bookshelves of doom

Magic Under Glass -- Jaclyn Dolamore

After her family's fall from favor at court, Nimira left her home country to seek her fortune. Despite her dreams of sweeping success, the only steady work she's been able to find is as a dancer in a run-down music hall. So when a wealthy sorcerer offers her a job singing accompaniment to a automaton pianist, she disregards her second thoughts and takes the leap.

Once she begins her new job, though, she quickly realizes that there is much more going on at Vestenveld than she had been led to believe -- not the least of which is that the automaton is actually the prison of a trapped fairy gentleman.

Magic Under Glass features a suspicious (in action as well as personality) housekeeper, ghosts, two suitors of very different types, a rambling house with a locked wing, the possibility of war, and a couple of genuinely swoon-worthy moments. It shares plot points with Jane Eyre and features a world that will appeal to readers who enjoy their fantasy with a historical fiction flavor. Issues of discrimination and -isms play in without being overbearing, and I do think it will be popular with younger YAs looking for magic and romance and mystery.

That said, it didn't do a whole lot for me personally. You'd think, with all of the above, that it would have -- but while it had a bunch of super-fun components, it lacked... sparkle. The characters were stock: Nimira was The Plucky Heroine; Erris, the Romantic Lead; Hollis, the Nice But Spineless Secondary Romantic Lead; Miss Rashten, the Henchwoman; Mr. Smollings, the Villainous Villain. Despite the many dangers Nimira faced, the many mysteries she had to unravel, and the short time frame in which she had to resolve them, I never actually felt a sense of tension or urgency, and I didn't find the intrigue very... intriguing. I felt that the ending was very rushed -- so rushed that I actually double-checked the page numbers to be sure that there wasn't a missing section -- and that slapdash feeling made me feel especially irritated when I realized that it's clearly the first in a series.

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Author page.

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Book source:  Review copy from the publisher.

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I'm part of the Amazon Affiliate program. Which I'd assume would be apparent by the ad in the sidebar, but assuming that you're bright enough to understand that is not enough for the FTC. So, I will spell it out: if you click through to Amazon and buy something, I get money. 

And she never got anything done again.

I give you:  Visuwords graphic dictionary.

(via the Stranger)

Did you know...

...that the Twilight saga accounted for 16 percent of all books sold in the first quarter of 2009?

That's nothing to sneeze at.  I'm guessing that at this point, Stephenie Meyer must not mind the mockery that comes from some* corners.  Either that, or she's too busy doing the backstroke in her doubloon-filled swimming pool** to notice.

So much more at GalleyCat's Year in Review.

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*I have no idea what corners I'm talking about.  I've certainly never hung out in any of them.

**Why am I so obsessed with Scrooge McDuck lately?  Oh, wait.  Because he's awesome.

Return of The Baby-Sitters Club.

From the New York Times:

Editors at Scholastic updated some of the references to technology and outdated fashions in the reissued books. So a "cassette player" has become "headphones" and a "perm" has become "an expensive hairstyle."

Hee.  It's funny (and GOOD!) that perms are mostly a Thing of the Past.  But "an expensive hairstyle" sounds so clinical and awkward and strange!  Then again, at least it won't be dated in five minutes.

It's funny -- I liked the graphic novel version of Kristy's Great Idea (I never did get to the others, though I guess there've been four) much more than I ever liked the actual books*.  They translated well to the format, and the artist/author was true to the characters and story.  But I'm sure that there are many, many people who will be over the moon about this, even if the cover of the new prequel looks a tad bland.

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*And I've loved Ann M. Martin's later books a bazillion times more than I ever loved The Baby-Sitters Club.  Which, really, I didn't at all, so I guess that isn't actually saying a whole lot.  But her later, non-series books have been really, really good.

The 10 most influential books of 2000-2009...

...according to the Chicago Tribune.

The list includes Wintergirls (I wonder if the commentator would have picked Speak if it'd come out a year later?), as well as much (hooray!) snark about certain other titles.

Audio update #2: Pillars of the Earth.

I'm enjoying Philip so much more than Tom the Builder.  I liked how he dealt with the difficult monk and the story of how he came to his forest home, and I'm enjoying seeing him struggle with the world of politics.  And I was happy that the reader was able to convey Philip's roar without actually yelling into the microphone.

The description of his parents' death was as gross as anything I've ever read by Stephen King.

Ellen's golden eyes continue to be mentioned every time she appears.  Sigh.

Follett is also continuing to explain EVERYTHING to me.  Like, he'll describe something and then tell me exactly how to interpret his description.  An example, from page 120 (I looked it up):

Waleran made no reply.  He was staring at the family as they walked across the compound.  All his poise and composure had deserted him.  His mouth was open and his eyes were staring.  He looked like a man suffering a shock.  [My emphasis.]

Yeesh.  That said, now I'm looking forward to the confrontation between Waleran and Ellen & Co., if there is one.

Oh, and Waleran's physical description is hilariously similar to Severus Snape's.

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Previously:

Audio update.
Commute listening.

"Since those days, the romance had gone out of their union. As she said to him, what do you expect if you marry a woman for her foot-size?"

Pop over to the Guardian for a short story about Cinderella -- twenty years later -- by Hilary Mantel.

(via Maud Newton)

New Moon in a minute.

Note pretend-y Bella's awesome lip-biting:

Also, "Your move, douchebag" is easily the coolest line ever spoken by a collie with human lips.

(via Beth Revis)

Best Thing Ever or Travesty of All Travesties?

A Madeleine L'Engle/V.C. Andrews mash-up.

(My apologies to the blogger who wrote the post that mentioned this -- I totally already forgot where I found it!)

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Previously:

Flowers in the Attic

Plagiarism in the House of Night series?

In a post that will catapult you right back to Ferretgate, Debbie Reese wonders if P.C. and Kristin Cast may have done a bit of generous cutting and pasting while writing the book Marked.

Judging purely by the text, I would not be remotely surprised -- I know I've complained (if not here, then at least to long-suffering Josh) that those books are ridiculously choppy.

Speaking of, I should put the new one on hold.

Yep.  That's me.  Literary masochist.

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Previously:

1.  Marked
3.  Chosen
4.  Untamed
5.  Hunted

Wintergirls -- Laurie Halse Anderson

The night before 19-year-old Cassie Parrish died, she called her ex-best friend Lia Overbrook 33 times.

Lia never picked up.

I avoided Wintergirls for a long time.  I knew it dealt with eating disorders, and generally, when it comes to Books That Deal With Hugely Upsetting Issues, I procrastinate for as long as possible*.  And then there's my relationship with Laurie Halse Anderson's books -- while I certainly think they're very well-written and engaging, I find something about them... clinical, and I rarely connect emotionally with the characters.  So, in truth, I may have never gotten to this one if I hadn't had to read it for the Cybils.

Which would have been a shame.  It's a brave book, and an extremely strong one.  Which, considering we're talking about an author alreadly considered by many to be fearless, is saying something.  It's unflinching, honest, and ghastly.

Wintergirls is about Lia's relationship and obsession with food, yes.  But it isn't just that.  It's about grief.  About guilt.  About family and control and addiction.  It's about not just sinking, but actually pushing yourself towards the bottom until you are faced with a decision:  to let yourself succumb or to start fighting for the surface.

I'm not recommending Wintergirls because it's About Something Important.  I'm recommending it because of the stength of Lia's voice, that Laurie Halse Anderson was able to create a pitch-perfect, amazingly believable voice.  She's haunted.  Whether that haunting is literal (as Lia believes) or metaphorical (as her therapist believes) doesn't matter -- it's the emotion and pain and truth behind it that matters.  Mythological imagery abounds, and while Lia never really comments on it, it was easy for me to imagine that she -- as a big fantasy reader -- noted it.  That she saw those images as omens. 

But I'm digressing.  As usual.

Many readers will dislike Lia, and some will not understand her -- but many others will find this book terrifying because in her, they will recognize some part of themselves.  Much of what she thinks and believes -- though ratcheted up to an almost unbearable degree -- will not be unfamiliar.  And that's probably the scariest thing about the book.

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*And this specific topic even more so than others -- yes, it's a hugely prevalent problem, but there are, like, a billion and six YA books about anorexia and bulimia, and it felt like at least half of them came out this year.

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Previously:

Twisted
Chains: Seeds of America
Prom

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Book source:  Review copy from the publisher; Cybils nominee.

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I'm part of the Amazon Affiliate program.  Which I'd assume would be apparent by the ad in the sidebar, but assuming that you're bright enough to understand that is not enough for the FTC.  So, I will spell it out:  if you click through to Amazon and buy something, I get money. 

I had no idea...

...that Deanna Raybourn has a new book coming out!  That isn't!  A Lady Julia!  Mystery!  But!  We have to wait!  Until!  Late February!

GASP AND LE SIGH!

I am so there.  And late February is so miserably grody that I'm already looking forward to curling up with it.

Two new J/YA imprints.

Putnam is launching Nancy Paulsen Books, which will publish 12-15 books (picture through YA) annually, and Canongate is joining forces with Walker to create (you guessed it!) Walker Canongate.  Judging from the article, it sounds like Walker Canongate will be re-packaging (and in some cases, abridging) adult titles (like Life of Pi) for the YA audience.

And the dividing line between adult and YA continues to shrink...

Lists lists lists lists lists lists lists lists*.

• The Book Maven's Bottom Ten Books of 2009.  The curmudgeon in me (getting stronger every year!) would like to see more of these.
• The decade's best unread books.  This list includes Black Juice.  Well, YEAH!  ...  Oops.  I read it and loved it and apparently never wrote about it, which means that I AM PART OF THE PROBLEM.  I did write about Red Spikes, though.  Still love that cover.
• Ten of the best child narrators.  In this guy's opinion, anyway.  Meh.
• I didn't know that Roald Dahl wrote a Bond script.
• Romantic Novel of the Year 2010 Longlist.
• And, for the first time, The Morning News has released their ToB longlist.  Oooo.  No YA nominee this time, though.  *SOB*

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*I have no idea why the SPAM song is in my head.  Earlier today it was The Addams Family theme song.  Some days are difficult.

Pratchett video winners announced.

The winners of the Guardian's challenge to dramatize a portion of Terry Pratchett's Nation* have been announced.

Winner of the 10-14 category:

Winner of the 15-17 category:

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*No, I still haven't read it.  Yes, I plan to.  ...  ...  Eventually.