Six of Crows [Six of Crows, #1] by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows [Six of Crows, #1]
by Leigh Bardugo

Genre: YA high fantasy 

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

♪ How do I summarize without spoillleeerrrsss ♪

Alright, here goes:
A group of six outcasts band together to pull off the heist of the century. Riches and glory await -- if they can make it out alive.



Overall Thoughts

Have I put off reading this book for too long? Yes. But with the new Shadow and Bone Netflix TV show coming out this year (!!!), I think it's about time I jump on the bandwagon with all the other Grishaverse fans. I've really only heard good things about Six of Crows, and while it didn't exceed my expectations (and granted, I had high expectations), it definitely met them and left me wanting more.

The Characters

The characters were definitely the best part of the novel. They're all very iconic, with distinct voices and personalities that made for some very interesting interactions and dynamics. I love books involving teams of unlikely allies (The Illuminae Files was one series that also had this "trope", and I enjoyed that series as well.)
Most of the characters fall into the anti-hero archetype, and it's done exceptionally well. I find that anti-heroes can be difficult to pull off well: the author not only has to make the character sympathetic, but they also have to make the character do some pretty horrible things as well. Sometimes an anti-hero character can slip from sympathetic into a character everyone hates, but that's not the case in this book. The characters' bad and good traits are well balanced.

The backstories for the characters were revealed as the story progressed, with the narrative flowing from past to present to past again smoothly and sometimes without paragraph breaks. This sometimes wouldn't work very well, but in this case, Bardugo managed it splendidly.

Plot/Pacing

The plot was well put together. It definitely wasn't the best part of the novel, since Six of Crows is definitely more character-focused, but it holds together and is well paced with excellent conflict and tension. There were a few places during the narrative where I wasn't quite sure what was going on or my suspension of disbelief was stretched, but I think much of that resulted from the fact that I was reading too fast to understand exactly what had gotten the characters to this point.

Worldbuilding

The setting was well-drawn. I love the idea of Victorian inspired fantasy, and the setting of Six of Crows definitely lived up to my expectations about that. The magic system is also unique, which makes me interested to read Shadow and Bone to find out more about it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Content

Recommended for ages 15 and up.

TRIGGER WARNING: One character is a former prostitute and victim of physical and sexual abuse. Some of her flashbacks could be triggering to certain readers.

Swearing is not gratuitous, but there is enough of it to be noticeable. Some minor cursing is mingled with some stronger, more offensive language, including the use of the f-bomb once or twice.

In terms of sexual content, apart from the trigger warning listed above, there are numerous mentions of "pleasure-houses" and prostitution. Two characters sleep naked together (not for sexual reasons). Several instances of innuendo and crude jokes. Several descriptions of women wearing revealing clothing. Several instances of nudity. Two characters are implied to be gay.

Violence is definitely heavy, with descriptions of blood and wounds fairly common. Several shootouts and hand to hand combat scenes, semi-detailed. Many major characters kill other people with little to no regret shown. A character rips out another character's eye. Descriptions of severed heads. Disturbing description of several people who have been burned alive, and one person that survived the initial burning. Explosions. Some aspects of the magic system could be disturbing. Two unnamed characters drain the blood out of several people using their abilities.

The plot revolves around a highly addictive drug, which is used several times throughout the course of the story. It's shown to be wrong. Characters drink alcohol and gamble.

The Screaming Staircase [Lockwood and Co, #1] by Jonathan Stroud

The Screaming Staircase [Lockwood and Co, #1]
by Jonathan Stroud

Genre: Middle grade paranormal horror

My Rating: ★★★

Description:

Ever since the Problem began, and the dead started haunting the hallways and shadowed corners of England, teams of ghost hunting agencies have cropped up across the country, all with one purpose: combat the Visitors. Most of these teams have adult supervisors to secure their safety. Not Lockwood and Co.
Lucy Carlyle is used to danger. But when a ghost hunting assignment goes badly wrong and a new contract springs up to investigate one of the most haunted houses in Britain, she and her teammates will be tested to the limit. They have one night to earn their fortune. But first they have to survive it.


Overall Thoughts, aka, It Should Have Been Victorian

I bought this book mainly because it looked like it might be similar to Doctor Who (and I'm a hardcore Whovian, so that's a big plus in my books), and partly because I thought it was a book about Victorian ghost hunters. Well, I got part of it right. It was about ghost hunters for sure, but Victorian ghost hunters? No. I feel betrayed, because that cover screams "Victorian era" at me, okay? But hey, I ended up liking it anyway, so I guess that's a plus.

*note* I will probably be talking about the Victorians a lot in this post, and I want to apologize in advance. I know it's a really small thing to get so worked up over, but I wanted a story about Victorian ghost hunters so bad, so forgive my rantiness. *end of note*

The Characters

The characterization was kind of all over the place. Lockwood is hands down the best character. He acts like he should belong in the Victorian age a lot of the time, so whenever he used a modern word I had to do a double take and remember the time period it's set in. Lucy, the narrator, is okay, but she didn't really stand out to me as being awesome. But she didn't annoy me either, which is something I can't say about the last member of the trio. Let's talk about George for a minute, because he was really annoying! He's the stereotypical middle grade comic relief character, and it rubbed me the wrong way. I kept waiting for the author to turn that stereotype on its head, but by the halfway point I'd given up all hope. I can only wish that the sequels have some better character development for him, but since this is a middle grade series (which usually means fairly static characters) my hopes aren't too high.

Plot/Pacing

As for the plot... it was rather lackluster. The beginning set up something super cool and intriguing, but the introduction of a second plotline halfway through the book messed everything up. The author did try to tie the two plots together at the end, but it ended up not working very well (in my opinion.) I was also disappointed by the way the mystery element was resolved, but I wasn't in it for the mystery, so it didn't bother me as much as lackluster mysteries have done to me in the past. (Looking at you, The Lost Girl of Astor Street.)

Worldbuilding

I think my favorite part of the book was the ghosts. Which were awesomely creepy and... dare I say... fun? That sounds wrong, but hopefully some of you understand what I'm trying to say. There's all these different types of ghosts, with different levels of danger and creepiness. Some look like typical ghosts, some (apparently) like corpses, and some like shadows or blood (which is both "ew!" and "cool!" at the same time.) I also liked how the book explained why adults are sending kids into mortal danger to hunt ghosts. Only children and teens can actually sense ghosts clearly enough to be of any use fighting them. And speaking of fighting them, the kids use rapiers! Honest to goodness rapiers. How does that not scream "Victorian" at you?

However, despite my complaints, The Screaming Staircase was a fun, enjoyable read. Not a new favorite, but I'll definitely be looking at reading the sequels in the future. And would someone please write me a book about Victorian ghost hunters?

Content

Recommended for ages 12 and up.

This is advanced middle grade/early YA, so there's not much in the way of objectionable content. No swearing as I can recall. A few instances of rude humor, which irked me (can't stand it whatsoever.)
A character feels the emotions of a dead woman through a piece of jewelry, through which she gets the impression of bliss and pain. There are no real details, but there's an implication of the woman's relationship with a man.
Some of the ghosts could be disturbing. Scenes of peril. Several descriptions of dead bodies. There's a few descriptions of a severed hand and a skull in a jar. If a person is touched by a ghost, they turn blue and can die without proper treatment. Descriptions of blood. A few horror legends, including one about a man who collected the heads of the people he killed for fun. Mentions of suicide in the context of a story one character tells Lucy and the others.

The Hero of Ages [Mistborn, #3] by Brandon Sanderson

This review contains spoilers for The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension. Follow the links to read my review for The Final Empire and my mini-review for The Well of Ascension. 

The Hero of Ages [Mistborn, #3]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

The end is coming. The malevolent force known as Ruin has finally escaped from his imprisonment, after tricking Vin into releasing him at the Well of Ascension. The mists kill at random, striking down hundreds. Ash falls from the sky, poisoning the land.
Vin and Elend must find a way to save their world from Ruin -- but is it already too late?


My Review

I cried reading The Hero of Ages, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. This is actually the most I've cried reading any book I've ever read, and I consider that a big recommendation in its favor. Out of the three Mistborn books, this one has to be my favorite. It has a wonderfully paced plot, amazing character development, and the most wonderful and emotionally devastating conclusion to the trilogy that anyone could have asked for.

The Characters

The characters, of course, are amazing. The character arcs that were started in previous books is threaded through the plot of this book, and nothing about them disappointed. I'm always so impressed by the amount of though that Sanderson puts into his characters -- they clearly aren't secondary to the plot, which is something fantasy writing tends to be guilty of.
We also get to see a bunch of different POVs in this book -- Elend and Vin still get POVs, as well as Sazed, but Spook also gets his own POV, storyline, and character arc in this book as well, which I really liked.

Plot/Pacing

For a start, the pacing was perfect. Both The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension had rather slow starts -- at least for me. But The Hero of Ages kept a good pace throughout the whole book. The plot was good as well, building off of the concepts laid down in the previous books and then defying every expectation for the payoff.
The stakes were insane. The series started out with huge stakes, and each book kept adding to those stakes, so by this book, we're not just dealing with one ruler, or one city -- we're dealing with the fate of the entire world. And that world is ending. Fast. It was both terrifying and completely enthralling. I love the types of stories like this, with characters struggling against incredible odds.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was also phenomenal. There are new concepts added in this book, and new layers added to the already complex magic system. However, none of these new layers were random -- all had clearly been foreshadowed since page one of The Final Empire. We get to see the magic system that gives the Steel Inquisitors their powers (which is horrifying, by the way), and we also get to see the kandra culture, which was super interesting, too.

And of course, the ending. The ending was perfect, and beautiful, and at the same time also one of the most emotionally devastating endings I've ever read. Don't expect to close this book with dry eyes. I know I didn't.

Overall, I absolutely loved The Hero of Ages, and though I'm so sad that this series is over, it couldn't have ended more perfectly.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of suicide, suicidal thoughts.

Violence can get brutal at times, with descriptions of blood, wounds, and large-scale battlefields. There are a lot of deaths, and some characters are killed in really brutal ways. Some of these are definitely gory. Several disturbing descriptions of the Steel Inquisitors and the process of how they're created.
There wasn't much sexual content in this book, beyond a few references to couples sleeping together, and kissing.
Several instances of swearing.
Characters drink alcohol.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen [Spoiler Free Book Review]

The Running Dream
by Wendelin Van Draanen

Genre: YA contemporary

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

Sixteen year old Jessica was born to run. She lives and breathes running. It's more than a hobby. It's who she is. So when a tragic accident causes her to lose one of her legs, Jessica's life falls apart.
The doctor's promise that she will be able to walk again, but recovery is slow and painful. She not only has to deal with the rehabilitation, but also the knowledge that she might never run again. In the midst of all this, Jessica meets Rosa -- a girl with cerebral palsy who she's always overlooked. Rosa helps Jessica see that she can reach for a future where she can not only walk -- but run.

Overall Thoughts

I read Wild Bird for my book club last year, and I actually loved it so much I wanted to read more of the author's work. That resulted in my reading the sample chapters of The Running Dream in the back of Wild Bird, and eventually, my getting the book itself for Christmas. And am I glad I did!

I was moved by the way that Van Draanen addressed disability. I am a fully abled person myself, so I lack that perspective on this book, but I thought it handled the issues it addressed really well. The book didn't gloss over Jessica's struggles during her recovery, both physically and emotionally, and I'm glad of that. Books like this, that address issues like disability, can help readers who don't share the same experience to, in a way, build empathy with people who are struggling through this. And I think that's fantastic.

Writing

Wendelin Van Draanen's writing style is addictive. The chapters are short, making the story feel like it's always moving, and it keeps the story fairly fast-paced. Which might be a little strange for contemporary, but I like it a lot.

The Characters

Another thing I like about Van Draanen's books -- the relationships between the characters are really great. I love the fact that Jessica's parents aren't nasty or almost totally absent from her life -- they actually care about her, and I liked that.
I also love the female friendships in this book. It's so rare to find a YA with great female friendships, but this one did, and so I'm glad.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Running Dream and would highly recommend it!

Content

Recommended for ages 12 and up.

I don't recall any swearing, though there may have been one or two instances. Some brief descriptions of a vehicle accident. Some descriptions of medical procedures.
A boy and a girl share a brief kiss.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo [Spoiler Free Book Review]

To Kill a Kingdom
by Alexandra Christo

Genre: YA fantasy

My Rating: ★★

Description:

Lira is the Prince's Bane -- the murderous siren who has collected a prince's heart for every year she's been alive. Seventeen hearts. Seventeen lives taken. She only has to wait a few more years before she will ascend to the throne of the Sea Queen, but when her actions leave one of her mother's subjects dead, she is cursed into human form and given a task -- steal the heart of the Prince of Midas -- without her song.
Prince Elian is a siren hunter. He kills to keep the kingdoms safe from the deadly songs of their kind. When he learns that there may be a way to end the siren's rule of the sea once and for all, he's willing to sacrifice anything to see it happen.
When he rescues a drowning girl from the ocean who claims to have the final piece of the puzzle Elian is desperate to solve, they form an uneasy alliance... but is there any way that humans and sirens can find peace? Or will this once again end in blood?

Why I Didn't Like To Kill a Kingdom

A poorly put together plot, as well as some shaky worldbuilding and an anti-climactic ending.

Overall Thoughts

To be completely honest, I probably would have DNFed To Kill a Kingdom if I hadn't been reading it for my book club. It was not an engaging story by any stretch of the imagination, and since I was also reading Oathbringer at the same time, there was really no competition. I was interested to read this book, too, which disappoints me. I mean, a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid? Yes!

Or should I say, no...? Because To Kill a Kingdom never really lived up to any of my expectations.

The Characters

The characterization was kind of patchy. Lira was definitely an interesting character, though her character arc didn't really make much sense to me... it seemed to happen far too quickly. Elian could have been an interesting character as well, but quickly fell into cliche. He's introduced as a merciless siren hunter, but new information is revealed later that tries to make him sympathetic, and ends up making him really boring. Now, I have no issue with a sympathetic character. But for some reason, the set-up his character had didn't match the new revelations very well. He doesn't actually enjoy killing sirens? He's only doing it to protect people? Not that I have any problems with him not being a bloodthirsty murderer, but if that's the way you introduce your character, please keep him consistent!
The side characters were not really noteworthy, and honestly kind of bland. The villain started out interesting and ended up the cackling evil witch from every Disney Princess movie ever made.

Plot/Pacing

The plot was... badly put together. It's a quest style story, with multiple stops at different places along the way, but half of the destinations didn't even make any sense because the author hadn't revealed why the characters were going there. A lot of it just seemed to be delaying the climax and making the book longer. (And also more boring). The ending of the book was kind of cringey. I was really hoping that it would change my mind somewhat about the book, but it was awful. And the romance was really bad as well. There was no chemistry between the two of them, I don't understand...?

Writing/Worldbuilding

The writing wasn't half-bad, but there was a lot of telling (as opposed to showing) in this book as well.

The worldbuilding was fairly solid in the beginning, but as things kept getting added, the more gaps in it I noticed. For a start, I hated the whole idea of the kingdoms literally personifying what they're known for. Like, the kingdom of love literally smells like chocolate, and the streets are covered in pastry crumbs. The kingdom of lies looks like it's shrouded in grey, and the kingdom of gold is -- you guessed it -- painted gold. It ended up being just a bit too silly for me, and kind of odd considering the overall dark tone of the book.
The magic system was also kind of strange. New aspects kept getting introduced, and left me confused. For example, about halfway through the book, we find out for the first time that Elian's ship steers itself. What? I wouldn't have minded if this was set up from the get-go, but introducing it halfway through was just weird.

So, overall, To Kill a Kingdom was a bit of a disappointment for me.

Content

Recommended for ages 14 and up.

There is definitely violence in this book, with a lot of blood, and some brutal methods of killing. It wasn't graphic in the descriptions, but we're given enough that it could be disturbing for some readers.
Sexual content is limited to a few comments/jokes and a few passionate kisses. There's a few mentions of a same-sex marriage near the end.
Several instances of coarse language; no f-bombs, but some of the words used could definitely be offensive to some readers.
Characters drink alcohol.

Oathbringer [The Stormlight Archive, #3] by Brandon Sanderson

This review contains spoilers for The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. To read my reviews of The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, follow the links here and here. 

Oathbringer [The Stormlight Archive, #3]
by Brandon Sanderson

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description:

War looms as the Everstorm leaves Roshar's nations shattered and distrustful. Even with the newly refounded Knights Radiant at his back, Dalinar Kholin doesn't know if the world will be able to stand against the Voidbringers.
But someone has to stand. Darkness is coming, and the Knights Radiant are all that stands between Roshar and destruction.

Overall Thoughts

Finally getting to the end of the current published books in The Stormlight Archive was both a happy thing and a sad thing for me. On one hand -- oh wow, that ending was amazing!! On the other -- oh wow, I have to wait until November before I get to read book four? Which is probably nothing compared to some of you Stormlight fans have had to wait for, so forgive my whininess. Anyway, I still have Edgedancer to read. Let's get on with the actual review.
This book has a masterfully woven plot, intricate worldbuilding, and fantastic character development combined with a superb magic system. I am now out of adjectives.

The Characters

The Way of Kings was Kaladin's book, Words of Radiance was Shallan's, and now Oathbringer is Dalinar's. Which, if you know me, makes me very happy. Dalinar is probably my favorite character in the series (though you don't know how hard it is for me to say that, because picking favorites -- especially from so many amazing characters -- is really, really hard for me). Finally getting to see his backstory was really interesting.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- this series has some of the best character development I've ever read in fiction. The character arcs of all of the major characters -- as well as some of the side characters -- are really well thought out. Dalinar's character arc in this book, in particular, was very well written. We get to see a side of him that we haven't before, in the flashbacks, of the man he was before Gavilar's assassination.
There's also some character development with some of the other Knights Radiant that was really interesting to read about, as well as Shallan, Kaladin, and Adolin's continued character arcs from the previous books. There's also some character development with Eshonai's sister, Venli, which was interesting.

Plot/Pacing

The plot was excellent and engaging, especially considering just how long this book is (it's over 1300 pages in the mass market paperback edition). It never lagged, and it was amazing just how much the stakes were raised between this volume and Words of Radiance. And the plot twists were, as usual, stunning.
The climax (which lasted about 200-300 pages) literally had me glued to the book. It was really hard to put down.

Another thing I have to talk about is the emotions this book made me feel. There were some truly devastating scenes in this book, beautifully written, true, but devastating. However, one thing I love about this series is the feeling of hope. It gets really dark (darker than the other books in the series so far) but there's still hope, which I think is really nice, considering how much epic fantasy today strays into the grimdark realm.
Having it not be all gloom and doom -- while still not lowering the stakes -- is way more powerful to me than just straight up "everyone's gonna die now, but they're all evil anyway, so there you go".

I also wanted to talk really briefly about the supposed "love triangle" in this book. I'd heard that this was going to be a subplot in the novel, and I was kind of dreading it. I was expecting full on teenage angst, like 90% of love triangles I've read about, and then... it never happened? I mean, there was definitely a bit of a love triangle there, but at the same time... it didn't really ever become as big a deal as I'd heard some people say it was. In fact, I considered a lot of it to be part of a different subplot, which made a lot more sense to me. So if you're afraid of an angsty love triangle, that's really not what this book has, so don't be scared.

I ended up really enjoying Oathbringer, and honestly, I feel like I liked it better than Words of Radiance.  Only a little bit, but definitely a little bit. That might be partially due to my attachment to Dalinar as a character, but there you go.

Content

Recommended for ages 16 and up.

Violence is similar to the violence in the other Stormlight Archive books. There are a few scenes of violence that are really dark, and are maybe a bit darker than other scenes from the series. Descriptions of blood. Some descriptions of wounds and the battlefield border on being gory.
Sexual content is limited to some comments and jokes, as well as a few kissing scenes. Mentions of prostitution. In one scene, a character enters a sort of pleasure house, where people engage in sexual activity for fun. The character in question does not engage in any of this themselves.
One minor character is gay.
Swearing is, again, mostly limited to made up curse words.
Descriptions of starving people, as well as descriptions of the effects of a cult on people. Some aspects of the magic system, particularly the villains, could be disturbing for some readers.

The Last of 2019: Mini-Reviews for The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson and Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

Hey everyone! After taking a long break on book reviews over the holidays, I let the last few books I read in 2019 slip through my fingers without being reviewed. I'm shaking my head at my younger self right now.

But anyway, since I want to post reviews in 2020 that I actually read in 2020, I'm just going to get the last two books I read last year out of the way -- The Well of Ascension, which is the second book in the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, and Wendelin Van Draanen's contemporary stand alone Wild Bird. 
Both were five star books for me, which also makes me really happy. What a great way to end the year. :)

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

Genre: YA contemporary

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: A girl is sent to a wilderness rehabilitation program by her parents after her drug and alcohol abuse spiral out of control. 

I did not think I was going to like this book as much as I did, and I literally only picked it up because my book club was reading it that month. And what do you know? I actually ended up loving it. There's so much to like about this book -- an exploration of family and friendship, themes of forgiveness and self-forgiveness, a great female friendship, and wilderness survival.
One thing I liked was how clean the book was. It dealt with some really tough topics, but it did it in a way that wasn't graphic, while at the same time not diminishing the severity of the topics it was dealing with. I consider this a huge feat just by itself.
On top of that, there was some excellent character development, especially for Wren and her family members, as well as the camp counsellors and other kids in the program.
I highly recommend this book!
5/5 stars.


The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (SPOILERS for The Final Empire)

Genre: Adult high fantasy

My Rating: ★★★★★

Description: After the events of The Final Empire, Vin and Elend struggle to hold the city together under the threat of an invasion.

This book ended up being my last completed book of 2019, which was somewhat disappointing, since I'd hoped to finish the entire Mistborn trilogy before the New Year. That never happened, but you know what wasn't disappointing? This book!
While I still ended up enjoying The Final Empire a tiny bit more, this book was excellent as well! There were a lot of fantasy politics, great character development carried over from the first book, and, of course, the truly epic magic system and worldbuilding.
I do have to recommend this book for older readers only; there is a number of violent and brutal scenes in the book, some, while not heavily graphic, do include gory details. There's also some (mostly implied) sexual content, and one or two descriptions of a woman's body (not hugely graphic, again, but definitely there.) I would say there's a bit more sexual content in this book than in The Final Empire, mostly because of a certain new POV. TRIGGER WARNING for self-harm.
The plot was well-put together, including a few excellent twists and a great cliffhanger ending.
Again, 5/5 stars.

Best Fantasy and Sci-fi for Younger Teens

General update: I'm going to be doing a lot more book recommendation posts, book haul posts, random book-related posts as opposed to book reviews. Though I will still be doing reviews, I want to focus on other aspects of my blog, and writing full length book reviews for each book I read takes too much time to allow me to do that. I will still be reviewing the books I read, but I'll be wrapping up most of them in groups of mini-reviews so that I can devote more time to other areas of the blog.
Anyway! Onto today's topic -- fantasy and sci-fi books for younger teens!  

Fantasy and science fiction are two of my all-time favorite genres, but most of my favorite sci-fi and fantasy books are geared towards older audiences -- meaning more complex plotlines, deeper characters, and more mature writing style... but also a lot of blood, language, and even sexual situations not appropriate for preteens or younger teenagers in the thirteen to fifteen age group.

But what if the simple middle grade fantasy and science fiction sections no longer satisfy you... or your kid?

Fortunately, finding good quality fantasy and sci-fi that is a little more toned down in terms of content isn't hard... it's just knowing where to look.

So, without further ado, let me get into my list of fantasy and science fiction that would appeal to younger teens and preteens... without being dumbed down.

Fantasy

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Johnathan Auxier

Short description: Nan Sparrow was supposed to die in that chimney fire. She never suspected that someone would save her.
This book is phenomenal. It follows the story of a young chimney sweep and her golem in late 19th century London. It's a very simplistic description, but it is definitely a book worth picking up, and while it delves into some hard topics (especially the way the children who worked as sweeps were treated at the time) it keeps everything appropriate for a middle grade audience. Johnathan Auxier's writing is wonderful, and I can say with certainty that the rest of his books are also worth checking out, particularly Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard. 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Short description: A homebody gets dragged into a quest to reclaim treasure from a dragon.
And now for a classic. This book would definitely not appeal to every young reader, as the vocabulary is difficult at times, and the story moves at quite a slow pace at times, with not much dialogue or action involved. However, if your child is an advanced reader, or enjoys slower paced stories, this fantasy might be right up their alley.

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Short description: In a world where chalk drawings can literally come to life, a string of mysterious deaths leads a young student to discover some dark secrets about the world he lives in.
This book is by Brandon Sanderson, so you can probably already guess just how much I recommend trying it out! This book was actually the first Sanderson book I read, and I was blown away with the detailed and intriguing magic system, and late 19th century feel to the technology. This book falls in the alternate history/fantasy/steampunk genre.

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

Short description: Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone. In a desperate bid to save his life, he joins a band of rebels who plan to blow up the king -- and Parliament with him.
I loved this book. The blend of fantasy and historical fiction really intrigued me, and the fact that the plot revolved around the Gunpowder Plot (a fascinating event in British history) just engaged me all the more. This book falls into the Christian YA genre, but is more of an allegory than anything else, and I feel like non-Christian readers could potentially enjoy this book as well.

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Short description: The heir to the throne is dead. So a nobleman hatches a plan to land an impostor on the throne instead.
This is the first book in a current quartet (with the forth book being released some time this year). The False Prince follows Sage, one of the orphans kidnapped by the nobleman Conner and given a chance to pose as the Prince. It's a great story, with some interesting plot twists, but the main appeal of the book comes from Sage himself, whose character and first person narration really makes this book stand out from the crowd.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Short description: A boy finds out that he's a wizard, and goes to a magic school to learn more about his powers. But not is all as it seems, and being the most famous wizard of all time certainly has its drawbacks.
If your child somehow hasn't read this series already... get it into their hands, ASAP! All seven books are amazing and magical, with great characters and intriguing plots. A must read for any reader.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Short description: The Scorpio Races happen every November -- a brutal, life-threatening charge across the sands on the backs of the capaill uisce -- the Water Horses.
I love this book. The writing style is atmospheric and immersive, the characters are well-drawn, with vivid personalities, and the plot moves at a perfect pace. It features two alternating points of view: Puck Connolley, who never meant to join the Scorpio Races, but is forced to under circumstance, and Sean Kendrick, who has raced for years but suddenly has a larger stake in the race's outcome than he first anticipated. This book falls into the magical realism genre.
Read my review!

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Short description: Her parents are ghost hunters by profession... but Cassidy Blake can actually see ghosts. And when her parents drag her along with the filming of a documentary series about paranormal activity, Cassidy finds herself in danger.
This book falls into the middle grade horror genre. Which I didn't even know existed until I picked up City of Ghosts, which is the first book in the Cassidy Blake series (book three releasing this year). It's definitely toned down from the author's young adult horror (The Monsters of Verity) but can still be creepy at times. This is a fun and engaging book overall. 

Read my review!

Science Fiction

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Short description: Four popular fairy tales -- Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White -- retold as dystopian sci-fi stories.
These books are so fun! They were actually one of the first series' I read when I started getting into YA, and they're super awesome. Fairy tale retellings are something I absolutely love, and I love the twists that Marissa Meyer spun on some of the classic fairy tale elements (like the pumpkin carriage in Cinderella becomes an orange car.)
Note that the series does become darker the further the books go, but the main series (excluding Fairest, which is definitely not appropriate for younger readers) is still fairly clean and light on gore.

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Short description: A girl struggles to become a pilot to fight against the aliens invading her planet.
Another Brandon Sanderson book, this one falling in the YA science fiction category. This book is so good! I loved the main character, Spensa, as well as the side characters, and the plot was well-paced and engaging. The worldbuilding was interesting and never confusing.
This book has zero romance, and focuses on friendship instead, which is another thing I wholeheartedly love about the story. While this is another book that gets a little violent at times, I still feel that younger teens in the 13-15 age range would still like this. (And if you're older than that, you'll like it, too! It's just that good.)


And there you have it! I hope that this list helped you choose out a new book (or a couple) to read. I may write a follow-up post to this one next year with new additions, since I'm always on the lookout for new books that I like!
Have you read any of the books on this list? What did you think about them? Did this list help you find a new book or series for your child (or yourself!) to read? Let me know in the comments!

Wrapping Up 2019

Well, here we are. 2019 is over and done and it's already 2020. Happy New Year, everyone!
But anyway. Here's where I wrap up my reading year, and you guys get to see all the stats (or at least, as close to the actual stats as I can :P).
I won't be talking about favorites and least favorites of the year, as I've already done those, but I will link the posts at the end of this for anyone who's curious. ;)

So... *cue intense hand rubbing* Let's get into the stats!

Shortest Book of 2019: Mitosis by Brandon Sanderson

Longest Book of 2019: Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

(I find it extremely funny that both the shortest and longest books I've read this year are both by the same author.)

Average Rating for 2019: 3.9 stars

So, overall, I think it was a pretty good reading year! I ended up discovering a ton of new favorites, and while I also discovered a ton of not-so-favorites, I think the good outweighs the bad.

And if you're still curious about my favorite and least favorite books of the year, check out my other posts!

Least Favorite Books of 2019

Favorite Books of 2019

Most Anticipated Reads of 2020