Broke-down "Palace"...

TITLE: The Midnight Palace

AUTHOR: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

REVIEWED BY: Cleggy

BRIEF SUMMARY: "In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery...

Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life...

Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere's sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night -- and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces."  (Summary from the published book)

WHY I PICKED IT UP: I love Carlos Ruiz Zafón.  Absolutely love him.  This is the second book in the "Mist" series, and his fourth English language title.  I had to read it.

WHY I FINISHED IT: I had to see if it ended how I thought it would.

WHO I’D GIVE IT TO: People who like supernatural thrillers, Young Adult fiction, or Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

OTHER NOTES AND CONTENT WARNINGS: I have to admit, of the four English language books by Zafón, this is my least favorite. 

I don't mean that to sound harsh.  This is his fourth English-language title, but it was originally published in Spain in 1994 as his second book.  As such, it seems to suffer from "sophomore slump".  While the characters are interesting, the mystery was easily solved and all the clues were pretty obvious.

Still, it was well-written and is a decent time-waster.  But compared to his later works, it suffers greatly in comparison.

As for content, there is a bit of violence and peril.  Not for young children.

Give a "Hoot"

Title: Hoot

Author: Carl Hiaasen

Reviewed by: Phineas

Storyline: Roy Eberhardt is new to Florida. He and his family move a lot because of his dad's job. Roy finally gets used to moving. On his first day of school he sees a kid running super fast. Of course he is curious and follows him. After making friends with him he knows why he was running. He is trying to keep owls safe where a new business is threatening their home.

Why did I pick up the book?: I saw some reviews on the movie but hadn't seen it yet. I really wanted to read it.

Why did I finish it?: The book was very fascinating. There is a lot of sneaking around and trying to help the owls.

Who would I recommend this book to?: I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in these types of stories.

Warning: There is a couple of swear words, there is vandalism which is very wrong. Some people might not want their kids to read this book because of that.

A tangled web of "Mist"-ery...

The Prince of Mist was actually Carlos Ruiz Zafón's first book, originally published in Spain in 1993. Now, seventeen years later, it is finally available in an English translation by Lucia Graves, and it was well worth the wait. I've loved all of his adult fiction books, and this book has the same haunting quality that they did, possibly due to the fact that Graves translated those as well. Or perhaps it's just because Carlos is such a good writer.

Now, don't let the fact that was originally published in another language put you off. So were the Inkheart books. The Prince of Mist is a wonderful, riveting tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

In 1943, with Spain in the midst of World War II, watchmaker Maximilian Carver moves his family from the capital to a seaside village where he has recently bought a home. From the minute they arrive, strange and otherwordly things begin occurring. Soon, the Carvers -- especially 13-year-old Max and his 15-year-old sister Alicia -- find themselves caught up in a dangerous battle with the Prince of Mist, a supernatural entity who has been bargaining for souls for decades, and who just might be the Devil himself.

As the story unfolds, Max and Alicia must uncover the secret of the former inhabitants of their home, the truth about their new friend Roland and his grandfather, and find out just what happened to the Orpheus, a ship that sank in the harbor during a terrible storm a quarter-century ago -- and how it all ties together and ultimately leads back to the mysterious Prince.

Part mystery, part romance, part fantasy, and part gothic horror tale, I cannot recommend The Prince of Mist highly enough. Ruiz Zafón is a masterful storyteller, putting you right into the action, and creating characters that you will come to love and care about. Although the book contains mild language and mature themes, it is certainly suitable for anyone age 12 and up.


NOTE: This is book one in the "Mist" trilogy.  Book two, The Midnight Palace, was just released on May 31, 2011.  A review is forthcoming as soon as I finish it.

He's "unspeakable" all right...

It's hard to review a book where you didn't like the main character. That's the problem I'm faced with now that I've finished I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb.

Oliver Watson, true to the title, is a genius of unspeakable evil. And yes, he does want to be class president. Oliver is twelve years old, overweight, and has fooled his parents, classmates, and teachers into believing that he is a slow-witted simpleton, when in reality he is the third-richest person in the world, an evil mastermind, and head of a secret empire well on his way to global domination.

The problem is that Oliver is also tedious, annoying, self-centered, and so bent on revenge against his father that I could not warm up to him. Everytime he took revenge against a classmate, secretly blackmailed or humiliated a teacher, or otherwise manipulated the system to get his own way, I was more appalled by his actions than amused.

I know, I know. This is fiction. This is supposed to be fun. This is the ultimate revenge fantasy for all those kids out there who are picked on.

But you know what? If this book had come out when I was in school -- when I would have been, in fact, the prime audience for a revenge fantasy like this -- I'd like to think I would still have been more appalled than amused.

While Oliver is a sarcastic genius of the highest order, he is also just plain mean. Perhaps if he'd had a shred of humanity in him, I might have liked him more. As it stands, I can only feel that he didn't get what he deserved in the end, and the path getting there wasn't worth the time I spent on it.

Still, maybe you'll like it better. Give us some feedback; let us know what you think.

The people in your "neighbor"-hood

TITLE: The Good Neighbors series (Kin, Kith, and Kind)

AUTHOR: Holly Black ; illustrated by Ted Naifeh.

REVIEWED BY: Cleggy

BRIEF SUMMARY: Rue is your typical sixteen year old. Except her mother's disappeared. And her father is accused of murdering one of his students. And oh yeah, she sees things that may or may not actually be there. She's starting to see faeries, and what's more, she has reason to believe that her maternal grandfather -- whom she's never met -- might actually be one. Something big is about to happen that could threaten her friends, her father, and her town -- but can she do anything to stop it?

WHY I PICKED IT UP: It was new to the library. It looked interesting to me while I was cataloging it.

WHY I FINISHED IT: Although the Faerie-fantasy books have never really interested me, the story kept me going for the most part. A bit of confusion set in during the second book, and it could have used more explanation.

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Young adult (and adult) readers who like the Faerie-fantasy genre.

ADDITIONAL NOTES: This is a graphic novel, so if you don't like those, you'll want to stay away. The art work alternates between stunning and confusing. Distinct character design should easily differentiate the faeries from the humans, but to tell the truth, many of the humans looked "faerie"-like and vice versa. Still, if you like this sort of thing, you will easily look past that.

All in all, I can't help but feel that this one might have worked better as a regular novel first, then a graphic novel adaptation later. The second book got kind of confusing with so many characters and plot lines going simultaneously, but I was able to keep up by going back every once in a while to remind myself who was who and what was going on. Two or three characters appear out of nowhere and are immediately appropriated as important plot points, but you have no idea who they are when they first appear. Again, it would definitely have benefited from more plot and character development if space had allowed.