Me on This Week's Book Week (204)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

Hello! I've recovered from the congested grossness that was last week's head cold (mostly). The cough lingers, as it always does.

I've been in a weird book coma after finishing The Raven King. I loved reading words set in that world again, in that space with all that magic. When I finished I didn't want to leave, I just wanted to roll around in it like puppies roll around in warm laundry when they think no one's looking.

Reviews going up this week will feature Warrior Witch by Danielle L. Jensen (Tuesday) and Ruined by Amy Tintera (Friday). :)

Bought/borrowed/received:

Map of Fates by Maggie E. Hall (borrowed from library)
Gasp by Lisa McMann (borrowed from library)
Salvage by Alexandra Duncan (borrowed from library)
Sound by Alexandra Duncan (borrowed from library)

Me on The Raven King

Title: The Raven King
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

The Raven King is the end of a journey.

This is a bit of a non-traditional review from me, mostly because I don't want to give anything away in terms of the plot.

I can't speak on what the series is about, what the author intended with these books (but I can link to this post where Maggie says it's "a series about what makes a hero and about wanting more"). I can really only speak on what I think (emphasis intended) this book, this series, this book, is about. How it's about magic and long dead Welsh kings. About angry boys and lonely girls. About dreamers and searchers, psychics and sleepers. About finding lost things in secret places. About seeing the magic in everyday things and places. About living in the now and fearing the future. About mortality and immortality. About what makes a person a parent. About being lost and being found. About being in love. About what makes a group of people a family.

But the thing about this series, this thing that struck me the hardest, is that the story isn't over. The books are just glimpses, moments in time. After the last word is read, after the last page is turned, the story continues. Time moves forward. And wondering what happens after the book ends, where the characters go? That's the fun part. That's where my mind went, wandering over mountains and between the trees.

On a personal note, I love this series. I love being enchanted by this series, by these characters and these circumstances, by this magic and wonder and impossibilities made possible. And so I was ready for the ride this book was bound to take me on, wondering what I'd see along the way and, at the end, where I'd be left behind.

(I purchased a copy of this title.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (276)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Vassa in the Night
Author: Sarah Porter
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen

From Goodreads:

In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they've arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now—but not Vassa's working-class neighborhood.

In Vassa's neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa's stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg's help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch's curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won't be playing fair. . . .

Inspired by the Russian folktale Vassilissa the Beautiful and Sarah Porter's years of experience teaching creative writing to New York City students, Vassa in the Night weaves a dark yet hopeful tale about a young girl's search for home, love, and belonging.

Ooooooooo. This sounds interesting. I'm often all-in when it comes to magic things in a real world setting. It makes life just a bit more interesting. This sounds magical and also really creepy.

Me on If I Was Your Girl

Title: If I Was Your Girl
Author: Meredith Russo
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan imprint)

Amanda Hardy is the new girl in school. Like anyone else, all she wants is to make friends and fit in. But Amanda is keeping a secret. She's determined not to get too close to anyone. But when she meets sweet, easygoing Grant, Amanda can't help but start to let him in. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself--including her past. But Amanda's terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won't be able to see past it. Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that she used to be Andrew. Will the truth cost Amanda her new life--and her new love?

If I Was Your Girl is a moving and honest story, a story about a girl looking forward, looking to find a place where she can be herself.

Amanda is a kind girl. A lonely girl. She's cautious, worried, looking for a place where she can finally fit in. Where she can be herself and other people, other teens, will accept her. At the beginning she's very guarded. She doesn't want to be hurt again, which is understandable. considering the treatment she received before moving in with her father, but she soon finds people who accept her. Who see her as she's always wanted to be seen.

As realistic as Amanda is, so are the supporting characters. Amanda's parents, both with flaws, with worries. The girls Amanda meets at school who almost instantly befriend her, who all have their own secrets they keep from others. Girls like Chloe, girls like Bee. Boys like Grant, sweet and friendly with their own secrets that they would rather keep hidden. Everyone has something to hide, something to be embarrassed about, something they don't want certain people to find out.

I can't speak on the accuracy of Amanda's transition, her emotional struggles and the medical procedures, but I know an honest voice when I see one. The sorrow and the fear so clear on the page, the confusion when she was younger, as Andrew, writing about wanting to be a girl when he grew up. The sadness when close friends began to spout horrible words, the lingering pain of the physical assaults. But even in those dark moments, there is hope. There's always hope. There's always joy.

I love the idea of this book, that it's a book about a trans girl written by a trans woman (with a trans girl on the cover). The fact that it's the story of a girl trying to find her place, trying to be herself. Trying to find a place where she can be happy when her past is full of confusion, sadness, and fear. Amanda's strength is tucked away, hidden where no one can hurt it, and as she finds her place, as she meets people who welcome her, she finds it. She finds her voice. She finds herself. No two stories about trans people, about transitioning, about living, are the same. I can only hope that other readers find Amanda's story as emotional and moving as I did.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Macmillan through Raincoast Books.)

Me on This Week's Book Week (203)

This Week's Book Week is rather similar to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews only with far more rambling and a less witty title. ;)

It's the weekend! Which is nice, but I've had a disgusting sick week this week. I became victim #2 of the current sickness in the house. I've been all stuffed up and full of sinus pain and headaches and coughing. The last day or so hasn't been fun. *falls over, congested and dead*

Reviews going up this coming week will feature If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (Tuesday) and The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Friday; this will be a bit of a non-traditional review, my thoughts on the book and the series as a whole without giving the plot away).

Bought/borrowed/received:

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (bought) Some Canadian bookstores put out their copies early, like 2 weeks early, and sent out the pre-orders. This arrived on Monday, 8 days before the April 26 release date.
The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski (bought)