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A Librarian Reads Fables

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Fables: Legends in Exile and Fables: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham

Fables is a great comic book series that is about all your favorite fairy tale characters, but with a twist. The characters are real and the live in New York.

The premise of the series is that an enemy who has not named has taken over all of the kingdoms where the fairy tale characters traditionally lived and so they escaped by moving to our world where they try to hide in plain sight. Most of the characters can get by posing as human but some, like the three little pigs, cannot. So there is a farm in the country that is a refuge for all the magical animals.

The first collection deals with the murder of Rose Red, Snow White’s lesser known sister. The Big Bad Wolf investigates the case and rounds up a list of suspects of very well known fairy tale characters. In the second collection the magical animals on the farm revolt and try to fight for their freedom as well as to reclaim their magical lands.

If you like fairy tales, or need a different kind of comic to read then Fables may be right for you. It is a bit violent at times, so I am recommending this for ages 14 and up.

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Season of Secrets: A Review by Emily

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Season of Secrets by Sally Nicholls

4 Stars

In Season of Secrets, Molly Brooke and her older sister, Hannah, live with their grandparents. Their mother has passed away and their father needs time to find a good job and get things straight.

Not far from her grandma’s house, Molly has found a man who was hurt badly by a hunt. She learns that he thrives in summer because he is the god of summer. And the man that hunted him was the Holly King, the supernatural being that thrives in winter. Winter is, in fact, drawing near and Molly’s man is growing weaker by the minute. She visits him often in an old abandoned barn until winter arrives and he disappears.

Meanwhile, Molly and Hannah’s father visits them and Hannah is having a hard time coping with all that has happened lately. She disobeys her grandparents and father a lot. At school, Molly and Hannah meet new friends. In the spring, Molly is invited to Emily’s birthday party. Emily was such a shy girl but she turns out to be a very fun person. Also, spring is when Molly’s man comes back.

It is the man’s turn to hunt and defeat the Holly King so that summer may come. He takes Molly along and they soon are victorious. Summer comes and brings Molly’s birthday. She has her family there (including her dad) along with Emily and another friend from school named Alexander. They play a game of tag. During the game, Molly meets with her man one last time. He is in the woods and she, the god, and all the trees sway and dance. Molly returns to the game.
So, in the end, Molly’s father finds a job and will soon be taking them back to their home with him. The girls are happy to be with their dad, but I think they will also miss their grandparents because they stayed there for so long.

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A Librarian Reads The Mermaid’s Mirror

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

The Mermaid’s Mirror by L.K. Madigan

Lena just turned sixteen, has a boyfriend, and is in love with the ocean; everything a Pacific Coast girl could want. But something is changing within her. Lena finds herself sleepwalking to the beach in the middle of the night. When she looks at waves she gets lost in their hypnotic rhythm. She may even be hearing voices whispering her name.

Lena thinks she is going crazy. She even stats looking for more ways to spend time in the ocean, such as learning to surf. Her father has always forbidden her to surf because of an old accident he had years ago. He is so scared of the ocean he won’t even go near the beach. By defying her father’s wishes Lena  will not only learn to surf but discover a secret about her biological mother who died when Lena was still young.

Once the secret is out Lena must choose who she is and where she belongs, because under the tide there is a song that calls to her. If she is brave enough, Lena will discover what she would sacrifice for those she loves. But will she be able to live her life afterwards?

The Mermaid’s Mirror is a wonderful story about family and growing up. It is highly recommended and appropriate for all ages.

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A Librarian Reads The Sword

Monday, January 31st, 2011

The Sword by the Luna Brothers

Dara Brighton lost the use of her legs in a car accident when she was sixteen. Now she is an art student in college and has come to terms with her new life. Her family has always been supportive. Her sister helped her believe in herself, her mother taught her never to give up, and her father taught her kindness and perseverance. Dara and her family are about to sit down for the evening meal when everything comes to an screeching halt.

Three strangers appear at their door. They claim Dara’s father is a man named Demetrios and that he possesses a sword that rightfully belongs to them. When her father explains he doesn’t know what she is talking about the three strangers start killing each family member with supernatural powers. One controls the earth, another water. The last one, a woman, controls the air. Dara watches her mother and sister die. Then the strangers attack her father, yet he still claims he has no knowledge of a sword. Once he is dead they turn to Dara. But the house has caught fire in the melee. The roof collapses on Dara. Assuming she is dead, the strangers leave empty handed.

But Dara is alive. The collapsing roof fell through the floor and took her with it. She struggles away from the wreckage and finds herself in a crawl space under the house. She is injured and burned. But then she sees the sword. When she grabs it she is magically healed. She can even walk again. Soon she discovers that the sword gives her superpowers. She then decides to hunt down the three strangers and make them pay for murdering her family. But along the way she will discover harsh truths about her father and herself. Will she be able to kill? And if so will she be able to live with herself?

The Sword is an excellent graphic novel and is gathered in four volumes. The artwork is superb and the story is riveting. It is recommended for all comic book fans and is appropriate for ages 16 and up due to some violent scenes.

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A Librarian Reads Siren

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Vanessa has always felt lost in her older sister’s shadow, especially during the summer when their family vacations at their beach house. There are a pair of brothers who live next door to their summer home, Simon and Caleb. Vanessa’s sister, Justine, has always been adventurous and each year the four of them jump off a large cliff to the ocean below. Or at least Vanessa tries too. She can never really make it to the cliff’s edge.

Another summer ritual for Justine is hooking up with Caleb. They make eyes at each other, and kiss whenever they can steal a chance. Vanessa is used to boys fawning over Justine, and she just hopes Justine doesn’t break Caleb’s heart, but yet wishes she could be so adventurous in life and not so afraid of everything. Vanessa is comfortable in being the second stringer in the family. But unfortunately fate has other plans for her because this summer after a family fight Justine runs away. Later they find her body on the shore. She jumped from the cliff that night but never came back up and drowned.

Vanessa has a lost a sister and her world is crumbling around her and in her mourning she cannot get Justine’s voice out of her head. To make matters worse more bodies are being found everyday in this beach resort. All of them have drowned. All of them have a macabre grin stretched across their faces. Vanessa can’t help but think that perhaps her sister’s death wasn’t random but connected with the others. But why are people dying? Is it just the chaotic weather they have been having? It seems like the ocean itself  is angry and swallows anyone who swims too deep. But Vanessa might soon lose someone else who is close to her, her last link to Justine, Caleb. He has gone missing. Now, Vanessa and Simon must race to find him before the sea swallows him as well.

Siren was an enjoyable supernatural mystery with plenty of suspense and romance. On one hand it is a story of a young girl coping with loss, and on the other hand is the thrill of solving these seemingly unconnected deaths. Highly recommended for those who need a thrill, a dash of romance, or looking for the next book to satisfy that supernatural fix, and it is appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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