ll start this review by admitting that there are few things I find more important in life than good friendships.  I will delve further by saying that strong female friendships are of particular importance to me, and I am drawn to any type of media that explores this theme in a relatable and accurate manner. That being said, when I heard about this novel through one of my closest female friends, I was extremely intrigued. Even better, the same friend invited me to join her at a book singing for Paper Aeroplanes where we could pick up a copy.  

I had the pleasure of being able to meet Dawn O’Porter at a quaint book shop in LA and hear her read an excerpt from the novel. As a human, Dawn O’Porter could not be more endearing and likable. Her and her husband (Chris O’Dowd) showed up to the book signing with candy and TWO cakes decorated in theme with the book for everyone to snack on (as well as wine which is ALWAYS appreciated). During her brief introduction of the book, O’Porter spoke to the group as if we were old friends, and it was clear that what she had written meant a lot to her. She chose a perfect event in the book to sample, as it highlights the overall tone of the story and the relationship between our two narrators perfectly.  Before I even cracked open my newly signed hardcopy, I knew I was in love.

Book Review: The Geography of You and Me

Sigh. I’ll admit that after my last review (All the Light We Cannot See) I was anxious to read something light and easy, less emotionally draining and inversely less moving. I browsed Goodreads for a bit and stumbled on this book. I can say without hesitation that this book indeed provided what I needed, a quick and very easy read. Unfortunately it didn’t provide much else. Luckily, I’m not holding that against Jennifer E. Smith, as this book was exactly what it offered to be.

Book Review: Killer of Enemies

I’d been eyeing Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac for quite a while. A story of a badass Native American girl in a post-apocalyptic America? Yeah, I could get behind that. Now that I’ve finally read it, my only regret is that I waited so long. This story has all the trappings of a dystopian novel—a vaguely familiar futuristic landscape, regressed technology, an oppressed society cowering under the gaze of a totalitarian government, and unflinching brutality—presented in a fresh light and with a solid helping of scary creatures, gritty fights, and humor.

Book Review: The Raven Boys

It's always been pretty easy for someone to convince me to read a book that is popular in the young adult fandom. The more fangirls (and fanboys) there are, the better. For months, a few of my friends have been begging me to read this book. I resisted only because I knew that once I started, I would not be able to read anything else until I had read the entire series, or what was out already. Recently, I knew I was ready to dive in. The Tumblr presence of this book was enough to assure me that I was not making a mistake, and my fangirl sisters did NOT let me down. 

Book Review: Three Wishes

From The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (aka 1001 Arabian Nights), to I Dream of Jeannie, to Aladdin, the idea of powerful genies that grant wishes to their masters has long fascinated Western audiences. In Deborah Kreiser’s Three Wishes, these powers are bestowed upon an unsuspecting seventeen-year-old girl. Typically this tale is told from the perspective of the master. Sure, deciding how to use your three wishes is tough, but selecting the recipient of such a gift is arguably more complicated.

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The older I get, the more find that adults often write off the emotions and beliefs of young people. This is a book that makes you realize how unfair that is.

Terminal cancer patient meets cancer amputee in this young adult romance, and no one—not even a pretentious Dutch author with a drinking problem—can stop them from reveling in pretentious literature, ven diagrams, life metaphors, and Natalie Portman.

Movie Review: Divergent, When a Movie Should Change the Book

A few nights ago, myself and a few other ladies decided the time was right to head down to the movie theater and get an easy laugh from the newest Young Adult (YA) adaptation film Divergent. Unfortunately, we didn't laugh as much as we'd hoped because, well, honestly the movie wasn't as bad as we'd hoped. 

Yes we hoped it would be bad, because sadly, that's the latest trend in YA adaptation films. They aren't great, and some are downright terrible, so no one really expects them to be anything other than a laugh. But instead of a laugh we got a mildly entertaining, semi-too-long, not-too-original adaptation of the first book in a series that could be described in the same manner.

I'm a huge fan of movie adaptations that stick to the book. But in this rare case, they should have torn that book apart.

Why I Reread Harry Potter Every Year

For those of you who don't know and don't follow us on twitter (@LoneBookClub don't be shy) or for those who do and have missed my only semi-obnoxious tweets, I have started my annual Harry Potter reread. That's right, annual, as in, once a year, as in I schedule this event into my year. And to me it is truly an event.

It started when I was young. If a new book in the series was coming out, of course I would have to reread all of them that came before! And then the movies started coming out so of course I would have to reread all of them in anticipation for that too!! By the time the books and movies were finally at an end, not reading Harry Potter every year seemed ludicrous. My year of reading would feel empty and incomplete without it.

I get the itch to start reading them again pretty much right after I finish them, but I make myself take a break and also, you know, read other books. Most people don't really care about me carrying around my Harry Potter hard covers (I'm a purest in this respect and refuse to read them on my kindle), but when people do notice, there's normally a conversation like this that takes place: 

Them: "Are you reading that for the first time?!"
Me: "No.... I read them every year."
Them: "WHY?!"

Why indeed.

Pst, you can totally own this!

Book Review: Nickel Plated by Aric Davis

This book came to me in the best possible way: a friend recommendation. A coworker whom I know I have a lot of common interests with recommended me this book after she devoured it in one sitting, and to sweeten the deal she lent it to me on my Kindle (thanks, Joanna), so I knew I had no choice but to dive in. I like to think of myself as someone who doesn't have a "type" of book that I gravitate towards, but my first couple of reviews contradict that statement. This book intrigued me immediately because it was completely different than anything I had read in the last year. The description promised a light hearted mystery centered around a unique narrator, whose character surprised me on every page. My only difficulty in writing this review will be that I do not want to give too much away, because I am literally begging you to read this book. But I will do my best!

Book Review: The Bone Season

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon may be one of those series that sweep the nation and beyond. Published earlier this year, the first installment of her possible seven book series was at the top of several best fantasies of the year and it's movie rites have already been optioned. It could be really big.

Or it could not. 

After giving The Bone Season a shot, I found it....intriguing. Not bad, not great, but definitely unique enough for me to anticipate a sequel before I make a final judgement.

Book Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

This book is hilarious. But let me start out by saying that this story isn't, in fact, "absolutely true." It's a novel. It's fiction.

However, the author Sherman Alexie did, indeed, grow up on the Spokane reservation called Wellpinit, just like his narrator. He was born with the same medical condition that could have rendered him a brain dead vegetable at only 6-months-old. And he did, indeed, transfer to the white school 30 miles down the road (something that was unheard of in his tribe.) So Alexie welded together a collection of his experiences to create a semi-autobiographical portrait of what it's like to grow up as Native American teenager on a reservation where everyone thinks you've betrayed your culture.

Among other things, this book contains:

• secret romance novel addictions
• best friends turned enemies
• metaphorical boners
• googling "how to make a white girl fall in love with you" 
• and grandmothers who wear basketball sneakers "because she's got mad skills."

Book Review: Prophecy

On New Year’s Eve, HarperTeen released Warrior, the sequel to Ellen Oh’s epic fantasy Prophecy. I missed out on reading Prophecy when it came out, but the release of its sequel seemed like a good opportunity to go back and check it out. Besides, I’m a sucker for a good fantasy adventure.

Seventeen-year-old Kira is a demon hunter, hated and feared by all the citizens of Hansong even though she’s devoted her life to protecting them from the demons that plague their kingdom. They don’t know about the monsters walking among them disguised as humans: they only know Kira's eerie yellow eyes, and that she seemingly attacked their beloved young prince years ago. Now Hansong has been overthrown, and one by one the Seven Kingdoms are falling to the dark forces of the Demon Lord. Kira flees Hansong with prince Taejo and a small band of soldiers. Together, they embark on a quest to find a legendary warrior. Only the Dragon Musado can unite the kingdoms and defeat the Demon Lord.

Book Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of The Universe

It is a huge coincidence that the book I am reviewing today shares a lot of the same attributes as the book I reviewed last month. This particular subject matter, that I will delve into later, is not particularly the type of story that I gravitate towards. That being said, I’m glad I happened upon this book right after This Is How You Lose Her, because they complement each other well. The protagonists in both stories are Mexican American adolescents who are navigating the tumultuous path the manhood, but Aristotle chooses a very different path than Yunior.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe tells the story of two teenage Mexican-American boys who grew up in the same neighborhood.

Allegiant: YA's Biggest Controversy

Last week I read and posted a review of Veronica Roth's Allegiant, the final book in the Divergent trilogy. I talked about a major spoiler in the book, but I didn't discuss the biggest spoiler of them all: the ending. Even though I debated doing it, I decided to leave some mystery and surprise for everyone who hadn't read it yet. 

But after seeing the internet's response to Roth's unexpected ending, as well as receiving a rather nasty comment from someone who I can only assume is a grieving fan, I decided to revisit the review and talk about how I felt about that big, gigantic, shocking ending that has taken YA by storm.

This will be a complete and total SPOILER post. Don't continue if you don't want to know.

Book Review: Allegiant

As some of you know, a little while ago I reviewed Divergent and Insurgent the first two books in Veronica Roth's trilogy. And as some of you also know, I didn't like them very much. But because I'm neurotic and have to finish what I started or whatever, I preordered the third and final book in the series, Allegiant. It was oh-so-conveniently delivered to my kindle this past Tuesday morning, and I set out to finish the journey Roth had started.

Now, this book has a lot of the same problems as the first, but I am pleased to say that it is by far the best out of the three, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Book Review: The Woodcutter

Set in the land of fairy tales, The Woodcutter by Kate Danley, is a different type of fantasy. It's dark and ominous, filled with almost every fairy tale character you can think of.

When I started it, I honestly didn't think that I was going to like it very much. But slowly, The Woodcutter pulled me into the Wood and on an adventure.