Wayward Bookshelf

Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire This is another wonderful weaving of folktale and alchemy from Seanan McGuire. Now the Alchemical Journeys series (at least both of them so far) explore the concept of making ideas or concepts incarnate, and as we can gather from the title, this book is all about the Seasons. Our main duo is Melanie & Harry. High school sweethearts who are hopelessly devoted. (yes, I'm singing the song).      And when an age old contest is kicked into effect, and Melanie and Harry are unwittingly in the running, they scramble to ensure their survival and maintain their humanity as previously unrealized instincts start to kick in. When I tried to explain this book to my partner, I found myself saying "It's like Hunger Games, but much better science fiction, way more folklore, better characters, and no stupid love triangle." So really, not like it at all I guess, except for the fact that a bunch of teenagers are competing for both survival and a ma...

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides In reading this book, I took a step out of the fantasy genre for a minute, and entered into the realm of realistic fiction. I found Cal to be a multi-faceted, relatable character, and was very interested in how the story unfolded. I appreciated the author's use of his personal experiences of using a Greek family, and the setting the story in Detroit. These both were painted very vividly and gave the story some real shape and texture for Cal to emerge from. And some of my favorite parts were the glimpses into Cal's current life, and seeing how the experiences of his youth both shaped and paralleled what he was experiencing as an adult was a great storytelling device. Parts were unexpectedly funny, others were unexpectedly sad or upsetting, and because of this the book felt like a truly human story. We are not all good, bad, happy or sad, but a mix. And our main character's ability to stay authentic to himself while continuing to s...

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire In this 4th book of the Wayward Children series, we focus on Lundy, who we know from the other books as the girl who will never grow up. We see her enter a door to the high-stakes, logical world of the Goblin Market and begin to navigate it. We see her build relationships, we see her care about her biological family and her found family, torn between finding meaning in her two very different worlds. We see the consequences of 'fair trade.' While my favorite Wayward Children installment thus far is Down Among the Sticks and Bones , there were a couple things that made this book very compelling. One, [little spoiler warning] we see an example of a child who finds the same door her parent did. This informs part of their relationship. It also informs a little of Lundy's existence in the Goblin Market, because the market has known another Lundy (and lost him when he chose to remain in the 'real' world). The second compelli...

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner This book is a blend of fairytales & Jewish history. Our story follows two sisters, Liba & Laya, in chapters that alternate perspectives. Liba is cautious & rule-abiding, while Laya is more of a free spirit. When their estranged grandfather falls ill, and their parents travel to the city and the girls are left alone to begin a coming of age journey. But before their parents go, Liba & Laya are each given some information about their family history & their own natures, they realize that they may not be simply human as they seem. This is where some of the fairytales come to life in our story. Things that I especially enjoyed about the book was the reference to Rosetti's Goblin Market poem, the seamless interweaving of the history and fairytales, especially towards the end when the more fantastic elements of the story affect the real world outcomes. I enjoyed themes of transformation, sacrifice and forging...

The People in the Castle: Selected Strange Stories by Joan Aiken This book caught my eye on one of my last trips to Vromans Bookstore (located in Pasadena, CA and one of my favorite independent bookstores) before I moved across the country, so I grabbed it, packed it for the move, finally got around to reading it, and really enjoyed it. I picked it up over Christmastime while we had family in town because the nature of short stories are perfect for when you only have a few minutes at a time to sit down and read. These stories are great. Quirky, at times magical, at times very realistic, and always relatable. Some of them begin, end, and wrap up quite nicely, while others meander and are very open ended. The varied nature of each tale had me turning from one to the next with a lot of curiosity as to where we were going next. Aiken's voice is spot on and livens the stories but is always sure to give the characters the spotlight. My personal favorites in the collection wer...

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin In the introduction of the book Levitin writes "What artists & scientists have in common is the ability to live in an open-ended state of interpretation and reinterpretation of the products of our work." (p. 5) and I completely agree - at least with the musician part of it since I can't really speak for scientists, but as artists we never stop learning. Even when we've completely mastered a piece of music, each time we play it, it is a new & original interpretation. We may strike the notes just a little differently, or emphasize a phrase another way, we may try it slower or faster or put it through any number of grand or small transformations. And even after all this, it is still the same, mostly recognizable piece of music. One of the ideas that Levitin explores at length through the discussion of many research studies is the human brain's ability to recognize fam...

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen Anyone following my reviews lately will probably notice that I've been on a bit of a Sarah Addison Allen kick. And this is because these have been the perfect late summer/early autumn reads for me after a very eventful year thus far. Allen's writing is beautiful & descriptive, and she takes the everyday things like family, work, growing up or old, friendship & acceptance and she makes them magical. First Frost is the second in the Waverley family set after Garden Spells , so if you haven't read that one yet, do that first. This book finds us back in Bascom several years after the end of Garden Spells. Bay is now in high school, Claire has ventured into candy making, Claire & Tyler's daughter is in elementary school, Sydney runs a successful hair salon in town & Evanelle and Fred are still around town anticipating the odd things that people will need. We also learn that the Waverley family magic becomes very restiv...

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen This book weaves local legend & magical realism into the everyday lives of the residents of Bascom, North Carolina. Our focus is on the Waverley family, whose garden is said to produce flowers with magical properties and is home to a rather ornery apple tree. Claire & Sydney are the Waverley sisters, they’ve also got their aunt Evanelle & Sydney’s daughter Bay. All the Waverly’s possess a unique magic. Claire has the family knowledge of the garden and recipes, Sydney has an uncanny talent with styling hair to bring out the best version of people, Bay knows where things belong and Evanelle - whose magic is my personal favorite - is compelled to give people odd things that always seem to become necessary in unexpected ways. And while the magic is a beautiful aspect of the book that enhances our story, the tale itself is more about learning to overcome past hurt, rumors or trauma to learn to trust yourselves and others enough to let ...

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers If you haven't read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, I'd recommend reading it before opening A Closed Common Orbit. Technically you COULD read them non-sequentially as they focus on different characters and each have a contained story arc, BUT you would miss out on some fantastic world building, and some crucial details that explain how our protagonist, Sidra, ended up where she is. Sidra is an AI designed to interface throughout a ship, but she has instead been installed in a human body kit - a very illegal one at that. Our story begins with her trying to get her bearings, accept the kit's limitations, and create a backstory while working around her protocol not to lie. She lands with her guardian of sorts, Pepper, on Corion and tries to find a way to exist both in her new form and on solid land instead of in space. Now I'm a bit of a sucker for the philosophical debate about the rights of sentie...

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers I have been recommending this book right & left since I finished it. Chambers' voice & storytelling style feels a bit like Douglas Adams met the cast of Firefly. Our story follows the crew of a spaceship that basically helps build intergalactic freeways as they take on a *huge* job. The highlight of the book though, is the crew themselves. A cast of aliens who are created in brilliant & unique ways, and the corresponding universe building that Chambers had to do in order to have so many fleshed out, believable alien species. Each crew member has a completely unique background, and in several cases physiology, from the rest of their shipmates, while usually managing to co-exist in a relatively peacefully. I enjoyed the alien cross-cultural differences, the adventure, and the interpersonal relationships that grow & develop as the story progresses. An absolutely enjoyable read from start to finish. Favo...

The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst I thought I really liked the first book in this series, The Queen of Blood , but I really, REALLY liked The Reluctant Queen. And I again found myself reading far past bedtime in order to finish it. The book picks up shortly after the end of Queen of Blood. Daleina is queen after the event known as the Coronation Massacre, and is working hard to be the leader Aratay needs - the one that will protect her people from the bloodthirsty spirits that share their land. But when it becomes clear that something is terribly wrong with Daleina, she urges her champions to find an heir just in case . And this is where things start to get a little out of control. The urgency of the queen's command to find an heir drives some of the champions to make rash decisions, and push their candidates harder than they would normally dare, taking risks that they would not usually chance. And Ven, the Queen's own champion, convinced that the children at the ac...

It Takes a Village Idiot: A Memoir of Life After the City by Jim Mullen I just moved from the greater LA area to small town Kansas, & came across this book in the local used bookstore making this a timely read for me. Mullen’s humor was pretty great, at times he finds just the right amount of over the top sarcasm to be downright hilarious. And alongside the humor there is also a warm story of finding home in the unlikeliest of places.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker This book was thought-provoking to say the least. As it combines the stuff of folktales from two different cultures into a turn-of-the-century New York City setting, I've had a hard time classifying this book into one genre or another. At times folktale or myth, at times historical fiction and sometimes a philosophical exploration about what it means to be alive. Chava is a Golem - a creature made mostly from clay, and brought to life with an incantation. Commissioned by a selfish man, and created by a faithless one, her origins are unfortunate. When she finds herself newly awakened, masterless and alone in New York, she struggles to discover a way to balance her nature to both serve & destroy, and finds her way to a job at a bakery. Ahmad is a Jinni - a fire being born in the Syrian desert & trapped for centuries by an evil wizard. When he is set free from his prison, he too finds himself in New York without a clear place or ...

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire Another beautiful novel from Seanan McGuire. The openings of the Wayward Children books are some of my favorite pages to read. I look forward to them with relish. Seanan writes for those of us who as children who looked for Narnia in our closets, or down rabbit holes for adventure, or created imaginary worlds of our own to just belong in. For the dreamers & the lost ones. . . Beneath the Sugar Sky introduces us to Rini, who falls from the sky into the Turtle Pond at Eleanor West's home for Wayward Children. She is in search of her mother, Sumi, who was killed several years before being able to conceive Rini (time is wonderfully weird in Nonsense worlds). Time is running out because, since she's technically never been born, Rini is slowly disappearing. So Kade, Christopher, Nadya & a new character, a mermaid named Cora, join her in a quest that takes them to new worlds, to face old villains, make new friends, meet a baker and co...

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva This was the Christmas book I needed this year, even though it’s not strictly speaking a Christmas book. As someone who reads Dickens’ Christmas Carol every year, and watches several movie versions of it to boot, I really enjoyed a little different take this year.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee I almost gave up on this book because our narrator, Henry Montague, borders on being Just Too Much. He’s sarcastic and pretty darn hilarious, if he does say so himself, but he’s also so insecure and self-destructive that I had to push through a few exasperated sighs and outbursts on my part before actually getting to why he acted that way. But eventually I did end up rooting for him. . . Beyond that, this book has it all: a few noble English teenagers on a tour of Europe who encounter highwaymen, stolen artifacts, alchemy, pirates, and lot of lies and intrigue - not to mention an outspoken & intelligent young lady (which could arguably be the most problematic of that list given the time the story is set in). And all that is mixed in with enough bravado and romance to somehow tie it all together. In certain hands, all of this in one novel would easily spin out of control, but Lee does a beautiful job keeping it from ove...

The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst It only happens every so often now that I’ll start a new book and find myself staying up until 4am to finish it. I did that with Queen of Blood last week. This book just ticked a lot of the right boxes for me. Box 1: It has a really awesome brand of magic that involves partnering with magical, fantastic, elemental beings, and so it has the overall feel of a darker, older faery tale. Box 2: Our heroine is also an unlikely choice who still manages to be very compelling. She doesn’t seem to exhibit any strong innate talent, but she’s stubborn enough not to give up and shows some innovative resourcefulness from time to time. And so when she does come into her own, you get to be extra excited with her! Box 3: The stakes are high. Natural consequences exist. This makes it believable. The fate of the world as they know it seems to be on the line. The magical beings they’re partnering with are pulling off the kid gloves and $#!T gets real. People co...

The Ravenous Gown: And 14 More Tales about Real Beauty by Steffani Raff After the first story in this collection made me laugh out loud several times, I knew I had to get this book and keep reading. All the stories have alternative takes on beauty, and feature witty, self-sufficient characters who take active roles in shaping their respective destinies. From conquering dragons to having incredibly smelly feet, issues both fantastic and mundane are addressed in this excellent read-aloud for all ages.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire Oh goodness, this was a beautiful book. I really enjoyed the first in the Wayward Children series " Every Heart a Doorway ," but I may have loved this one more. Jack and Jill were such intriguing characters, so very tragic and dysfunctional that I really wanted to know their story.

Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb I received an advanced digital copy of this book, and when I finished, I just re-read the ending about 8 times before finally putting it down . . . I will definitely be buying a hardcover for my shelf when it comes out. I have followed Fitz & the Fool since I was 13, and also read all the other Realm of the Elderlings titles as they came out. This final trilogy was an opportunity to revisit the world one more time, to see it expanded further, glimpse the future that Fitz & the Fool had called forth, and have some loose ends tied up. Without giving anything away, this final installment was a beautifully crafted book. I had no idea how Ms. Hobb was going to close out the series, and considering how long I've loved these characters, I was not sure if even the perfect ending would be satisfying. But it was. I read it 8 times because it was absolutely right. Consistent with the other books, the world building, plot and character developmen...