Tag Archives: speculative

Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson (audio)

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Thistle

Epic high fantasy. I’m not going to attempt to summarize this book. For the purposes of this post, my first three words are really enough: epic high fantasy. I do not read high fantasy. Ever. Most of my blog readers … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, 2013, 2016, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

the Chrestomanci novels, by Diana Wynne Jones

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Thistle

I decided to review this series as a collect whole rather than write seven individual book reviews. Hopefully this will help keep people from getting annoyed with me as I obsess over my newfound love for Diana Wynne Jones, haha! … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Children's, Prose | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

House of Many Ways, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Thistle

House of Many Ways is the third book in the Howl series, and like Castle in the Air, it is more a companion novel than a direct sequel. Once again, this book takes place a couple years after the last … Continue reading →

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Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Thistle

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella, set in future-world China on a background of cyborgs and plague and intergalactic politics. I’ll be short with this review. I wasn’t sure I would like this book. It seemed everyone was reading it, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Castle in the Air, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Thistle

In Zanzib, a city in a land south of Ingary, a carpet merchant named Abdullah dreams of meeting and falling in love with a princess. He buys a magic carpet from a stranger one day, and that night, finds himself … Continue reading →

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Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones (audio)

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Thistle

Sophie Hatter is the eldest of three girls in a land where fairy tale is the norm. She doesn’t expect much from herself, since nothing ever happens for the oldest daughter in fairy tales, and is resigned to a life … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Thistle

I’m in two minds about this book, so I’ll get the negative out of the way first. The writing was not my favorite, and the characterization of the teens seemed really stereotypical/cliched, particularly in the beginning. The plot meandered a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Thistle

So this book has been big news for the last few months. Unfortunately, I was not really blown away by it the way many people seem to be. The story was fun enough, and creative, but I had quite a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , | 1 Comment

When She Woke, by Hillary Jordan

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Thistle

I’m in two minds about this book. It’s a dystopian retelling of The Scarlet Letter, so I expected there to be some similarities there. However, some of the similarities were, for me, a little too close: Hester Prynne = Hannah … Continue reading →

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Readathon: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Thistle

I think I have found my new favorite Maureen Johnson book. Seriously, this book was fantastic. Johnson does everything right. She makes her characters believable and real without glamorizing them. She makes them feel like teenagers without belittling or stereotyping … Continue reading →

Posted in 2011, 2013, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment