The Accidental Highwayman

The Accidental Highwayman Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, A Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides Ben Tripp 4 / 5	Published October 14, 2014 First Sentences "Gentle Reader, This story contains nearly as many dark deeds, treacherous villains, and acts of violence as one might expect to find in a typical morning newspaper. In addition, there is a significant emphasis on heathen magic and demoniacal doings. I cannot recommend that anyone read it."
Publisher's Description: The Accidental Highwayman is the first swashbuckling adventure for young adults by talented author and illustrator, Ben Tripp. This thrilling tale of dark magic and true love is the perfect story for fans of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. In eighteenth-century England, young Christopher “Kit” Bristol is the unwitting servant of notorious highwayman Whistling Jack. One dark night, Kit finds his master bleeding from a mortal wound, dons the man’s riding cloak to seek help, and changes the course of his life forever. Mistaken for Whistling Jack and on the run from redcoats, Kit is catapulted into a world of magic and wonders he thought the stuff of fairy tales. Bound by magical law, Kit takes up his master’s quest to rescue a rebellious fairy princess from an arranged marriage to King George III of England. But his task is not an easy one, for Kit must contend with the feisty Princess Morgana, gobling attacks, and a magical map that portends his destiny: as a hanged man upon the gallows…. Fans of classic fairy-tale fantasies such as Stardust by Neil Gaiman and The Princess Bride will find much to love in this irresistible YA debut by Ben Tripp, the son of one of America’s most beloved illustrators, Wallace Tripp (Amelia Bedelia). Following in his father’s footsteps, Ben has woven illustrations throughout the story.
Dear Reader, Too often, I have been enticed into reading a book because of its kind comparisons to other books or authors I've loved. Too often, I've been disappointed by these same books that I went into with such high hopes. I am pleased to say that was NOT the case with this lovely little gem of a book. It rightly deserves its place in between The Princess Bride and Stardust on your bookshelf - the jacket copy couldn't have been more spot-on with this one.  Charming and guileless Kit Bristol begins his tumultuous journey unexpectedly, when he finds his master senseless, sprawled across the kitchen table. On the brink of death, Kit's master reveals his secret identity, and innocent Kit, thinking only to help his beloved employer, takes up the dangerous mantle. From there, his life is forever changed, as he encounters no end of magical folk and bright characters. I loved the sweetness and innocence of this book; there wasn't an evil bone in Kit's body, which meant that he was selfless and wanted only good things for all of his friends. It felt like a true fairy tale. This story wasn't made for complexity; evil is evil and good is good, simple as that. But don't misunderstand me: it's also a very complex, involved, and creatively spun yarn. You won't want to put it down. I think one of my favorite parts was the footnotes in the book, both when they were silly and (very cool) when they were explaining an archaic word to the reader. The author - who, by the way, earns even more esteem in my eyes because he is the son of the illustrator of the Amelia Bedelia books! - does a wonderful job of keeping the story "period" while not losing his reader. He explains without being overbearing; he acts as the "translator" for the reader, as he claims to have discovered the manuscript in an old, long-locked chest in a family attic. Tripp certainly has his father's illustration chops: the book is peppered throughout with everything from small sidebar illustrations to full-page graphics which depict some of the more enthralling parts of the story. I would love to see this book in its fully finished form; I look forward to its release so I can check it out! I'd recommend this as bedtime story reading for anyone with a big imagination, who loves to laugh and yearns for adventure. Does Kit get the princess in the end? You'll have to see for yourself! (And I guarantee you'll be pleased with the unlikely ending.) Yours, Arianna

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Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future A. S. King 4/5	Expected Publication: October 14th 2014 First Sentence "So we drank it - the two of us."
Publisher's Description: In this masterpiece about freedom, feminism, and destiny, Printz Honor author A.S. King tells the epic story of a girl coping with devastating loss at long last--a girl who has no idea that the future needs her, and that the present needs her even more. Graduating from high school is a time of limitless possibilities--but not for Glory, who has no plan for what's next. Her mother committed suicide when Glory was only four years old, and she's never stopped wondering if she will eventually go the same way...until a transformative night when she begins to experience an astonishing new power to see a person's infinite past and future. From ancient ancestors to many generations forward, Glory is bombarded with visions--and what she sees ahead of her is terrifying: A tyrannical new leader raises an army. Women's rights disappear. A violent second civil war breaks out. And young girls vanish daily, sold off or interned in camps. Glory makes it her mission to record everything she sees, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she'll do anything to make sure this one doesn't come to pass.
Dear Reader, Okay, can I first just gush about how beautiful that cover is!!! I'm adding A.S. King to the list of "must read the day the book comes out" Authors. She is excellent! I don't read very much YA but I'd fit her somewhere between the boundaries of contemporary literature and young adult. This book won't be published until October but after reading the blurb, I knew I needed to start this one right away. Glory O'Brien is a reclusive girl with a "convenient" best friend who lives on a commune across the street. Glory lives with her father and they both seem to be trapped/stuck in this small bubble, Glory's mother passed away (suicide) when she was five and both of them haven't taken the appropriate grieving steps (they haven't taken ANY grieving steps). To make matters worse, Glory's "best friend", term used very loosely, is so self centered that she she can't see anything going on in her friend's life. Glory even made up a [laugh track] for whenever her friend says something selfish, which had me giggling throughout the book. There is a dark humor here, and that is my FAVORITE kind of humor. The Author took this really, really strange concept (another thing I love) and created a beautifully sad story that opens up to the bigger picture of growing up under dark circumstances. Let's talk about the strange concept, I think it's worth mentioning that the story revolves around Glory and her friend deciding to drink a petrified bat which leads to giving them the power to see people's history and future. I think that needed to be said, mostly because I know a few people wouldn't want to get past that and try to see the bigger picture and the beauty behind her writing. I love that King uses this strange premise, but I'm not everyone. I adored the chapter titles, each one named after something insignificant that happens in that particular short chapter. The titles are truly that, titles. Glory names the photos she takes similarly and each one has this glimmer of brilliancy that shines beneath it's boring facade. Titles such as: Am I Making Any Sense?, Ripping Meat From the Bone, Everything Tasted Like Radiation, It Was the Nineties. After Glory gets powers to see the past/future, the Author adds a chapter from the journal Glory starts making, this sheds a little light into what she sees. This part of the book isn't the important part, or even the truly good part. The side of Glory recognizing the things she needs to move on into adulthood, that is what makes this story amazing. The realizations Glory comes across, those pieces we learn along the way of life... things like, "I don't HAVE to be friends with that person", "I don't HAVE to be boy obsessed", "I don't HAVE to take the same path as everyone else". That is where the beauty lies in Glory O'Brien's History of the Future. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Small as an Elephant

Small as an Elephant Jennifer Richard Jacobson 3.5 / 5	Published 2011 First Paragraph "Elephants can sense danger. They're able to detect an approaching tsunami or earthquake before it hits. Unfortunately, Jack did not have this talent. The day his life was turned upside down, he was caught unaware."
Publisher's Description: Jack’s mom is gone, leaving him all alone on a campsite in Maine. Can he find his way back to Boston before the authorities realize what happened? Ever since Jack can remember, his mom has been unpredictable, sometimes loving and fun, other times caught in a whirlwind of energy and "spinning" wildly until it’s over. But Jack never thought his mom would take off during the night and leave him at a campground in Acadia National Park, with no way to reach her and barely enough money for food. Any other kid would report his mom gone, but Jack knows by now that he needs to figure things out for himself - starting with how to get from the backwoods of Maine to his home in Boston before DSS catches on. With nothing but a small toy elephant to keep him company, Jack begins the long journey south, a journey that will test his wits and his loyalties - and his trust that he may be part of a larger herd after all.
Dear Reader, This was an adorable and uplifting little book. It's a middle-grade book, which means it's aimed toward pre-teens. Which also meant that it was a quick read, but I quite enjoyed it. It follows the adventures of Jack, who wakes up on the first day of his camping trip to find that his mother has abandoned him - not an unusual occurrence with this woman, apparently. So Jack decides (after waiting for a bit for her to return) that it's up to him to get himself home. He refuses to ask for help because he is concerned that he will get taken from his mother. Which, yes, we all believe that he should be taken away from this woman who won't even care for her own son! But Jack is afraid because his mom is the only caretaker he's ever known, and she's effectively isolated him from the rest of their family. So if he gets caught and they realize he isn't being properly taken care of, he worries about being sent to live with his grandmother or to a foster home. So his fears make sense (he is only eleven, after all!), so he sets out on a journey from an island off the coast of Maine to his home in Boston. The characters Jack encounters in his travels are great: the gruff farm woman, the sweetheart Big Jack, the reckless teenager he rides with for a bit (to name only a few). They all stood out well and really made the story have great variety and depth. And Jack really does seem like a smart and upstanding kid: he cleverly gets his way out of scrapes and is very resourceful in his avoidance of stealing from others as much as possible. My favorite part of the book, though, was its focus on elephants: every chapter started with a little factoid about elephants, and I learned so many neat things! (Just ask my fiance, who had to listen to me read him something almost every chapter!) I don't particularly love elephants more than other animals, but I do think they are pretty darned cool creatures - and even more so now! Yours, Arianna

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The Monkey Wrench Gang

The Monkey Wrench Gang Edward Abbey 3.5 / 5	Published 1975 First Sentence "When a new bridge between two sovereign states of the United States has been completed, it is time for speech." Inscription "This book, although fictional in form, is based strictly on historical fact. Everything in it is real or actually happened. And it all began just one year from today." --E.A., Wolf Hole, Arizona
Publisher's Description: Ed Abbey called The Monkey Wrench Gang, his 1975 novel, a "comic extravaganza." Some readers have remarked that the book is more a comic book than a real novel, and it's true that reading this incendiary call to protect the American wilderness requires more than a little of the old willing suspension of disbelief. The story centers on Vietnam veteran George Washington Hayduke III, who returns to the desert to find his beloved canyons and rivers threatened by industrial development. On a rafting trip down the Colorado River, Hayduke joins forces with feminist saboteur Bonnie Abbzug, wilderness guide Seldom Seen Smith, and billboard torcher Doc Sarvis, M.D., and together they wander off to wage war on the big yellow machines, on dam builders and road builders and strip miners. As they do, his characters voice Abbey's concerns about wilderness preservation ("Hell of a place to lose a cow," Smith thinks to himself while roaming through the canyonlands of southern Utah. "Hell of a place to lose your heart. Hell of a place... to lose. Period"). Moving from one improbable situation to the next, packing more adventure into the space of a few weeks than most real people do in a lifetime, the motley gang puts fear into the hearts of their enemies, laughing all the while. It's comic, yes, and required reading for anyone who has come to love the desert.
Dear Reader, I started reading this book over a year ago, when I began an interim position I held at the library of a state university. I of course got all ambitious and decided (absurdly) that I wanted to read as many books as possible from their fiction section, and so I started with the first book I wanted to read that was located in the "A" section. Of course, that plan got derailed quickly, being put aside for things like library books and the BEA, but I still wanted to read this book, even while it sat, continually neglected, in my pile of to-reads. Unfortunately, I had to return the library's copy when I left that job, and then had to wait until we moved to another state so I could obtain a new library card and then get my butt over to the main library, which held a copy of this book. Phew. But, after all was said and done, I am glad that I finally got around to finishing this! It's an anarchist and environmentalist classic, so of course I was rooting for the gang as they fought The Man and worked tirelessly to save the then-unsullied American Midwest from the pollution and destruction of highways and oil drilling and coal mining. The pacing and timbre of the book reminded me in some odd way of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, even though the only things they really had in common was the era and a similar type of humor. I wonder if Abbey and Thompson were friends; they certainly shared a certain familiar quirkiness, I think. The Monkey Wrench Gang characters are great in that they epitomize hypocrisy even as they fight for what they think is right - Hayduke is a destructive, violent man who litters like there is no tomorrow, and Bonnie can't live without her creature comforts. Doc is a surgeon who often operates drunk, and chain smokes cigars. And Seldom Seen is a polygamist Mormon who can't keep his wives straight, and rarely takes care of his families. These four form a very strange and unexpected collective who decide to band together to protect the land from developers and the government. Their personalities allow Abbey to really create some true comic gold, which explains why this book remains a beloved classic to many. (Many young boys like Brian Hart have wanted to be badass Hayduke!) While most of the humor isn't of the laugh-out-loud variety, it is still a very funny book; Abbey knows how to poke fun at things even while he clearly loves and fears for the American Midwest. His writing spurred many to take a second look at what big industry was doing to our beautiful country. While I don't know how much difference it made in the end, I am glad Abbey was bold enough to stand up and raise awareness of the issue. For that reason (and for everything I learned about mechanics and that part of the United States), I am glad I read this novel. I looked up a lot of the described Midwestern landscapes while reading this book; above is an aerial view of The Fins in Utah. Gorgeous, right?? And to finish up, I had to share my favorite quote from the book: "You're horny today." "I am a veritable unicorn of love." Yours, Arianna

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Annihilation (Southern Reach Trilogy #1)

Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer 3/5	Published 2014 First Sentence "The tower, which was not supposed to be there, plunges into the earth in a place just before the black pine forest begins to give way to swamp and then reeps and wind-gnarled trees of the marsh flats."
Publisher's Description: Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer. This is the twelfth expedition. Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself. They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.
Dear Reader, This has been a book on my radar this year and I finally broke down and got myself a copy (probably after reading the umpteenth glowing review). I can't say I was super impressed after reading it but I also wasn't really that disappointed either. For the most part, It'll all come down to the series as a whole collection I think. I almost wanted to wait reviewing the books until I've finished them all, but thought giving my initial reactions might help other readers relate if they find themselves feeling the same way. The first book doesn't have many answers and throws out question and question which leaves you hanging off a cliff once you've finished it. Maybe that was the point, to hook the reader into running out and getting the second installment? Well, it worked. I had no plans on reading the books back to back (especially since I have a long list of required review books on netgalley and other galleys coming up in October). So I shake my fist at VanderMeer and blame him for putting off books given to me to review. Now I just have to read MORE and play WOW less... but the expansion is coming out soon and I still need to get my reputation up with SO many factions. Okay, so now you see where I'm going with this right? VanderMeer has me gripped, even though I wasn't entirely in love with this first book. So what exactly wasn't I happy with? I didn't like that I couldn't tell the sex of the characters (especially the main character). It's not that it doesn't get mentioned, it does, many times and the Author even throws in some background with the main character's "husband". I'm still not sure why I couldn't get my mind wrapped around the fact that this was a bunch of women undergoing this trip to Area X and it bothered me quite a bit. The Author made very little progress with the characters as a whole and I'm pretty sure this is due to the fact that the first book is super short. I'm hoping that this changes throughout the series. Despite all that though, the book was very intriguing and kept me tuned in the whole time. No commercial breaks here! Instead of giving you ANY information on the plot-line, I think it would be better if you experienced that yourself, I just wanted to give you my thoughts. The first book is so short that I can't not recommend those curious to definitely pick it up, but be warned... you might find yourself being dragged into the rest of the series, which has happened to me. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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Dead Souls

Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol 3.5 / 5	Published 1842 First Sentence "A rather handsome, light traveling carriage on springs rolled into the gates of an inn in a certain provincial capital, the kind of carriage that is favored by bachelors: retired lieutenant colonels, second captains, landowners possessing a hundred souls or so of serfs--in a word, all those who are called the fair-to-middlin' sort."
Publisher's Description: Dead Souls is eloquent on some occasions, lyrical on others, and pious and reverent elsewhere. Nicolai Gogol was a master of the spoof. The American students of today are not the only readers who have been confused by him. Russian literary history records more divergent interpretations of Gogol than perhaps of any other classic. In a new translation of the comic classic of Russian literature, Chichikov, an enigmatic stranger and schemer, buys deceased serfs' names from their landlords' poll tax lists hoping to mortgage them for profit and to reinvent himself as a gentleman.
Dear Reader, I've been wanting to read some Gogol ever since reading The Namesake several years ago, as that novel revolves around the father having named his son after the Russian author he'd been reading when he survived a train crash. I'd heard good things about Gogol as well, although his name doesn't seem to be nearly as well known as Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. However, those authors wouldn't even exist, perhaps, were it not for Gogol - he invented the notion of the flawed "anti-hero" - or at least made it popular. I wish I had known going into the book that it was incomplete in a way: the author apparently finished writing it, but then destroyed parts of it shortly before his death; the book literally ends mid-sentence. I only realized that when I would hit so-called "hiatuses", where large chunks of the story were simply missing. I found that slightly frustrating, but not enough so that it detracted from the story. And the novel IS considered whole in its current state - which I find odd, but okay! Some (including Vladamir Nabokov) say that the storyline isn't really the point of the work, anyway. What is the storyline?, you might ask. Well, this was the story of bumbling Chichikov, who travels around the Russian countryside asking every landowner he meets to sell him his "dead souls" - meaning, those serfs who were listed as alive during the last census, but have since died. I won't go into why he does this, because that is perhaps the most intriguing point of the book. Gogol goes into amazing descriptions of all of his characters - often digressing for long periods before returning to the main storyline - and his caricatures of Russians are endlessly amusing. He wrote characteristics of people and even animals really very well - all of their personalities loom larger than life in this book. And I think that was the best part about it, the descriptions that Gogol employed. He really cared about conveying whole pictures of each and every character he introduced to the reader. I understand now why this is an exemplar of Russian literature. Gogol certainly belongs up there with all of his other famous literary compatriots. Yours, Arianna

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The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride William Goldman 5/5	Published 1973 First Sentence "This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it."
Publisher's Description: What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams? As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears. Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere. What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex. In short, it's about everything.
Dear Reader, I'll keep this short and sweet. The Princess Bride is every bit as wonderful as the movie. Wait? Shouldn't I be saying that the other way around? It seems like the movie has far surpassed the popularity among the masses over the book. I grew up wearing down my VCR copy of The Princess Bride. I think it was a tie between this movie and The Dark Crystal that caused utter grief and annoyance to my Aunts for the AMOUNT of times I had to watch it. I was a child with a magical and large imagination which could only be sated by the most creative of books and movies. I almost wish that I could have discovered The Princess Bride as a book first but looking back, my attachment to the movie would probably have won out. Now that I'm older, I have a better appreciation of how to separate the two medias and give them equal credit (where due). This might be one of the few book/movie pairings that hold acclaim on their own. I can't say one is better than the other, and even if the magic from my youth wins out on sheer power of childhood alone... that wouldn't be a fair judge. What I can tell you is this... reading The Princess Bride in my thirties has only enveloped me with a magical nostalgia of youthful glee. I still love a great story, one filled with adventure, comedy and maybe a little bit of romance is okay. I'm not going to bore you with a comparison of the two, nor will I go into a boring plot description (since anyone picking up this book must have an inkling of the plot). I'll speak to those of you who've cherished the movie (as I have) and are wondering if you should read this? (as I did). The answer is yes. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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