White Cat by Holly Black

Title: White Cat
Author: Holly Black
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes first in The Curse Workers series
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Rating:  3 out of 5

Summary:
The book is about Curse Workers in a time when working magic has been banned by the government. Workers are sent underground and considered outcasts of society. They work their magic with a touch of skin on skin. Most curse workers are  luck or emotional workers, fewer are memory or death workers and the most rare of all are shape workers who can change the shape of things. Cassel Sharpe is from a family of workers yet he appears to have no magic of his own. He attends a boarding school where he is able to escape from the insanity of mother and the dysfunctional in his family. At fourteen Cassel kills Lila the daughter of the biggest crime boss, but he can't remember why or how he did it. He is still ridden with guilt from his lack of knowledge about Lila who was his best friend. Now seventeen he is sleepwalking and dreaming of a white cat. What follows is discovery of self and family. Not all of them pleasant.

Feelings: 
This was an interesting book. I wouldn't consider it anything new but it was enjoyable to read and the characters were well formed and easy to like or dislike which can be good in this type of book. Cassel even though he is attending an upper class school has turned to the black market and running a betting business at his school. The interactions and superstition of difference between worker and non-worker are similar to racial issues seen today. The dynamics of the school environment and the relationships Cassel forms there are in strong contrast to the relationships he has with his family. The family dynamic is something that I think may people will be able to relate to. The mystery and discovery in the book are reminiscent of many coming of age stories but it is well written and I will read the next book.

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Title: Chasing Fire
Author: Nora Roberts
Type: Novel
Genre: Romance
Series: No
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads.
Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature.

But there's also little else as thrilling - at least to Rowan Tripp. The Missoula smoke jumpers are one of the most exclusive fire-fighting squads in the nation, and the job is in Rowan's blood: her father is a legend in the field. She's been fighting fires since her eighteenth birthday. At this point, returning to the wilds of Montana for the season feels like coming home - even with reminders of the partner she lost last season still lingering in the air.

Fortunately, this year's rookie crop is among the strongest ever - and Gulliver Curry's one of the best. He's also a walking contradiction, a hotshot firefighter with a big vocabulary and a winter job at a kid's arcade. He came to Missoula to follow in the footsteps of Lucas "Iron Man" Tripp, yet he's instantly more fascinated by his hero's daughter. Rowan, as a rule, doesn't hook up with other smoke jumpers, but Gull is convinced he can change her mind. And damn if he doesn't make a good case to be an exception to the rule.

Everything is thrown off balance, though, when a dark presence lashes out against Rowan, looking to blame someone for last year's tragedy. Rowan knows she can't complicate things with Gull - any distractions in the air or on the ground could be lethal. But if she doesn't find someone she can lean on when the heat gets intense, her life may go down in flames.

Feelings:
So first I feel that I should admit that I picked this book by the cover. I was standing in the library looking for "brain candy" and pulling books of the shelve, I do read Nora Roberts but not often, and really liked the cover. I don't normally do this but in this case I wasn't upset the book really lived up to the cover.

Rowan and Gulliver are fire jumpers, Zulies, and besides the hot fires they fight they have a steamy relationship. I didn't find this book to be as graphic sexually as many of Nora Roberts books. This one focused more on the mystery and story which I really liked. I think this may be my favorite Nora Roberts book so far.

This isn't to say that the romance isn't part of the story.

Her mouth was as he'd imagined. Hot and soft and avid. It met his with equal fervor, as if a switch had been flipped in each of them from stop to go. She pressed that killer body to his without hesitation, without restraint, a gift and a challenge, until the chilly air under the sizzling stars seemed to smoke. (p. 52)

 Because it is part of the story. What really makes this more than just a normal romance though is the mystery aspect.

 Light the fire. Feel the heat. See the color and shape. Hear the crackle and snap. Then the whoosh of air and flame as that fire began to breathe. A thing of beauty. Dazzling, dangerous, destructive. So beautiful and fierce, and personal, when you started with your own hands. Never realized, never knew. (p. 207)

So I did really enjoy the book. At first I really felt like the last 10 pages where as good as they could have been. I figured out what was happening and who was responsible much before it became obvious to the characters in the story. I didn't mind this because there was still a chance it could have ended differently. I do have to admit I didn't really like the ending to the mystery though which is why I'm not rating this higher.

I would recommended this to people who love Nora Roberts or who want an exciting, romantic read.

Helen Keller in Love by Rosie Sultan

Title: Helen Keller in Love
Author: Rosie Sultan
Type:  Audiobook
Narrator: Christine Williams
Genre: Fiction
Series: No
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
A captivating novel that explores the little-known romance of a beloved American icon

Helen Keller has long been a towering figure in the pantheon of world heroines. Yet the enduring portrait of her in the popular imagination is The Miracle Worker, which ends when Helen is seven years old.

Rosie Sultan’s debut novel imagines a part of Keller’s life she rarely spoke of or wrote about: the man she once loved. When Helen is in her thirties and Annie Sullivan is diagnosed with tuberculosis, a young man steps in as a private secretary. Peter Fagan opens a new world to Helen, and their sensual interactions—signing and lip-reading with hands and fingers—quickly set in motion a liberating, passionate, and clandestine affair. It’s not long before Helen’s secret is discovered and met with stern disapproval from her family and Annie. As pressure mounts, the lovers plot to elope, and Helen is caught between the expectations of the people who love her and her most intimate desires.

Richly textured and deeply sympathetic, Sultan’s highly inventive telling of a story Keller herself would not tell is both a captivating romance and a rare glimpse into the mind and heart of an inspirational figure.

Feelings: 
I felt like this was a really good story but it was slow and when I wasn't listening to it I didn't think about it at all. If I hadn't been driving I wouldn't have finished the story. As it was it took me 2 months to finish this audiobook.

The narrator of the audiobook was very good and I liked her different voices for different characters. I generally liked all of the characters except for Helen, she was at times annoying and at times overly confident in herself. Yes she was famous, and no I haven't read her autobiography but I am not sure I believed the character. This may have been because things are described visually and that doesn't seem accurate to me. I would have thought they would be described by feel. To a small extent things are described by how they feel by lots of things are described by how they look or how they sound and that didn't seem real to me. The narrative itself addresses the issue which for me made if feel less real. If an issue must be addressed and explained in detail I feel like maybe it isn't as well done as it could be I should be able to sit back and enjoy the story without questioning the details.

That is my biggest complaint about the story. It was beautifully written and while it wasn't the most exciting story, not that much happens within the story, it was nice to listen to. It is a love story that from the very beginning you know is not going to have a happy ending and it is the bittersweet story of longing for what we don't have and trying to hold onto it once we get it.

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

Title: Bitterblue 
Author: Kristin Cashore 
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy 
Series: Yes, Sequel to Graceling and Fire 
Copyright: 2012 
Publisher: Dial Books 
Rating: 4 out of  5

Summary: From Good Reads.
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Feelings: 
This is the last of the books in the series that started with Graceling. Chronologically Fire comes first as it happens before the story in Graceling, but the author wrote Graceling first and Fire isn't central or important to the story of Graceling. However, Bitterblue does benefit from having read Graceling and Fire first. I personally read Fire first because I didn't know it was part of a series. I got the books in chronological order as a result but I think that as long as Bitterblue is read last, it is the only book that really has overlapping characters the reader will enjoy the experience.

This is the third book by Kristin Cashore and it is definitely the strongest of the three. Bitterblue is not a graced character nor does she have the beauty of the monsters but she is an interesting character, and I found it nice to see what it was like to be a normal human in a world with individuals who have graces. This story isn't as action packed as the other books were but I found it to be just as interesting. Bitterblue who was a child in Graceling is now a young woman of 18 and she doesn't like the way her advisers are running Monsea, the kingdom she became queen of upon her father's death.

It all began with a High Court case about the madman and the watermelons. ... Sitting at the table of the High Court, Bitterblue was a trifle annoyed with her advisers, whose job it was to decide what court cases were worth the queen's time. It seemed to her that they were always doing this, sending her to preside over the kingdom's silliest business, then whisking her back to her office the moment something juicy cropped up. (p. 11-12)

Bitterblue struggles with her advisers telling her she should not do things and can not do things until the case of the watermelons which she didn't even knew grew in her city sends her out into her city to see what it is like for herself.

She'd never seen the bridges up close. Despite her yearly tours, Bitterblue had never been on the streets of the east city; she only know the bridges from the heights of her tower, looking out at them from across the sky, not even certain they were real. Now as Bitterblue stood at the base of Winged Bridge, she ran her fingers along a seam where pieces of cold marble joined to form the gargantuan foundations. (p. 26)

She discovers the story rooms and the stories that are being told of her father and of her and the people she knows. At first she doesn't trust the stories because of her past but then she realizes she doesn't need to fear the stories she relaxes and listens. It is in the story rooms that she meets Sapphire, called Saf, and Teddy who befriend without knowing who she is.

"Teddy," said Saf, "go get the next round." "Sapphire told me you saw him steal," continued Teddy to Bitterblue, unconcerned. "You mustn't misunderstand. He only steals back that which has already been--" Now Saf's fist grabbed Teddy's collar and Teddy chocked over his words. ... "--stolen," spluttered Teddy. "Perhaps I'll go get the next round." (p.55)

Bitterblue gains some freedom and an understanding of her city that she didn't have before she meet Teddy and Saf. Through them she is able to understand her people and the struggles they are facing to deal with the past, some of them just want to forget and others want to find out the truth. Bitterblue is also seeking the truth of her father's actions and finds little help until she goes beyond the castle.  

This was in my opinion the best of the three book but it did depend on knowledge of the others. Bitterblue is a real person and she depends on others and doesn't mind doing so most of the time. She is also strong but unlike the other books she doesn't have to fight to prove herself. This was a nice ending to the series. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the first two.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Series: Yes. Prequel Fire, and sequel Bitterblue.
Copyright: 2008
Publisher:Harcourt, Inc.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
His eyes, Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, uneven, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn't shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn't seem human....

Then he raised his eyebrows a hair, and his mouth shifted into the hint of a smirk. He nodded at her, just barely, and it released her from her spell.

Cocky, she thought. Cocky and arrogant, this one, and that was all there was to make of him. Whatever game he was playing, if he expected her to join him he would be disappointed. (p. 56-57)


In a world where people born with an extreme skill - called a Grace - are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed reading his book. I started the series by reading Fire which happens to chronologically be the first book but most people place it after Graceling. That being said the three books Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue can be read in any order. Bitterblue (I have not had the chance to read it yet) takes place after Graceling but I don't think the story is such that you need to read the others to understand it.

I appreciated the story and the fact that Katsa was a strong female character. Independent and able to make make decisions for herself it is no surprise that she feels as though she is trapped in a mans world. Her desire to be free and to do only as she wants leads her to make decisions that can be viewed as feminist, and they are by many that read the book. Yes, Katsa is a strong woman and she stands up for herself but she has to learn to stand up for herself. She is Graced, with killing, and that does seem to help her along the way but it is also something she must control. In little ways Katsa is strong from the beginning.

"Hmm," Randa said, smirking at her silence. "Your sword is the only bright thing about you. Pay attention, girl. I'm sending you after this traitor. You're to kill him, in public, using your bare hands, no weapons. Just him, no one else. I'm sure we all hope you've learned to control your bloodlust by now." ... When the soldiers caught the underlord, they dragged him to the square of the nearest village, where a scattering of startled people watched, slack jawed. Katsa instructed the soldiers to make the man kneel. In one motion she snapped his neck. There was no blood; there was no more than an instant's pain. Most in the crowd didn't even realize what had happened. ... After that his commands included specifics: blood and pain, for this or that length of time. (p. 28-29)

She is only 10 when that happened and in small ways she continues to disobey her uncle the king.

She makes who she feels about marriage very clear from the start of the book, and this is where the feminism comes in. Because she does not want to marry and be held by anyone she is considered a feminist. I'm not sure I agree with this I think she is just struggling to maintain her own freedom and doing it in the only way she sees. Yes she does turn down marriage she does choice sexual freedom but I don't think this is something new in Young Adult fiction. Maybe it isn't what popular fiction such as Twilight would promote but I think there are plenty of better books out there with strong female characters who are sexually free. (So maybe this is just a comment on other people's view of the book but I think it is worth knowing).

The characters are strong and enjoyable and the book is a fast read. I liked spending time with a confident female character and men who were willing to let her take the lead.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Title: Fire
Author: Kristen Cashore
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Dial
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Feelings: 
So I admit that the cover with the girl standing on the rock back lit could not be Fire because she would not put herself in a place like that because of the danger. However, I really liked this cover and I don't think I would have bought this book if it wasn't for the cover. I like it, but have included the other cover here for those that like something a little more realistic.

Archer knelt beside her and took hold of her shoulders. His face was wooden but his voice shook with emotion. "Forgive me, Fire." To the healer: "We're mad to be doing this outside. They smell the blood." And then sudden pain, blinding and brilliant. Fire wrenched her head and fought against the healer, against Archer's heavy strength. Her scarf slipped off and released the prism of her hair: sunrise, poppy, copper, fuchsia, flame. Red, brighter than the blood soaking the pathway. (p.24).

This was the first of Kristin Cashore's books that I read. At the time I didn't even realize it wasn't a stand alone book nor did I realize it was considered to be the second book. I personally would consider this to be the first in the series but it really is a companion and rather than a sequel or prequel.

I liked the story and that Fire was a strong character. The story drew me in and held my interest. The idea of monster being something very beautiful and with the power to control as well as being a different color than would be normal was an interesting change from it being something horrible. Yes, the monster's in the story can be horrible but they do not have to be horrible, they can be just different than the rest of their kind. Fire is the only human monster left after her father's death, and as such she is something of an oddity that others want to see. There is only one character, Leek, who has a grace, two different colored eyes a a power which lets him excel beyond what would be possible otherwise, as the Dell's do not have gracelings as to the seven kingdoms in which Graceling and Bitterblue are set.

Prince Brigan who is sent to travels with Fire to King City is the only one not taken by her beauty or sustainable to her mind control. So it seems rather obvious that they will have some kind of connection with each other. Most men have a strong reaction to seeing Fire so when Prince Brigan doesn't act how Fire would expect she has to get to know him without her powers.

She had a dagger scar on one forearm, another on her belly. An arrow gouge from years ago on her back. It was a thing that happened now and then. For every peaceful man, there was a man who wanted to hurt her, even kill her, because she was a gorgeous thing he could not have, or because he'd despised her father. And for every attack that had left a scar there were five or six other attacks she'd managed to stop. (p. 31)

There are many things which Fire has to come to terms with to become the person the kingdom needs, and the person she needs herself to be. Fear of what her father was makes her wary but she learns to depend on others and to have self reliance which lead her to grow.

This is a good second book by Cashore and it is an enjoyable read.

Hamlet's Father by Orsen Scott Card

Title: Hamlet's Father
Author: Orson Scott Card
Type: Audio Book (Unabridged)
Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki
Genre: Fiction
Series: No
Copyright: 2012(for audiobook recording only)
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Summary:
This is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This varies from the play in that it focus more on Hamlet's feeling towards his father and his lack of knowledge about his father. As a child Hamlet always felt that his father picked his companions over him and that they were the ones he loved rather than him. After his father's death Hamlet us asked to avenge his father and Hamlet learns more and more about his father. The Hamlet we encounter in here is much different than Shakespeare's Hamlet, he is devious and skilled in the art of deception.While Hamlet is using deception to his advantage is he really as smart as he thinks he is?

Feelings:
I enjoyed this audiobook mostly because of the narrator, Stefan Rudnicki, who did an excellent job reading the book, but found that sometimes I drifted off to sleep because it wasn't all that interesting. I don't normally fall asleep while I'm listening to an audiobook. It is short which is nice about 2 1/2 hours. It does not stay true to the play itself which I found interesting. I did find it to be a bit homophobic which I guess is just the author's point-of-view being reflected in the writing. One could almost not think of it as homophobia and as pedophilia, if it were not for one pivotal scene that clearly makes it about homophobia. It gives a new insight into the King, who was previously a rather minor character but a very important one. There are some aspects that stay true to the Shakespeare play in that death is a theme, and yes pretty much everyone dies. But there is a twist that I did not see coming. For lovers of Hamlet I would not recommend this because it is a reinterpretation and does not stay true to the play itself. One good thing about this version is the language is clear and easy to understand. I can't say I really liked the message or that I would recommend this to many people just because it deals with a pedophile and homophobia.