Saturday Shorts: Mitosis

From "New York Times" bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's action-packed novel "Steelheart" comes "Mitosis," a short story set in the world of The Reckoners series, exclusively available in the digital format.

Steelheart may be dead, but Epics still plague Newcago and David and the Reckoners have vowed to fight back. Quoted from Goodreads

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Such a great novella!  Honestly, one of the best parts of December this year are these great short stories that are coming out, and Mitosis doesn't disappoint.  

Warning, there will be a few spoilers from Steelheart included in this review, so be careful, but if you haven't read Steelheart yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously, I love that book, and this one just keeps that action moving.  

So, quick summary since the one above doesn't really tell you anything.  Steelheart is dead, but the city isn't safe.  While lots of normal people are flocking to Newcago and the promise of safety from epics, a lot of epics are as well, ready to fill the power vacuum left by Steelheart's demise. One of these, Mitosis, has the ability duplicate himself over and over, and whose every clone has to be killed for him to truly die.  Scary, right?

One of the best parts of this series is the crazy different powers Brandon Sanderson gives his epics.  It's not your derivative super strength and speed or lightning or anything else that's been done over and over again.  His main bad guys come with a skill-set that's different from your average, run of the mill newly created "superhero." 

I also love David.  He's strong, inventive, and horrible at similes.  His role in this story shows exactly how heroic and clever he is, while still leaving him completely human and vulnerable.

Plus, this is a complete short story in and of itself.  Sure, you do need to read Steelheart or things won't really make sense to you, but as far as this story goes, it's a true Reckoners 1.5. We get a villain that threatens the city, and David personally, all building up to a climax that was touching and kind of perfect.  It furthered the plot of the story and expanded the world.  I'm sure you probably don't have to read this for the next book to make sense, but the world Brandon Sanderson created is richer if you do.

All in all, I'm giving it a strong 4 stars.  It's the perfect novella to an amazing series.  Now all I have to do is wait for next fall to read Firefight.  It's going to be a long wait.

Best of 2013: Middle Grade

Okay, so I'm starting my "Best of" lists early so I can mix them in with book reviews and other posts.  This is always hard. And fun.  It's difficult because for some reason, new is always better. Of course if something is really stellar, I'll remember it, but the things I've read recently stick out more in my mind.  It's sort of the same idea with most of the Oscar contenders coming out in Nov. and Dec. so the Academy doesn't forget about them during awards season. On the other hand, this is good for me because it forces me to remember the amazing books I read last January, February, and March.  So here's my person favorites for 2013 middle grade books in (mostly) no particular order.  Of course there are dozens that came out I never read, since this isn't my primary genre, but I love it enough that there are plenty to pick and choose from.

1. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

“The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.”

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.   Quoted from Goodreads

2. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus. Quoted from Goodreads

3. Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends by Shannon Hale

At Ever After High, an enchanting boarding school, the children of fairytale legends prepare themselves to fulfill their destinies as the next generation of Snow Whites, Prince Charmings and Evil Queens...whether they want to or not. Each year on Legacy Day, students sign the Storybook of Legends to seal their scripted fates. For generations, the Village of Book End has whispered that refusing to sign means The End-both for a story and for a life.

As the daughter of the Evil Queen, Raven Queen's destiny is to follow in her mother's wicked footsteps, but evil is so not Raven's style. She's starting to wonder, what if she rewrote her own story? The royal Apple White, daughter of the Fairest of Them All, has a happy ever after planned for herself, but it depends upon Raven feeding her a poison apple in their future.


What if Raven doesn't sign the Storybook of Legends? It could mean a happily never after for them both.  Quoted from Goodreads

4. Chasing the Prophecy by Brandon Mull  

Jason and Rachel were not born in Lyrian. They did not grow up in Lyrian. But after all of the battles and losses, the triumphs and adventures, and most of all, the friendships forged in this fantastical world, Lyrian has become home to them in a way they never could have imagined.And so, armed now with the prophecy of a dying oracle, they have gone on their separate quests—each surrounded by brave and powerful allies—knowing that the chance for success is slim. But Jason and Rachel are ready at last to become the heroes Lyrian needs, no matter the cost. Quoted from Goodreads

5. The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen 

A kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction. A king gone missing. Who will survive? Find out in the highly anticipated sequel to Jennifer A. Nielsen's blockbuster THE FALSE PRINCE!

Just weeks after Jaron has taken the throne, an assassination attempt forces him into a deadly situation. Rumors of a coming war are winding their way between the castle walls, and Jaron feels the pressure quietly mounting within Carthya. Soon, it becomes clear that deserting the kingdom may be his only hope of saving it. But the further Jaron is forced to run from his identity, the more he wonders if it is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able to return home again? Or will he have to sacrifice his own life in order to save his kingdom?The stunning second installment of The Ascendance Trilogy takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of treason and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the Runaway King! Quoted from Goodreads

Book Review: World After

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose? Quoted from Goodreads

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I'll be honest I was a little bit scared to read this book.  I really, really liked the Anglefall, but while it had great reviews, I also went into it with a little trepidation.  Needless to say, I was blown away, but, again, I had pretty low expectations.  With this second book, however, my expectations were really high, and second books have a pretty sketchy track record.  Some are amazing, but a lot end up being the low point in their respective series. No worries here, though.  This book was exactly what I wanted from start to finish.

First: Penryn.  She is one of my favorite characters. Seriously.  She's a kick-butt heroine as always, but she gets even more awesome in this second installment.  I especially love her relationship with Pookie Bear (you'll have to read this book to get that one).  Her reaction/relationship to her sister is also believable, heartbreaking, and wonderful all at the same time.  

Okay, let's be honest, the characters are probably the best/most crazy part of this series, that has a ton of crazy action/horror/tough situations.  I mean, there's what happened to Penryn's sister, Paige, and how amazing she is for handling what she went through. Then there's Penryn's mother, who is crazy but brilliant, and you never know exactly what's going to come next or how much is the crazy talking and how much is her utter and complete brilliance.  Of course there's the twins, who crack me up and always happen to be in just the right (or wrong) place at the right time, and Clara, who's strong and broken and unwilling to give up hope despite everything she's been though.

Oh, and then there's Raffe.  I know everyone whose read the first book has been waiting for him to show up in this review.  I loved him.  We don't see him quite as much as we did in the first one, but Susan Ea finds some fun work-arounds to keep him a main character despite Penryn's soul POV and separation from him.  We get a  lot of his history and why he is who he is here.  I particularly loved when we get the first time he meets Penryn through his POV.  Plus, I love, love, love his and Penryn's relationship.  They're the perfect  . . .  I don't know . . . star-crossed lovers that so many books try to duplicate and simply can't. Their relationship is sweet, full of trust and joking and safety in a book that is never safe.

The worldbuilding here is excellent.  We solve some mysteries and open up new ones. Ideas and creatures/situations we only glimpsed in the first book are more fleshed out. We get more background on Raffe and Urial's master plan.  The world is still dark and horrible, but there's also hope and good moments.  Maybe not enough to balance out the bad, but it keeps it from being too dark or hopeless.  And then there were a few points where I was laughing out loud, which seems almost inappropriate with how many gruesome, horrible things happen to the people in this book, but Susan Ea included some parts that cracked me up.

And Action. So much, never stop, in your face, someone might die, what new trial/horror is this action that keeps you obsessively reading until the book's finished and you finally, sort of, get a moment to breath.   

All in all, this is an excellent series. I was sort of shocked when I found out there were 5 total (I was expecting 3) but oddly enough I'm excited about this.  Sure, it means torturous waits and nasty cliffhangers, but the story is big enough, I'm glad it will have enough space to really develop it's potential. Plus, I'd rather find out now than at the end of the third book.  All in all, it's an amazing 4.5 star, nail-biting, stay-up-all-night, page-turning read you should really check out, though maybe not if you're super scared of the dark, because this book does have a lot of dark images and realities.

Meme Monday

http://appraisingpages.com/2012/08/17/funny-book-memes-happy-friday/

Anticipating December

Okay, so with the holidays I've been a bit of a slacker on my blog.  It's not that I'm not reading, because I am.  It's just that I rarely post about what I've read recently because my life has been a little crazy.  Still, it's no excuse.  I did notice, however, I didn't even do my Anticipating December yet, which is pretty unforgivable.

Granted, December is sort of the month where publishing decides to take a break---probably because they want their darling books out before the infamous Black Friday so that they're available to those really organized people who are done shopping by December 1st.  Still, there are a few (and I do mean a very few) books coming out this month I'm pretty excited for.  Don't judge my poor list.  It's not the book's fault that the publishers have decided to abandon December to Oscar contending movies and christmas specials on the Hallmark Channel.  Anyway, here's my very short list, but at least there are a few books on it I'm still super excited to read.

             3^rd: Forged (novella) – Jennifer Rush

        Rebel Spring – MorganRhodes
             Mitosis (novella) - Brandon Sanderson

            10^th: These Broken Stars – Amie Kaufman

            17^th: Fireblood – Trisha Wolfe

                    Fracture Me (novella) – Tahereh Mafi

            23^rd: Echo in Time – C.J. Hill

            31^st: Taste of Darkness – Maria V. Snyder

                    TheOffering – Kimberly Derting

                   The Promise of Amazing – Robin Constantine

Well, there you go.  I hope there's something you find interesting, and if I missed anything really amazing drop me a note.  I know there are more books coming out this month, but, again, these are the ones I'm interested in.  Still, feel free to enlighten me. Goodness knows, I always read a book or two a month that I didn't anticipate reading because of great reviews or stellar recommendations.

Trailer Tuesday: Cress

I'm totally addicted to this series, so of course I'm super excited for this trailer. Check it out below, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Here's a quick summary about the book.

Rapunzel’s tower is a satellite. She can’t let down her hair—or her guard.

In this third book in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, who has been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker—unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. When a daring rescue goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing stop her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only ones who can.  Quoted from Goodreads

Book Meme

http://themetapicture.com/book-borrowing/