Review: Heir Apparent

by Vivian Vande Velde
Start Date: 4 September 2011
End Date: 4 September 2011
Paperback, 315 pages
Published January 1st 2002 by Magic Carpet Books

Summary (from Goodreads):
Lose the game, lose your life. 

In the virtual reality game Heir Apparent, there are way too many ways to get killed - and Giannine seems to be finding them all. Unless she can
   - get the magic ring,
   - find the stolen treasure,
   - answer the dwarf's dumb riddles,
   - impress the head-chopping statue,
   - charm the army of ghosts,
   - fend off the barbarians,
   -and defeat the man-eating dragon,
she'll never win. And if she doesn't win, she will die - for real this time.

I am so glad I reread this book. For years it has been, still is, and will be for a very long time, one of my absolute favorite books. Heir Apparent was the first book I ever reviewed on this blog (click for my old review). Wow, have I come far since then.

Since I've read it so many times, rather than worrying along with Giannine about the chances of "fatal overload"(minor spoiler, highlight to view), I can enjoy the twists and turns she goes through as she tries to find her way through the game, and laugh at all the crazy situations she gets herself into.

This is by far my favorite of Vande Velde's works. She is consistently funny from the first sentence to the last chapter. From the ridiculous positions Giannine finds herself in ("Cluck, cluck cluck,' I said: You stupid idiot, you have lousy timing") to her nearly continuous and constantly amusing side-commentary ("Luckily, I found that all I needed to contribute to the situation was a rapt expression and an occasional 'Impressive!' or 'My! That's interesting.'")

The characters are all extremely memorable (as one meets them over and over every time Giannine mus restart the game). Whether Queen Andreanna with her "This girl smells like a goat" or Xenos's father with his riddles, they're all lots of fun to read about. A personal favorite of mine is Sister Mary Ursala. Every time I read Heir Apparent, I'll be giggling whenever someone says the word "One" for days afterward.

Overall Thoughts: This is definitely on my "short list" of favorites. It's harder than one would think to write a review for an absolute favorite, but I did my best (and hopefully didn't overwhelm you with quotes). Heir Apparent is recommended for Middle Schoolers.


I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Review: Howl's Moving Castle

by Diana Wynne Jones
Start Date: 2 September 2011
End Date: 3 September 2011
Paperback, 429 pages
Published May 1st 2008 by Eos [an imprint of HarperCollins] (first published April 14th 1986)

Summary (from Goodreads):
In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday. The Witch of the Waste was another matter.

After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark smoke from its four thin turrets, appeared on the horizon, everyone thought it was the Witch. The castle, however, belonged to Wizard Howl, who, it was said, liked to suck the souls of young girls.

The Hatter sisters: —Sophie, Lettie, and Martha, —and all the other girls were warned not to venture into the streets alone. But that was only the beginning.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

Diana Wynne Jones's entrancing fantasy is filled with surprises at every turn, but when the final stormy duel between the Witch and the Wizard is finished, all the pieces fall magically into place.

My Review:
Howl's Moving Castle was a lovely read. I really enjoyed all of Howl and Sophie's antics and witty banter, and Diana Wynne Jones' clever way of piecing together all of the subplots to create an fun and unusual story.

Note: I'm going to talk about the movie version of Howl's Moving Castle a lot in this review, because having seen the movie when I reread it this time around created a totally different experience . If you haven't seen it, it's a very, very good movie (but read the book first!).

The first time I had read Howl's Moving Castle was before I saw the movie - I knew there was one, but had never gotten around to it. This time around, I had seen the movie many times. When reading, I could not get the characters from the movie out of my head for the first 1/3 of the book. For some of it, the lines from the movie would be "playing" in my head as I read the corresponding lines in the book. Since they're not identical, the lines from the movie were very distracting. Also, I'd forgotten that Howl's apprentice was Michael in the book, rather than Markl (from the movie). Having the different name helped me picture a different character, thank goodness. If I had pictured little Markl from the movie when he was in love with Lettie/Martha ,  I don't know what I would have done (spoiler, highlight to view).

Thankfully, after the first 1/3 of the book, it veers off in a different direction than the movie, and I like much better. I love all of the different sub-plots that were cut from the movie, and how everything works out so nicely. All of the loose strings are wrapped up, whereas in the movie version a lot of questions are left hanging (I showed to movie to my brother and I kept having to say "It doesn't really explain [whatever he was asking about] in the movie, but in the book...").

Some of my favorite parts were the ones not included in the movie. I really liked the parts with Howl's family in Wales; you don't get much of Howl's backstory in the movie and it adds a lot to his character. I really liked that DWJ sorted out all of the politics to that they actually made sense. The whole poem / spell thing was very cool; in the movie you never really know what the Witch's spell is. I loved the mix-up with the suits, and really all of the little funny things that DWJ put in.

The characters were wonderful; they were all very unique and so much fun to read about. I loved.... just about everyone. Each character was completely unique and I'd love to spend a day with any and all of them.

I really liked DWJ's writing style - she was so matter-of-fact about things like the eldest being destined for failure if she went out to seek her fortune. It brought me into the world, because in Ingary, those things are matter-of-fact.

In this particular reread, I was especially moved by a few lines, not in the text of the story - that was all fun and laughter - but in the Q & A afterward. The last question was: "Can we look forward to any more stories involving Howl in the future?" DWJ answered, "I hope we can look forward to more Howl stories. There is already one I keep trying to write and which, so far, will not come out right. But I hope I can crack it in the end." As you may know, Diana Wynne Jones passed away this March. Although I heard that several books she finished earlier in the year will still be published, I do not believe another Howl book is one of them. Although I did not know DWJ well as a person, as an author I love her and I wish she were still with us.

Overall Thoughts: Above all, when I try to sum up Howl's Moving Castle in a word, I come up with "fun." It is incredibly fun to read. From the antics of the characters to Sophie/DWJ's witty insights, from the complex plot that all comes together at the end to matter-of-fact happenings that part of you accepts simply because it is so matter-of-fact while part of you wants to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, Diana Wynne Jones has created a very fun, enjoyable read.


I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Judge A Book by Its Cover - The Goose Girl

In Judge a Book by Its Cover, I compare different covers of the same book and discuss which covers I prefer and why. Your opinions are welcome! Click on any of the images for a larger version.

For this edition of Judge a Book by Its Cover, I'm happy to hand the reins to my good friend Ray. She's judging a book that we both love, and one that I'm reading for FOOF: The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale. My review to come soon.

Summary (from Goodreads):
Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own.

About Ray: I am an avid reader who will read anything I can get my hands on.

Cover No. 1

Cover No. 2

Cover No. 3

Spanish Edition

Cover No. 4

Indonesian Edition

Cover No. 5

Bonus Cover

Fan Art Made by CrownJewel, found on Shannon Hale's Blog, Squeetus.

Click here for the original post. 

Ray didn't write about this cover, because I accidentally 
forgot to send it to her. But here is:
Cover No. 6
UK Edition

Cover No. 1: I like this cover and I know Pica does too. The castle and makes me think of fantasy without even opening the book. The crackle effect on the whole cover is a little off to me as is the drawing of the girl. In my opinion the birds look like swans not geese.

Cover No. 2: I am partial to the second cover, merely because it is the one on my shelf. But there is more to my liking than just the fact that I own it. The green archway shows a journey without revealing much about it and is aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. The only issue I have with this cover is that it doesn’t give me a chance to imagine what Isi looks like.

Cover No. 3: This cover is beautiful and shows her in a nice gown, something unseen in the other covers. The goose is present as are other animals. It reminds me a bit of a Disney princess with the animals all around her. There is something about girls in princess dresses and animals. It is a sweet cover and makes me want to read the book.

Cover No. 4: The Indonesian cover is interesting because I just noticed that her reflection is a completely different picture. I think it expresses the two sides of the main character (trying not to spoil the story here). The only thing I don’t like is how far away the girl seems in proportion with the giant lake and letters.

Cover No. 5 (Bonus Cover): This is my favorite cover of them all. The girl has such a look that is hard to describe. I can’t tell if she’s longing for something or merely looking at her hair that is magically flying behind her. If my hair could do that I would stare at it too. The picture is so captivating for me; the drawing is real enough to look like a rough painting instead of the very block style of the first cover.

Ray's Favorite: Cover No. 5 (Bonus Cover)

Thank you so much for this Judge a Book by Its Cover, Ray!

Which is your favorite? Judge this book by its cover!

Want to suggest a book for Judge A Book by Its Cover? Click Here for the form!

This feature is part of my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.
Which seems to keep going and going and going... but I'll finish it soon.

Review: Here Lies Arthur

by Philip Reeve
Start Date: 30 August 2011
End Date: 2 September 2011
Paperback, 352 pages
Published March 1st 2010 by Scholastic, Inc.

Summary (from Goodreads):
Gwynna is just a girl who is forced to run when her village is attacked and burns to the ground. To her horror, she is discovered in the wood. But it is Myrddin the bard who has found her, a traveler and spinner of tales. He agrees to protect Gwynna if she will agree to be bound in service to him. Gwynna is frightened but intrigued–and says yes–for this Myrddin serves the young, rough, and powerful Arthur. In the course of their travels, Myrddin transforms Gwynna into the mysterious Lady of the Lake, a boy warrior, and a spy. It is part of a plot to transform Arthur from the leader of a ragtag war band into King Arthur, the greatest hero of all time.

If Gwynna and Myrrdin's trickery is discovered, what will become of Gwynna? Worse, what will become of Arthur? Only the endless battling, the mighty belief of men, and the sheer cunning of one remarkable girl will tell.

My Review:
I was a little bit hesitant to begin Here Lies Arthur, but I'm very glad I reread it. When I chose to read it for FOOF, I didn't remember much about it, but I vaguely remembered liking it well enough and I wanted to give it another try. Now, I'm amazed that I ever forgot about it.

Reeve says in an author's note at the end of the book that Here Lies Arthur is not a historical novel, it feels so real that it easily could have been. It's obvious that Reeve did extensive research before writing this book. I don't know much about the stories surrounding King Arthur, but it seemed like Reeve did a great job taking the myths and making them real.

I really like this cover because it shows
a totally different aspect of the book;
both covers work with this story, but
they emphasize different parts.
Which do you prefer?

At first, the story appears to meander a bit, but I didn't mind as it was always moving forward and there weren't any dragging parts. But by the second half, all of the parts that seem less important in the beginning connect back so that the story is a tightly knit web, which I appreciated.

Reeve did a great job creating all of the character in Here Lies Arthur. I got very attached to all of them - not only Gwyna but also Myrridin and Bedwyr and Gwenhyfar and Peredur (oh, Peredur!).  In some books, I'm content to watch the characters go through their lives, but in this one, Reeve made me live through the events with Gwyna. If you're the kind of person who reacts out loud to books, don't read this one around other people. Although I'm not one of those people, my throat still gets tight (two weeks later) when I think of some of the scenes. If I was a crier, this book would have made me cry.

I connected with all of the characters, but I especially liked Myriddin, the bard (Merlin in some later retellings of Arthurian legends). He was the brains behind Arthur's whole operation, spreading the stories of the legendary King Arthur who would unite all of the Britons against the Saxons and push them out of Britain forever. As Reeve puts it, "The real Arthur had just been a tyrant in an age of tyrants. What mattered about him was the stories" (Reeve 331).   Myriddin uses the power of stories to rally the Britons behind Arthur, and it is Myriddin's stories that live on to become our legends of King Arthur.

Here Lies Arthur is a bit more mature than most of the books I review on this blog, and it's also a little bit darker. Most of the time, I need my happy ending. I'm not going to reveal the ending, but although in a sense it all works out, there is a lot of hardship Gwyna goes through in order to get to that point. I would recommend it to older teens.

Click to enlarge

For younger teens or middle grade readers, I'd recommend Reeve's Larklight trilogy. It's written in a completely different style - I never would have guessed that they were written by the same author, but I loved it nevertheless. I also remember liking Reeve's Mortal Engines books, but although they're not as mature as Here Lies Arthur, I'd call them YA rather than MG.

On a side note, Here Lies Arthur is dedicated to Geraldine McCaughrean, who wrote Peter Pan in Scarlet (which I am reading now). I thought this was a funny coincidence until I looked up Ms. McCaughrean and found out she has written more than 150 books. (Wow!)

Overall thoughts: Here Lies Arthur was an excellent historical novel. It was wonderfully written and I felt as though I was living through the events alongside the characters. Recommended for older teens.

I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Review: Rapunzel's Revenge & Calamity Jack

by Shannon and Dean Hale
Illustrated by Nathan Hale

Rapunzel's Revenge Information:
Hardcover, 144 pages
Published August 19th 2008 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (first published August 5th 2008)

Summary (from Goodreads):
Once upon a time, in a land you only think you know, lived a little girl and her mother . . . or the woman she thought was her mother.

Every day, when the little girl played in her pretty garden, she grew more curious about what lay on the other side of the garden wall . . . a rather enormous garden wall.

And every year, as she grew older, things seemed weirder and weirder, until the day she finally climbed to the top of the wall and looked over into the mines and desert beyond.

Newbery Honor-winning author Shannon Hale teams up with husband Dean Hale and brilliant artist Nathan Hale (no relation) to bring readers a swashbuckling and hilarious twist on the classic story as you’ve never seen it before. Watch as Rapunzel and her amazing hair team up with Jack (of beanstalk fame) to gallop around the wild and western landscape, changing lives, righting wrongs, and bringing joy to every soul they encounter.

Calamity Jack information:
Hardcover, 144 pages
Published January 5th 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Summary (from Goodreads):
Jack likes to think of himself as a criminal mastermind…with an unfortunate amount of bad luck. A schemer, plotter, planner, trickster, swindler...maybe even thief? One fine day Jack picks a target a little more giant than the usual, and one little bean turns into a great big building-destroying beanstalk. With help from Rapunzel (and her trusty braids), a pixie from Jack’s past, and a man with inventions from the future, they just might out-swindle the evil giants and put his beloved city back in the hands of good people ....while catapulting themselves and readers into another fantastical adventure.

My Review:
I cannot come up with words to describe how much I love these two books. They are my comfort books, the ones I turn to when I've had hard day. They're the books I recommend to absolutely everyone, whether they're in elementary school or have kids out of school.

Both books are twists on classic fairytales. Rapunzel's Revenge takes the tale of Rapunzel and sticks it in the Old West, with a totally awesome heroine instead of the good-for-nothing girl from the original story. She uses  her braids as a whip and lasso, and sets off with her sidekick (and plan-maker) Jack. Together they set off through the West toward Gothel's villa to save Rapunzel's mother and stop Gothel once and for all.

Calamity Jack takes place after Rapunzel's Revenge and focuses on Jack's character and backstory. Jack and Raupunzel cook up a plan to expose the giant Blunderboar, who has taken control of the city.

Both are illustrated in full color by the wonderful Nathan Hale, both are hilarious, full of action and adventure, and both are perfect to read when you're feeling a little overwhelmed, or if you just want something fun. I gave them to my cousin last December for the holidays, and she didn't put them down for days, except for when her younger brother, still learning to read, borrowed them.

A highlight is the witty banter between Jack and Punzie. Both books are chock-full of jokes, which, I am told, Dean takes all the credit for, although Shannon swears that at least half are hers.

Another is the illustration. The Hales have created a unique and new Rapunzel/Jack and the Beanstalk story, and Nathan Hale's illustrations clearly show that. Also, the books are written to focus on the visuals. As Nathan phrases it, there was no need to write a graphic novel that looked like a low-budget movie. He could draw anything.  And he certainly does. In Rapunzel's Revenge alone, out heroes face a rampaging boar, a pack of coyotes, and a giant water snake, not to mention Rapunzel being locked in a giant tree.

These are the type of book you can read over and over and never get tired of. Even though I make a point of writing down every book I read, I rarely write down Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack anymore. Often, I'll flip to a random page, read a bit, and put it back on the shelf. That's all I need to cheer me up.

Overall Thoughts: If you're going to read any books on my recommendation, pick up these two. You will not be disappointed.

And, a bonus! Nathan Hale has made Rapunzel and Jack paper dolls. The Rapunzel ones are here (as a PDF) and the Jack ones are here (as a series of blog posts - scroll down a bit for the paper dolls).

I read these books for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Dragon Slippers-Inspired Embroidery

In Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George, one of my favorite aspects was the description of all the embroidery Creel does throughout the book. A significant part of the story revolves around Creel's embroidery. When I was trying to think of a project to do inspired by FOOF, embroidery was the first thing that came to mind.


So I took up a needle and thread and made a small embroidered pin. The pin is about the size from the tip of my pointer finger to the middle of it. There's a safety pin sewed onto the back, which is what attaches it to the bag. It's propped up by the stack of books I need to review.

I couldn't get a great picture, but when I get my hands on a better camera I'll edit better pictures in. These photos were taken from my computer. Check back in a few days for better quality photos. [EDIT: a detail of the embroidery is below.]

Instructions to DIY / How I made it:

1. I cut out a piece of fabric about 3 x 3 inches. This was intentionally a little bit big - I planned on trimming it once I was done.
2. On scratch paper, I sketched out a few ideas for what I wanted the embroidery to look like. With this fabric, I had decided on a sailboat already, so my sketches were to figure out proportions and to make sure I liked the design. 
3. I used pencil to draw the design onto the fabric. Professionals have special pens for this sort of thing, but I found pencil to work just fine.
4. Start sewing. I made a diagram (below) of what my stitch looked like. I'm pretty sure it's not a real embroidery stitch, but it works just fine for me, and it's very simple. 

5. If you run out of thread or want to switch colors, just knot your thread at the back and start over. The back doesn't have to be pretty. That part will come with practice. 
6. I advise starting with a line drawing and not filling it in. The "filling it in" part takes a lot more time, and often it looks just as nice outlined with no fill. 

Well, I'm no Creel, but I like how my pin turned out. Check out my review of Dragon Slippers!

[EDIT: Here's a more detailed picture of the embroidery. Click for a larger view.]

This feature is part of my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Fortnight of Old Favorites Update (4)

Day 14 of the FOOF challenge.

So, part one of the challenge, reading ten Old Favorites in 14 days, is finished. Now, onto part two, which consists of reading the other ten books I picked out for the challenge but haven't gotten to yet. I'm going to take a little more time with this one and read them in between the new books I got at the end of August. And when I finish all ten books, my book-buying ban will be finished.

Books finished (click on each title link for the review):
Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett
Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett
Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Legend of Holly Claus, by Brittany Ryan
Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon, Dean, and Nathan Hale
Calamity Jack, by Shannon Dean, and Nathan Hale
Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve
Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
Heir Apparent, by Vivan Vande Velde

Books in progress:

To read next (subject to change):
Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean

Features related to FOOF:
Judge a Book by Its Cover - Wintersmith
Illustrations in Old Favorites
Judge a Book by Its Cover - The Goose Girl (coming soon!)

Are you participating in FOOF? 

Let me know how your challenge is going in the comments!

Review: Princess Ben

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Start Date: 24 August 2011
End Date: 27 August 2011
Hardcover, 344 pages
Published March 18th 2008 by Houghton Mifflin

Summary (from Goodreads):
Benevolence is not your typical princess and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale. With her parents lost to unknown assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia, who is intent on marrying her off to the first available "specimen of imbecilic manhood." Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire... But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat facing the castle and indeed the entire country. Can Princess Ben save her kingdom from annihilation and herself from permanent enslavement?

My Review:
Although in the beginning, I didn't enjoy Princess Ben very much, ultimately it easily earns its place on my list of old favorites. It started out very slowly, and I didn't particularly care for Ben in the beginning. The book is separated into four parts, and of the four days it took me to read it, three were spent on part one. I even briefly considered putting it down until FOOF was over. Once I got to part two, the story picked up significantly and got a lot more interesting, and I devoured the rest.

I was never able to picture Ben as she described herself, but I liked reading from her perspective. At least, I liked it once she started doing something about her situation. Ben has huge character development throughout the book, and although it wasn't the driving force of the story, it was wonderful to see Ben's transformation from the sullen and unhappy girl in the beginning to the strong and competent young woman in the end. Also, I loved reading about Ben's discovery and development of her magical powers.

Throughout the book, and in part one especially, Ben was treated a little more harshly than I ideally would have liked reading about. I can (and have) read books where characters suffer through worse treatment than in Princess Ben, but in this particular circumstance I feel like it could have been avoided. Of course, Ben had to go through some sort of harsh treatment by the Queen as it becomes an important point later on, and since the entire storyline is an amalgamation of various fairy tales, primarily Cinderella (hence the harsh treatment in the beginning) and Sleeping Beauty. There is much more than those two fairy tales, but I liked how they were both incorporated. There are lots of references to other fairy tales as well. Off the top of my head I can remember the Princess and the Pea, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, but I'm sure there are many more and I enjoyed picking them out whenever I came across them.

Overall Thoughts: Although the beginning of Princess Ben is less than wonderful, the rest more than makes up for it. Recommended for YA readers who are looking for a new take on fairy tale retellings.

I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Fortnight of Old Favorites Update (3)

Day 10 of the FOOF challenge. 

Books finished:
Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett (click for review)
Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett (click for review)
Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George (click for review)
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Legend of Holly Claus, by Brittany Ryan (click for review)
Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon, Dean, and Nathan Hale
Calamity Jack, by Shannon Dean, and Nathan Hale

I know the last two books were not on the original list, but they definitely count as old favorites. When I have a hard day, these books are often the only thing I want to read.

Books in progress:
Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve

To read next (subject to change):
Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean

Features related to FOOF:
Judge a Book by Its Cover - Wintersmith
Illustrations in Old Favorites
Judge a Book by Its Cover - The Goose Girl (coming soon!)

Are you participating in FOOF? 

Let me know how your challenge is going in the comments!

Review: The Legend of Holly Claus

by Brittney Ryan
Start Date: 27 August 2011
End Date: 28 August 2011
Hardcover, 544 pages
Published September 21st 2004

Summary (from Goodreads):
Santa Claus is the King of Forever, Land of the Immortals. When one special boy writes to Santa asking what no other child has ever asked, a miracle occurs: Santa and Mrs. Claus are blessed with a daughter. But the birth of Holly Claus also brings about a terrible curse—from an evil soul named Herrikhan. Holly's heart is frozen, and the gates to Forever are locked, barring exit or entry.

As she grows into a beautiful and selfless young woman, Holly longs to break the spell that holds her people hostage. With four faithful and magical animal friends, she escapes to the wondrous world of Victorian New York, where she will face countless dangers, adventures, and a miracle all her own.

My Review:
The Legend of Holly Claus was so sweet and so lovely that I couldn't help but enjoy every minute of it. The illustrations by Laurel Long are are incredibly beautiful and they perfectly complement the story*.

I wish the romance could have been fleshed out a little bit more. I didn't really understand why Holly fell in love when she did (trying to stay spoiler-free as much as possible). It seemed like there needed to be one more chapter in the workshop with Christopher after the opera (spoiler, highlight to view), but Ryan didn't include one in order to keep the story moving, as the climax is rushing on at that point and I admit it would have been a little out of place to have another chapter developing the romance. Even still, I wish Ryan could have found some way to put it in, because the romance fell a little flat without it.

I wanted to know more about Christopher. I feel like I got just the barest glimpse of arguably the most important character in the entire novel. (Spoilers for the rest of this paragraph, highlight to view.) I couldn't believe that his demeanor in the first three quarters of the book (excluding the prologue) was caused entirely by the box with the dark vision of the future. And why did he fall in love with Holly? I just don't understand his character nearly enough. That said, he is so sweet once he falls in love with Holly that I forgot all about my objections until after I finished the book. (I admit, I might be am biased by the illustrations. Long brilliantly portrays him as the perfect romantic hero.)

In fact, I think many if not all of the characters could be expanded further. We get some of Herikkhan's backstory, and the details of his own curse, which I loved reading about, but I'm sure even Herrikhan has more depth than the pure evil he shows while trying to ensnare Holly. As Ryan says, "It [Herrikhan's condition] had not always been this way. Thousands of years before, Herrikhan had walked out of the stars, a fair young man, and stepped into the mortal world... The elders of the universe... had so admired his strength, his courage, and his ability that they did not send him back to his celestial home" (Ryan 47).  He slowly became greedy, arrogant, lazy, and eventually, evil. But I can't buy that there is no trace of the  goodness he once had, especially during the climax when Holly forgives him. And by the way, why did that destroy him? It's never really explained. It it an extension of the curse, where he has no power in the face of love? (Spoiler, highlight to view.)

Even though the story was told from Holly's perspective for the most part, looking back after this reread, she is no longer my favorite character. While I was reading, I was swept away by her goodheartedness, but now that I have finished, I realize she didn't have very much depth. Then again, this isn't the type of story that calls for much character depth, so it didn't matter as much as it would in other books. Also, Holly was without a doubt my favorite character when I was younger. I didn't notice her lack of great depth until this time around.

Part of the reason I loved Holly Claus is Ryan's writing style. It is much like the illustration in that it is intricate and beautiful. It is written as a tale for all ages rather than a specifically MG book, but a MG reader could easily lose themselves in Holly's world. Ryan perfectly captures the wonder of 1890s New York City and the fairyland of Forever. Flipping around the book, I found a passage from when Holly first arrives in New York City that shows a tiny bit of this wonder:

She could feel it before she heard it: The great city awoke. Suddenly the atmosphere began to crackle with the electricity of over a million lives. Sounds, isolated at first, grew and blended and formed the chorus of the day. Horses' hooves hammered against the granite streets, the early risers shouted greetings to each other, streetcars rattled, silverly sleigh bells jingled, children whooped, windows slammed shut against the cold, and machinery hummed to life once again. The first bundled and muffled pedestrians began to hurry through Central Park toward Fifth Avenue. Not one of them lifted his eyes to see the girl who stood, coatless, atop the Terrace, watching the scene before her as though se could never see enough. (Ryan 255)

Even though The Legend of Holly Claus is a Christmas story, there nearly no religion in it. I would happily recommend this book to friends who don't celebrate Christmas. The land of Forever, over which Nicholas "Santa" Claus and his wife Viviana reign, has its own unique mythology.

Overall Thoughts: The Legend of Holly Claus was lovely and enchanting. Although the book is very thick, there are lots of pictures as well as large font, and it goes very quickly. It's a perfect book to read during the holidaytime, but I love to read it any time (even in the middle of August). When writing this review I wanted to pick it up and read it all over again. I'm so glad I read this for FOOF. I reminded myself why I liked it so much before, and it will definitely be on my short list of favorites from now on.

*Even if you're not planning on reading this, go to the library and just look at the drawings. They are absolutely amazing and are a large part of why I enjoyed Holly Claus so much.

Click here to see some examples of Laurel Long's illustrations in Holly Claus.

I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Fortnight of Old Favorites Update (2)

Day 7 of the FOOF challenge. 

Books finished:
Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett (click for review)
Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett
Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George (click for review)
Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Books in progress:
The Legend of Holly Claus, by Brittany Ryan

To read next (subject to change):
Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve

Features related to FOOF:
Judge a Book by Its Cover - Wintersmith
Illustrations in Old Favorites

Are you participating in FOOF? 

Let me know how your challenge is going in the comments!

Review: Dragon Slippers

by Jessica Day George
Start Date: 23 August 2011
End Date: 24 August 2011
Paperback, 352 pages
Published April 29th 2008

Summary (from Goodreads):
Many stories tell of damsels in distress, who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor, and swept off to live happily ever after.

This is not one of those stories.

True, when Creel's aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that the knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it's Creel who talks her way out of the dragon's clutches. And it's Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king's city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession.

But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom…or destroy it.

My Review:
Dragon Sippers was wonderful this time around. It was the perfect FOOF book, lots of fun and very sweet. From the first line - "It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon" - I knew I'd love rereading it. And I was right. It was just light enough for me to pick up whenever and be happy, but well-written and never dragged.

All of the characters were great, not necessarily because they had enormous depth (a la Thirteenth Child) but because I felt like I was revisiting old friends. Creel, the main character, was absolutely lovely. She's someone I would love to be friends with in real life, and she seems like the person everyone wants to be a little more like. And Luka was super sweet. He is also on my list of characters I wish I could meet in real life. My two favorite Luka moments were when he followed Creel on her rescue mission and the very last scene (the best!). I loved the characters of al the different dragons, especially Shardas and Feinul.

Some of my favorite parts (which I had forgotten about for the most part before this reread) were the descriptions of Creel's embroidery. She managed to make something that most likely few readers had personal experience with sound amazing. It certainly made me want to try my hand at it. I could easily visualize Creel's beautiful embroidered creations.

I don't rememeber much of the two sequels, Dragon Flight and Dragon Spear, so even though Dragon Slippers is a wonderful stand-alone, I'm looking forward to rereading them as soon as FOOF is done, which is one of the thigs I was hoping FOOF would do - remind me of other books I can reread even after this challenge.

Overall Thoughts: Dragon Slippers was a delightful MG read that older readers will enjoy as well.

Read my review of one of Jessica Day George's other books, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.

I met Jessica Day George at the Super Author visit back in April, and she is so nice. She also did an interview on The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl mostly about her books Princess of the Midnight Ball and Princess of Glass, but a little bit about her other works as well.

I read this book for my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.

Illustrations in Old Favorites

I love reading books with illustrations. Not only are they pretty to look at, I think they create a whole new way to dive into the story. In hindsight, it is unsurprising that several of the books I am reading for FOOF have illustrations. In this post, I'd like to highlight some of the books I'm reading as part of FOOF that have fantastic illustrations.

First is Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (click for my review). I've already mentioned that I love how the illustrations are incorporated into the story. Not only are they wonderfully drawn by Brett Helquist, it is lots of fun to try to find the frogs hidden in nearly every picture. I love Helquist's illustration style. He has illustrated many well-known books, including the Series of Unfortunate Events (which I never read), the two sequels to Chasing Vermeer, and the cover of Fly By Night and Fly Trap (both of which I loved, and wished they'd had interior illustrations. Click to see my review of Fly By Night and of Fly Trap).

Visit Brett Helquist's website here.

I've picked out four illustrations from Chasing Vermeer that I particularly liked. I can find frogs in three of them. Can you find them all? Click on the pictures for larger images.

Another book I'm reading for FOOF with amazing illustrations is The Legend of Holly Claus, by Brittney Ryan (EDIT: Click for my review). The art was created by the incredibly talented Laurel Long. Every picture is a beautiful work of art, and I am certain one of the reasons I look back so fondly on this book is because of the amazing illustrations. In fact, several years ago, when I had first read this book, my friends and I each chose background characters from Long's illustrations to pretend to be. In any case, the illustrations are absolutely magical. I wanted to feature many more here, but the only illustrations I could find online were these two, which are both amazing anyway. Click for larger images.

Visit Laurel Long's website here.

The third book I want to feature for its amazing illustrations is The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick (click for my review). I featured a few of the illustrations in my review, and I wanted to share a few more here. I don't know exactly how many illustrations are in this book (although I'm sure I could find out with a little searching), but there are hundreds, and each one is wonderful. Most of these don't enlarge, but they were the best I could find online. I tried to scan in some for my review back in April, and I decided that using images that were already online would work much better, so sorry about that.

As far as I could tell, Brian Selznick does not have a website (please correct me if I am mistaken!) but the website for Hugo Cabret can be found here.

As an extra treat, click here to see the opening sequence of Hugo Cabret.

Next, the illustrations in Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean were some of the highlights of the book when I read it last summer. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a two-page illustration of some scene from the chapter. When I was reading the book, I found myself skipping ahead to see the picture for the next chapter before I went back to finish the chapter I was on. These fantastic illustrations were created by Scott M. Fischer. Click to enlarge the images.

Visit Scott M. Fischer's website here.

The last book I wanted to feature was The King in the Window, by Adam Gopnik. Unfortunately, I could not find any images online (well, only one, and I don't want to feature that one because it's one of my least favorite illustrations in the book). Every chapter begins with a 2½ by 2½ inch picture of a scene from that chapter. Although in this case, the illustrations are not the highlight of the book, they definitely add to it, and I'm very glad they are included. The illustrations in The King in the Window were done by Omar Rayyan.

Visit Omar Rayyan's website here.

By the way, if I manage to get an okay scan of any of the illustrations in The King in the Window, I'll edit them into this post.

What do you think of illustrations? Distracting? Improving? 

Do you care if they look different from how you imagine the characters? 

What are some of you favorite illustrated books?

This feature is part of my Fortnight of Old Favorites Challenge.