(ARC) REVIEW • No Thanks, Babs Yagg (Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter) » The Novel Hermit

(ARC) REVIEW • No Thanks, Babs Yagg (Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter)

September 26, 2016 Comments : 3

vassa-in-the-night

In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now―but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters―and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair….

Inspired by the Russian folktale “Vassilissa the Beautiful” and her years of experience teaching creative writing to students in New York City public schools, acclaimed author Sarah Porter weaves a dark yet hopeful tale about a young girl’s search for home, love, and belonging.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Tor Books for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “When Night looked own, it saw its own eyes staring back at it. “

DNF-ed at page 143 (47%)

Ugh, I never like it when I have to DNF a book. Vassa in the Night had the stuff that had the makings of an awesome book—Russian fairytale retelling, enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, talking wooden dolls, mysterious motorcycler, and witch’s curse—but something about this book never captivated me. I wanted to be enchanted, but I wasn’t.

Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW • Blue Spirit Possession (The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano)

September 21, 2016 Leave a Comment

Lionel is a wild boy, who doesn’t much like to be around other people. He’d rather be a purring cat or a wolf stalking the woods.

Marybeth is a nice girl. She doesn’t need to be told to comb her hair or brush her teeth, and she’s kind to everyone at the orphanage . . . Lionel most of all.

Different though they are, Lionel and Marybeth are best friends in a world that has forgotten about them. So when a mysterious blue spirit possesses Marybeth—and starts to take control—they know they must stop it before the real Marybeth fades away forever.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Bloomsbury for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Lionel was a wild boy.”

Meet Lionel, a boy who acts more like an animal than a human, and Marybeth, a girl who is amiable and follows every direction given to her. You wouldn’t expect these complete opposites to get along, but they do. At this orphanage, they have nothing but each other.

In The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart, Marybeth becomes possessed by a mysterious blue spirit who is wary of everybody and keeps acting out. Lionel and Marybeth set out to figure out what has gotten ahold of Marybeth and how they can keep Marybeth from fading away.

Reviews

REVIEW • Jenny’s Murder (Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter)

September 19, 2016 Leave a Comment

Ghostly Echoes

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder–her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Algonquin Young Readers for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Mr. Jackaby’s cluttered office spun around me.”

William Ritter does it again! Ghostly Echoes tops the previous books, and has become my favorite book of the series. *round of applause!*

In Ghostly Echoes, Lead supernatural investigator, R. F. Jackaby, and his assistant, Abigail Rook, are getting to the bottom of a cold case—a decade-old murder of the ghostly inhabitant of 926 Augur Lane, Jenny Cavanaugh. A string of murders have caught Jackaby and Abigail’s attention; they’re very similar to Jenny’s and her fiancé’s death and disappearance. As they investigate the new murders, they find themselves encountering a vampire, missing wives, lost souls, ferryman of Hell, and a big bad that had been building itself for a decade (and possibly longer).

Before you read any further about the goodness of Ghostly Echoes, please tell me you have read the previous two Jackaby books. Please! If you haven’t, here are my reasons why you should read Jackaby (the first book of the series).

Letters

SINCERELY, CEE | A letter from yours truly to Neal Shusterman & Scythe

September 18, 2016 Comment : 1

**Dear Neal Shusterman & Scythe,**

[quote cite=”Goodreads” url=”https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28954189-scythe”]In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (“gleaned”) by professional reapers (“scythes”). Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythe’s apprentices, and—despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation—they must learn the art of killing and come to understand the necessity of what they do.

Only one of them will be chosen as a scythe’s apprentice. And when it becomes clear that the winning apprentice’s first task will be to glean the loser, Citra and Rowan are pitted against one another in a fight for their lives.[/quote]

Reviews

(ARC) REVIEW • The Lewis and Clark Father-Son Journey (The Courage Test by James Preller)

September 14, 2016 Comment : 1

the-courage-test

Will has no choice. His father drags him along on a wilderness adventure in the footsteps of legendary explorers Lewis and Clark–whether he likes it or not. All the while, Will senses that something about this trip isn’t quite right.

Along the journey, Will meets fascinating strangers and experiences new thrills, including mountain cliffs, whitewater rapids, and a heart-hammering bear encounter.

It is a journey into the soul of America’s past, and the meaning of family in the future. In the end, Will must face his own, life-changing test of courage.

A father-and-son journey along the Lewis and Clark Trail–from Fort Mandan to the shining sea–offers readers a genre-bending blend of American history, thrilling action, and personal discovery.[/note]

myreview

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Macmillan for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “My name is William Meriwether Miller. “

What better way for a father and a son to bond than to take the same journey that Lewis and Clark did? Well, it’s not what William Meriwether Miller wants to do. (Yes, he was named after the great Lewis and Clark.) He’d rather be home with his mom, playing in the All-Star baseball team, but yet, he is forced to go on a trip with his father.

Holy Mother Cover

HOLY, MOTHER COVER! US vs AUS • Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

September 12, 2016 Comments : 5

holymothercover

Inspired by What She Reads, Pure Imagination Blog, and Stacked.

I admit I’m a book cover snob. Who isn’t though?

Book covers are the first thing that attracts readers to a book. A good cover can draw someone is, just as a bad cover can easily draw someone away. It can essentially make or break a book. Holy, Mother Cover! is where I showcase the book covers that stand out (or make me cringe), and discuss cover changes.

(A big special thanks to Georgie at What She Reads for bestowing me this fabulous name and to Charlotte at The Simple Tales for creating the beautiful feature banner you see before you.)

US vs. AUS: Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

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