Title: INVISIBILITY
Author: Andrea Cremer & David Levithan
Publisher: Philomel (a Penguin imprint)
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Number of Pages: 358
Source of Book: ARC from publisher NCTE

Stephen has been
invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his
grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before
Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment
building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she
can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in
Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive
headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to
figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned,
especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger
out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide
how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become
visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and
death. At least for Elizabeth.

First Thought: Two powerful writers teaming up created a beautifully written narrative
on loneliness, loss, being found, and what we do for love.

New girl and invisible boy meet…and it turns out there’s so much more to it in this astonishingly good story. The alternating POVs wove seamlessly together and gave a complete story of an unexpected first love. That continues as the book morphs into a story of an unseen world of magic and curses that is well-developed and deftly explained as to seem completely natural and real.

I appreciated the relationships in this book. Both the romantic, first
love relationship, some secondary romances, and the family dynamics
relationships. Laurie might just be one of my favorite brother
characters I’ve ever read in a book. I’m a sucker for the good, caring
brothers in books – must come from being the only girl with two brothers
myself. Another “character” was the setting itself, which was described in a way that becomes a bit of a love story to NYC as well. 

Andrea Cremer and David Levithan move the story forward with brilliant pacing. Just as we get complacent, a wrench is thrown in leading to an unavoidable climax. And in true comic-book style, there is a showdown at the end with the master villain.

Final Thoughts: INVISIBILITY left me contemplating what it really means to be alone or to be lonely…and which would be worse.

Title: CRASH (Visions, book 1)
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Number of Pages: 256
Source of Book: ARC from publisher at NCTE

If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules
lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells
like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food
truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle
that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts
her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and
explode…and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is
everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only
one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees.
The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do.
Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s
someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she
can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

This is a must-get book – I can’t wait to get this into the hands of teens because I think they’re going to eat it up. I adore Lisa McMann and have enjoyed all of her other books, so I was excited to see she’d be signing advanced copies at NCTE this year. Ever since I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I wanted to read it…and it totally lived up to, and exceeded, my expectations. The great thing about Lisa McMann’s young adult books, just like in the WAKE trilogy, is the ease with which she writes that makes for a fast read and in a style that engages my more hesitant student readers as well. CRASH was unputdownable and I read it in one day, which was good because I was dying to know what would happen and how it would all turn out.

The plot of this story is suspenseful and fast-moving. There are layers to what is going on with family and school and the visions and romance and everything that’s happening that keep the reader going. The reader goes along with Jules as she tries to figure out what exactly is happening to her, and we find out more about her home life as we go along as well as what’s happening to her at school and with the boy she’s been in love with since she was a kid. This all comes to a head in the last third of the book as the visions become more insistent and Jules realizes time is running out for her to figure out what’s happening and save the people she cares about.

I so enjoyed the characters in CRASH. Lisa McMann has written relatable, entertaining, and endearing primary and secondary characters in this story. The voice of Jules is fantastic, especially the sarcastic top 5 lists throughout. I’d want to be friends with her for sure. There is also so much humor in this story, especially in her interactions with her family, that kept me engaged throughout. Her family situation is not always the best, but her sibling relationships are something everyone would hope for. She has an incredible older brother in Trey, who happens to be gay, which is handled in such a subtle, matter-of-fact, honest, realistic way which I really loved. I really felt like I was reading about real teens and real things that would happen to them, with the added context of the fantasy elements of the visions added in.

CRASH is a book for readers who like romance, quick-reads, suspense, mystery, science-fictiony/fantasyish predicitons of the future, family stories, and those who just want an engaging, fun, exciting read.  I’m super happy to hear that there are going to be four books in this series. I definitely want more of this story and engaging world Lisa has created in the Visions series!

Title: CLOCKWORK PRINCE (Book 2 in THE INFERNAL DEVICES series)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (a Simon & Schuster imprint)
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Number of Pages: 502
Source of Book: ARC requested from publisher at NCTE Convention

     In the magical
underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with
the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in
the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the
Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the
street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use
Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
     With the help of the handsome,
self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that
the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames
them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the
secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a
manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an
enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage
is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork
demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister
himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed
them.
     Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though
her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her.
But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself
is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and
give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
     As
their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends
into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can
corrupt even the purest heart.

I have to be honest. After reading THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS trilogy and loving it so much, I was a little bit underwhelmed by CLOCKWORK ANGEL (the first book in this prequel steampunk series). I still really wanted to read CLOCKWORK PRINCE, but wasn’t sure that I would love it, but…I did – way more than I expected to. I think this one was right back up to the quality that I like in Cassandra Clare’s writing and storytelling and characters. This second book was much better than the first in my opinion. I think that might be partly because I’m not the biggest steampunk fan, and perhaps the first one had a little bit more of the automatons than this second one did, so I felt like it was back to the heart of the storytelling I love.

Once again, I was swept up into the world of the Shadowhunters and all of the excitement and emotion and suspense and action they have in their world. I like Tessa quite a bit as a character and I enjoy reading things from her perspective. And then there’s the whole Will and Jem triangle that Tessa has to contend with and figure out, but she does it in her own way and with her own strength of character and integrity. There is a lot of emotional depth to the characters’ interactions, and I truly appreciate how the Shadowhunters at the Academy take in outsiders and orphans and really become family for each other. It’s what adds heart to these stories which has worlds of demons, but I do have to say, it was heart-breaking to me as well (but I won’t give away why!). Once again, Magnus was my favorite character in the book – and I’m so glad he is who he is because then he gets to be in this series and the present-day Mortal Instruments series. But Will steals the show in this story, and the depth at which we get to know him as his backstory is revealed, was the highlight of this book for me.

These characters kick butt and the pacing of these books is masterful as it makes me want to keep reading to find out what twist will come next. I’m as completely hooked on this series now as I am on The Mortal Instruments, and of course, in true Cassie
Clare fashion, was left completely hanging at the end of the book and am
now desperately waiting the next one, CLOCKWORK PRINCESS, on November 1st.

Title: DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Number of Pages: 420
Source of Book: ARC borrowed from Tara @ Fiction Folio
Author’s Website: www.lainitaylor.com

Goodreads Summary:

Around the world,
black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged
strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet
Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be
real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks
many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually
grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that
haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the
strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in
an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets
unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent
past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Laini Taylor’s writing is beautiful, but in that way that it doesn’t jump out at you and take you out of the story, it is just woven subtly in as part of the story and you don’t realize how beautiful it is until you get to a stopping point and heave a deep sigh of relaxation from having enjoyed the writing and been lost and wrapped up completely in the world she created. The artistry with which she weaves storylines together between the two different main characters and between the present with flashbacks of backstory is enticing. There is a twist in the plot about two-thirds of the way through that almost changes the books into a different story, but it’s of utmost importance to our understanding and works so well the way Laini has written it.

And the setting…the book mainly takes pace in Prague and in Laini’s deft hand, the mystery, history, and beauty of this city lives and breathes its own life into the novel. There are exotic settings around the world (and in fantasy realms) throughout, and each one is written to evoke its own individual mood for the reader and the characters situations.

Karou is a kick-butt girl, but is struggling with feeling lonely as she discovers that the world with the “monsters” she thought she understood is not what she was led to believe. As she interacts with Akiva, the angel she encounters on one of her errands, it becomes obvious that she has some kind of pull toward him, and he to her. Little does she know that even as he tries to destroy all she holds dear, he might actually hold the key to her figuring out who (or what) she really is – what she’s been seeking to find out for awhile. Toward the end as we discover, along with Karou, what has really happened, it is shocking in the best possible way for a novel.

This is definitely a fantasy book for fans of fantasy. It has a unique take on the angel mythology and the backstory and world Laini has created is entrancing. Pre-order it now so you can escape into Karou’s world in September! I know I’ll be anxiously waiting for the next book indicated by the “…to be continued” ending to delve back into the artistry and uniqueness of the story Laini Taylor has created.

Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (A division of Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Number of Pages: 479
How I Got It: Bought one and got one free in my box of books at the ALAN Workshop

As I finally read The Mortal Instruments series over the summer, and loved it, I was soooo happy to be invited back into the world of the Shadowhunters who are dedicated to ridding the world of demons that Cassandra Clare has created! Although, this one was a little bit different, taking place 100 years earlier in London, it was so fun to see some of the same names popping up in The Infernal Devices that I had read in the present-day series (especially my favorite warlock, Magnus!).  Cassandra has created a magical world, full of good and evil magic, a world with demons and avengers, and of course a love interest, oh-and add in some steampunk this time. Her writing continues to be engaging and just sets a scene so clearly with wonderful similes and a sense of urgency and danger that runs through the plot lines creating a story world that is hard to put down and not keep reading.

The book starts off with a journey across the ocean for a lone teenage girl in search of her brother, leading to a kidnapping and imprisonment by Downworlders, then a dazzling rescue and discovery of a magical power never known before – and of course that means everyone wants to get to and use Tessa. She’s on her own, but is taken in by the Shadowhunters at the London Institute, all of whom are intriguing characters in their own right. Tessa is a strong girl, and she only gets stronger as she learns more about herself and faces more dangers. I really enjoyed reading the book with her as a main character. And of course, what’s a Cassandra Clare book without a love entanglement, and this one pits quiet Jem against dashing and mysterious Will; although, honestly, in my mind, I could totally see the attraction for one and the other one didn’t strike me as more than a friendship…but that’s just me because I know there are plenty of fans out there that feel differently. There is, of course, a shocking ending that leads to a strong desire to read the next book. The only trouble I had with this book is that I’m not the biggest fan of the automaton, clockwork, and steampunk elements, but it was an intriguing, realistic plot point, so I could still enjoy it.  Overall, I didn’t like this one as much as The Mortal Instruments, but I did love the new (old?!?) characters I got to enjoy.

4 STARS for CLOCKWORK ANGEL
I’ll definitely read the rest of THE INFERNAL DEVICES series! Clockwork Prince will be released in September 2011 and Clockwork Princess will be out for Christmas 2012.

After reading City of Bones, the first book in The Moral Instruments series, I knew that I wanted to read the rest, so I quickly moved on to CITY OF ASHES and CITY OF GLASS, and am glad that I did.  I liked the first book in the series and the Shadowhunter world that Cassandra Clare created and the characters that she introduced me to, but I definitely wanted to know more about what happened to the people living there and the politics of the world they were living in.  Now that I’ve finished the entire trilogy, I realize that if I really wanted to know the whole story, I had to read all three books. I do like that about books that are planned to be a series from the start though, the fact that each one can stand on its own, but there is definitely a plan by the author for the overarching storyline and where it will end up that satisfies the reader. One of the things that I like most about series books, is actually starting them once the whole series is published so I can read them all in a row instead of having to wait many months for the next book to come out, but I can be impatient that way. 


Especially with this series, I’m glad I got to read them all in a row, otherwise I might have been slightly frustrated because there is a main conflict plot point between Clary and Jace that is not resolved until two-thirds of the way through the last book.  All along I was hoping there would be a resolution similar to what happened, and in fact, there was probably some foreshadowing along the way because I did predict a few of the details, but ultimately, if I had to wait a long time, I might have been a little less likely to keep going because after the first and second book I was disappointed in what was happening between the two of them. One of the reasons I didn’t rank these two books quite as high as the first one was because there were times where I felt as if I knew more than the characters and I became frustrated that they weren’t figuring things out quickly enough. However, another piece of these books that is so good are the secondary characters that are as engaging as the main characters – it left me wanting to know more about them. Ultimately, I because engaged with all of these characters and wanted the best for them, which is why I became frustrated when they weren’t figuring things out – which shows that the writer was able to make me care about her characters and the world they were living in. These books are still page-turners that make me want to find out what’s going to happen next.


Overall, this series continued to be an enjoyable world to live in through the writing. The plot continued to be fast-paced, exciting, intriguing, and adventuresome with it’s family, romantic, political, and social issues.  These books are filled with adventures and battles and scenes that draw the reader in to the excitement in a way that I could  picture it in my mind.  There is an interesting piece of these books that deals with “otherness” and the idea that there can be hatred of others just because they are not like ourselves, and it is handled really well and leads to an understanding at the end that it’s not the best way to think for us to get along in this society.  I do appreciate that although the books are enjoyable, they also do lead to a message that is important for adolescents to hear.


I am glad that I read the whole series and was satisfied with the way it all ended up. I’m also really glad to know that Cassandra Clare is going to be continuing the series with three more books to be published: City of Fallen Angels in spring 2011, City of Lost Souls in spring 2012, and City of Heavenly Fire in fall 2013. But first, I’ll have to read CLOCKWORK ANGEL, which was just released, because it is the first book in The Infernal Devices, a prequel/companion series that takes place 100 years before the events of The Mortal Instruments books.  I’m sure they’ll be on my to-read list because I did enjoy my time with these characters in their world and became invested in what happened to them, so I am curious to find out what will happen to them next after the resolution of all of the issues in the first series and the appearance of a happy ending for them all.
4 Stars for CITY OF ASHES
4 Stars for CITY OF GLASS

After hearing as much as I have about The Mortal Instruments series, from students, authors, and bloggers, I finally got around to reading the first book, CITY OF BONES, for myself…and I can see what all the fuss it about.  I feel as if one of the strongest signs of a really good book is one that you carry with you everywhere you go, just in case you get a few minutes to read, one that you pick over watching tv, one that you stay up late reading – City of Bones met all of those criteria for me.


This book hooked me from the beginning when Clary meets Jace, Isabelle, and Alec in a club as they’re killing a demon, and realizes that no one else can see them. There’s a mystery as to how she got The Sight in order to see these Shadow Hunters and demons that is explored throughout the novel.  Shortly after she meets them, her mother is kidnapped, and the rest of the story follows her journey as she learns about the Downworld (where there are demons, warlocks, witches, faeries, vampires, and werewolves, oh my!) learns about her mother’s past that she kept secret from Clary, and does what she can to find and save her mother. Along the way she is helped by her best friend Simon and of course Jace, Isabelle, and Alec.


There is a lot of action, suspense, and character in this book. The plot moves forward well and made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen next. There really weren’t any slow parts to it at all. Everything is described so well that the fight scenes and all parts of the story were clearly pictured in my head as I read. I really liked the character of Clary, she’s a strong girl who is going to stick up for what she knows to be right and for those she loves and cares about.  I also really enjoyed the secondary characters, as I did feel as if I got to know them. And, of course, there is a bit of a love triangle going on throughout the story, but with an interesting twist at the end, which makes me really want to read the next book in the series to find out what’s going to happen.


Here’s the thing about a book like this – it’s the kind of book where you really have to pay attention to the parts of the story when everything about this unknown world is being explained. I even had to go back a chapter later when more information was given and reread the first explanation told – this is a good thing because it means that there is enough given in the book for me to make sense of this world. These parts of the story are so important because they give you the background to the world and help you understand the motivations for everything that happens in the story. Cassandra Clare does a really good job of creating and explaining the history of this world, you just need to pay attention to it. When Simon is first exposed to the truth about what’s happening in this unknown to humans (or mundanes) world, Clary says the one thing that I think most readers need to remember when reading books in this genre: “I know it’s weird, but you just have to go along with it. Trust me.”  And trust me – if you do, you’ll get the sucked into this story just like everyone else has.


One of my favorite things about this book is Cassandra Clare’s writing style.  She writes beautiful descriptions along with some humorous interactions among the characters – a great balance to each other to create an intriguing writing style that keeps the plot moving forward but also pulls the reader into a beautifully crafted story. One of my favorite examples was this line that she wrote when describing Hodge: “When he smiled at Clary, a thousand small lines rayed out from around his eyes, like the cracks in an old painting.”  Her use of similes and metaphors in her writing only enhances the story, and throughout, I was able to picture it and feel as if I was there and engaged in the story.


I will definitely be reading the rest of this series, and anything else Cassandra Clare writes!  Luckily, I waited long enough, that I know the other two books in The Mortal Instruments series, City of Ashes and City of Glass, are already out, so I won’t have to wait to find out what happens to Clary, Jace, and everyone else. Also, she is writing another three books in the series to come out in spring 2011- City of Fallen Angels,  spring 2012 – City of Lost Souls,  and fall 2013 – City of Heavenly Fire and I know I’ll be anxiously waiting to read those as well.  Cassandra Clare also has written a companion series, The Infernal Devices, which goes back in time to Victorian England as a prequel of sorts as it is one hundred years earlier than Clary’s story, within the world of the Shadow Hunters. The first book, Clockwork Angel comes out August 31st, Clockwork Prince releases fall 2011, and Clockwork Princess in winter 2012.  Which all means we’ll be getting two books from Cassandra Clare every year to read and stay with these characters and the world of the Shadow Hunters!
5 Stars for CITY OF BONES