Review: Ivan Doig's Trilogy: The Morrie Morgan series

The Morrie Morgan series by Ivan Doig

This past month I finally finished the third book in the Morrie Morgan series, Sweet Thunder, by Ivan Doig. The Whistling Season is one of my favorite books and I've read it several times. I became aware that it was part of a series years after the fact and didn't read the second book, Work Song until late last year. Now I've finished the whole series so it seemed like a good time to take a look at the whole trilogy.

The series begins in 1909 in Marias Coulee, a small hamlet in Montana, where a widower and farmer, Oliver Milliron, and his three young sons, Paul, Damon, and Toby answer an ad for a cook and housekeeper. Rose Llewellyn is hired even though her reply to the ad says "Can't cook but doesn't bite." When she arrives by train her brother, Morrie Morgan, comes with her and decides to stay. He eventually takes over the role of teacher in the small one-room schoolhouse. Morrie is a natural teacher and he ignites the imaginations of his students and finds ways to challenge their minds, especially Paul Milliron who is the brightest kid in the whole school and the narrator of the story. Readers of The Whistling Season come to really like and admire Morrie Morgan but more of the story is focused on the Milliron family and the lives of many of the children who attend the school together and the ways his tutelage changes their lives. For my complete review of The Whistling Season, follow this link.

We meet Morrie Morgan again in 1919 in the second book, Work Song, when he steps off another train, this time in Butte, Montana. This itinerant teacher, walking encyclopedia, and fulltime charmer is back.  After a short stint working at a mortuary, he gets a job as a library assistant, a job he seems born to do. Clearly, I homed in on the library quotes from the book. But the story is really about how to strengthen the unions, whose members are trying to figure out an angle to get more support. Morrie decides they need a song! And just like in Whistling Season the book is cram-packed with quirky characters.

If you haven't read anything by Ivan Doig before, I highly recommend his writing and for a strong feel for what it was like, what it must have been like, to live in the West in the first half of the 20th Century. Every page is full of some witticism or another or just some little treasure hidden on the page. For more about Work Song, please read my review, which is full of favorite quotes from that book.

Sweet Thunder, the third installment, wraps up the series nicely. Morrie and his bride, Grace, return to Butte a year after they left, lured by the promise of a "gift" of a house. Sandy Sandison, Morrie's old boss at the library, has given them his mansion with a catch -- he must be allowed to live with them. Like most things that are too good to be true, this house comes with more problems than it fixes. Morrie needs to find a job, and fast! He finds one, or should I say the job finds him, as the editorial writer for a brand-new newspaper in Butte, The Thunder. The paper is to be the counterweight to all the other newspapers in town which have been bought-out by the Anaconda Mining Company and their editorial pages reflect the wishes of ownership to never say a negative thing about the company. This is a fairly elaborately plotted novel with lots of twists and turns and a whole host of characters, some new but most returning from the previous books. There are lighthearted moments, especially with a Morrie doppelganger who happens to be a bootlegger but Doig "quietly conveys the injustices and cruelties of American history, particularly in the realistically depressing and temporary resolution of the union’s struggle with Anaconda" (Kirkus Reviews).

I didn't like Sweet Thunder quite as much as the first books in the series. The battles between the editorial writers for the two main newspapers got a bit old. Morrie was so focused on his job he didn't have time or energy to attend to his failing marriage, and the silly bits with the bootleggers seemed, well, silly. As I was reading other readers' reaction on Goodreads one comment really caught my attention. Doig was 75 at the time of his death in 2015. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma for several years. This book, published in 2013 was his second to last. Perhaps, mused the commenter, his illness was keeping him from being at his best. I don't know if that was it, or if it was just hard to write about such a serious topic--union busting and the dangers of mining--without getting serious at times. The series as a whole is so worth it, though, if for no other reason than for its focus on life in the US West in the first half of the 20th Century. I gave Sweet Thunder a rating of four stars, which isn't off the mark by far.

-Anne

Books in a series. What should I do? What do you do?

As a high school librarian I often only read the first book in popular series because I wanted to get a feel for their plots and the writing, to be able to make recommendations and to determine future purchasing decisions. I would tell my students, when asked, that I didn't want to spend all my time on the same series but preferred to explore a new author or genre to widen my knowledge of the books in the collection. Now that I am retired I no longer have to hurry onto the next great book or author and can linger on a series if I want. And I can go back and read more books in each series that I liked, even completing those old series if I see fit.

That, however, is the rub. When I go back for the second of third book in a series and attempt to read on I usually find myself in a muddle, not remembering crucial details from the first book. I, unlike many of my past students, do not want to reread the first to go forward in a series. Which begs the question: Is it time to let these series go and/or not start future series?

Let me talk specifically. The following series are ones I consider myself still 'working' on.

The Flavia de Luce series.  I just finished the fourth book in the series, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley. What I found charming in the first three books started to irritate me in this one. Flavia, a precocious child, is always up to some project involving chemistry or poisons. She ends up being instrumental in solving the murder through her inquisitive and pushy ways. The murder in this story occurred on page 150, or half-way through the book. Too much pre-story before finally getting to the action. Perhaps it is time to let this series go. What do you think?

The Dreamer series, a side series The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater---
Another recently completed book, Call Down the Hawk, is the first book in the Dreamer series by a favorite author. I loved The Raven Cycle series so much that I had to try this one. I enjoyed it very much but now I will be trapped waiting for the second and third books to be published. I will probably forget critical details before that time.  I was in the same position with the Stranger the Dreamer series by Laini Taylor. I was in a holding pattern having finished the first, waiting for the second book in the duology to published and forgot many details of the first before reading the second. (Thanks for the correction, Proseandkahn.) Do you start series knowing that the subsequent books won't be published for several years?

Speaking of waiting for the next book in a series, how do you cope with books that end on a cliffhanger? That is what I am dealing with in The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust, #2) by Philip Pullman. Though I am committed to finishing this series, I love the writing and the characters so much, I just wish I hadn't started the whole series until the last book was published. The cliffhanger left me pining for days after I completed book #2. My daughter will not start a series until it is complete for this reason, among other things. I still want to finish the Arc of a Scythe series.  by Neal Shusterman. The second book ended on a huge cliffhanger but enough time passed before the third book, The Toll, was published that I didn't rush out and get it right away. And now even more time has passed...you get my point.

Other times I read a book as a standalone and don't hear until much later that it is actually a book in the series. I am never sure if I should read on or just be satisfied with my reading experience of the first. The Testaments, #2 of The Handmaid's Tale series by Margaret Atwood was one such book but I am so glad that I read it. I was surprised how much of the first story I remembered. The Cemetery of Lost Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is another series I am eyeing. I just learned that it is a four book series. I read the first book, The Shadow of the Wind, years ago and loved it. But should I keep going since I was satisfied and loved the book as a standalone?

Some series just seem too daunting to try and go back and catch up. The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series is a case in point. There are something like 19 books in that wonderful series by Alexander McCall Smith. I stopped reading about nine or ten books back. The same goes for The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. It has seven books in the series. I tried reading the third book after a substantial hiatus and couldn't do it. It is time to say enough and wipe the sequels off my TBR pile, don't you think?

Lastly, and I can't believe I am saying this, I am contemplating three classics series. I want to read at least the first book in The Dune series by Frank Herbert, The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, and The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I want to see what all the fuss is about and, I pray, that I don't feel a strong compulsion to read all the hundreds (exaggeration) of sequels.

On my Goodreads account I have listed 155 books as books-in-a-series, of those I have only completed 13 series in the ten years of keeping records. Not a very good track record. How do you cope with sequels? Do you usually find yourself reading on or can you stop mid-series?

All this stay-at-home business has got me thinking that maybe it is time I read on...

-Anne

The Raven King and thoughts on books in a series

I love, love, love Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle series and its concluding book, The Raven King is wonderful capstone for the the whole series. In fact, I think so highly of the book, I will consider it to be included on our Mock Printz list this Fall.

But I get ahead of myself.

The Raven Cycle series is considered Urban Fantasy, which means it is set in contemporary times but has supernatural elements. In the first book, The Raven Boys (published in 2012), readers first meet Blue Sargent who is the only person in her family who is not clairvoyant. Her whole life she has been told her kiss will kill her true love. That is a mighty strong incentive to not do any kissing at all. Blue meets the Raven Boys: Richard Gansey, Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish when she is waitressing at a restaurant they frequent. The four, plus another friend named Noah, start to hang around together, all seeking the same mission: to find the sleeping Welsh King, Glendower. Legend has it that if Glendower is awoken from his long sleep he will grant a wish to the person who woke him.

In the subsequent books, The Dream Thieves (2013), Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014) and The Raven King (2016) readers get to know and love the above named people, and host of other characters, as they look for Glendower, explore Cabeswater, a magical forest, and discover their own magical powers. In The Raven King, the many disparate pieces are drawn together in a book which feels like one big, gigantic climax to a satisfying conclusion. Honestly, I loved everything about the books and the whole series.

Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite YA authors. Her writing is so descriptive and lyrical. Everyone one of her books has drawn me in and kept me enthralled throughout the whole series. When one book ends I anxiously await the next. When the series ends, I mourn for a few days. I don't want to say goodbye to the friends I have met within her stories. This is the way I felt as I closed the book The Raven King for the last time. It was as if my best friend for the past five years were moving away. Sigh.

That said, I do want to quibble a bit with publishers of books in a series like The Raven Cycle whose target audience is older teens. Teenagers grow up. They leave school. Their taste in literature evolves. For this reason a YA series should never be longer than four books (and that is pushing it) and should always be published, all four books, within the four year time frame they are in high school. The Raven Cycle barely made those parameters, since The Raven King was published a year and a half after the third book Blue Lily, Lily Blue. Out of a high school of 1900 students I only had three students who were excited about the fourth book coming out because all the others had lost interest in the intervening months and years waiting for it. That makes me really sad since it is such a wonderful series.

Now to be fair, I can think of a whole lot of exceptions to the rules I just outlined. The Harry Potter series, of course, comes to mind with its seven book series and ten year publishing cycle. Most readers started that series as preteens and had to finish up with it when they were adults. It is a rare book series that will hold readers attention for such a long time span. Another series which broke my suggested rule, The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon), has four books which were published between 2003 to 2011. Everyone grumbled about how long it took for the conclusion of that series. Like Harry Potter, however, The Inheritance Cycle has developed a small, almost cult-like following of students who read the books over and over. They are timeless.

My hope, and it is a BIG hope, is that I can entice my teen readers to pick up the whole Raven Cycle series and read it from the first to the last book in rapid succession this coming school year. It is such a marvelous series, so intricate and complicated, thoughtful and imaginative, playful and serious, realistic and supernatural. I love everything about it...now to find the route for my readers to find their way in to this magical world, too.

Rating of The Raven King: 5 out of 5.

Source: Audiobook checked out from the public library. Will Patton is the narrator and I ADORE listening to him. He could read a recipe book out loud and I would listen.

Is The Raven King Printz worthy? YES. Will it be selected? I doubt it only because books-in-a-series are rarely selected and I don't think the fourth book in a series has ever been selected for a Printz Award. It's a shame. Read the book and the whole series anyway. It is worth every moment it take to finish it.

2017 Printz Award Contenders

23 / 35 books. 66% done!

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . . .

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.-Macmillan Books Website

I feel very ambivalent about Evermore.  As I read it I found myself thinking it wasn't very well written and I kept asking myself, "Why is Ever so angry and how can she possibly have any friends at all with that anger?"  But it was also very clear to me why this book appeals to teens:  the characters are struggling to make their way in the world and the story is full of tension, suspense, and drama--- key ingredients in books that teens like.  The other thing that kept me going was the fact that I met the author, Alyson Noel, this Fall and she said that she was a very unhappy, angry teenager and she hated school.  Perhaps Ever's feelings toward school and authority in general came out of Ms. Noel's own experiences.

Whatever my thoughts on this book, both boy and girl readers seem to like it and often request the next books in the series.  In fact, it was a boy who dropped by my desk on Monday to see if the 5th book in the series was in yet.  I have to remind myself that I am a grown woman and what I look for in books doesn't necessarily match what kids want.  Evermore gets kids reading and the sequels keep them reading.  Good enough for me.

P.S.-I will be out-of-town for a few days and don't think I will have access to a computer.  But I will be reading so I should have some new books to review when I get back.  Happy Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for my new blogging friends.

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Talk about a weird picture: me sitting in the waiting room of the hospital while my dad was having open heart surgery, reading this huge book about wars and planetary conflict, being so transported that I actually had to lift my head occasionally  to remind myself why I was actually there.  Admittedly, Monsters of Men is not your typical hospital reading material.

Here is quick little teaser from Goodreads:

'War', says the Mayor. 'At last'. Three armies march on New Prentisstown, each one intent on destroying the others. Todd and Viola are caught in the middle, with no chance of escape. As the battles commence, how can they hope to stop the fighting? How can there ever be peace when they're so hopelessly outnumbered? And if war makes monsters of men, what terrible choices await? But then a third voice breaks into the battle, one bent on revenge - the electrifying finale to the award-winning "Chaos Walking" trilogy, "Monsters of Men" is a heart-stopping novel about power, survival, and the devastating realities of war.

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness is the aptly named third book in the Chaos Walking series.  I devoured its predecessors, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and Answer this past summer and eagerly awaited the publication of this book. With teaser summaries like the one above who wouldn't be eager to read the book? Then I had to wait in line behind a student who was also anxious to get her hands on the third book of the trilogy before I got a crack at it. When I finally took it home I was shocked at how hard I found it to read.  I could only make myself read 25 pages or so a sitting.  At that pace the 600+ page tome was going to take me nearly a month to read. I'm not sure what it was about the book that I found to be such a bug-a-boo.  Perhaps it was the introduction of another narrator.  In the past two books there were two narrators, Todd and Viola, now Spackle 1077, or the Return, narrates a few chapters and it is very hard to understand what he means since he speaks figuratively. As the book progressed his meaning did become clearer as did all the seemingly disparate pieces of information from the series. In fact, the ending of the book is just about as perfect as can be.  Another problem with my slow reading may not have had anything to do with this book but with other books that were vying for my attention.  It used to be that I would have two or three books going at a time with no issues, but lately I've found that the multi-tasking approach to reading to be distracting.  At any rate,  I had a good 5 hours of sit time in the hospital and few hours here and there while Dad napped so I was able to devote my attention in one direction and the reward was profound.

Patrick Ness is an absolute master.  His books are so imaginative, thought-provoking, original, and creative that I want all of my students who are Fantasy and Sci-Fi fans to read them.  Heck, I want all of my friends to read them.  If you  are interested in them I recommend that you read all three in as close of proximity as possible to each other, that might have solved the momentum problem I had with the last book.  And don't get me wrong, just because I read the first half of the book slowly, I was still enjoying it.

One reviewer said after completing the whole series that he was only sorry that he didn't have these books to read anew.  I couldn't agree more though I know I will be savoring them for a long time to come.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I really didn't expect to like Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater as much as I did.  It is a love story between a girl, Grace, and a werewolf, Sam.  If that doesn't sound hokey, I don't know what does.  But somehow it works and the story has some really magical and surprising moments. I listened to this in the audiobook format and it was delightful.  Jenna Lamia read the part of Grace and David Ledoux read Sam's chapters. I always enjoy it when the reader doesn't have to read opposite sex parts causing them to use a funny voice to pull it off. Both Jenna and David made credible teen voices, too.  Nothing worse that having a teenager sound like an old man or woman.  Ha!

In alternating chapters Grace and Sam tell their story of emerging love. In Shiver werewolves aren't the horrid creatures who emerge on moonlit nights and run around trying to bite everyone, rather they are human during the warm month and wolves during the cold months. At the point in the story when Sam and Grace meet as humans the temperature is dropping daily and both of them know that they are battling time until Sam changes to his wolf form.  They have to work pretty hard to keep him warm to prevent that change. Their story gets more complicated when another boy from school is bitten and one of Grace's best friends and his sister get involved in all the drama that ensues. Get out your hankies, though, there are some very touching, sad moments in the tale.

Maggie Stiefvater said, in the interview on that last track, that she set out to write a tear-jerker!  She certainly had me in tears at several times.  She also identifies herself as a musician and definitely incorporated music and poetry into the storyline.  I always like those little touches when I'm reading a book.

Since several of you have told me that you are eager to read my review because you have to book on you TBR pile I don't want to spoil anything but I think I would be remiss if I don't put up a mild word of caution. This book is for older teens and there is some mild sexual situations.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My college-age daughters and I all reading Mockingjay at the same time.

It's been tough.  I practically had to stay away from the computer for days because I didn't want to see a single review for Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, until I had a chance to finish it. I was afraid I'd bump into a review from some of you speedy readers out in the blogosphere.  Well, I finished it last night and loved it. Like the second book in the series, Catching Fire, this book had a lot of plot twists and turns that I wasn't expecting.  For example the part when Peeta... oh yes, I wasn't going to put any spoilers in my review because you will want to figure it out for yourself.

All three of the books in the series had slow starts, in my opinion, and Mockingjay was no exception.  Though there were moments of excitement, the real action didn't start until after page 100, with the excitement we've come to expect in the Hunger Games series not reaching any kind of fevered pitch until part 3.  I'm hoping the readers, especially reluctant readers, won't get discouraged before getting to the climax and to the satisfying, if not a little sad, conclusion. As soon as I finished the book I wanted to reread the last chapter again. In fact, I did, just to make sure that....

I think it will take a few days for the full impact of the story to sink in and I will want to have a copy of the book nearby so I can look up passages as I think through the storyline.  In other words, I plan to savor this book, this series.  My eldest daughter told me today that this is a series that she hopes will come out in a movie.  I'm not sure I agree, because I have made such vivid pictures in my head of all the characters and the wild settings.  I'm not sure I am ready to give those up to Hollywood just yet.

If you haven't done so, read the book.  Read the whole series.  You won't be disappointed.  I promise.

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness suffers a bit my middle-book-syndrome.  Don't get me wrong.  It is a tremendously exciting and unique storyline but throughout the book I was left with the thought that I knew there was a third book which meant that the heroes wouldn't prevail or the villain wouldn't get his due.  I was right on both accounts. My daughter tells me that middle books in trilogies are always a version of The Empire Strikes Back, where the hero is left clinging to life and we start to wonder if this is the series where the villain will finally win.  Who am I to argue with that logic? That said, the book retains much of the charm of its predecessor, The Knife of Never Letting Go. Our heroes, Todd and Viola, tell the story in alternating chapters written in first person which would usually throw me for a loop until I adjusted to the new narrator. Todd, who is illiterate, writes in pigeon-English, often spelling words how they sound. The first chapter opens days or minutes after the last book ended with both children in Haven but it is not the town that they had hoped and striven for. The new ruler of the town is Mayor Prentiss and he is a tyrant capable of mind-control and under him things seem to go from bad to worse quickly. Resistance to the new order springs up and the leader of this group is the new hero, or is she?

I was never quite sure who the true heroes and villains were.  Nor was I ever quite sure which side was the right side. And I think that was the point of the story. Ness is quoted as saying: "Even in a society where we are constantly told to 'be ourselves,' the pressure to conform is terrible, especially for the young. If the Chaos Walking trilogy is about anything, it's about identity, finding out who you are. How do you stay an individual when the pressure to conform, to change who you are, is life-threatening?" (Back Cover Flap)

Like any good middle book of a trilogy, The Ask and Answer leaves the reader hanging, ready for the sequel.  That is where I am now. Fortunately for me I won't have to wait long.  Monsters of Men, book three of the Chaos Walking trilogy, is due out on September 28.  I'll be the first person in line at my library to read it.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.

What a book. What a great start for the first book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. This stay-up-late, page-turner, coming-of-age book combines all kinds of elements to make it a hit on all kinds of levels. It is a dystopian novel of the first rate. It has adventure, excitement, survival, unpredictable plot twists, and even a little comedy. The surprise ending sets up the sequel perfectly.

Todd Hewitt is less than a month from his birthday when he will become a man. He lives on a colonized planet in a community of all men. Unfortunately a germ on the planet kills all women and allows men to hear each others' thoughts. Todd refers to this cacophony of sound as noise. Noise gives away every thought, every impulse. Men can even hear the thoughts of animals and pets. These animal thoughts provide some of the comic moments in the book. When Ben, Todd's surrogate father, sends him on a mission to pick apple across the swamp, Todd runs into a being with no noise. This chance encounter forces Todd to leave his community and seek safety elsewhere while the rest of his community hunts him down.

Several students and one teacher, Sarah M., suggested that I read this book. She went to school with the author, Patrick Ness, in the nearby community of Parkland. Sarah suggested that I attempt to contact Mr. Ness to come to our school for an author visit. I loved the idea but I hadn't read the book so I thought such a request would be premature. Ness now lives in the England and this book won all sorts of awards in the UK but unfortunately was overlooked for such accolades in the US. I will make sure to remedy that situation in my library. This book deserves lots of praise and I recommend it to all students, especially those who are big fans of The Hunger Games and other adventure stories of that ilk. Hum, I think a trip up to school this afternoon is in order so I can get the second book in the trilogy, The Ask and the Answer. I can't wait to continue the adventure....

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

"Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into a bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster." -From the book jacket

So begins another imaginative and thrilling modern-day fantasy and the first book of a trilogy. I devoured this book just like my high school readers do. In fact, I started listening to this book on Talking/Audio CD but abandoned that method of consumption because I can read a lot faster than narrators can read. Though I literally zoomed through this book I don't give Ms. Clare an A for her writing style. A colleague who has read the other books in the series assures me that her writing improves in subsequent volumes. I know this sounds rather snobby of me since the story is so compelling why should it matter? Twilight wasn't high literature either and that didn't keep teens and adults alike from enjoying it.

As the story started to unfold I did start to notice a very interesting development. I kept noticing similarities to the Harry Potter series. Not that I am accusing Clare of plagiarism, just some obvious resemblances. Here are a few that I noticed:

-mundanes (muggles)- regular humans
-transformations (transfiguration)- changing into an animal form; both books had someone changed into a rat.
-magical motorbikes
-magical charms that hide buildings from being viewed/seen by human eyes
-birds of prey used as messengers
-very wicked being wants to take over the world- Valentine (Voldemort)
-half bloods looked down on by some full blooded Shadowhunters (Wizards)

There were also lots of differences between the two books and Ms. Clare has written a very exciting tale. I know I will make time to read the sequels soon.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

This book is the prequel to Graceling and starts with an introduction to how evil King Leck's grace advanced to the point where he could manipulate others simply with his voice.He re-enters the story later as the fighting between kingdoms heat up but in the meantime the story shifts to Fire, a beautiful monster girl and her relationships with the royal family. Monsters are enhanced and exceptionally beautiful versions of animals and their presence has peculiar effects on people-positive or negative. Fire assists the king through her abilities to manipulate people's thoughts and to read minds and motives.

This book is marvelous. I think the writing is superior to Graceling and I loved that book so I guess that means that I adore this one. Once again Cashore captures the reader with her creativity and imagination. The books can be read in either order. She wrote Graceling first but there is really nothing in this book that would spoil it if you read Fire first and vise versa. A word of caution, however, these books aren't really meant for a younger audience---there are lots of references to sexual activity, though nothing is too graphic. I reserve my recommendation for high school age readers and above.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I finished reading this book last Saturday. For a week I have been reflecting on the wonderful pool of talented YA authors out there and Kristin Cashore is definitely one of them. Graceling is Cashore's debut YA novel. It is impeccably written with details that add to and broaden the story and the reader's understanding of the characters and their motivations. The plot is exciting, often exhilarating, and quite unique.

The tale is about Katsa, a graceling, or a person born with a particular talent. Her talent is an amazing ability to fight, even kill if need be. Because of her "grace" she is used by her uncle for henchman-like duty around the kingdom and everyone is afraid of her, until she meets Po. Po, a Prince from a neighboring kingdom, is also graced. With his grace Po is able to help Katsa redirect her talents and her strengths and to break away from her oppressive uncle. But the adventures and the tension increase as the two friends go out together to try to find answers to the mysterious kidnapping of Po's grandfather.

I do want to give this warning- there are a few R-rated scenes in the book so I would not recommend this book for younger teens. Fantasy and romance readers will be thrilled with this book as will readers looking for just a well-told, exciting tale. I look forward to reading the prequel, Fire.

Maze Runner by James Dashner

What is the deal these days with authors writing tantalizing books that require a sequel or two for the whole story to unfold?

I believe that this opening volume of the Maze Runner Trilogy will appeal to readers of The Hunger Games, though I doubt they will be as rabid about it. When the protagonist of this Dystopian novel, Thomas, enters the maze glade through an elevator, his memory is wiped out. He joins other teens who have constructed a survivalist society on a glade near the maze. All the teens, or Gladers, have had their memories wiped out, too. No one knows why they're there, or where they came from. Every day special runners venture into the constantly shifting, monster-infested maze searching for a way out; for answers to their existence. Several of the teens who have been "stung" along the way give horrifying hints of a ravaged world outside the glade and this makes for exciting reading and poses a dilemma. Do they really want to leave the glade if things are actually worse outside? The climax of the book occurs with over 30 pages left in the story making the last few chapters seem like they should be first few chapters in the next book. Either way, I was left with a feeling that I want to read on so that I can figure out the answer to the question, is WICKED really good?

I listened to this book on audio CD as I traveled back and forth to work but found myself reading the book in between car trips because I was so anxious to learn what happened next.

3.75 out of 5 stars (It's my grading system, I can break up the stars into small increments if I want to! Ha!)

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

#1 book in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, this fantasy/adventure story has it all. It has an exciting, interesting plot; well-developed characters; and is a thrilling page-turner. Jessica D. (GKHS teacher) recommends this series to her reluctant readers with good results. Now I will, too.

Middle school through high school readers; Audio CD; My rating: 4 1/2 stars.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

When I asked my daughters to name their favorite books they both said the Great and Terrible Beauty series. This book is the second book in this series and it really is very good. It is just as exciting, unique, and well-written as the first book in the series. I haven't read the third book (A Sweet Far Thing), yet, but I'm sure I will. Set in Victoria England this book is a story of magical lands, powers, and friendships. Just when I thought I'd figured out who the villain was, there was a twist in the story and I realized that I was wrong. It kept me guessing and interested throughout.

The books are all fairly long and the first book starts out in India seems bizarre at first. I haven't had much luck getting girls to pick up this series for this reason but I shall redouble my efforts now that I familiar with two of the books.

Young Adults. My rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.