Review: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

Title: Greta and the Goblin King (Click title for Synopsis)
Source/Format: Purchased, Kindle Edition
Age Range: YA
Publisher/Publication Date: Entangled Teen, December 11, 2012



My Thoughts:

     Greta and the Goblin King was an ok young adult book, and I found it entertaining.  But Greta was stubborn and refused to accept help, which I found kind of annoying.  Isaac was sweet in the way that he cared for Greta, and I wish that she’d been a little more willing to accept his help.  I guess she had her reasons for not trusting him, but she almost got herself and Isaac killed.  The setting, well, I wish I’d learned more about the land—more detail—and a little more about Greta’s life before she arrived in Mylean.  I like the book, and I’ll most likely read what comes next.  I recommend it to those like goblin stories filled with magic and danger.

I really like it.  I recommend it.

 

 

ARC Review: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

The Friday Society (Click title for Synopsis)
Source/Format: Won (Appraising Pages, blog, thank you.), Bound ARC
Age range: YA

Publisher/Publication Date: Dial, December 6, 2012



My thoughts:

   
     The Friday Society is a whimsical, wonderful, and quirky novel full of steampunk fun—gadgets and scientific references included.  I loved all of the neat ideas incorporated into the book, which really made it work for me.  Steampunk is a vast genre and there are so many different things you can do with it.  Kress did a fantastic job of weaving the Steampunk elements into the story.

    The characters were lively, brilliant, and I enjoyed reading their story.  Each of the girls came from slightly similar circumstances as children, but where they ended up was completely different.  There was a dynamic to it that really fit with the story and kept it going.  I liked seeing the different backgrounds that Nellie, Cora, and Michiko came from.  The characters were well thought-out, and were in no way generic.  Out of all of the characters, Michiko, and the magician’s bird, Scheherazade, were my favorite.  At some points I was laughing out loud at Scheherazade’s antics. 

    The plot was great, and I was really in the dark until the end.  There were so many pieces to the puzzle that you wouldn’t think fit together, but they do.  The beginning was a little slow, and some of it got a little repetitive and seemed to drag a bit, but that didn’t take away from the overall greatness of the book.  The action really picked up towards the center and kept on going.  The surprise at the end—whoa—the culprit was someone I didn’t even notice, and the conclusion was satisfying.  There were also a few funny moments, but I won’t tell, because that would be too much of a spoiler. If you want to know, go buy The Friday Society.  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Steampunk genre. 

I really like it.  I recommend it.

 

Review: Unbroken by Paul Morris

Title: Unbroken (Click title for Synopsis)
Source/Format: Purchased, Hardback
Age Range: YA
Publisher/ Publication Date: Scholastic Inc., February 1, 2013



My thoughts:


    It was some years ago that I was first introduced to Paula Morris’s work with Ruined.  It was a charming ghost story, with mystery, intrigue, hints of romance, and masterful storytelling.  I’ve reread my copy of Ruined so many times that the cover is now tattered, and I was ecstatic to learn that there was in fact a sequel.

     When my copy finally arrived, it didn’t take me long to read it.  Unbroken was an awesome follow-up to Ruined, and I really enjoyed it.  All of my favorite characters were back in the original setting, New Orleans.  Once again, Rebecca Brown was dealing with another ghost who seemed to need her help.  As a reader, I liked the fact that things weren’t perfect with Anton, Rebecca’s boyfriend, and a former friend of Helena Bowman.  There were a few more new characters, but mostly, I felt like loose ends from the first book were being tied-up.  The ending was really nice, and I look forward to reading future work by Morris.

I like it.  I would recommend it.