Review: Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

From Goodreads: Deep within the palace of the Mede emperor, in an alcove off the main room of his master’s apartments, Kamet minds his master’s business and his own. Carefully keeping the accounts, and his own counsel, Kamet has accumulated a few possessions, a little money stored in the household’s cashbox, and a significant amount of personal power. As a slave, his fate is tied to his master’s. If Nahuseresh’s fortunes improve, so will Kamet’s, and Nahuseresh has been working diligently to promote his fortunes since the debacle in Attolia. A soldier in the shadows offers escape, but Kamet won’t sacrifice his ambition for a meager and unreliable freedom; not until a whispered warning of poison and murder destroys all of his carefully laid plans. When Kamet flees for his life, he leaves behind everything - his past, his identity, his meticulously crafted defenses - and finds himself woefully unprepared for the journey that lies ahead. Pursued across rivers, wastelands, salt plains, snowcapped mountains, and storm-tossed seas, Kamet is dead set on regaining control of his future and protecting himself at any cost. Friendships - new and long-forgotten - beckon, lethal enemies circle, secrets accumulate, and the fragile hopes of the little kingdoms of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis hang in the balance. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner was a book that I had been waiting for for years – the previous book in The Queen’s Thief series, A Conspiracy of Kings, was released in 2010 – so when it came out, I put aside all the books I was reading to see what Eugenides was up to now. To my disappointment, there wasn’t much of Eugenides in Thick as Thieves. Instead, Thick as Thieves’ main character is Kamet, a Mede slave whose master, Nahuseresh, is the Mede ambassador to Attolia.

Though I liked Thick as Thieves because Turner continues to build her world and expand on little details from the other books in the series, I didn’t enjoy it as much as her previous novels. Kamet doesn’t hold a candle to Eugenides as a protagonist; and with two books now where Eugenides hasn’t been the main character, I’m really missing his perspective. In addition, the political machinations that made me fall in love with The Queen’s Thief series were more subtle in Thick as Thieves because the focus was on Kamet’s flight of safety from the Mede empire to Attolia, a country that he considers “more backward than anywhere [he] has ever known” (4% on my Kindle). Finally, while I loved the little stories about the gods of Eddis in The Thief for example, I wasn’t as enamoured by the story of the friendship between Immakuk and Ennikar (which seems to be inspired by the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu from the Epic of Gilgamesh) and ended up skimming those parts.

Thick as Thieves was released by Greenwillow Books in May 2017. 

Comments About the Cover: I miss the style of the old covers!

Mini Reviews: Write This Down by Claudia Mills and Foxheart by Claire Legrand

From Back Cover: Twelve-year-old Autumn loves to write, and she can't wait to grow up to be a published author. She finds inspiration all around her, especially in Cameron, the dreamy boy in her journalism class who she has a major crush on. But when her older brother, Hunter - who used to watch out for her but has grown distant since he started high school - discovers one of her most personal pieces of writing and makes fun of it, she is devastated. Determined to show her brother how wrong he is about her talent, Autumn decides that she is going to become a published author - now! She writes an essay about her changing relationship with her brother and enters it in a contest that puts her dream of publication finally within reach. But if her essay is published, everyone will know her family's secrets. Is being published worth hurting those you love? 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: Personally, it was impossible to read Write This Down by Claudia Mills without being reminded of a time when I thought anything was possible but didn’t understand how difficult it can be to achieve your dreams. Mills’ protagonist Autumn dreams of being a famous writer like her idol Emily Dickinson – a choice that perhaps middle graders might find hard to connect to – but when her older brother makes fun of her poem about her crush, Autumn sets out to prove to her brother that her writing is good. As an adult, it’s easy to see that Autumn is a little naïve in thinking that she could have a piece of writing published so easily, but I also liked that Write This Down focuses on trying to achieve your dreams – and doing so in a way that leaves you without regrets. 

Write This Down will be released by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on September 27, 2016.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free.

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From Goodreads: Orphan. Thief. Witch. Twelve-year-old Quicksilver dreams of becoming the greatest thief in the Star Lands. With her faithful dog and partner-in-crime Fox, she’s well on her way - even if that constantly lands them both in trouble. It’s a lonesome life, sleeping on rooftops and stealing food for dinner, but Quicksilver doesn’t mind. When you’re alone, no one can hurt you. Or abandon you. But the seemingly peaceful Star Lands are full of danger. Witches still exist - although the powerful Wolf King and his seven wolves have been hunting them for years. Thankfully, his bloody work is almost complete. Soon the Star Lands will be safe, free of the witches and their dark magic. Then one day a strange old woman and her scruffy dog arrive in Quicksilver’s town and perform extraordinary magic. Real magic - forbidden and dangerous. Magic Quicksilver is desperate to learn. With magic like that, she could steal anything her heart desires. She could even find her parents. But the old woman is not what she seems, and soon Quicksilver has to decide - will she stay at home and remain a thief? Or will she embark upon the adventure of a lifetime and become a legend? 

My Rating: 3 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: Having liked Claire Legrand’s previous MG novels, I was looking forward to reading Foxheart, especially since I love books that involve thieves and magic. However, I wasn’t expecting Foxheart to incorporate time travel, a tricky subject to explain in my opinion, and made even more so in Foxheart because Quicksilver’s mentor is her older self. It was a concept I struggled with, and when combined with the fact that the worldbuilding wasn’t fleshed out enough for me, it negated the book’s enjoyable beginning. 

Foxheart will be released on October 4, 2016 by Greenwillow Books.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Harpercollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Mini Reviews: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

From Goodreads: In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point - he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well. As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With a clever thief who has a knack for getting in trouble as its narrator, it’s hard not to see the similarities between Jennifer A. Nielsen’s Sage and Gen from Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief. Nielsen is no Turner however; and where Gen is subtle, Sage’s hints are blindingly obvious when read from adult eyes. Moreover, The False Prince’s plot is a little far-fetched. As a book in its own right that’s intended for middle graders though – unlike The Thief – The False Prince is a pretty enjoyable read and will especially appeal to boys. 

The False Prince was released by Scholastic in April 2012. 

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From Goodreads: Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged. In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings - Peculiars - and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them. One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley - Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed. First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish ... and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann is a book that I’d describe as well, peculiar. It was written by Bachmann when he was in his teens, yet reads likes it’s been written by a more experienced author. It’s classified as a MG novel, yet has an adult as one of its two main characters and features steampunk and politics, topics most middle graders aren’t really interested in. Personally, I felt emotionally disconnected from the characters; and while the worldbuilding was imaginative, I would have liked it to be better explained.

The Peculiar was released in September 2012 by Greenwillow Books.

Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

From Goodreads: Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend - who might want to be something more. She also has a secret. Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it. When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California - where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: While I still haven’t read the second and third books in Rae Carson’s Fire and Thorns series, I decided to check out her newest book, Walk on Earth a Stranger, because I loved The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Knowing that Walk on Earth wouldn’t be a fantasy, however, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But, once again, Carson’s novel had great characterization and setting.

Leah (aka Lee) was a protagonist I fully supported, and I loved that her parents didn’t restrict her due to her gender, allowing her to learn to shoot, ride, and mine gold. When Leah’s parents are murdered by her uncle because of her ability to sense gold, Leah refuses to stay under her uncle’s guardianship. Instead, she dresses up as a boy and heads west, without much of a plan other than hoping to meet up with her best friend (who also left home) along the way and going to California together to get rich. Normally, I’d consider this to be foolhardy; but considering Leah’s circumstances, I thought she was pretty brave.

Where I was hoping for more though was from the plot as it was very slow-paced and didn’t really seem to involve much other than Leah traveling, with people getting hurt along the way. Leah’s ability to sense gold, for example, barely plays a role in the book! The slow pacing, however, does help with the setting since it allows the reader to really get a feel for how the land must have looked during the 1800s.

Walk on Earth a Stranger was released by Greenwillow Books in September 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: I think the background could be better, but I love the font’s style and colour.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Review: Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp

From Goodreads: Ivy Pocket is a twelve-year-old maid of no importance, with a very lofty opinion of herself. Dumped in Paris by the Countess Carbunkle, who would rather run away to South America than continue in Ivy's companionship, our young heroine (of sorts) finds herself with no money and no home to go to ... until she is summoned to the bedside of the dying Duchess of Trinity. For the princely sum of £500 (enough to buy a carriage, and possibly a monkey), Ivy agrees to courier the Duchess's most precious possession – the Clock Diamond – to England, and to put it around the neck of the revolting Matilda Butterfield on her twelfth birthday. It's not long before Ivy finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy involving mischief, mayhem and murder.

My Rating: Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Anyone But Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp is one of those books where I alternated between liking it and being annoyed by it. On the one hand, Ivy was so ridiculous and made me laugh; and on the other, had she been someone real, I probably would have strangled her. 

As a character, Ivy kind of reminded me of Amelia Bedelia. For those of you unfamiliar with Amelia Bedelia, she’s a housekeeper who gets into all kinds of shenanigans because she’s constantly misinterpreting things, yet you can’t help but love her because she has the best intentions at heart. Well, that’s Ivy – except her personality is insufferable, and so you don’t love her like you do Amelia Bedelia.

Put it simply, Ivy has a massive ego and absolutely no manners. I get that she’s a compulsive liar with a flair for the dramatic because she’s an orphan who’s trying to forget how lonely she is, but not being tactful tends to make people dislike you. I also kept forgetting that she was only twelve years old because the way she talked (e.g. she called everyone, “dear”) and acted was like someone much older – that is, until she would reveal how naïve she actually was.

Ultimately, I’d have to say that Ivy’s character was probably both the greatest strength and weakness of Anyone But Ivy Pocket. In any case, Ivy Pocket is a protagonist that’s hard to forget!

Anyone But Ivy Pocket was released in April 2015 by Greenwillow Books. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the gothic illustrations on the cover and within the book. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Review: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

From Goodreads: Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn't she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Francesca Zappia’s Made You Up is probably one of the most interestingly written stories I’ve ever read. It begins with Alex, the protagonist, describing freeing some lobsters from their tank at a store with the help of a blue-eyed boy she meets … only to find out that this event is a hallucination. Years after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic though, Alex once again meets this boy. Thus begins the reader’s dilemma: How much of what Alex narrates can we believe?

I really liked Alex’s voice. Despite constantly trying to discern what’s real and what’s not, Alex still remained upbeat and did her best to move forward to live a normal life. She was just fantastically written!

The romance also didn’t seem like your typical romance. Miles was often unlikeable – it sounds like he’s on the autism spectrum – but he and Alex worked as friends, and later, as a couple. I liked seeing them struggle to overcome the symptoms of their individual disorders so that they could care for someone, and then really appreciated that falling in love didn’t cure them of their problems.

I think my only issue with Made You Up was that it ended up having a small paranormal element because what I thought was a hallucination turned out to be something real - or at least, otherworldly. Otherwise, I loved how this book blurred the line between imagination and reality. 

Made You Up will be released on May 19, 2015 by Greenwillow Books. 

Comments About the Cover: The cover is a little weird, but I also think it’s very unique and eye-catching.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.  

Review: A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

From Goodreads: Sophos, under the guidance of yet another tutor, practices his swordplay and strategizes escape scenarios should his father's villa come under attack. How would he save his mother? His sisters? Himself? Could he reach the horses in time? Where would he go? But nothing prepares him for the day armed men, silent as thieves, swarm the villa courtyard ready to kill, to capture, to kidnap. Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears without a trace. In Attolia, Eugenides, the new and unlikely king, has never stopped wondering what happened to Sophos. Nor has the Queen of Eddis. They send spies. They pay informants. They appeal to the gods. But as time goes by, it becomes less and less certain that they will ever see their friend alive again. Across the small peninsula battles are fought, bribes are offered, and conspiracies are set in motion. Darkening the horizon, the Mede Empire threatens, always, from across the sea. And Sophos, anonymous and alone, bides his time. Sophos, drawing on his memories of Gen, Pol, the Magus and Eddis, sets out on an adventure that will change all of their lives forever. 

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Whereas the previous books in The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner starred Eugenides, A Conspiracy of Kings is from the perspective of Sophos. This was unexpected; and meant that at least early on, I missed Eugenides.

But, I think Turner knew exactly what was necessary to broaden the scope of political intrigue in her series. Unlike Eugenides who you know would definitely have something up his sleeve, Sophos is a more vulnerable character; and so the series shifts its focus from the sly Eugenides’ ascent to power to the growing possibility of an invasion from the Mede Empire.

Since reading The Thief, I had liked the shy and scholarly Sophos. In A Conspiracy of Kings, you get to witness the suffering he endures – being kidnapped and sold into slavery – transform him from a naïve and idealistic character to one who is worthy of being a king. Although Sophos does his best to remain true to himself and to avoid bloodshed, he comes to realize that violence is sometimes unavoidable as a monarch. Some things are just worth fighting for!

And it’s not as if Eugenides isn’t around to help. While he can’t do anything outright because of his position, you know he’s machinating in the background with Attolia and Eddis.

The problem now is having an excruciatingly long wait for the next book in the series as there is still no date for when the fifth book is to be released. If only Turner would write faster!

A Conspiracy of Kings was released in March 2010 by Greenwillow Books. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the older look of all the covers in The Queen’s Thief series.

Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

From Goodreads: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king - a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young. Most of the chosen do.

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: One of the first YA series I ever read and promptly fell in love with was Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness. Along with Harry Potter, it instilled in me a lifelong love for fantasy; and so even though I don’t read as much of the genre these days as I should, I still try to squeeze in a fantasy now and then. Therefore, when I saw a blurb from Pierce at the top of the cover of Rae Carson’s The Girl of Fire and Thorns, it was pretty much a sure bet that I’d be reading it with huge expectations. Fortunately, Carson doesn’t disappoint.

The world building in The Girl of Fire and Thorns is fantastic, and presented carefully in a rich and detailed manner throughout the story so as to not overwhelm the reader. What’s even better about Carson’s fantasy world is that the society appears diverse and isn’t composed primarily of White characters. Also, I applaud Carson for the way she made religion play such an integral part of the storyline and the culture without it becoming uncomfortable or bothersome.

As well, it was refreshing that the focus in The Girl of Fire and Thorns wasn’t on romance. I appreciate a good romance, but sometimes it’s nice to have a story where I’m not forced to be a Team Something or read about an instant love relationship. While there is some romance, the focus is rather on Elisa and her transformation from a pampered (but not spoiled) princess who has reservations about herself and gorges on food – oh, the food! – in order to make herself feel better to that of a girl who is confident in herself and capable of becoming a worthy leader.

With the spotlight on Elisa though, I felt like I only got to know most of the other characters superficially and so couldn’t really miss those who died. Since The Girl of Fire and Thorns is the first book in a planned trilogy however, there’s still time for Carson to make me fall in love with the characters I’m starting to like.

A book deserving of Pierce’s blurb, The Girl of Fire and Thorns will be released by Greenwillow Books on September 20, 2011. 

Comments About the Cover: The original ARC cover is pretty, but the model in no way resembles Elisa who isn’t thin and describes herself as “brown.” 

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via NetGalley. 

Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

From Back Cover: When his small mountainous country goes to war with the powerful nation of Attolia, Eugenides the thief is faced with his greatest challenge. He must steal a man, he must steal a queen, and he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph - as well as his greatest loss - can only come if he succeeds in capturing something the Queen of Attolia may have sacrificed long ago.

My Rating: 5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Before I begin my review, I going to warn you that I’ve tried to make it as vague as possible so that as few spoilers as possible from The Thief and The Queen of Attolia are revealed. 

The Queen of Attolia is the sequel to Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief, and it’s every bit as good - if not better - as the first book of the The Queen's Thief series. Usually, I tend to find that sequels aren’t as good as the first book of a series but this wasn’t the case with The Queen of Attolia.

The Queen of Attolia starts off with Eugenides, the Thief, sneaking around Attolia’s castle and getting caught. As punishment, Attolia – the monarchs’ names are changed to that of their country once they inherit the throne – initially decides to have him hanged, but then at the suggestion of the Mede ambassador changes her mind and chooses to punish Eugenides in the way thieves traditionally used to be before sending him home. Consequently, the tone of The Queen of Attolia is darker than that of The Thief because Eugenides can no longer pretend that he’s invulnerable and must acknowledge his constraints.

In retaliation for the way Eugenides was treated, the caravans of Attolia are seized by Eugenides' monarch and so Attolia declares war. Pretty soon though, the three countries of Sounis, Eddis and Attolia are all embroiled whereas in the distance, the country of Mede patiently waits for Attolia to ask for aid so that the Medes can take it over and expand beyond their borders.

Told from the third person view of Eugenides, the Queens of Eddis and Attolia, and the ambassador of Mede, The Queen of Attolia shows off the delicate machinations that go into planning a war and attempting to win it. While readers may sometimes know more than the individual characters, Turner still manages to provide surprises throughout the novel, including an unforeseen but brilliant romance.

The Queen of Attolia was released in January 2006 by Greenwillow Books.

    

Comments About the Cover: I love the cover! I mean, how wickedly gorgeous and dangerous does the contraption held by the Queen of Attolia look; and doesn’t it just want to make you read the book?!