a Succession of Three

Dear Reader,

This past week (or two) I read three young-adult fiction novels - in rather quick succession. This in itself is not surprising or note-worthy. What is unexpected and worthy of  its own post, however, is that all three have taken up place among my "favourite" novels. As far as I can recall, I've read about 400 novels of which less than a quarter can boast the praise of being a favourite. (Aside: I'm currently using Shelfari.com to help me keep track of such things.) 

Gandalf the White from The Two Towers

I'm actually rather picky when it comes to choosing favourites. That's why I believe this is the first time three unlinked books that I've read one after another, back-to-back, have so captured my imagination (and heart at times too).  I think the last time something like this happened was when I read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the first three books of The Inheritance Cycle - each time I happen to enjoy all three books in equal amounts. But this time it's completely different: these three new favourites are not even by the same author. *Gasp!* 

So for you, my book-loving reader, since I haven't done anything like a review in a long time now, I've decided to post here three mini-reviews for this succession of three favourites, in chronological order:

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

Elizabeth Rew is a lover of fairy tales. She even seems to be living in one, complete with two 'ugly' stepsisters and a domineering stepmother. She is also quite lonely in her new school. When her social studies teacher offers her the opportunity to work part time, as a page, in the New York Circulating Material Repository, she is excited by the prospect of making new friends. Elizabeth finds the Repository to be a wondrous place that house all manner of objects: from the ordinary, e.g. light bulbs and buttons, to the obscure, like the wig in which Marie Antoinette was beheaded. Her new job entails cataloguing, strange tests, dealing with requests from even stranger patrons and taking care of truly magical objects collected by the Brothers Grimm themselves; objects, like the magic mirror, thought to have inspired the classic fairytales.

She also finds great friends in her fellow pages: the beautiful Anjali, athletic Marc and the omnious Aaron. But not all is well at the Repository. There are rumours abound of theft, missing pages and faulty  and even disappearing magical items. Elizabeth soon finds herself thrust into the middle of a conspiracy that would require her to go to great lengths to rescue her new found friends...  

The Grimm Legacy has a fast-paced and engaging plot with beautifully imaginative writing. Yet there seems to be a lack of character development, with the entire cast being rather two-dimensional. However, I think this might have been intentional because, after all, all the characters in the Grimm fairytales are either just good guys or bad guys.

Though this book is targeted towards early teens, it is actually fun to read for anyone who enjoyed reading/listening to any of the Brothers Grimm's fairytales as a child or wished that they could be the hero/heroine of their own fantasy/sci-fi story. And I must confess, not even I could remember all of those items from all those stories (e.g. The Golden Key), and I had thought I knew the Grimm fairytales quite well. Polly Shulman did do her research well.   

***

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Ansel and Gretchen have been thrown out of their house by their stepmother, and now they are one the road with little cash heading as far away as possible from their old life. Because both Gretchen and Ansel are haunted by the memories of a little girl. Twelve years ago, Gretchen's twin sisters vanished, stolen by the witch in the woods behind their home.

Now, somewhere in North Carolina, their car breaks down. Without any way of repairing the car, Ansel and Gretchen walk to the nearest town, Live Oak. Its very small, hostile and on the verge of becoming a ghost-town. But with very few options, Ansel takes up a job making repairs to the Chocolatier owned by the radiant Sophia Kelly, who takes both of them into her home and life with open arms. But something isn't right at Live Oak. Eight young women seemed to have vanished into thin air just after Sophia Kelly's infamous annual Chocolate Festival. And Gretchen instinctively knows that the witch from her past has returned and lurks ever-present in the woods surrounding Live Oak. But this time it's different. She is different and determined to not let her fear of the witch prevent her from saving the rest of the girls of Live Oak, including Sophia. Together with the handsome and sarcastic Samuel Reynolds and armed with a rifle, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery surrounding the witch and the Chocolate Festival, only to find that love came be as deadly as it is sweet.     

Sweetly is a riveting modern retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel. It's also a companion novel to the amazing Sisters Red, with some surprising links. Jackson Pearce seems to have found the perfect balance between plot-pace and characters development. I absolutely loved it. There's not much more I can say.

***

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

As bad as it sounds, and though this is definitely not my usual practice, I initially bought this book because it has just the most exquisite cover that I have seen in years. The picture to the left, can't compare to the actual real thing. Hats-off to Jonathan Barkat and April Ward, the people responsible for the jacket design.

However, after reading this book, I have to say I made a really good choice and this time, despite the popular saying, my judgement of the book's cover coincides with my judgement of the novel itself. But before I go into all of that, I think I should tell you, dear reader, what this book is all about:

Every family has their secrets. And for Gwen's family, it's her cousin Charlotte. Gwen has lived most of her life in Charlotte's shadow. She is just one day older than Gwen but she is also beautiful, graceful, intelligent, gets special treatment by their grandmother, Lady Arista, and every Wednesday, Charlotte attends mysterious meetings and classes. All this fuss is because Charlotte carries the gene that will allow her to travel back in time. But someone, maybe deliberately, has made a mistake. Gwen becomes aware of this mistake when she suddenly finds herself on Oxford Street, in the early 1900's.

From then on, Gwen's world is turned on it's head and shaken vigorously. Her uncontrolled leaps into the past are an unwanted surprise and she is completely unprepared for the secret society known as the 'Guardians' that are run by the de Villiers, a family like her own who also passes on the time travelling gene. Despite her mother's warning and protection, Gwen is coerced by the Guardians into a carrying out a mission with her male counter-part Gideon de Villiers. But it doesn't take her long to find out that the past, and her mission, is fraught with mind-games, danger, intrigue and, most surprisingly of all, love...      

I think this is the first "time travel" book that I've ever read. And I just can't get enough of it. Especially the twist at the end. It has been plaguing my mind these past three days and has even resulted in restless nights, since my brain refuses to desist from imagining what the next book, Sapphire Blue, might bring with it. Another thing that I like about Ruby Red, is the way that Gwen and her best friend Lesley are two very realistic teenage girls (with all the faults and symptoms of an average teen) plunged into particularly unrealistic world. There is also a very nice blend of history and all-things-modern. But in spite of the engaging narrative, the action and the mysterious clues dotted at the beginning of each chapter, Ruby Red still feels like only an introduction to this world that Kerstin Gier has created, with the main storyline yet to come. It's just such a shame that I have to wait almost an entire year before I can read Sapphire Blue. *Sigh*   

By the way, these three books still count towards my on-going charitable 2011 Reading Challenge. Check it out and please make a donation to my cause, if you like what you read. And with the year coming almost to and end, I really don't want to fail now. I could use all the help and support I can get.

But now I must go and prepare for today's lectures. Ssshhhh, don't tell anyone I've left it to last minute ;-)

Nida