Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (#1 in the Grisha trilogy)
Format: Paperback
Published by Indigo on 6th June 2013 (first published 17th May 2012)
Pages: 308
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: 
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'I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina,' he said. 'You and I are going to change the world.'

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?

I have no idea what to make of this book or how to sum up how I feel about it in a snappy sentence. I certainly like it enough to read the sequel, though.

For most of it, I felt like it was only just okay. Fairly good but a little bland and unremarkable. The ending managed to elevate it from a solid 3-star read to 3.5 stars. If I were to make a chart of how much I enjoyed the book as I was reading it, it would probably look roughly like this (the percentages are very rough):

Mini-review: The Snake Charm by Laura Lam

The Snake Charm by Laura Lam (#1 of the Vestigial Tales)
Format: eBook
Published by Penglass Publishing on 5th June 2014
Pages: 37
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Rating: 
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Untold centuries ago, the Archipelago was ruled by the Alder—mysterious beings who vanished, leaving behind only scattered artefacts of unknown power, called Vestige. Sometimes, a person will be lucky or unlucky enough to discover that each piece of Vestige has its own tale to tell…

The Snake Charm

To most, Drystan was just another buffoon in the collective of clowns. But behind the inane grin, he saw everything, keeping the secrets he discovered close, like precious gems to barter.

Mutiny is brewing in R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic. When Linden, the leader of the clowns steals one of the ringmaster’s most prized possessions, Drystan, the white clown, finds himself caught in the middle. Tasked with retrieving the Lethe, he’s forced to betray Linden or risk his troubled past coming to light. But the Vestige artefact has its own history and its own power. Drystan will learn what it can really do, and who it can hurt.

Vestigial Tales are stories set in the world of the award-nominated Micah Grey series. Step behind the circus ring from Pantomime, the theatre of Shadowplay, and more…

The first Vestigial Tale came out two days ago! It's a little prequel story to Pantomime, and you can go buy it off Amazon (lots of links here). It stands well on its own, so you can read it even without reading Pantomime first, but you'd probably be able to enjoy it a lot more if you have read both Pantomime and Shadowplay.

I liked this a lot! You all know how much I loved Pantomime and Shadowplay, and the universe of these books. This was an interesting look at a powerful and potentially terrifying Vestige artefact (I think it's pretty cool that these tales are all going to be centred around different Vestige artefacts, because they're fascinating and I can't wait to learn about other artefacts!), and I liked getting to know Drystan a bit more. What he was like at the circus, before Micah came along; the touch of loneliness in him. The way he quietly observes, and always keeps his true self hidden. It makes me all the happier that I got to see him the way he was in Shadowplay, so much more open, all the trust he showed in Micah in that book (and the trust that Micah showed in him!).

I also liked the glimpses of Frit that we got in The Snake Charm. If you know her story from Pantomime, you'll know that it is a very sad one, and that's the case here too, somehow sadder for the hint of hope that still lingers in her.

I only wish this story had been longer! I really want to spend more time with Drystan. I just am not very used to reading short stories most of the time and I feel like with a short story of this length, by the time I'm really getting into it, it's already over. I like to have more stuff to sink my teeth into. The Vestigial Tales are going to be of varying lengths though, and some will be longer, so I'm really looking forward to the rest of them!

Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Format: Paperback
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 1st April 2014 (first published 21st February 2012)
Pages: 359
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Rating: 
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Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself. But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other – and in the power of their friendship – can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.

Oh, I wanted to love this book. Not just like it, but love it, the way most other people seem to. But I ended up just liking it. I like it in an above-average way (I did give it 3.5 stars!), but I don't love it. I found that I sort of loved aspects of the story in isolation from the story itself, if that makes sense? But the story itself – I just liked it.

Review: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Format: Paperback
Published by Electric Monkey (Egmont Books) on 17th February 2014 (first published 11th February 2014)
Pages: 394
Genre: YA, Horror, Science Fiction
Rating: 
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In the small town of Ealing, Iowa, Austin and his best friend Robby have accidentally unleashed an unstoppable army. An army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises that only want to do two things.

This is the truth. This is history.
It's the end of the world.
And nobody knows anything about it.

Oh, this book is so weird and kind of a delight to read.

I really enjoyed reading it. It was gross and funny and sad and so, so weird. I wanted to give it four stars but ultimately I found that it let me down in some aspects so I took off half a star. But I really have to say that you should give this book a go if you like being surprised, because this book is a really nice surprise. It's unlike anything in the YA genre.