THE WIZARD HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima – Review November 12, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: family, family issues, magic, reform school, wizards, young adult
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Seph McCauley has been kicked out of private school after private school. Trouble seems to follow him around. When he is associated in a tragic fire that results in the death of a close friend, his guardians – a law firm – decide he needs a drastic change. Seph is sent to The Havens, a school with a good track record with rebellious boys.
Seph has always known he is special, in fact, he knows he is a wizard. He just hasn’t had the luxury of training since his parents have long been dead and his foster-mother, a sorceress, wanted to keep him away from the magical world as much as possible. In her opinion, wizards are bad news – always looking for ways to control and manipulate the people around them for their own benefit. He desperately wants training and to know more about his heritage and, at first, he thinks he might be able to find that at The Havens.
Jeremy Leicester promises Seph exactly what he wants – as long as he gives Leicester what he asks for in return. When Seph comes to understand what Leicester is after, he decides he doesn’t want anything to do with him. The problem is, Leicester is a very powerful wizard and he isn’t used to being denied. It will take everything Seph has to survive his time at The Havens.
Luckily, Seph isn’t completely on his own. THE WIZARD HEIR brings back characters readers grew to love in the first book of this trilogy, THE WARRIOR HEIR. We see Jack Swift, Ellen Stephenson, Linda Downey and Leander Hastings – all important players in the battle between the wizards and the lower guilds. Readers are also introduced to a few new characters like Jason Haley, another students at The Havens, who provides Seph with much needed support and Madison Moss, a beautiful girl who steals his heart, who has many secrets of her own.
THE WIZARD HEIR is an enchanting story. It is easy to get lost in the world Cinda Williams Chima creates for her characters. It would be best to read THE WARRIOR HEIR first, but if you can’t get your hands on it, starting with THE WIZARD HEIR would probably be okay. You won’t be lost, but you’ll miss out on some of the references in terms of the returning characters.
Don’t wait. This isn’t a series you should miss.
AFTER by Amy Efaw – REVIEW November 10, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: abandonment, jail, juvenile delinquents, lawyers, teen pregnancy, young adult
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Viking Juvenile – August 11, 2009
Devon is a young, athletic girl with a bright future as a soccer player. The Olympics have even been linked to her name. How could a girl like this end up doing something as horrible as throwing a newborn baby in the trash along with other refuse from around the house?
While canvasing the apartment building looking for information about the abandoned baby, a police officer finds his way to Devon’s door. Her mother, recently home from a night shift at Safeway, answers the door and starts her usual flirting. She informs the police officer that her daughter, Devon, stayed home from school that day because she was sick. It didn’t take long for the police officer to put two and two together.
Very quickly, Devon is thrust into a world she never imagined for herself. A world filled with kids with problems more complicated than she ever experienced. A world in a juvenile detention facility under observation 24 hours a day. A world without anyone she can call a friend.
The reader witnesses Devon’s story unfold piece by piece, almost as if we are understanding what transpired at the same time Devon does. What readers will find most amazing about the entire story is the level of denial Devon immerses herself in order to function everyday. Devon isn’t a likable character, mostly because of the strict discipline holds herself to in terms of school work and soccer. She rarely lets herself loose, which means people don’t know who she really is – including the reader.
I didn’t want to stop reading. I needed to find out what pushed Devon to do something so horrible. Through conversations with her lawyer in preparation for a trial to determine whether or not she’ll be judged in the juvenile system or be sent to the adult courts, we get a good pictures of what was going through Devon’s head.
Digital Short: Firelight – A Must See For All Twilight Fans November 9, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: spoof
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Can’t Get Enough of CANDOR by Pam Bachorz? November 5, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.1 comment so far
Check out these promotional videos from Candor, Florida. You can also listen to the top secret notes of Campbell Banks himself.
CANDOR Book Trailer
Stories from Candor (Learn About the Town)
Private Recordings of Cameron Banks
Visit the website to listen to the recordings.
October Wrap-Up November 5, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: wrap-up, young adult
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81. GOTH GIRL RISING by Barry Lyga (October 1, 2009)
82. ELPHAME’S CHOICE by P.C. Cast (October 7, 2009)
83. CRASHED by Robin Wasserman (October 11, 2009) AUDIO
84. THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner (October 14, 2009)
85. HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick (October 17, 2009)
86. ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card (October 21, 2009) AUDIO
87. THE WARRIOR HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima (October 22, 2009)
88. MY SOUL TO LOSE by Rachel Vincent (October 26, 2009) AUDIO
89. THE COMPOUND by S.A. Bodeen (October 28, 2009) REREAD
90. THE IRON KING by Julie Kagawa (October 30, 2009)
91. GONE by Lisa McMann (October 31, 2009)
October brought audio books back into my life. I listened to CRASHED by Robin Wasserman, ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card, and MY SOUL TO LOSE by Rachel Vincent.
As far as the books I read and enjoyed the most, they would have to be:
GOTH GIRL RISING by Barry Lyga
HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick
and
THE WARRIOR HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima
BLOOD WATER by Dean Vincent Carter – REVIEW November 5, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: flood, horror, young adult
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Corgi Childrens – June 4, 2009
Dr. Morrow has discovered a unique and curious creature. He spends countless hours conducting experiments on it in order to learn about the abilities and intelligence of the creature. It is nothing like he has ever seen before. If it is as intelligent as it appears to be, it would be devastating if it landed in the wrong hands – and one particular scientist has been snooping around causing Dr. Morrow to be extra cautious.
The unthinkable happens and the creature finds a way out of the lab. At the same time, the town is being bombarded by a torrential downpour leaving the inhabitants stranded and immobilized. During the rise of the flood waters, Sean, a young teen, happens to witness a man struggling to climb out of the roaring, fast-flowing river. He attempts to climb down the bank to help the man, but stops when he sees the man become violently ill. The man vomits blood until there doesn’t seem to be any left in his body. After the blood, a black oozing substance flows out of his mouth. The man jerks away and falls back into the water and Sean leaves the riverbank and searches for a way to get home. The smell coming from the black ooze was too much to take.
The black ooze is the creature Dr. Morrow found and it can travel from host to host by entering the mouths of its victims. BLOOD WATER follows the path of the creature as it flows from host to host. The creature infects the host as soon as it enters their body. It only takes a short time for the host to deteriorate enough to cause the creature to search out another body. Sean and his brother, James, try to find help in putting a stop to the killing spree of this terrible creature, losing many people along the way.
BLOOD WATER is being promoted as a horror novel, but falls short when it comes to creepy suspense. The only disturbing aspect of the book is when the author details what happens to the infected hosts before they finally die. BLOOD WATER is short and, I have to say, that is probably the only reason I finished it.
Waiting on Wednesday – LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater November 4, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: waiting on wednesday
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I am so excited about this news. Maggie Stiefvater has been on my brain lately because of the Book Club over at the Open Book Society. SHIVER is the featured book this month and revisiting it has been a pleasure. This news just made my day. So, this week…
I’m waiting
and waiting
and waiting for:
LINGER
by Maggie Stiefvater
Grace
This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one.
Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease we couldn’t cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend.
But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it’s only me who’s not firmly in my own skin.
Please book fairies, send me an early copy.
Today I’m Being Highlighted on “Scene of the Blog” – Go Check It Out! November 4, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.6 comments
Cathy at Kittling Books posts a “Scene of the Blog” once a week in order to introduce bloggers and let them show readers where the “magic” happens.
I’m honored to be featured on Cathy’s blog and I can’t wait to hop over and check in on the comments throughout the day to see if I can meet some new bloggers to start following.
Be sure to come over and say hi.
We Have a Winner! October 31, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: contests
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I finished THE IRON KING by Julie Kagawa last night at 10:10 p.m. So, I’d like to congratulate YAN from Books By Their Cover. She guessed I would finish the book on October 30th at 9:00 p.m. But, that’s not all. Congrats also go out to Erica from The Book Cellar. She wins a collection of swag. I want to say thanks to everyone for participating. I’ll probably do it again so be prepared. I love reading anyway, but with people guessing my “end time,” it almost seemed like a game.
Win THE IRON KING (ARC) by Julie Kagawa – How Good Are You At Guessing? October 28, 2009
Posted by karinlibrarian in young adult.Tags: contests
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Do you want to win an ARC of THE IRON KING by Julie Kagawa? If so, this is your chance.
Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined–the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.
So, what do you have to do to win? Well, you see, I’m not finished with the book yet. I’m on page 196 out of 363. That means I’m 53% finished.
In order to win, you need to:
1) live in the United States,
2) GUESS what DATE and TIME I’ll finish the book,
and 3) leave your email address in the post. (The TIME will be used in case more than one person chooses the correct DATE.)
I also have some swag to give away so, if you want to be eligible to win some fun stuff, do some of the following:
+1 entry for posting about the contest on your blog (sidebar is okay)
+1 entry for tweeting about it
+1 entry for following Karin’s Book Nook in a Reader or by Email. (Links are in sidebar under my vCard)
+1 entry for becoming a fan of Karin’s Book Nook on Facebook.
+1 entry to following me on Twitter (kperry)
Important – You need to be sure to include links in your posts to show your Contest Post and Twitter Post.
If you become a fan on Facebook or start following on Twitter be sure to give me your username so I can find you.
Have fun guessing. I can’t wait to see who wins.
