The Mirrorwood - Deva Fagan

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Fable has been cursed by a twisted magic that villagers call the Blight, which forces her to steal and wear the faces of others or risk oblivion. To find her true self, she'll have to enter the treacherous Mirrorwood and free it from the demon-prince who has ruled it for centuries. Thankfully, she has her faithful - but opinionated - feline companion, Moth, by her side.

Pursued by Vycorax, a fierce apprentice Blighthunter who is determined to destroy her, Fable plunges through the thorny forest into a world that is trapped in time and rife with peril. There, she encounters a boisterously chatty skull, a library full of flying books, and a beast so powerful it tears at the fabric of reality, leaving nothingness in its wake. Fable will soon discover that, in the Mirrorwood, nothing is quite like the stories say."

 📚📚📚

The Mirrorwood, ruled by a mysterious demon-prince, is separated from the rest of the kingdom(?) by an impenetrable wall of thorns, but that doesn't mean the prince's blights can't slip through. Everyone outside the thorn wall is terrified of the demon-prince and his blights, so blight hunters prowl the land, throwing any blighted individuals into prison or murdering them. Fable, blighted at a young age, is protected by her family, who keep her blight a secret and let her borrow their faces so she won't fade away, but after a rare slip-up, blighthunters show up at their house as part of an investigation.

Fable spins a tale that leads the blighthunters off, and she thinks she's in the clear, but as she wanders through a birch grove near their home the next day, she runs into them again. It turns out they didn't believe her story and have been waiting to prove that one of her family was blighted - and now they have. The only way to escape the hunters is by entering the Mirrorwood, and miraculously, a path opens up to let her in, sealing her - and Vycorax, one of the blighthunters who pursued her - inside. The pair reluctantly team up, determined to break the demon-prince's curse, and set off on their seemingly impossible quest. Along their journey they encounter the Subtle Powers, a timespun town reliving the same day over and over, a terrible beast known as the Withering, and even the talking skeleton of a long-dead bard.

As Fable learns more about the world inside the Mirrorwood, she begins to question what she knows about the curse. The stories told outside the thorn wall seem less and less true the more time she spends in the cursed kingdom, and the situation with the demon-prince is more complicated than she could ever have anticipated. Vycorax likewise has begun to question her training as a blighthunter and wonder if the blighted truly are the evil creatures she grew up hearing about. Will the partners...and reluctant friends...be able to put aside their assumptions about the Mirrorwood and work together to solve the mystery of the cursed kingdom and break the curse?

This book is pretty solid! I loved the characters, the adventure was exciting, the pace was great, and I really enjoyed how everything wrapped up. Also, despite his name, Moth has my heart forever. "It is wet, Fable. There is mud...I will find you when it is dry again." 😹 He was a delight from the first page to the last. I'll be adding this book to my school library, and I hope my students love it as much as I did!

What the River Knows - Isabel Ibanez

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and a golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her."

 Before we get into the book, I'm just going to say it. This is classified as young adult, but it is fucking not young adult. Publishers, just because a book is fantasy, written by a woman, and has a female main character DOESN'T MEAN IT'S YA! Stop with that shit.

Anyway, now that that's out of the way, I am glad this book was included in my FUCKING YA subscription box even though IT IS NOT YA, because it probably wouldn't have been on my radar otherwise, and HOLY SHIT was it good. For starters, the cover is gorgeous. The dust jacket is beautiful and has a hidden illustration on the inside, there are incredible sprayed edges, the inside covers are illustrated...I mean, any one of those things and I would have been swooning. All of them together? How was I to resist?

Add to that Inez's determination and grit, her curiosity and unwillingness to settle for what others told her she should be doing with her life, and I'm sold on this main character. Then there's the incredible descriptions of Egypt, the inscrutable and mysterious Whit, the fact that you don't know who you can trust, or if you can even trust anyone, and I'M SORRY, WHAT IS HAPPENING?! This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I'm sorry that this review is rambly and unspecific and all over the place, but I literally just finished reading and am still reeling. I need the next book to be out, like, NOW, because I have so many questions, and I need all of them answered. WOW, what a journey I've just been on. I'm still on. If anyone needs me, I'll be thinking about this book.

Daughter of the Deep - Rick Riordan

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana's parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family's she's got left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. Ana's freshman year culminates with the class's weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it'll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory of their lives.

But wait, there's more. The professor accompanying them informs Ana that their rival school, Land Institute, and Harding-Pencroft have been fighting a cold war for a hundred and fifty years. Now that cold war has been turned up to a full broil, and the freshman are in danger of becoming fish food. In a race against deadly enemies, Ana will make amazing friends and astounding discoveries about her heritage as she puts her leadership skills to the test for the first time."

I've been waiting to read this standalone (for now, at least?) middle-ish grade fantasy/sci-fi novel inspired by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for a while, and I finally got to it. The synopsis is so vague while still being compelling and the reveals were so staggering as I read that I don't want to say a lot about what happens throughout the book and ruin anything...but I need people to know that it's a good read. The relationship between Ana and her friends was delightful, I loved seeing the freshman class work together, and even the twists that I guessed still knocked me on my ass. 

The only thing that made me scratch my head was the decision to make Gemini Twain Mormon. Probably just a blip on the radar for people who don't have any connection to or experience with Mormonism, but for someone who knows how problematic the corporation (sorry, I mean church) is, it seemed like quite a strange choice to make the only featured Black character LDS, given Mormonism's long and storied history of racism. My best guess, since Rick Riordan makes a concerted effort to write inclusive books, is that he wanted to feature a religious character...but I don't know that the best choice in the name of inclusion was to feature a religion that actively discriminates against multiple groups of actually marginalized and excluded people.

Questionable character detail aside, the story was solid - good pace, better characters, and Nautilus and Romeo were two of my favorites. Very interesting idea for a book, and excellent execution.

2024 Read Harder...It Begins.

The sun has set on the 2023 Read Harder challenge, and now it rises on 2024's. There are some solid challenges - like read a book in translation from a country you've never visited or read a genre book by a disabled author. I enjoy challenges that focus on finding books written from perspectives I may not have experience with or read before. I try to read inclusively, but these challenges are a great reminder that I can always do better. 

Other challenges are very meh - read a cozy fantasy, read a book by an author with an upcoming event and then attend the event, for example. There were a lot that seemed to just be "read this genre" which........I guess you're expanding your horizons if you read a genre that you don't usually, but also...that's it? The whole challenge? Underwhelming. For the more lackluster challenges, I've decided to try and pick a book that's as intersectional as possible, so it's expanding my worldview in more ways than just reading a specific genre. Now to decide if I pick all my books for the year up front or if I choose a few at a time.

Whatever I decide, let's get started with my January books!

Challenge #1: Read a cozy fantasy book - I know I used this as an example of a meh challenge, but maybe I needed it, because I had no fucking idea what "cozy fantasy" was. There's no end to subgenres, I guess. Anyway, after much deliberation (and disappointment in the lack of diversity in cozy fantasy recommendation lists), I chose The Aurora Circus by Viano Oniomoh. 

Challenge #2: Read a YA book by a trans author - Ohhhh, this was so hard to narrow down. Any YA book by a trans author?! So many options! I was torn between a few, including Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp, but I ultimately went with Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, which has been on my list for a while.

And there you have it...my first two choices for 2024's reading challenge. I'm excited to get to it!

2023 Read Harder Wrap Up

Can't believe another year is almost in the books. So soon? 

I finally remembered to grab La Borinqueña from my school library to read, and it was very enjoyable! It's the first in a series, and I would love to get my hands on more of them. It was mostly in English but included Spanish here and there, and it was kind of fun to see how much I could understand without having to check on word meaning. I did have to pull out a translator more than once, but I was surprised by how much I knew! All that practice, paying off.

I put a hold on White Smoke at the library, forgot about it, had to put it on hold again, and finally picked it up after school on the last day before break. As noted, horror/thriller, not my jam, so I wasn't exactly eager to get started, but time was ticking. This was described as similar to like a Jordan Peele vibe, and while I have not watched his movies because I know I would get too scared, I figured that kind of take on horror would probably be less scarring for me than like...demons crawling out of TV screens and shit. Happy to report that, while this book will HAUNT me, I think I was right about that. I started it yesterday, couldn't put it down, and stayed up late to finish it. Holy fuck. Tiffany Jackson is an incredible writer - already knew that - but this was another level. Even if you aren't a big fan of the genre, I highly recommend reading White Smoke. 

Anyway, that's a wrap on the 2023 Read Harder challenge! I'm pretty proud of myself for being on top of it this year, and I'm looking forward to picking out books for next year's challenge.

Galaxy Jones and the Space Pirates - Briana McDonald

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Galaxy Jones lives on the very, very edge of a star system in an inn run by her dads. She loves her home and her little family, but ever since the train station that serviced their part of the universe went defunct, tourists have stopped coming, and Lexi’s on the verge of losing it all. When the royal family stops at their inn on the way to a neighboring star system, Lexi’s dads hope for some good business, but Lexi knows from past experience with spoiled Prince Weston—and his annoying dog, Comet—to expect nothing but trouble.

Turns out, that “trouble” is a whole lot bigger than she anticipated. Weston has stolen something. Even worse, he’s stolen it from notorious pirates—former followers of Lexi’s idol, the famous pirate Astro Bonny—who have tracked him straight to her house. Problem is, Weston has lost the trinket somewhere in deep space. And now the pirates are holding all the adults hostage with the threat of destroying the inn if they can’t find what they’ve come for.

Lucky for Weston, Lexi has a plan. In exchange for his help saving the family business, she will use all her skills and embrace the adventurous spirit of the great Astro Bonny to help him find whatever it is the pirates are after. With some pluck, and a whole lot of luck, she might just pull it off—and make an unexpected friend along the way."

I haven't finished this book yet, but I need a book to review, and I've got some thoughts about this one, so it's happening. This was a subscription box book (the now-defunct Owlcrate Jr. box), and a fairly recent one. Rare, me reading a subscription book right away, but the cover drew me in.

Now, normally when a cover draws me in, it's because I've immediately fallen in love with it. In this case, it was less that and more that I was...a little confused? This version is a slightly toned down version as far as the colors - my cover is VERY pink, and just the whole vibe was like...what kind of story is this? Don't get me wrong, I think the cover art is unique and draws you in, but I also don't totally think it vibes with the actual story, which is an odd choice.

And speaking of the story, this book clocks in at 288 pages, and about halfway in, I feel confident in saying that is too long. The pace is a mess - nothing is happening, and then fast-forward a bunch of things happen in one chapter that should probably have been spaced out over at least a couple, and then nothing is happening, and then something is happening but it doesn't make sense...add to that, the character development is virtually nonexistent, and I just...I feel like it's a great idea that falters on the execution. 

Maybe someone with more patience would like it, but it isn't drawing me in, and while I will be adding it to my school library, I'm not sure if my students will have the patience for it either. But who knows? Maybe my opinion for it will change in the second half. I'll update if so.

The Chalice of the Gods - Rick Riordan

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"After saving the world multiple times, Percy Jackson is hoping to have a normal senior year. Unfortunately, the gods aren’t quite done with him. Percy will have to fulfill three quests in order to get the necessary three letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus for college.

The first quest is to help Zeus’s cup-bearer retrieve his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Can Percy, Grover, and Annabeth find it in time?"

I have a student who is OBSESSED with Greek mythology, and he tipped me off that this book was coming out, so I grabbed a copy. I didn't look into a synopsis or anything, I just assumed it was one last book to cap off the series for...reasons? And I figured whatever the case, I like Percy Jackson, I like Rick Riordan books, it'll be enjoyable no matter what. And it was! So that's good!

Am I confused at the choice to make it book six in a series that was finished publishing over a decade ago, particularly when the story picks up at a completely new point in Percy's life? I am. Honestly, I assumed it was because it was a one-shot, so tacking it on to the end of the series made more sense than having a standalone book. After reading it, though, it has clearly been set up for at least two additional books so...why not make it a new trilogy? I guess because Percy Jackson and the Letters of Recommendation doesn't have the same ring to it as Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Whyever they made the decision, that's my biggest gripe with the book. It does nothing to change the book itself, it's just an odd thing I'm curious about. The book itself - great. Same Percy Jackson sense of adventure, some nice action, and lots of Annabeth and Grover to enjoy. There's more time at home than we usually get to see in a middle grade book, which I thought was sweet, and there were some surprising twists in how Percy, Annabeth, and Grover ended up approaching their quest that I really enjoyed. Overall, a very enjoyable read, and I look forward to the next one.