Review: The Night Country by Melissa Albert

Title: The Night Country
Series: The Hazel Wood #2
Author: Melissa Albert
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Young Adult
Publisher/Publication Date: Flatiron Books; January 7, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The highly anticipated sequel to Melissa Albert’s beloved, New York Times bestselling debut The Hazel Wood! 

In The Night Country, Alice Proserpine dives back into a menacing, mesmerizing world of dark fairy tales and hidden doors. Follow her and Ellery Finch as they learn The Hazel Wood was just the beginning, and that worlds die not with a whimper, but a bang. With Finch’s help, Alice escaped the Hinterland and her reclusive grandmother’s dark legacy. Now she and the rest of the dregs of the fairy tale world have washed up in New York City, where Alice is trying to make a new, unmagical life. But something is stalking the Hinterland’s survivors―and she suspects their deaths may have a darker purpose. Meanwhile, in the winking out world of the Hinterland, Finch seeks his own adventure, and―if he can find it―a way back home...

Earlier this year, I finally finished reading The Hazel Wood. Since then, The Night Country was one of the 2020 sequels I was excited to pick up. The Night Country was an excellent sequel. I enjoyed it more than the first book. I loved the development the characters went through as well as the return to the colorful, strange, and terrifying world of the Hinterland.

From here on out, there may be spoilers for The Hazel Wood. So if you haven’t read it, click away from this post. You have been warned. :-)

Alice Proserpine thought she was done with the Hazel Wood and the Hinterland since she escaped her story at the end of the first book. However nothing was as it seemed, and the mystery of the ultimate fate of the Hinterland and the enigmatic and malevolent Spinner brought trouble right back into Alice’s life. Alice’s character arc was great. It was one of my favorite aspects about The Night Country. I liked how Albert dealt with Alice’s transition from story to ex-story and addressed her conflicting emotions about everything that had happened to her while also exploring the platonic and romantic relationships in her life.

Most of the story was told by Alice, but I didn’t mind the dual perspectives. It was interesting to see what was going on from Ellery Finch’s perspective. Since he had stayed in the Hinterland, his side of the story was filled with magic. It was a nice temporary break from the urban setting, and it bridged the two halves of the story before they were ultimately brought together. I was all for the trippy-magical landscapes, and all the dangers they presented.

The Night Country was pretty dark at times, just like most of the fairy tale themes common throughout this series. There’s no better example of that than the stories that made up the Hinterland.

Another great part of the book was the mystery surrounding the deaths of the people from the Hinterland. It was a solid mystery, and there were plenty of twists to keep the story moving.

The Night Country was an atmospheric read, and I was drawn in by the story from the beginning. The ending was full of possibilities, and it left Alice and Ellery’s story in a much more satisfying place. Plus I liked how everything that happened to places and people who weren’t the main characters wasn’t magically fixed in the end. It drove-home how the magic in the book had consequences.

Ultimately, The Night Country turned out to be an excellent sequel that answered most of the questions I had about the end of The Hazel Wood. Now, I just have to wait for Tales of the Hinterland to be released.

Have you read The Hazel Wood or The Night Country?

Review: Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire

Title: Come Tumbling Down
Series: Wayward Children series #5
Author: Seanan McGuire
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardback
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.Com; January 7, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The fifth installment in Seanan McGuire's award-winning, bestselling Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones 

When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister--whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice--back to their home on the Moors. But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome. Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken. Again...

**There are possible spoilers for the first four books in the Wayward Children series in this review. You have been warned…. **

Come Tumbling Down is a slight departure from some of the more hopeful themes of the Wayward Children series. But then again, nothing about Jack and Jill’s story has been anything but a dark trek through the Moors. Even so, Come Tumbling Down was one of the darker installments of the series. It also featured my favorite group of characters and setting from this series, and the overall story was good.

Jack Wolcott has always been one of my favorite characters. With each of her appearances throughout this series, she has always stood out. Even after her appearances in Every Heart A Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones, there was always one lingering question left: What happened to Jack and Jill once they returned to the Moors? Come Tumbling Down firmly answered that question.

As I mentioned above, I liked the story. It was as fast-paced as the others in the series, and the ending left Jack’s story in a much more satisfying—and bittersweet—place. I also enjoyed seeing more of the Moors again. The setting—which is a prominent part of Down Among the Sticks and Bones—was expanded beyond the windmill and the town, most prominently by a couple of new locations.

Come Tumbling Down is one of my favorite sequel stories from the Wayward Children series to date. I’m already looking forward to the next book, Across the Green Grass Fields.

Review: The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown:

Title: The Forgotten Girl
Series: n/a
Author: India Hill Brown
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Scholastic; November 5, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

"Do you know what it feels like to be forgotten?" 

On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel - only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her. Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing... Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life - and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there. But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever - no matter what the cost. The Forgotten Girl is both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery....

The Forgotten Girl is another one of the 2019 books I was looking forward to the most, and I have finally read it.

“Iris’s nightmares terrified her. Especially the ones when she couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or not.”—pg.1

The Forgotten Girl is a ghost story, a serious one that had just the right amount of horror (the ghost) where it was needed. It took the otherwise ordinary wintery setting and added a heightened sense of tension to the story. The supernatural elements were suitably creepy, and Iris’s fear was paramount in the later part of the story. Brown excels at writing compelling characters who would appeal to a wide audience. In that way, it reminded me of the Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden. In both stories, the issues in the plot felt local—especially how personal it was to the respective casts of characters. It was literally close-to-home. Plus the ghosts were written in such a vivid way that there were a number of truly terrifying instances.

The Forgotten Girl also drew upon the real history of segregated cemeteries, which is something I haven’t seen very often in a fictional story. So I liked the fact that it was incorporated into the story—there’s also an author’s note in the back of the book that further explains the inspiration behind The Forgotten Girl.

Overall, The Forgotten Girl was a quick read and an excellent ghost story. On a side note: I would definitely take a story about Iris’s mother, because that one offhanded comment got my interest.

Have you read The Forgotten Girl? Or what are some of your favorite ghost stories?

Review: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Title: Gods of Jade and Shadow
Series: n/a
Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Historical; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Del Rey; July 23, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.... 

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld...

Gods of Jade and Shadow was one of my most anticipated book releases of 2019, but it ended up being the first book I read in 2020. Gods of Jade and Shadow was such a complex and amazing tale. It was a coming-of-age story set against a glittering jazz age Mexico setting, with folklore elements and a quest involving a Mayan god of death. It had a fairytale kind of vibe to it, which reminded me a of the type of atmosphere in stories like Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, as well as the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. Gods of Jade and Shadow was everything I was looking for, and I loved it as much as I thought I would.

Casiopea Tun believes she’s unfortunate, and she is in a lot of ways. Her situation was explored in the early chapters of the story, and right away, I liked her character. I also disliked her family. The casual sort of cruelty they displayed toward Casiopea did not endear them to me, and for much of the story they were dual-antagonists in the ongoing conflict between the gods—particularly Casiopea’s cousin, Martín. That being said, all of the characters were pretty complex, and for the main ones, I enjoyed their individual character arcs. Though Casiopea’s journey is the main focus—and one of my favorite aspects about Gods of Jade and Shadow—and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of her story of adventure and self-discovery.

The overall story was one of my favorites. It was a quest kind of story, with certain objects that had to be found, and there was a good deal of travel as well—it wasn’t until later in the story when the pace picked up. Even so, Gods of Jade and Shadow was fantastic, and I loved all of the mythological elements present in the story. The end wrapped up the story in a bittersweet but satisfying way.

Gods of Jade and Shadow was the first book I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to her next novel, Mexican Gothic, which comes out on June 30, 2020.

Have you read Gods of Jade and Shadow? If so, what did you think of it?

Review: Dragon's Bait by Vivian Vande Velde

Title: Dragon's Bait
Series: n/a
Author: Vivian Vande Velde
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Young Adult; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: HMH Books for Young Readers; April 1, 2003

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Fifteen-year-old Alys is not a witch. But that doesn't matter--the villagers think she is and have staked her out on a hillside as a sacrifice to the local dragon. It's late, it's cold, and it's raining, and Alys can think of only one thing--revenge. But first she's got to escape, and even if she does, how can one girl possibly take on an entire town alone? Then the dragon arrives--a dragon that could quite possibly be the perfect ally. . . .

I first heard about Dragon’s Bait by Vivian Vande Velde when I read a review about it over on Purplereader’s blog. It sounded like an interesting story, and recently I was in the mood for a book featuring dragons and remembered this one. I liked Dragon’s Bait. The story was on the shorter side but it was an entertaining one; although, I will admit that I wish it had been a little longer. I would have liked to see more of the characters, more of the world…just more in general. That being said, Dragon’s Bait had a good amount of actual dragons present on the page, and I also liked the character arc of the main character, Alys. Alys was accused, tried, and convicted of being a witch. The charges were unfair and untrue, but Dragon’s Bait is a story about greed and revenge. I did enjoy how the book critiqued the trials as a whole, particularly about who would and wouldn’t be singled out with accusations of witchcraft. Overall, I liked Dragon’s Bait....

Review: In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Title: In an Absent Dream
Series: Wayward Children #4
Author: Seanan McGuire
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; January 8, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should. When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well...

Lundy was a character who I always thought of as interesting, even though she only appeared in Every Heart A Doorway. I liked what I saw of her character. So it was nice to get a story from her perspective. In the same vein as Down Among the Sticks and Bones, In an Absent Dream is a prequel story. It told Lundy’s backstory including her adventure behind the door that opened for her: in a world called the Goblin Market. The story was big on being “sure” about many things, with wanting to live in whatever fantasy world that wanted you being one of them—which is a question that most of the characters of the Wayward Children series are eventually asked. It was also about following the rules as well as the consequences of breaking them. The Goblin Market—which is a pretty accurate descriptor for the kind of place Lundy went—was a market, and it was a land ruled by fair value. So even in the Goblin Market there were still rules. It was also uniquely different from some of the other worlds visited in prior books—not just in terms of the landscape and the permanent residents—but for how people, like Lundy, who went there could go back several times before being "sure" had lasting effects. I also liked all the characters who were introduced in In an Absent Dream. They were as interesting as the world they inhabited. All of it made for an entertaining story.

All in all, I enjoyed In an Absent Dream. It satisfied my curiosity about Lundy’s character and the Goblin Market. Now more than ever, I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Review: The Princess Who Flew With Dragons by Stephanie Burgis

Title: The Princess Who Flew With Dragons
Series: Tales From the Chocolate Heart #3
Author: Stephanie Burgis
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Bloomsbury Children's Books; November 5, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Princess Sofia of Drachenheim is sick of being used for her older sister’s political gains. At twelve years old, she’s already been a hostage to invading dragons and a promised future fiancé to a wicked fairy. Her only comfort lies in writing letters to her pen pal and best friend--Jasper, a young dragon whom she's never even met. When Sofia's older sister sends her on a diplomatic mission to far-off Villenne, she's meant to play the part of a charming, smiling princess. But when an accident leads to her exile from the city, Sofia is free to wander as she pleases for the first time in her life. And when Jasper's food-mage sister Aventurine turns him into a human boy, Sofia thinks life can't get any better. Until… the legendary ice giants of the north attack, trying to reclaim the territory that they lost centuries ago. With the dragons and royals frozen in ice, can Sofia and Jasper save their families and kingdom?

Another enchanting and strong-hearted fantasy, set in the same world as The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart and The Girl with the Dragon Heart.

The Princess Who Flew With Dragons was an excellent follow up to The Girl With the Dragon Heart. There was less chocolate this time around, and much of the familiar cast of characters wasn’t present. That was because the story was told from Princess Sofia’s perspective and it took place outside of Drachenheim—mainly in Villenne and also the snowy territory of the Ice Giants. However the story was just as fun and adventurous (and full of dragons) as the previous books in the series. Princess Sofia has appeared throughout the series, but she was mostly a side character in the adventures of others. So it was nice to finally get a story from her perspective. Being able to read from Sofia’s perspective was helpful with further understanding her character. The story—and Sofia’s attempts at being diplomatic during her trip to Villenne—put a spotlight on her insecurities and fears about not living up to the title of princess. I appreciated the narrative choices Burgis took with Sofia’s character arch. The lessons, as well as how the situation between Sofia and her old sister, Katrin, played out, was among one of things I liked best about The Princess Who Flew With Dragons. I also liked seeing more of Aventurine’s family—particularly Jasper—as well as all the new characters and places introduced in this book.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Princess Who Flew With Dragons. It was a great story, and the ending was satisfying. If you’ve read the other two books in the series, then this one is a must read.

Review: Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Title: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Series: Wayward Children #3
Author: Seanan McGuire
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; January 9, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Note: this synopsis contains spoilers for Every Heart a Doorway. 

When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.) If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests... A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do. Warning: May contain nuts.

**Note: this review may contain minor spoilers for Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones. You have been warned.**

So far I’m really enjoying the Wayward Children series, and I’m determined to get caught up with all the current books before Come Tumbling Down comes out next year. After I read Down Among the Sticks and Bones, I was more than excited to finally pick up Beneath the Sugar Sky. The synopsis had me excited for all the possibilities the story could hold, and it turned out to be everything I was looking for.

I loved this story. Not only were more of the other worlds visited in Beneath the Sugar Sky—like Confection and The Halls of the Dead—I also got see to all of my favorite characters again including Nancy, Kade, and of course Eleanor West—who had a rule about no quests, and while it finally got broken, it was for a good reason.

No matter how brief it was, it was also great to be back in Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. Since beneath the Sugar Sky wasn’t a prequel like Down Among the Sticks and Bones, I got more of what I wanted, which was to see what happened to the characters after the way Every Heart a Doorway ended. There were a few new characters, like Cora, who had recently left her own world. I liked her character, and she reminded me a little of Nancy in Every Heart a Doorway. Like her—like most of the students at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children—Cora had reasons to want to remain in her fantasy world, but ultimately she had to adjust to the sudden changes in her life after that door was shut. One thing that this series does well is how it addresses relevant issues by directly incorporating them rather than shying away from, or only hinting at them. So it often came up as something one or more of the characters had to deal with. Beneath the Sugar Sky also does this with Cora’s character. There was also Rini who, at times, spoke quite frankly, but she was a thoroughly entertaining character (I would take a story entirely from her perspective, I’m just saying).

Beneath the Sugar Sky was an excellent and highly entertaining sequel to Down Among the Sticks and Bones. I plan to read In an Absent Dream as soon as my library hold comes in.

Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

Title: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Series: Wayward Children #2
Author: Seanan McGuire
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; June 13, 2017

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. This is the story of what happened first… 

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got. They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted. They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices...

Jacqueline and Jillian Wolcott, otherwise known as Jack and Jill, were two of my favorite characters from Every Heart a Doorway, especially Jack. The twin’s story wasn't completely unknown to me, especially since their history was explored as much as the other characters were in Every Heart a Doorway. One of the things I had wanted to see more of in the first novella was the worlds that the students of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children had gone to before their stay at the school. Down Among the Sticks and Bones pretty much satisfied that curiosity. Since the story was about Jack and Jill’s history, there was an in-depth look at The Moors, as well as everything before and up to when they opened their door and walked through it.

One of themes explored throughout Down Among the Sticks and Bones was how the choices made by parents could positively, or in this case, negatively affect their children. The Wolcott’s, Serena and Chester, were inexperienced at parenting and they never bothered to try and learn to do better. The choices they made played such a prominent role in how—and who—the twin’s eventually grew up to be. It was sad how damaging it was, but without it there wouldn’t have been a story. I also liked getting to see the characters of The Moors, who were mentioned in passing in Every Heart a Doorway, on page. They were everything they were described to be, and I would take another story featuring them.

Overall, Down Among the Sticks and Bones was an excellent follow-up to Every Heart a Doorway. It might have been a prequel story, but it doesn’t even matter. This series just keeps getting better and better, and now more than ever I’m excited to start reading Beneath the Sugar Sky.

Review: A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney

Title: A Dream So Dark
Series: The Nightmare-Verse #2
Author: L.L. McKinney
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Young Adult; Retelling
Publisher/Publication Date: Imprint; September 24, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Still reeling from her recent battle (and grounded until she graduates), Alice must abandon her friends to complete her mission: find The Heart and prevent the Red Lady's rise. But the deeper she ventures into Wonderland, the more topsy-turvy everything becomes. It’s not until she’s at her wits end that she realizes—Wonderland is trying to save her. There’s a new player on the board; a poet capable of using Nightmares to not only influence the living but raise the dead. This Poet is looking to claim the Black Queen’s power—and Alice's budding abilities—as their own. Dreams have never been so dark in Wonderland, and if there is any hope of defeating this mystery poet’s magic, Alice must confront the worst in herself, in the people she loves, and in the very nature of fear itself.

The thing with sequels is they can go either way, good, bad, and anything in between. In the case of A Dream So Dark, it was the kind of sequel that got me excited for the next book in the series. I enjoyed it more than I did A Blade So Black. It was the kind of Alice in Wonderland retelling I’ve been looking for. I mean there was everything from a little bit of a mystery to interesting characters, Sailor Moon references, lots of scenes in McKinney’s version of Wonderland, plenty of action, and some pretty entertaining twists. That is to say, A Dream So Dark was worth the read.

From here on out, there may be minor spoilers for the first book. You have been warned.

The story picked up pretty much after the end of the first book, and it followed Alice as she dealt with the fallout of her most recent battle and about what happened to her friend, Chess. In a general sense, I liked the overall story. There was plenty of action to keep me turning the pages. And while I could guess some of what would likely happen, I didn’t know the full story—like the motivation behind the antagonists plots, and how it would all come together and playout in the end. So, I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

The setting was much more developed, and I liked that more of the story took place in Wonderland. It was such an interesting and colorful place, and I liked getting to see more of it—especially the people, the towns, the different kinds of creatures, and so on.

I loved the character development that happened in A Dream So Dark. At the end of A Blade So Black, I had a lot of questions about Alice’s character—and I still have a number of them—but I liked the direction the author took with her character. This time around, Alice was definitely more prepared. She had learned from her past mistakes, and she was ready for a fight. I thought it was great. Another thing I was a fan of was how much more present Alice’s family was. Like there was always the issue of her absences and her mother not being a fan of it or her lies, at all. So there were these really great scenes between her and her mother. There were also scenes with her grandmother as well (who, by the way, was an absolute delight and one of my favorite additions to the story; she’s a character that I want to see more of). I also liked Alice’s friend, Courtney (also known as Court). She was such a personality. She had some pretty entertaining one-liners, and I loved all the scenes she was in. There was also a little more about Addison Hatta’s history, which I liked.

All in all, I really enjoyed A Dream So Dark. It was a great addition to the series, and I’m looking forward to the next book.

Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Series: n/a
Author: Ray Bradbury
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardback
More Details: Fantasy  
Publisher/Publication Date: First published in 1962

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

A carnival rolls in sometime after the midnight hour on a chill Midwestern October eve, ushering in Halloween a week before its time. A calliope's shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two inquisitive boys standing precariously on the brink of adulthood will soon discover the secret of the satanic raree-show's smoke, mazes, and mirrors, as they learn all too well the heavy cost of wishes - and the stuff of nightmare.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of those classic books that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I wanted to read it before the year was over, and now I can mark it off my TBR list. Something Wicked This Way Comes was good. I liked the story and the characters, especially the friendship between Jim and Will. While it wasn’t exactly a ghost story like Dead Voices by Katherine Arden, it did deal with powerful and mysterious forces, as well as the consequences of what someone would do to remain young forever. There was the carnival, Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show, so there were some scenes where the characters interacted with the rides and games. However, there was never a moment when there wasn’t something odd about the newcomers to the town, like the carnival and the way it arrived in the middle of the night. As the very first page of Something Wicked This Way Comes says, “One year Halloween came on October 24, three hours after midnight.” It led to the increasingly dangerous and nefarious situations that seemed to touch every corner of the story. I liked what I read. So Something Wicked This Way Comes was the perfect October read.

Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title:The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Series: n/a
Author: Neil Gaiman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Horror
Publisher/Publication Date: William Morrow Books; June 18, 2013

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

When I first started reading Neil Gaiman books again, I had a list of stories I really wanted to read. The Ocean at the end of the Lane was one of them. It was good, but it wasn’t my favorite book by this author. So while there were some parts I genuinely liked about the book—like the Hempstock’s and the fantasy elements (namely the duck pond that’s also an ocean)—the story, unfortunately, was one that didn’t click all the way with me.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a story about a middle-aged man recounting memories of his childhood from a time when he was about seven. I didn’t realize at first that the character remained nameless throughout the whole story, and looking back, I didn’t carefully read the synopsis. However, the main character not having a name didn’t bother me in the slightest, due in part to the writing, which was excellent. There was a somber tone to much of the story, because the pivotal events were always somewhat sad and definitely frightening. It was a story about memories, and there was horror and fantasy.

I think my main problem with this one was parts of the story itself. Given that the events are being recounted by the character when he’s older—and how short the book was—the stakes in the story sometimes seemed low. Because I always knew, in the back of my mind, that everything would turn out okay.

Other than that, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was an interesting tale. I liked it, and I will likely read other books by Gaiman in the future.

Review: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Title: Dead Voices
Series: Small Spaces #2
Author: Katherine Arden
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Middle Grade
Publisher/Publication Date: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers; August 27, 2019

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Bestselling author Katherine Arden returns with another creepy, spine-tingling adventure in this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Small Spaces. 

Having survived sinister scarecrows and the malevolent smiling man in Small Spaces, newly minted best friends Ollie, Coco, and Brian are ready to spend a relaxing winter break skiing together with their parents at Mount Hemlock Resort. But when a snowstorm sets in, causing the power to flicker out and the cold to creep closer and closer, the three are forced to settle for hot chocolate and board games by the fire. Ollie, Coco, and Brian are determined to make the best of being snowed in, but odd things keep happening. Coco is convinced she has seen a ghost, and Ollie is having nightmares about frostbitten girls pleading for help. Then Mr. Voland, a mysterious ghost hunter, arrives in the midst of the storm to investigate the hauntings at Hemlock Lodge. Ollie, Coco, and Brian want to trust him, but Ollie's watch, which once saved them from the smiling man, has a new cautionary message: BEWARE. With Mr. Voland's help, Ollie, Coco, and Brian reach out to the dead voices at Mount Hemlock. Maybe the ghosts need their help--or maybe not all ghosts can or should be trusted.
Dead Voices is a terrifying follow-up to Small Spaces with thrills and chills galore and the captive foreboding of a classic ghost story.

Earlier this year, I read Small Spaces, Katherine Arden’s first middle grade novel. I was overjoyed when the atmospheric writing that I liked about the Winternight Trilogy was also present in Small Spaces. So I was excited when I first learned that Small Spaces was getting a sequel, and oh man, Dead Voice did not disappoint. With a story full of twists and turns, Dead Voices was delightfully spooky and just as atmospheric as the first book in the series. But it wasn’t so scary that a younger audience wouldn’t be able to enjoy the story.

Dead Voices picks up sometime after Small Spaces. Its winter, and Ollie, her friends, father, and Coco’s mother were on their way to a lodge. After the events of Small Spaces, it was a much needed vacation. However, it wasn’t long before trouble started, and the ghosts did, well, what ghosts do at isolated lodges in the middle of a snowstorm: they haunted. It’s one of the aspects about the story that stood out the most. The ghosts and the lore surrounding Hemlock Lodge reminded me of the story-within-the-story in the first book, also called Small Spaces. It revealed some of the backstory, and how the history influenced the current situations the characters faced as well, all without slowing down the story. It was excellent.

Another thing I liked was the tone of the story. The atmospheric writing, combined with the story, antagonist, and the setting, made for a great ghost story.

It was also great getting to read another story from the perspective of these characters. I liked all of them. In fact, I liked Ollie more in Dead Voices than I initially did in Small Spaces. Her circumstances were different, and this time she had her friends. I liked the dynamics between Ollie, Coco, and Brian. I also liked the development Arden did with their friendship, as well as their personal character arcs. They each had moments to shine, where their skills took center stage.

Overall, Dead Voices was an excellent follow-up to Small Spaces. If you read and enjoyed the first book in the series, then this one is a must read.

Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Title: Neverwhere
Series: n/a
Author: Neil Gaiman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: BBC Books; September 16, 1996

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks. Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere....

Neverwhere is one of those books I kept saying I was going to read, but I never got around to it until now. The story was an excellent blend of a time period thoroughly entrenched in a modern time and fantasy elements. It was urban, gritty, and magical all at the same time. And it reminded me a little of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland. Although, it wasn’t a world at the back of a wardrobe, or an odd place following its own rules—or lack of rules—found at the bottom of a hole. No, Neverwhere was set in a place that was closer than anyone would have expected. It was another London, or as it was called in the story, London Below. There was so much I enjoyed about Neverwhere. I guess it was just my kind of story.

Richard Mayhew was a protagonist who, at first, lived a safe and comfortable life. He was a young businessman, and he was in a stable relationship with Jessica, his fiancée. That all changed when he met Door by chance one day. As the synopsis states “there are people who fall through the cracks,” and Richard does indeed become one of them. And when his good deed backfired on him, it was interesting how he handled himself now that his life was irrevocably changed for the worse. I liked the characters in Neverwhere. I don’t want to say too much about the secondary characters, but I have to at least mention Door. Door was a delightful character, and my only regret is that the rest of her family didn’t have a chance to appear on page. Door’s specific ability—a trait known to her family—was one of my favorite aspects about her character.

London Below was such a fascinating place to read about. Like Wonderland, London Below was a mysterious place that followed its own rules. There was a way of life down there, an order to things. So all manner of people and animals and monsters and angels—places seemingly outside of time or reality—existed right below the streets of London. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of awesome.

The story was great and atmospheric. There was action, and there was always a sense of danger to the situations the characters ended up in and the places they went. There was an element of cat-and-mouse to the story: a chase that spanned from the beginning to the end. Speaking of the end, it was open-ended in a way, but I was still satisfied with the conclusion of the story.

So far, Neverwhere is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. And here I thought Coraline would be hard to beat as my favorite book by Gaiman, but I was wrong.

Review: Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

Title: Welcome to Night Vale
Series: Welcome to Night Vale #1
Author: Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor 
Source/Format: borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy 
Publisher/Publication Date: Harper Perennial, October 20, 2015

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

From the creators of the wildly popular Welcome to Night Vale podcast comes an imaginative mystery of appearances and disappearances that is also a poignant look at the ways in which we all struggle to find ourselves...no matter where we live. 

Located in a nameless desert somewhere in the great American Southwest, Night Vale is a small town where ghosts, angels, aliens, and government conspiracies are all commonplace parts of everyday life. It is here that the lives of two women, with two mysteries, will converge. 

Nineteen-year-old Night Vale pawn shop owner Jackie Fierro is given a paper marked "King City" by a mysterious man in a tan jacket holding a deer skin suitcase. Everything about him and his paper unsettles her, especially the fact that she can't seem to get the paper to leave her hand, and that no one who meets this man can remember anything about him. Jackie is determined to uncover the mystery of King City and the man in the tan jacket before she herself unravels. Night Vale PTA treasurer Diane Crayton's son, Josh, is moody and also a shape shifter. And lately Diane's started to see her son's father everywhere she goes, looking the same as the day he left years earlier, when they were both teenagers. Josh, looking different every time Diane sees him, shows a stronger and stronger interest in his estranged father, leading to a disaster Diane can see coming, even as she is helpless to prevent it. Diane's search to reconnect with her son and Jackie's search for her former routine life collide as they find themselves coming back to two words: "King City". It is King City that holds the key to both of their mysteries, and their futures...if they can ever find it.

After reading It Devours!, I decided to go back to the first book in the series, Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel. I was immediately intrigue by the synopsis, and I was ready to be back in Night Vale from the perspective of a different character. This time, the story is told from the perspective of Jackie Fierro (the local pawnshop owner), and Diane Crayton, Josh’s mother. Both of them are reoccurring characters in the series, and it was great to have a story from their perspective. And what a story it was!

The mystery of the book revolved around something as seemingly innocuous as simple slips of paper. However, considering that this was Night Vale, it was quickly apparent that simple and innocuous weren’t the right words to use about the situation. The papers were being delivered to people by a “man in a tan jacket holding a deerskin suitcase,” and they only said one thing: King City. I liked the overall story. The mystery was interesting and there were enough twists to keep me turning the pages.

The novel also showed the characters in their daily lives, including at their jobs. In Diane’s case, it also highlighted her personal life: she was a single mother who worked hard to raise her son, Josh. While Josh spent a lot of time wanting to know who his father was, which caused some friction between the two. Even so, I liked the bond between Diane and Josh. Individually, they were great characters, but I enjoyed reading the scenes when they were together. Jackie and her routines were also interesting. I enjoyed reading about how she ran the pawnshop (plus the rules for pawning an item), as well as how being nineteen for seemingly forever/decades/however long began to weigh on her as the story progressed.

At its heart, Welcome to Night Vale is a story about mothers and their children. It was also about Night Vale's ways and the odd way time flows—or doesn’t flow—and how it affects the relationships between others. Night Vale is a strange place: it’s a town fraught with danger where even going to the library is a perilous adventure in and of itself. And it was interesting to see the town from the perspective of parents who’ve raised their children there.

Overall, I enjoyed Welcome to Night Vale. It was a great story. Now more than ever, I’m excited for the third book in the series.

Review: It Devours! by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

Title: It Devours 
Series: Welcome to Night Vale #2
Author: Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardback
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Harper Collins; October 17, 2017

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

From the authors of the New York Times bestselling novel Welcome to Night Vale and the creators of the #1 international podcast of the same name, comes a mystery exploring the intersections of faith and science, the growing relationship between two young people who want desperately to trust each other, and the terrifying, toothy power of the Smiling God. 

Nilanjana Sikdar is an outsider to the town of Night Vale. Working for Carlos, the town’s top scientist, she relies on fact and logic as her guiding principles. But all of that is put into question when Carlos gives her a special assignment investigating a mysterious rumbling in the desert wasteland outside of town. This investigation leads her to the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God, and to Darryl, one of its most committed members. Caught between her beliefs in the ultimate power of science and her growing attraction to Darryl, she begins to suspect the Congregation is planning a ritual that could threaten the lives of everyone in town. Nilanjana and Darryl must search for common ground between their very different world views as they are faced with the Congregation’s darkest and most terrible secret

“Not everyone believes in mountains, yet there they are, in plain sight.”

I’ve listened to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast on and off over the years, and I don’t know why I put off reading the novels for so long. I enjoyed It Devours!. It’s just like an episode of the podcast. There were a number of familiar faces—like Cecil Palmer, Carlos, and others. And while It Devours! is a book (with some illustrations, but it isn’t mixed-media; no interviews or transcripts, etc.), it’s told in a similar tone as the podcast that makes the weirder aspects of the town seem like normal, everyday occurrences—which for Night Vale it is. However, that’s part of Welcome to Night Vale’s charm, and I’m glad It Devours! captured some of that.

This book was something else. From the very first page, it starts out by saying not everyone believes in mountains, which is a pretty accurate example of the kind of logic that exists in Night Vale. Time behaved oddly. There were helicopters that didn’t run on fuel. And there’s even a house that’s there, but everyone says it doesn’t exist anyway. What’s causing the massive holes that are steadily devouring Night Vale? Who is Darryl? What is the Joyous Congregation of the Smiling God? Those are just some of the questions that needed to be answered, and how they were eventually explained was what I liked most about the book. As such, the mystery was great. I was drawn into the story from the very first chapter, and the villains were sufficiently creepy—yet unassuming at times—with the means and motivation to do what they did.

The majority of the story is told from the perspective of Nilanjana Sikdar. She has a job at Carlos’s lab, and most of her acquaintances are from said establishment. She’s competent in situations when she needs to be, and despite all that happens, she returns to habits from her daily life whenever she needs to solve something. Nilanjana pretty much embodied the feeling of moving to a new place, feeling like you don’t belong, and trying to find out where you fit anyway. I liked the moments when she began to accept Night Vale for the way it was, as well as how she navigated the situation with the mysterious holes.

I truly enjoyed It Devours!. I don’t think the series has to be read in order, especially if you’ve already listened to the podcast. That being said, I’m definitely going to read the first book in the series, Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel.

Review: Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

Title: Binti: The Night Masquerade 
Series: Binti #3
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Paperback
More Details: SFF
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; January 16, 2018

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The concluding part of the highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy that began with Nnedi Okorafor's Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning BINTI....

Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse. Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her. Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene--though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives--and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all....

Before I get started, I wanted to clarify that while I try to be as vague as possible, this review may contain some minor spoilers for the first two novellas of the series. You’ve been warned.

After the cliffhanger end of Binti: Home, I was excited to dive back into this world and these characters in the finale novella of the trilogy, Binti: The Night Masquerade. For the most part, this novella answered the lingering questions I had—about how Binti’s story would end as well as the mystery of her “edan”. The ending was kind of open-ended in a way, but it still brought about the resolution of some of the personal and external conflicts that have plagued Binti since the first novella. Change is hard. Monumental and life altering changes are even harder, and Binti had to come to terms with the ways the events of the trilogy have affected her.

I liked the progression of the story. The politics from the previous novellas were back, and with the treaty in place, I could see how Binti could believe the conflict had settled. However, the rivalry between Khoush and the Meduse restarted and with deadly and destructive consequences. There was danger, but I liked how Binti remained true to her ways even in the face of overwhelming odds. Parts of the story were emotionally impactful but all too fleeting, because I was able to guess what would happen next. So, some parts of the story were a little predictable, and other scenes leaned a little into the territory of being a deus ex machina. I also won’t say too much about how the mystery of Binti’s “edan” was solved, but I have to admit that it made me laugh—not because it was funny, but instead it was just so…random that I couldn’t help but see it in a more humorous light.

The aliens—and even Oomza University—were all creative and unique, and I really loved those aspects of the story. And I know I keep mentioning the ship, Third Fish, but it was one of my favorite characters in this one, along with its baby: New Fish. So, when I say the technology in this trilogy is one of my favorite aspects because of its creativity, I really do mean that.

While there were a few “meh” aspects about The Night Masquerade, it was still a fitting end to Binti’s story. As a whole, the Binti trilogy was worth the read, and I look forward to reading more novels by Nnedi Okorafor….