Teen Tuesday: Blood Metal Bone by Lindsay Cummings

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Blood Metal Bone by Lindsay Cummings. 482 p. HQ/ HarperCollins Publishers, June 28, 2022. 9780008292799. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Happy first day of summer break to my students and colleagues! I cross-post these book talks to my school's learning platform. In my post this morning, I asked my students, "What are your reading goals for the summer? Set yourself an attainable, realistic goal and choose the books you most enjoy! Not loving the book? Abandon it and try another." I admitted to them that I've been in a bit of a reading slump myself for the last year due to a variety of reasons. I've had to reduce my usual goal of a book-a-day to 300 for the year and Goodreads tells me I'm 30 books behind that goal. I might make it up over the summer break. I might not. But I will read with my eyes and with my ears every day.

Teen Tuesday features Blood Metal Bone by Lindsay Cummings. This sci-fi fantasy takes place in deep space on a dwarf planet named Dohrsar. Sonara is the illegitimate daughter of a queen, relegated to taming horses in the royal stable. Her brother is her best friend and confidant, but when an alien space ship lands and abducts him, no one believes her, least of all the queen, who condemns her and her beloved horse to death.

They return from the dead as Shadowbloods and join a ragtag group of outlaws. Sonara earns the nickname Devil of the Deadlands and the reputation that goes along with it. After a botched heist, the crew agrees to escort the escaped daughter of a king and she is bent on revenge. However, the crafty king has a hidden agenda, as kings do. When an alien ship lands and Sonara realizes that it looks just like the ship that abducted her brother, she's distracted from her mission. The ship contains two human brothers with secrets of their own who will join forces with the king to attempt to find a rock that is the heart of the planet and possesses great power.

The story is told from three third-person perspectives, Sonara and the human brothers, Karr and Cade. It flashes back and forth revealing history and motives slowly until the end. The characters are colorful. There is plenty of banter to enjoy as well as epic action. The world has a bleak, Wild West feel to it. This stand-alone novel is great for fans of twisty, sci-fi/ fantasy like Six of Crows, as the press release says. Blood Metal Bone releases in the U.S. next week. Happy early book birthday! 

Teen Tuesday: Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani

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Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani. 334 p. HarperCollins Publishers, September, 2021. 9780062652638.

Happy Tuesday! Today is the Winter Solstice! The sun will set at 4:31 tonight, ushering in the longest period of darkness of the year, but tomorrow, the sun begins to return a bit more each day. Teen Tuesday features Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani. If the author's name seems familiar to, it's because you faithfully read the Daily Book Talks. Earlier this school year, I finally took an eighth grader's suggestion and read School for Good and Evil, in which the author took many fairy tale tropes and turned them inside out in the start of an original and delightful series. 

He does the same with twelve classic fairy tales here in this handsome, beautifully illustrated collection. You might recognize the names of some, but that is where the resemblance stops. The characters are racially diverse and there's LGBTQ representation as well. Plus, you won't find one maiden in distress needing rescue, but you will find one man in distress!

Readers used to the Disney version of fairy tales might be shocked by the violence and gore in many of these tales. You might recall that I mentioned that way back when the tales were collected, they were quite violent - even Cinderella! Mr. Chainani's retellings are atmospheric and eerie, subversive and surprising. So settle into your favorite reading spot with a nice cup of hot cocoa and prepare to be unsettled.

Teen Tuesday: Daughter of Lies & Ruin by Jo Spurrier

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Daughter of Lies & Ruin by Jo Spurrier. 346 p. Tales of Blackbone Witches Book 2. HarperVoyager/ HarperCollins Publishers, October, 2021. 9781460756348. (Review of finished ppb courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Tuesday! Teen Tuesday features Daughter of Lies & Ruin by Jo Spurrier. Book 2 of Tales of Blackbone Witches picks up shortly after the events in Book 1, A Curse of Ash and Embers, which I loved. 

Aleida and Elodie (Dee) are on the road from Blackburn Cottage to an abbey, where Aleida wishes to donate some of Ghyssa's treasure. Dee has been learning magic and she has a fair amount of natural ability, but she doubts herself, much to Aleida's dismay. Dee also has a true moral compass, so when they meet Kara, a young girl adept at swordplay, who is staying at the abbey for her protection after her bandit father disappeared, Dee wants to help. Aleida wants Dee to mind her own business, but there's strange magic in the woods. An entire band of robbers have disappeared, strange animals are appearing and Aleida and Dee are being following by a huge eagle.

Where A Curse of Ash & Embers took a little while to simmer before boiling over, Daughter of Lies & Ruin hits the ground running with a cast of terrific new characters and malevolent magic afoot. If you like atmospheric books seeping with evil both human and paranormal, as well as complex feisty characters, try this series. I hope there's more to come!

Teen Tuesday: A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier

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A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier. Tales of the Blackbone Witches #1. HarperVoyager/ HarperCollins Publishers, January, 2021. 9781460756331. (Review of finished paperback courtesy of publisher.)

Teen Tuesday features A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier. This historical fantasy comes to us from Australia and was published in paperback in the U.S. in January. It is book one of a series called Blackbone Witches.

Sixteen-year-old Elodie narrates and endears the reader from the first page of this suspenseful, atmospheric story. She's waiting for a wagon ride from her stepfather's farm up into the mountains to serve at Black Oak Cottage. No one knows how Elodie got the job, an unsigned letter was delivered, but she doesn't care. She can't wait to get away from her abusive stepfather, though she will miss her mother and half-siblings very much.

Elodie is uneducated, but very observant and is a quick learner. After an eventful trip up the mountain, Elodie is dropped off on the outskirts of the village. Once the villagers learn that she's headed to Black Oak Cottage, they turn mean, thinking she's there to apprentice as a witch. Terrible things happen in the area. Monsters roam at night to tear up the land and kill livestock. Monsters that were created by the old witch, Ghyssa.

But Ghyssa is dead. Aleida killed her. She has no idea why Elodie has come to the cottage. Aleida gruffly warns Elodie to leave, to return to her family, while there's still time. Aleida needs Elodie though, because she's been gravely injured and cursed by Ghyssa and there are even more dangers lurking in the woods. Elodie would rather stay with this strange woman than return to her stepfather.

If you like suspenseful stories of magic, you will love this. The pace is a bit leisurely at first as readers are introduced to intriguing characters. Elodie is fiercely independent and a bit prickly, a trait which serves her well considering what she's about to face. The vivid setting - the cottage and grounds, with its monsters roaming, a demon tree in the orchard and an angry warlock looking to collect a debt, might make it hard to sleep at night. I was completely swept up in the intrigue. 

I can't wait for book two, Daughter of Lies & Ruin due out in July!

Friday Memes: A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

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A Curse of Ash & Embers by Jo Spurrier. 368 p.Voyager/ HarperCollins Publishers, January, 2021. 9781460756331. 

Publisher synopsis: A dead witch. A bitter curse. A battle of magic.

Some people knit socks by the fire at night. Gyssha Blackbone made monsters.

But the old witch is dead now, and somehow it's Elodie's job to clean up the mess.

When she was hired at Black Oak Cottage, Elodie had no idea she'd find herself working for a witch; and her acid-tongued new mistress, Aleida, was not expecting a housemaid to turn up on her doorstep.

Gyssha's final curse left Aleida practically dead on her feet, and now, with huge monsters roaming the woods, a demonic tree lurking in the orchard and an angry warlock demanding repayment of a debt, Aleida needs Elodie's help, whether she likes it or not.

And no matter what the old witch throws at her, to Elodie it's still better than going back home.

First Line(s): I sat on the rough stone wall, gazing downtime dusty road and grinding my heel against the rocks. The hobnails in my boot squealed against the stone, making me wince, but in truth the sound was a fine match for my mood.

Page 56: It looked as though there'd been a brawl - or worse. Scorch-mars streaked the flagstones, as well as the plaster between the roof beams. The only thing not broken was the window, and that was doubly strange - the window was huge, set with panes of real glass that looked out into the darkness, with one side propped open a foot or so. I don't think our whole farm at home had as much glass as that one window, and I couldn't imagine how it had survived the destruction that had been wreaked on the rest of the room. I tried not to stare but she must have noticed my wide eyes. 

The voice in this grabbed me from the beginning. It's also quite atmospheric. Looking forward to finishing it this weekend.

Picture Book Review: Wombat Goes to School by Jackie French

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Wombat Goes to School by Jackie French. Illustrated by Bruce Whatley. unpgd. Angus & Robertson/ HarperCollins Publishers, June, 2020. 9780732299033. (Review of finished paperback courtesy of publisher.)

As a HUGE fan of Diary of a Wombat, I was more than thrilled when given the opportunity to revisit Jackie French's rascally wombat. I loved of the sequel of sorts, Christmas Wombat and her nonfiction book, How to Scratch a Wombat. I knew next to nothing about these brown, round, lazy creatures. Wombat Goes to School continues the dry, deadpan humor and spare text of its predecessors. She eats. She sleeps. She scratches. What's this? She finds a hole! She smells carrots! She follows her nose and ends up in school where she hilariously wreaks havoc and ends up in the principal's office.

Fans of the Wombat books will not be disappointed. New fans can start here and work back through the earlier books. It seems that How to Scratch a Wombat has gone out of print. Too bad, since it was the perfect fiction/ nonfiction pairing for curious minds. I also learned that there are two additional titles in the pipeline - Wombat Wins, releasing in September and Grandma Wombat, set to release in January.

Bruce Whatley's acrylic illustrations convey wombat adorable-ness with understated humor and luscious colors. Mothball is the perfect distraction at school in her single-minded quest for carrots! I now have a granddaughter and may just have to put together a Wombat collection for her home library! Wombat Goes to School is the perfect addition to the read aloud rotation. I just loved it.

Friday Memes: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

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Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. Skulduggery Pleasant series #1. 384 p. HarperCollins Publisher, May, 2018 (Re-issue). 978008248789.

Publisher synopsis: She's twelve. He's dead. But together they're going to save the world. Hopefully.

The iconic first book in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series.

Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror it certainly wasn't fiction. Pursued by evil forces, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead sorcerer…

First Line: Gordon Edgley's sudden death came as a shock to everyone—not least himself.

Page 56: 
     "Sometimes. I try not to depend on magic these days, I try to get by on what's up here." He tapped his head.
    "There's empty space up there."
     "Well, yes," Skulduggery said irritably, "but you know what I mean."
     "What else can you do?"
     "Sorry?"
     "With magic. Show me something."
     If Skulduggery had eyebrows, they would most likely be arched. "What, a living skeleton isn't enough for you? You want more?"

This was a reread for me and I reviewed it on Wednesday. But I just love the series and thought the excerpts particularly enticing/ intriguing. 

He's Ba-ack! Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy

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Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. 384 p. HarperCollins Publishers, May, 2018. 9780008248789. (Review of finished ppb courtesy of Harper360.)

Twelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley is standing at her uncle's graveside when she notices a figure wearing a trench coat, hat and scarf standing under a tree away from the crowd. This was curious on such a hot day. It got even curiouser when, later, she escapes to the study at her uncle's huge home to avoid all the disingenuous "mourners" to find herself face-to-face with the gentleman. It seems Stephanie's uncle spoke of her often to him. And, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he disappears abruptly. 

Days later, she has to accompany her parents to the reading of her uncle's will where she learns that she has inherited the bulk of her uncle's fortune as well as his home. The strange man was also named in the will and Stephenie learns his name—Skulduggery Pleasant. Soon after, Skulduggery rescues Stephanie from an intruder. It is then she discovers that the trench coat, hat and scarf were disguising the fact that he is a skeleton!

It seems that the horror stories Stephanie's uncle wrote were inspired by true events. He and Skulduggery often worked together to solve mysteries and now, Skulduggery was going to find her uncle's killer. Stephanie does not intend to be left on the sidelines. She is in for one heck of a ride!

The voice captivates from page one. Stephanie is just a terrific main character— smart, brave, not easily rattled and quite, quite stubborn as Skulduggery quickly learns. She's also dryly hilarious. The banter between her and Skulduggery had me laughing out loud often. The action is fast, furious and quite violent as the bad guys here are called The Faceless and their leader, Serpine are after a scepter with which he will rule the world. So stakes are high.

It was so much fun to revisit Skulduggery Pleasant! I cannot recall when or how I came upon it. The book was originally published in 2007. I probably read a review. I was neither blogging or on Goodreads then; but the book stuck with me. I am pretty sure I read it with my ears, but might not have, though I did read books 2 - 5 with my ears. I had to send to the U.K. for books 3 - 5 as I couldn't find them here. The audiobooks, narrated by Rupert Degas, are spectacular. Degas' deadpan delivery and distinct character voices compliment this intense tale. 

Skulduggery Pleasant was Landy's debut and he followed it up with eight additional sequels followed by a second series. I have a bit of catching up to do! Readers who love horror and fantasy will gobble this up and be back for more, so make sure you have the rest of the series on standby.