Th Legion (books 1 and 2) by Kami Garcia

Unbreakable (The Legion Book 1)

In Unbreakable we meet Kennedy.  At a young age she’s already had enough to deal with.  Her father walked away from her mother and her when she was young.  Now her mother has died and she’s about to be sent off to a school she’s never seen by an aunt she doesn’t know.  That was the plan anyway, until all hell broke loose.  A ghostly girl and a couple of boys suddenly appearing in her home, in her room — that changes everything.  

Kennedy learns of a  group known as the Legion.  A small secretive ghost / demon hunting organization.  One that believes she is the fifth and final member of the group’s current configuration.  Her mother never told her anything.  She is sure they have the wrong girl.  Still, she ends up taking off with the boys and meets their partners.  Desperate to belong somewhere, to be needed by someone, she settles in with the Legion - the twin boys who found her: Lukas and Jared, the girl who funds it all: Alara, and the youngest of the group: Priest, the boy who builds weapons from soda cans. 

Using their family journals and unusual talents they head out in search of a tool that could put an end to the biggest, baddest demon any of them are aware of.  A demon who is desperate to make the world his playground.  He’s not strong enough yet, but he does have a scary amount of power over the spirit world. 

I like this book, but didn’t love it quite as much as I could have.  The rushed immediate forever and ever romance between the broken teens might have been a good setup for book two, but felt forced.  The tension between the brothers also seems awkward (even after reading book 2 and getting more insight there on their story).  The throwing an unprepared girl into the action without even covering the absolute basics with her seems very wrong even from teens.  

That said the overall story is good.  Good enough that I read book two immediately after finishing this one.  It has potential as an extended series if handled properly.

Unmarked (The Legion Book 2)

I’m giving this book 4 stars after having given the first book in the series 3.  I just couldn’t give this book the same rating as the first as it’s actually better (one of the rare sequels that surpasses the first).  BUT, it’s still probably more like 3.5 stars. 

This book picks up just weeks after the first book ended.  Kennedy’s aunt has sent her to a school where she won’t have to deal with her.  Being away from the Legion doesn’t change much.  They’re still all Kennedy can think of, especially Jared — when she is not busy tracking stories that sound like the work of Andras that is.  Luckily for Kennedy, all the Legion (or at least Jared) can think of is her and they how up to "kidnap" her… again.  This time they’ve brought along 

Kennedy's BFF, Elle, now an unofficial member.

This book  commits my ultimate book series sin — it is a cliffhanger that feels like half of a story.  

This time around their mission(s) are far more personal.  Kennedy learns things about her family that she didn’t know. Alara and Priest learn about the list that Jared had created and the role it played in their family members deaths.  Lukas opens up about his jealousy for Jared.  And of course there are demons, mainly Andras, who get way too close to them all.  Oh, the Illuminati is here as well. 

As I said, it’s a cliffhanger.  I hate books that leave me feeling that I didn’t read a full story.  Sure, they can be continued, but if I don’t feel like I accomplished something in reading the book, I end up quite disappointed.  So in that sense this book was a total failure for me.  On the other hand, it really is better than the first.  It left me curious enough to read on, but it didn’t need the incomplete story to accomplish that.  It feels like it’s going somewhere good.  If it goes beyond three books, I hope the next one at least wraps this story up (there’s plenty they can do beyond this).  If not it will probably be the last I read in this series, but I will be reading at least one more.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of Unmarked at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Neil Gaiman's The Last Temptation 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Hardcover

Neil Gaiman's The Last Temptation 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Hardcover

I’d never read this one before.  Maybe because I wasn’t an Alice Cooper fan or because I didn’t really know of Neil Gaiman when this was originally released.  Now that I have read it, I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t Gaiman’s best work but it’s not bad either.  It doesn’t require you be a fan of Alice Cooper, though that might help some.  It’s the kind of story you read just before Halloween.  A mysterious theater appears in town, threatening to take make Steven a part of its show--forever.  Teased by his friends.  Taunted by the Showman.  Steven is stuck trying to figure this game out on his own (with a little assistance from a nice old librarian).

The last 30-40% is actually not the story, but the making of the story.  The letters and scripts and early b&w art. 

For fans of any/all involved, I’d say this is a solid 4 stars.  For the average person who knows nothing about any involved (do those people exist?), it’s probably more like a 3 star book. 

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Slimy Underbelly by Kevin J. Anderson

Slimy Underbelly (Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.)

Not all zombies are obsessed with eating brains. Dan Chambeaux, for example, has kept his life much like it was when he was alive. He’s still a P.I., though he’s now set up in the Unnatural Quarter. He has the same girlfriend (she is also dead and now exists as a ghost). He’s also somewhat famous in that the new book trend is stories about the not so human folk. Dan does have to keep explaining he’s the REAL one or yes, that book series really is about him.  

A lighthearted kind of series even when dealing with the bad guys. Part noir, part camp. The three biggest cases in this story involve a child mad scientist, a nasty election between two weather wizards, and a famous opera star ogre’s stolen voice. Dan and his team face alligator men, garden gnomes, a tentacled realtor, and some crazy weather. 

Books being turned into an unnecessary series has been one of my biggest pet peeves. Here I welcome a series. In a world full of crazy undead beings there is plenty of room for more investigations.

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Gracefully Grayson

Hard to believe that something published by Disney Hyperion for children would make me all weepy.  Still, Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky did just that.

The story of Grayson, a sixth grader who has already had a rough life. His parents died in a car accident when he was quite young.  His aunt and uncle took him and while they clearly love him, they don’t always know how to deal with raising a child who is not their own while raising their own two sons. 

Grayson has his own issues to deal with, namely his own identity.  Everyone who sees Grayson sees a boy, but when he looks into the mirror, there’s a beautiful girl in a pretty dress there - or there was, pretending gets tougher as you grow older.  Knowing that no one else will accept his desire to be a girl, he hides away from the world as much as he can.  Something as simple as school lunchtime makes Grayson cringe.

This school year though Grayson has already stepped way out of his usual shell.  He finally made a friend (only his second real friend in life).  He put his name on the tryout list for the school play.  Realizing that a play gives him the opportunity to be a girl, after being encouraged by a teacher and given all of the warnings you’d expect, he decides to try out for the lead girl role.

Not everyone is on board with this casting possibility.  In fact, the very people who should support Grayson are not so thrilled with his desire to play a girl.  Despite the warnings and objections, Grayson is not backing down, the play will go on.  Won’t it?  No one can stop it, can they?  Sure, they’ll try, but Grayson has come so far, there just has to be a play!

Sadly a story like Grayson’s must have some bullying.  Sometimes stories like these can feel a little forced in that  department.  This story shows a fairly realistic progression - when Grayson is just the shy kid who actually tries in school then the bullying is fairly minor: being called the teacher’s pet, etc.  As it becomes more and more obvious that he is serious about playing a girl, it becomes meaner and potentially dangerous for Grayson.  

While I’m not super thrilled with where the book ended, I do respect the choice to end it on the note it ended on.  One of my favorite books in awhile that was targeted to middle school aged kids.

  

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful by Shane Koyczan

To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful
Author:  Shane Koyczan w/various illustrators
Release date: September 2, 2014

Before discovering this book, I had somehow missed seeing the video version of the poem that is on display here.  Now that I have seen both all I can say is WOW!  

Okay maybe I can say a little more than that.  This book should probably be required reading for kids.  It’s a great way to introduce them to poetry.  Not just any poetry but poetry that means something.  Poetry that points out the damage that bullying can do.  Poetry that points out that no matter how tough things are, you can make it through.

Not only is the poem beautiful but the illustrations are too.  Though they are done by numerous artists and styles, they all work here. 

Everyone involved should be proud.  If you haven’t seen the video version yet, I’d read the book first and then follow it up with the video.

 

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

Ellie has a fairly normal life.   While her parents are divorced they remain friends.  Having just entered junior high school Ellie is starting to learn that growing up can change things that you thought would never change.  Your lifelong  best friend suddenly has new interests and friends.  Your babysitter would rather work in the mall than watch you.   You learn a shocking truth about your goldfish after it dies.   It’s all tough enough to adjust to without your mad scientist grandfather showing up  in the body of a thirteen year old. 

Ellie gets to know her grandfather, Melvin, as she never had before, much to the dismay of Ellie’s mom.  Ellie’s parents are actors, they've always pushed the arts on Ellie and now here’s grandpa telling her all about how great science is.   Melvin and Ellie end up spending a lot of time together — attending school together, attempting to get back into Melvin’s office, making new friends together, and of course disagreeing with each other. 

An old man disappearing and a young one  showing up in his place?  That cannot last forever, right?  Melvin needs to reverse what happened to him, right?  He needs to fix the mess he’s created.  But what if Melvin kind of likes the mess he's created?  What if he thinks this whole situation will win him awards and spare him from all of the negatives that old age brings.

A sweet story about a young girl who finally really gets to know her grandfather.  A girl who starts to figure out what interests her and starts to question everything.  And it’s the story of a man who misses being young, misses all he’s lost. 

I have only one real complaint — the ending It felt like a teaser for a series option and this book didn’t need that.

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?

Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre

Books about parents who spend a lot of time being crazy explorers recklessly becoming lost or stolen, leaving their sons to have to rescue them seems to be  a popular theme.  Here though it is done right.  The Crisp family like an adventure.  Until the day that realize they’ve explored everything there is to explore.  Time to settle down.  Oliver, the ten year old son, is thrilled.  He’s never had a home before.  He’s never been to a real school.  Explore volcanoes?  Getting chased by gators?  Sure, he’s done that.  That’s not the same as playing with kids your own age though.  Still, when you have lived the kinds of lives the Crisps have, something is bound to go wrong when you try to settle down.  Something that leads to, what else, a new adventure!

This time, however, Oliver and his parents are forced to be apart during the adventure.  Oliver’s parents are missing and he must find them.  Aided by a mermaid, a bird, and an island Oliver is on an adventure that he’s never seen before.  Oh, and don’t worry there is an enemy to deal with.  A few enemies really -- an island and its inhabitants don’t want Oliver to complete this adventure. 

Fast, fun, and to the point.  The big “3rd act battle” is not full of silly filler.  Great for kids of all ages.

* Disclaimer: I received this book at no cost in order to review it. I offered no guarantee of a positive review, though I only request books I think I'll like because why read a book you think you’ll hate?