Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Image: Penguin Random House

Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~ 13 hours. Narrated by Mirai. Books on Tape/ Listening Library, August, 2023. Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.

Happy Tuesday! It looks like it'll be another beautiful day here in northern NJ. It'll be slightly hotter and not as breezy, but I hope you enjoy the day and get outdoors in nature today. Teen Tuesday features Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim. Two sisters, Channi and Vanna, are devoted to one another, but in their village, Vanna is adored and Channi is reviled. 

When Vanna was born and their mother lay dying, their father took Channi to the Demon Witch as a sacrifice. The king of the serpents saved Channi's life, but the Demon Witch cursed her with a snake face. The only way to break the curse is for Channi to bring Vanna to the Demon Witch before her seventeenth birthday, which Channi will not do. As Vanna's birthday approaches, their father, intent on enriching himself, has a contest for possible suitors to win her hand. When the cruelest, most vile suitor wins, Channi intervenes, challenges the man's champion, and when she beats him, she finds the man's attention is now drawn to her.

This layered and rich epic fantasy unfolds slowly. The world-building is vivid and based on Chinese folklore. Her Radiant Curse is a prequel to the Legends of Lor'yan duology, and, while it does stand alone, knowledge of the duology does enhance enjoyment of the prequel.

New-to-me narrator, Mirai has a wide range of convincing voices for the many characters and her performance was utterly engaging. 

Middle Grade Monday: City of Dragons: the Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong

Image: Scholastic Inc.

City of Dragons: the Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis and illustrated by Vivian Truong. City of Dragons #1. 240 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc., September, 2021. 9781338660425. (Review of a finished ppb courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Monday! The dogs and I survived the bomb cyclone. Well it kind of bombed in my area. We only got 5 inches and it sure was cold!  Son #1 is south Jersey got 9 or 10 inches. Son #4 in the Boston area got over a foot. Yesterday was such a sparkly winter day though! We went out often for short periods due to the cold, but they love the snow. 

Middle Grade Monday features a graphic novel series starter called City of Dragons: the Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis and illustrated by Vivian Truong. Grace is bi-racial. Her Chinese father died three years earlier and her white mother has recently remarried. They are set to move to Hong Kong, where her step-father works for a tech company. She is about to attend an international school. She's fine with all that. She even looks forward to the challenge.

She's given a challenge she never expected on a field trip. An elderly woman hands her an egg. Shortly afterward, it hatches and it's a dragon! She soon learns it's very difficult to keep a baby dragon a secret. She's also well-versed in Chinese mythology thanks to her father and grandfather and knows she must keep the dragon safe. Sure enough, there are beings both human and magical that are after the dragon, and, maybe, even Grace.

The energy of the palette as well as the varied panel layout add to an already cinematic plot and keeps the pace fast. Grace and her diverse group of friends are likable and that baby dragon is a hoot. Your graphic novel fans will gobble this one up and pant for the next installment!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Brightest Night by Tui Sutherland

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Brightest Night by Tui Sutherland. Wings of Fire: the Graphic Novel #5. 224 p. Graphix/ Scholastic Inc., December 27, 2021. 9781338730852.

Happy Wednesday! I try to keep up with upcoming releases, but sometimes I need a little help from students. Thanks to K., a sixth grader for alerting me to our Wednesday title. Waiting on Wednesday features The Brightest Night by Tui Sutherland. This is book 5 of the Wings of Fire Graphic Novel series and it's due out on December 27!

Here's the publisher synopsis: Sunny has always taken the Dragonet Prophecy very seriously. If Pyrrhia’s dragons need her, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Starflight to end the war, she’s ready to try. She even has some good ideas how to do it, if anyone would listen to her.

But shattering news from Morrowseer has shaken Sunny’s faith in their destiny. Is it possible for anyone to end this terrible war and choose a new SandWing queen? What if everything they’ve been through was for nothing?

Buried secrets, deadly surprises, and an unexpected side to scavengers are all waiting for her in the shifting sands of the desert, where Sunny must decide once and for all: Is her destiny already written?

Or can five dragonets change their fate and save the world . . . the way they choose?

This series is enormously popular at my school.

Teen Tuesday: Burn by Patrick Ness

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Burn by Patrick Ness. Unabridged audiobook. ~10 hours. Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt.Quill Tree Books, June 2020. (Review of downloadable e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Burn by Patrick Ness. Mr. Ness, ever the experimenter, blends dragons from fantasy with parallel universes from sci-fi with Cold War history and a dash of noir in a 1957 rural Washinton State setting. Sarah Dewhurst has enough to deal with being bi-racial in a small town and keeping her budding romance with the only Japanese American boy in town a secret. Her father's farm is failing, especially since her mother's death. He has hired a dragon, a Russian dragon, named Kazimir to help. Dragons and humans exist under an uneasy truce, but a Russian dragon! Kazimir may be working for gold, but he's also there due to a prophecy. In a parallel story, Malcolm, a teen acolyte in a cult called the Believers, sets out to make his way across the country to a small farm in Washington State. He's being pursued by two shadowy FBI agents. Malcolm does not want to, but he will kill anyone who interferes with him reaching his target - Sarah Dewhurst.

The complex plot takes a bit of time to come together. Stick with it. Because when it does, your mind will be blown!

#tbt: How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Image: Little Brown BYR

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. How to Train Your Dragon series #1. Unabridged audiobook on 4 compact discs. 3.5 hours. Read by David Tennant. Hachette Audio, 2005. 9781478954002. (Review of audiobook borrowed from public library.)

#tbt features How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. Cowell featured Hiccup in a picture book called Hiccup: the Viking Who was Seasick in 2001. How to Train Your Dragon is the first of a twelve-book series featuring Hiccup and his Viking clan. It was published in the UK in 2003 and in the US in 2005. 

Though Hiccup is son of the clan leader, he's a bit of an outsider. However, he does prove to be resourceful, earning the grudging respect of his father. Three animated films were very loosely adapted from the books. If you enjoy fantasy and action, give this series a try.

David Tennant is quickly becoming a favorite narrator of mine and seems to be the go-to voice actor for Cowell. They are well-matched. This was a fun listening experience. 

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Unabridged MP3 audiobook, 13 hours, 14 minutes. Read by Mandy Williams, Listening Library, Inc. July, 2012. 9780307968937. (Purchased.)

Sixteen-year-old Seraphina doesn't like the spotlight because she has a secret to hide. But she's inquisitive and brave and is also terrifically musical, a talent she inherited from her mother. Unfortunately, that's not the only thing Seraphina inherited. She has scales, as in dragon's scales. Her mother was a dragon, who passed as human, fell in love with the queen's lawyer, hid this small detail from him and died giving birth to her daughter. 

Dragons and humans in the kingdom of Goredd have abided by a treaty uneasily for the past forty years. There's lots of racism on each side, but a half-breed is unheard of. In fact, Seraphina's mother was expelled from her family and dragonkind for mating with a human.  Her father took pains to keep Seraphina out of sight until her musical talent burst forth and could not be contained. She's now assistant music mistress at court, music instructor and friend to the heir to the crown as well as friend to the princess' fiance. 

And that's just the beginning of the intrigue. I can't remember being sucked into a world quickly and so completely. I was instantly smitten by Seraphina - her voice, her intellect, her moral compass. The worldbuilding was vivid and fascinating. I could see Goredd in my mind's eye. This debut definitely lived up to the hype and, I wouldn't mind visiting again should there be a sequel. 

Mandy Williams' voice was perfect for Seraphina. Tinkling and musical, with just the right amount of reserve and humor. The voices she uses for the large cast of characters were distinctive and unique.  I'm glad that I chose to read it first with my ears. Although I am a huge fantasy fan, I find that the unusual names, places and objects can be stumbling blocks for me. Hearing it read fluidly helps me become immersed in the setting. Did I mention the worldbuilding? So fine.

Give this utterly original fantasy to middle school fans of dragon stories, especially fans of that other dragon series, the one that, um borrows heavily from better stories.