Bunnicula (and some sequels) by James Howe

Bunnicula was one of the books that I loved reading as a kid.  It had some mystery and interesting characters, but was just this side of ridiculous (I mean, come on, a vampire bunny who sucks the juice out of all the veggies?)  I like the dynamic between all of the characters, how one dog was simultaneously smart (he's writing books after all!) and yet didn't really like to concern himself with much more than sleeping and eating.

I like how the Bunnicula never talks, even though all the other animals are very verbose, but yet we always seem to know what he's feeling.  He has a very prominent role for a character that never talks.

Inevitably, the books end up being more about Chester (the cat) and Harold (the dog) then Bunnicula, so Bunnicula Strikes Again was a nice change because it focused on the bunny and his past a little more than we had seen before.  But, inevitably, it was the same animals up to the same antics.

#9books9days

If you've been following our twitter (or our Facebook page), you might have noticed that I took a little trip!  And since I had nine relaxing days away from work, I decided to read nine books while I was away.

I'm only going to review seven of them today (you're going to have to wait until the end of the week when Alex and I do Bunnicula books), but I'm going to review the rest of them right here, right now, including TWO books that aren't out yet!!

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld (Release date 9/29/15)

Really, did you expect a Westerfeld book to be bad?  Well, if you're waiting for one, this isn't it.  You have dynamic characters, who grow not only in their characters but in their powers too.  And you know what?  They pushed the envelope on what we think super heroes are.  We think of people with powers as either good or evil, but these kids?  They could really go either way.  And that's kind of what I love about this book.  At the end of the day, they're still just people.

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman

This is one of Shusterman's earlier ones and, honestly, I was a little weary.  I had read Downsiders and had been a little disappointed, so I wasn't sure how I would feel.  the Unwind distology is a high bar to set, and some of his other writings hasn't met it.  However, Full Tilt isn't in that category.  It was gritty and in your face and really made you think about life.  It was this nice middle ground between Goosebumps and Fear Street.  Scary, but not so scary you had to put the book down.

The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan

What is there to say about Percy Jackson that hasn't already been said?  Do I love him?  Of course I do.  Percy Jackson is one of my go to book series.  And, if your kid isn't big on the reading, I might direct you towards the Percy Jackson GNs.  Graphic Novels are great things, and I think they fill a certain niche.  But at the end of the day, this just doesn't even hold a candle to how good the first book was.

Poison by Sarah Pinborough

This one was the only real wildcard in my books this month.  All the other books were either ones I'd read before or by authors I adore.  Pinborough was the only author I knew nothing about, and really didn't know much about her books other than they were retellings of fairy tales.  But I like fairtale redos and the covers on her books look beautiful if nothing else (plus, I got them fairly cheap during employee appreciation.)

However, it was the biggest disappointment this week.  Really, Poison just ended up being the same old Snow White story we always knew, with a twist ending.  The only problem was that twist, wasn't really good enough to make up for the rest of the book.  Her writing was mediocre so, really, the book ends up just being something to look pretty on my shelf.

Sold by Patricia McCormack

I have found I have a love hate relationship with McCormack's book.  Some are AMAZING, some are... eh.  Some I think the topics are important, I think the execution just is a little wanky.  Sold I think falls into the last category.  It most definitely gets better as it goes along, but the beginning of it was just really slow and hard to get through (and not in the 'this is so terrible it's hard to read' kind of way.  In the 'this is kind of boring; please get to the story' kind of way.)  But once our main character had entered the brothel and we saw her deal with her life, her reality, and learn to make friends and negotiate her situation, I think that's where the real story came out.  So, good book, but one that you had to stick with to get there.

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

I actually expected more out of this book.  That's not to say that I didn't like it, because I did.  I think I've just gotten used to the shock factor in her books and this wasn't one of those books.  BUT I will say that I really did like her approach to the ideas of religion and there being a God.  The main character of our book is an atheist, and there are varying degrees of religious belief all around him, from his overtly christian girlfriend, to his mildly religious aunt, who believes in a creator, but doesn't push it.  As usual, Hopkins hits those topics that people are afraid to talk about, like the idea of a creator, and how people believe, and THAT is what I liked about this book.

Another Day by David Levithan ( Release Date 8/25/15)

When I saw this sitting on the break room table just two days after David Levithan had posted a picture of the cover, words can not describe the excitement I felt.  Seriously, I was jumping up and down in our break room, I was so stoked (we hardly ever get ARCs that I TRULY want to read.)  And this book was every word as good as I thought that it would be.

Levithan really pushes the bounds of sexuality for us, really making us rethink what is male and female, gay, straight, does it even matter, if we're in love?  And I like that it's not a straight forward answer either.  A has been like that his whole life, but it's much harder for Rhiannon to get past the conventions.  Either way, Levithan construction a most wonderful love story that pulls at our heart strings.  I've been waiting for this book for years, and I was not disappointed for a moment.

Review Me Twice - Dune by Frank Herbert

I just wanted everyone to share in the awesome

1970s cover that I was experiencing.

I'm not sure if you know this, but Dune is a freakin' long novel.  Seriously guys.  I've been hardcore reading it for two weeks now and I'm still only about a little over halfway through it, which is INSANE.

But you know what?  I'm probably going to continue to diligently read it and finish it up as soon as I can.  I want to know what happens.  I am really invested in these characters and their lives and what's going to happen to them.

Not to mention the world building in this novel is insane!  This is Tolkien level of world building, complete with its own religions and legends and languages and solar systems.  HERBERT CREATED A WHOLE NEW SOLAR SYSTEM FOR THIS FREAKIN' BOOK!  It's really impressive.

So far, it's the book I've been most impressed with during our month of sci-fi, which I wasn't so sure was going to be the case.  Dune is a classic that gets a lot of hype and, often, the books don't live up to that hype.  So far, Dune completely does.

Author Bio: Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) was best known for the Dune series, and we're reading the first book of that series (appropriately titled Dune) this week. That book is the best-selling sci-fi book in history, and is unquestionably one of the classics of sci-fi, so Herbert is kind of a big deal.

He's from Washington, but had a bad home life and ran away to live with family in Salem, Oregon. His first job was at a newspaper. He served in the Navy as a photographer during WWII, then went to University of Washington and did all sorts of writing, but he only took classes that interested him, so he never finished an actual degree.

Dune - along with Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, published a few years before it - helped turn sci-fi into a literary genre. Before that, all you really needed for a successful sci-fi story was a good technological idea; it didn't matter if you wrote a good story alongside it.

I always think it's interesting to see what an author thought of film adaptations of their greatest works, so I'm pleased to share that Herbert was overall pretty happy with the movie Dune (1984). There was also a TV series adaptation in 2000 but that was 14 years after Herbert's death, so I don't know what he might have thought of it. Since his death, Herbert's son Brian has added a few more books to the series using Herbert's old notes.

Author Bio: Stephen Hawking

I sincerely hope that you have at least a vague idea of who Stephen Hawking is. He's kind of a big deal.

At the most basic, he's a scientist. To be a little more specific, he's a theoretical physicist and a cosmologist. So he's a space scientist. I could list a bunch of scientific things he's discovered or created or sorted out, but are you going to read the whole list? And if you did, would you understand half of it? And if you could understand it, don't you think you probably already know quite a bit about the man who did it all? Yeah, that's what I thought. So let's list a bunch of other accomplishments and fun facts instead...

He has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor.

This week's review book, A Brief History of Time, stayed on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. A more timely fact here is that Leonard Nimoy (RIP) found out at the release party for the home video version of Brief History of Time that Hawking wanted to appear on Star Trek, and Nimoy made it happen.

Speaking about his acting, he has done a fair amount of it. He had cartoon appearances on The Simpsons and Futurama, and has appeared in person on Star Trek: TNG and The Big Bang Theory, among many other shows.

If you're curious about that machine that allows him to speak, it is operated by a single cheek muscle. He has a rare form of ALS.

He has co-written (with his daughter Lucy) three children's books, starting with 2007's George's Secret Key to the Universe.

And with that, this great scientist and great many-other-things will kick off our month of scientific non-fiction!

Favorite Classics

It was hard for me to define what qualifies as a "classic" when it comes to literature. So I decided not to worry about it too much, and I chose Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

I've talked about it before, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Great science-fiction is believable, and Brave New World definitely is, while still being different and unusual enough to be fascinating. Great books are quotable, and you wouldn't believe how often I say "I'm so glad I'm a Beta."

I was really torn between two books for this post, but, if I'm really honest with myself, there is only one true winner in my heart.

This should be zero surprise to anyone, and the fact that Pride & Prejudice was my runner up should also be of no surprise to anyone.  But Dangerous Liaisons is one I just love so much.  There's intrigue!  Deceit!  Manipulation!  Sex!  Alright, maybe that last one isn't a reason that I read it, but the book is just so well done and everyone is just so TERRIBLE to each other.  I mean, I think everyone, at some point, does something to get back at someone else in this book.

It's great.

So it wins for favorite classic,

But, Pride & Prejudice wins for favorite QUOTE from a classic, so I guess it's got that going for it.

Some of the Best Books This Season

So one of the benefits of working in a bookstore is that I get to see what some of the most popular books of the season are.

Now, I'll let you know in advance, I haven't read all of these.  But they have been bought in HOARDS and people have been telling me nothing but good things about them.  So that that for what you will when buying your last minute book gifting.

Yes, ok the movie is coming out, but I sell no less than five of these a day, sometimes more.  And for every five I sell, I get asked five more times where the book is.  It's a story of a man, surviving the wreckage of his plane in WWII and his journey through life, along with his journey of survival.

Boys in the boat is about the 1936 Berlin Olympics team.  It shows you a bunch of ragmatag guys who manage to come together and go for the gold for the rowing.  Another one that has passed through my hands more than a few times this Christmas season.

To be honest with you, I didn't even know what this one was about till I read the synopsis (which you can go read here.  It sounds really good.)  It sold really well this summer, but when Christmas time came, we couldn't even keep the book on the shelf.

Ok, so Miss Peregrine's is a little weird, and it's a little different, but I have yet to meet a person who didn't enjoy this book.  There's mystery and there is a little bit of super powers and there is some definite danger and it's a good transition book.  Not SO hard to read that a high 11-12 year old couldn't pick it up, but still interesting enough that your teens are going to want to read it.

Alright, this one comes with a lot of conditions, but also, a lot of ideas if you need them last minute for the Christmas season.  This is book five in a series.  And, what's more, it's book five in a SEQUEL series.  Do you remember The Percy Jackson Series?  It's pretty much fabulous.  In fact, it was SO fabulous, Riordan took those characters and started a SECOND series with them!  Cue The Heroes of Olympus series (see above).  So if the person you're buying for has never read Percy Jackson, Ta-Da!  If they have, but haven't gotten into this second companion series, there are five whole new books for them to pick up.  And, the best part, is that this is the last book, so they don't even have to wait for the end.

Review Me Twice - My True Love Gave To Me by Multiple Authors

I am actually a big fan of anthologies.  I have the theory that, by sheer odds, you're eventually going to hit ONE story that you like in it.  And I did.  In fact, there were a number of stories that I liked in it.  I really liked the one by Rainbow Rowell, though probably more so because when I went to see her at Politics and Prose, she read it.

If you ever get the chance to hear an author read their own work, do it.  It's SO MUCH BETTER than what happens in my head (and what happened there was pretty good.)

Some were definitely better than others, because you have twelve authors and while some are great authors, not all of them are meant to be short story writers.  David Levithan's was not one of my favorites.  I love him, and I liked his better when I heard him read it out loud, but I still didn't enjoy his story as much as I have enjoyed his books.

But probably my favorite out of the whole batch was Gayle Foreman's.  It was funny and poignant and sweet and just a great story.  I thought it was well done and one of those stories that was satisfying where it ended but still full of potential.

The book was a good anthology, and definitely worth reading, especially if you're just looking for a nice Christmas book.

I promise, one of my New Year's resolutions is to read every single Review Me Twice book beginning to end. But it's still 2014, so I didn't finish this one. What I did read, though, I really loved. My favorite thing about anthologies (other than what Cassy mentioned above, finding at least ONE you like) is how different authors take different approaches to the same theme or topic. I think a major reason why I didn't manage to finish this book on time was that I had to put it down between stories (and there are a lot of stories... twelve, so sayeth the subtitle). I don't read different authors' short stories back to back. When the anthology is all the same author, I can read straight through, but I have to do that thing where you put it down and digest what you read before I can pick it back up in the multi-author situation.

Twelve Author Bios

This week, we actually have TWELVE authors, because we're reading a Christmas Anthology!!  So, I thought it might be fun to actually do a quick bio on each of them (and that means most of them will be almost directly copy and pasted from Goodreads.  So be prepared for that.)

Stephanie Perkins

Perkins writes novels for teens (and for adults who aren't afraid to admit that teen books are awesome). She was born in South Carolina, raised in Arizona, attended universities in San Francisco and Atlanta, and now lives in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

Her best friend is her husband Jarrod. Their house is almost a hundred years old, and every room is painted a different color of the rainbow. They share it with a cat named Mr. Tumnus.

She's always worked with books—first as a bookseller, then as a librarian, and now as a novelist. On weekdays, you'll find her at her desk, typing away, downing cups of coffee and tea. On the weekend, you'll find her at the movies, waiting for the actors to kiss. She believes all novels and films should have more kissing.

Holly Black

Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh) The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are the middle grade novel, Doll Bones, and the dark fantasy stand-alone, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.

Ally Carter

Ally Carter is a writer living and working in the Midwest. She loved school so much she kept going...and going...and going...until finally she had to graduate. Now she has degrees from Oklahoma State University and Cornell University and a house and a job and other very grown-up things.

Her life is either very ordinary or the best deep-cover legend ever. She'd tell you more, but...well...you know...

Gayle Foreman

My name is Gayle Forman and I love to write young-adult novels. Because I do. So thank you for reading them. Because without you, it’d just be me. And the voices in my head.

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in such publications asJane, Seventeen, Glamour, Elle, and The New York Times Magazine, to name just a few. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Jenny Han

(Han like Han Solo, not Han like hand) was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. She went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) and she went on to graduate school at the New School in New York City, where she received her MFA in Writing for Children. She lives in Brooklyn.  She is the author of To All The Boys I Have Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty

David Levithan

David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.

Kelly Link

Kelly Link is an American author of short stories born in 1969. Her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: sometimes a combination of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and realism.

Myra McEntire

Myra McEntire is an avid Doctor Who fan and will argue passionately about which incarnation is the best. She loves to search thrift stores for things to upcycle, as she’s a big believer in second chances. She lives with her two boys and husband near Nashville, Tennessee. Myra is the author of the Hourglass trilogy, which has been nominated for two RITAs and a YALSA Teen Top Ten, and was chosen as a SIBA Okra Pick. She’s currently contracted with Storybird, where she’s serializing a middle grade novel, called THE SHADOW GATE.

Matt De La Pena

Matt de la Peña is the author of five critically-acclaimed young adult novels—Ball Don't Lie, Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, I Will Save You and The Living—as well as the award-winning picture book A Nation’s Hope: The story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, where he attended school on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. de la Peña currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He teaches creative writing and visits high schools and colleges throughout the country.

Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Laini Taylor

Hi there! I'm a writer of fantasy books for young people, but my books can be enjoyed by adults as well. My 'Dreamdark' books, Blackbringer (2007) and Silksinger (2009) are about faeries -- not dainty little flowery things, but warrior-faeries who battle devils. My first young adult book, Lips Touch, is a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award! It's creepy, sensual supernatural romance. . . about kissing. I am also an artist with a licensed gift product line called "Laini's Ladies."

Kiersten White

Hi! I'm the New York Times best-selling author of Paranormalcy and Supernaturally. I also give the most awkward hugs in the world. You should probably opt for one of my books over one of my hugs, but then again, maybe you like awkward hugs.

As for me, I like writing flirting scenes, and fighting scenes, and sometimes I write scenes that fall somewhere in between the two, but only if I can't avoid it.

And don't forget to enter our contest to win a signed copy of Unwind!!!

My Author count is hitting the stratosphere this year.

Because I like to keep you posted on all of the authors I see, here are some pictures from the book signing I went to tonight.

On the left is me with Rainbow Rowell (hard to tell, but she's holding a copy of Fangirl) and on the right is me and David Levithan.  I know: I can feel the jealous rolling off of you in WAVES right now.  It's practically tangible.

There were also some other awesome authors there, Coe Booth (Kind of Like Brothers), Tanuja Desai Hidier (Bombay Blues), and Bill Konigsburg (Openly Straight).  They were all funny and hilarious and wonderful and read passages from their books and really, if you get the chance to see David Levithan ever, go see him because he's hysterical, I think more so because he was with a group of people he was so comfortable with.

 And yes, I was close enough to David Levithan that the man was practically sweating on me.  It was fantastic.  And did I mention that he complimented my shoes?  I almost had to go die in a corner I was fangirling so hard.

Favorite Naive Narrator

Sometimes your have narrators that just don't know what's going on.  They're clueless (like, if you hang around, you'll realize that our protagonist this week is.)

Christopher is the protagonist of our book, a high functioning, autistic child (once called Asperger's syndrome, but now it's all just different levels on the autism scale.)  The book opens with one of the neighbor's dogs being dead on her front lawn.  You realize, pretty early on that there is a lot going on in the adult world that Christopher just isn't catching onto.

I don't want to give away too much here, because there's a lot to give away, but Christopher tells everything that adults tell him at face value, a lot of times because they're adults.  There are some adults he's skeptical of, but his believes everything his father says.  He believes everything the police say, because his father says to believe them.  It's a very naive world view and, as an outside reader, it's easy to see his naivete.

I haven't read it recently, but I loved Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue. It's from the viewpoint of a little boy (Jack) who was born after his mom was kidnapped and sequestered in a little room set up by her kidnapper. (Donoghue wrote the story after hearing about the Fritzl case.) The boy has only ever known life inside that room, so he hasn't socialized with anyone other than his mom (the kidnapper visits, of course, but the boy's interaction with him is extremely limited) and the TV.

Like Cassy, I don't want to give away the rest of the book, but the boy has a unique perspective on everything, and it really makes you think what the world would be like if you had spent your first several years caged like he did.

Favorite Book of Poetry

Ellen Hopkins... well, anything is usually my favorite when it comes to poetry.  Mostly because she's the only poetry that I can stand.  But, in the spirit of being a little different, I'm going to choose David Levithan's book, Realm of Possibility.

The book revolves around a few teens and their lives.  But it's moving and poignant in a way only Levithan can be.  Really, what got me the most about this book was his words.  I mean, his writing is spectacular, it's always spectacular, and this book isn't any different.

One of my favorite lines is,"Once time is lit it will burn, whether or not you're breathing it in. Even after smoke becomes air, there is the memory of smoke." And it's a whole book of lines like that, with just incredibly imagery and poetry.

If you're not really into poetry, but you want a poetry book, this is a good one.

Identical. I agree with Cassy that pretty much any Hopkins book is pretty great, but this one really stuck with me. I can't tell you why, because Huge Spoiler, but it's amazing.

Plus it has a shiny silver cover. Which is pretty neat.

Review Me Twice: Friends With Boys

There isn't anything specific that I dislike about this book... I just don't seem to care about it. Does that make sense?

Graphic novels, as a genre, tend to have a problem with a lack of character development. You get a few characteristics (at least one of which will be a defining visual characteristic so you can quickly identify everyone on each page) and a handful of them probably get a lesson by the end like with most stories, but that's about all there is to them. You don't get a good sense of them as a person, unless you're reading a really good graphic novel. I don't think this is one of those really good graphic novels.

I felt a lot like this was the first of what is intended to be a series, but I don't see any evidence that it really is. It serves alright as an introduction to characters that could have further interactions, but unless I've got nothing to do for a weekend and the books are stacked up right next to me, I'm not pursuing it any further.

We all must know by now my feelings on graphic novels.  They're just not my particular cup of tea.  Which is fine, and this one is no different.  However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.

Maggie is our main character and has been home schooled for her entire life... with three older brothers.  I think that their relationship is really one that's indicative of brothers and sisters.  Yes, brothers can be jerks sometimes, but brothers always come through when you need them to.  Sometimes, they come to your aid even when you DON'T need them too.

I wasn't overly impressed with the artistry (everything had an anime type look to me, which made just about everyone in the book look Asian with their dark hair.  Especially Maggie with her pigtail buns.  I'm not sure if that was on purpose or just her style.)  The book was also kind of hit you over the head with "Be who you want to be and stop conforming."

I liked that Maggie made mistakes and was a very believable high school student.  She seemed to be the most socially awkward person ever, but still made friends.  (And not the Bella Swan amount of friends.)

I wasn't really sure why there was a ghost in the story, and it didn't really have a whole lot of bearing on her life.  It actually seemed to hardly affect her, so it seemed like the ghost was there more to just be like, "LOOK! SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!!".

Over all, the story was enjoyable, but nothing I would write home about.

Review Me Twice: Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon

Honesty time: I didn't finish this book. But it wasn't the book's fault. It was just a bad week for trying to get into a fantasy novel. (I could blame my cold, planning for my bachelorette party, a weird work schedule... oh, I guess I just did.) Especially considering I have a tough time getting into fantasy novels in the first place.

But for all that, this is a book to get excited about. I mean, look at the cover; there's a female in full-coverage fighting-type garb in the foreground. She isn't in a glorified metallic bikini and stilettos. She isn't purple. She's holding a weapon and looking ready to kick some fantasy ass.

One thing I do like from what I managed to read of this book is the cast. There aren't so many characters you don't know what to do with them. (As much as I love them, I don't think The Hobbit really required that many dwarves. They didn't have the opportunity to be fleshed out, and they didn't even serve as body shields... you know, characters you carry around so there can be a dramatic death scene that doesn't kill anyone important.) I know who's there, why they're there, and what they're doing at any given point. And - another problem I tend to have while reading fantasy - I can handle their names. (Don't get me started on Tolkien's elf lore.) They aren't distractingly complex names designed to make the characters feel more exotic. (Side note: This is obviously relative to the culture of the reader. "Rhapsody" and "Emily" and "Grunthor" and "Achmed" are easier names for me to deal with than, perhaps, a reader who grew up with an Asiatic language. But that's a discussion for another time.)

This one goes on my "I'll come back to this and finish it another time" pile, definitely. I liked what I did read, and the only reason I didn't finish was a time crunch issue.

I read this book in high school after it was recommended to me by no less than four people.  And with good reason.  It's got a strong female lead (Rhapsody), who can hold her own.  Does she travel with two male companions?  Yes, but we learn early on this is after living on the streets, being a prostitute to survive, only to come out on top as a Namer (which sounds dumb, but is actually SUPER respected in this universe.)

I really love the character development in this.  For instance, Rhapsody didn't start the book knowing how to wield a sword.  The whole time they're traveling underground (which I didn't realize the first time through, is actually YEARS.   I mean... years, upon years, upon years), she is being taught by her companions, who DO know how to fight.  She learns their language in this time and they learn to read and write.

Like Alex mentioned, it has just the right amount of characters.  Achmed, Rhapsody and Grunthor are there throughout the series.  And, to be honest, we only gain one or two significant characters between book one and three.  It's a pretty low-key cast, which I like.  (Dear George R.R. Martin: Please take a hint and maybe give me a few less people.)  It makes it easier to really get into the characters.

There are a LOT of fantasy books out there, and some are better than others, but Rhapsody has one that has managed to migrate from my 16 year old self and hold up against my 27 year old self.

Author Bio - Elizabeth Haydon

We're reading Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon this week, a book that I read in my high school years and has still ranked pretty high on my "very good fantasy series" list.  It's held up over the years.

This is the only picture of her I was able to find.

However, there is surprisingly little on Elizabeth Haydon.  She 48/49 years old and lives in Michigan.  She's into a lot of folklore and is an herbalist and harpist.  She lives on the east coast.

She really only has two series, The Symphony of Ages, which Rhapsody starts off, and YA literature series, The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.

She doesn't seem to participate in any social media and, in fact, does not even have a website.  She's pretty off the grid for a writer.

Favorite Character with a Disability

There are a lot of awesome characters in books that end up being awesome despite their disadvantages.  Rochester in Jane Eyre went blind, Mad-Eye Moody was missing an eye the entire time that we knew him, and Captain Ahab may have been a bit obsessive, but to be fair, he was missing a leg.

Christopher John Francis Boone is 15, has Asperger's (or high functioning Autism), and is very, VERY good at math.  He wakes up one morning to find his neighbor's dog dead on the lawn, thus starting him on a quest to find out what happened.

I like Christopher because despite his disability, he's a smart kid, who learns a lot about his family and himself and even though it scares him, he still does a TON of stuff that puts him outside his comfort zone.  He doesn't lie, and can't stand it when other people lie to him.  You really can't help but love him, and his honest personality brings out the best in everyone.

This is another one of those books I read when I was in that undergraduate young adult literature class that Cassy and I talk about so much.

Shawn suffers from severe cerebral palsy; he has no control over his body whatsoever. The story of Stuck in Neutral is told from his perspective. Shawn is upset about people talking down to him like he's a child, ignoring him like he isn't in the room, and on top of all that, he's pretty sure his dad wants to euthanize him.

Terry Trueman wrote this book because his son has cerebral palsy. The book serves to educate young adults about the condition and how to deal with it (from the perspectives of the person who has it, their friends and family, and total strangers). But Trueman isn't didactic about it. He doesn't say "people with cerebral palsy are just like you and me and this is how we should treat them." He shows the reader. You know, like Cassy tells me: show, don't tell. So much more effective.

Some YA Books to Buy Your Teen

Ok, so tomorrow we're actually going to be talking about our favorite YA book of all time, but I figured, with Christmas coming up, there are probably a lot of you out there buying for teenagers, or kids getting right into that age.  So I'll save my #1 favorite book for tomorrow, but today, I'm going to give you a list of some great books for teens.

The Book Thief is an AMAZING book about friendship and family and doing the right thing (but on the most extreme level.)  It's about love, and caring, and reading and the importance of all of it in life.  While the book will make you cry basically from start to finish, it's so moving and heartwarming and the perfect book for really any kid between the ages of 12-100.

There's not much by Spinelli that I don't just absolutely love, but Stargirl is probably one of his best.  It's such a great story about being true to yourself, and being who you should be, despite those around you.  The point is happiness, not to make other people happy.  The book is actually from Leo's point of view, telling us the wonderful, and the terrible, ways that he sees Stargirl.

Honestly, I could put John Green on this list about five time (which is about how many books he's written), but I put this one on here, even over Looking for Alaska (my most favorite by him.)  If you're kid is a band nerd, buy them this book.  It's funny, so HILARIOUSLY funny, and most of that humor came from being a band kid for years.  Seriously, this book is for band kids.

You know why I love this book?  This whole series, actually?  Because it's such an awesome portrayal of friendship.  And, if you ask me, a pretty realistic one.  Shit happens, and sometimes, it happens without your friends around.  And sometimes you can only communicate to them through letters and magical pants.  And sometimes your friends are on your side, and sometimes they're on your side, even if you think that they aren't.  But at the end of the day, good friends are always there and give you exactly what you need.

Really, pick anything by Ellen Hopkins ever.  We've always recommended her on here and big reason is that she doesn't lie to kids.  She writes from a very personal place, a place that she saw her daughter in, that sometimes here daughter is STILL in.  If your going to discourage kids from doing drugs, this book is probably the best way to do it, because it's so very real.

I know Unwind has come up on here a lot, but honestly, I can't recommend this book enough.  It is so moving and powerful and, honestly, has one of my all-time most favorite, most powerful and well written scenes I've ever read in my life in it.  Shusterman handles the volatile subject of abortion so perfectly, so powerfully, and so respectfully, that I can't even begin to recommend this book enough.

Stay tuned tomorrow for mine (and Alex's, of course) all time favorite YA book.