Me on The Storyteller

Title: The Storyteller
Author: Traci Chee
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group (Penguin imprint)

Sefia is determined to keep Archer out of the Guard's clutches and their plans for war between the Five Kingdoms. The Book, the ancient, infinite codex of the past, present and future, tells of a prophecy that will plunge Kelanna in that bloody war, but it requires a boy—Archer—and Sefia will stop at nothing to ensure his safety. The Guard has already stolen her mother, her father, and her Aunt Nin. Sefia would sooner die than let them take anymore from her—especially the boy she loves. But escaping the Guard and the Book's prophecy is no easy task. After all, what is written always comes to pass. As Sefia and Archer watch Kelanna start to crumble to the Guard's will, they will have to choose between their love and joining a war that just might tear them apart.

The Storyteller is a sweet and sorrowful end to a series, a world, full of life, death, and the magic of stories.

As with most final books, I find it hard to talk about it on its own for fear of giving away too much to those who haven't read the previous books. On its own, The Storyteller is an ending, it is the conclusion Sefia and Archer have been both running towards and running away from. It is the truth revealed by the Book, it is the war coming to an end. It is an inescapable ending, no matter how hard some try to run or avoid or change the future. Everything is already written down, between the covers of the Book. As a whole, the trilogy is enchanting and expansive, journey after journey, secret after secret. Memory after memory. It feels like a puzzle to be solved that has no true answer. It's an exploration of destiny and fate and the power of words both spoken and written.

All three books are a joy to read, to fall into and follow the characters on their paths, when they don't know where they're going and when they're racing towards somewhere they know they don't want to be. I see the wonder and power of storytelling in these books, journeys easy and hard, endings happy and bittersweet, revelations infinitely small and impossibly large. I would definitely recommend this series to those looking magic and adventure, a little mystery or puzzle here and there, and the everlasting battle between fate and free will.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

Me on These Rebel Waves

Title: These Rebel Waves
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray's new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work. Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island's magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat's abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war. Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray's forbidden magic. When Ben's father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid's fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he's building his own pyre. As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are... and what they are willing to become for peace.

These Rebel Waves is plots and plans and secrets upon secrets. It's adventure and intrigue and survival. It's the past returning, revealing its true intention. It's about people who would see the infirm saved from sickness and an island free from an oppressive ruler. But their missions are never solved that easily.

Lu is a smart, battered, determined young woman. She's fighting hard to see Grace Loray stand on its own, free from Argrid, even if that fighting is done watching and listening to council meetings. It's still work to make sure the island will be free. But there are some things that bother her, make her wonder. Vex is a known stream raider, working illegal jobs and running around under the radar as much as he can. Until he gets caught. Until a demanding young woman walks up to his jail cell, ready to make a deal. Ben is thoughtful. Worried. The deaths of his uncle and cousin still ring true inside him, still make him question his father's plans. Especially when his father comes to him, asks him to research and utilize the magic plants of Grace Loray. Why, when he has named magic evil? Is he being set up, are his true feelings about magic being revealed so he too can burn, or does his father have a plan that would change everything?

This is a rather dense story of political intrigue, secret magic, hope, fear, and freedom. It's intriguing, but it's certainly a lot of plotting and planning, running from place to place in order to either get help or uncover the truth. Or, when it comes to the parts seen from Ben's point of view, it's a lot of hiding his true feelings and being afraid of ending up like his uncle and cousin before everything around him shifts, blasting away his expectations. I was certainly curious as to where Lu and Vex would go and what they would find out, what Ben would discover and what his father's true plans were. And I was intrigued by the magical plants, by there being certain plants on Grace Loray with magical properties and what this meant in terms of healing or battle or missions. I was also interested by the island of Grace Loray itself, the different parts of it and the different groups of people that call it home. Those who went there to make new lives, those who were brought there. Those who hide away, still calling themselves a certain name even though they've never been to the land their ancestors were from. It was interesting to me, thinking about the history of immigration on Grace Loray and some real life comparisons. It was a little long for me, but I'm still curious as to how the next book will play out, considering this is the first in a duology. After the reveals and the ending, I'll be keeping an eye out to see what happens next.

(I received an advance copy of this title from HarperCollins Canada.)

Me on Sky in the Deep

Title: Sky in the Deep
Author: Adrienne Young
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books (Macmillan imprint)

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago. Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family. She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother's friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she's spent her life hating.

Sky in the Deep is steeped in loyalty and faith, in determination and a desire to survive. Eelyn has trained her whole life to fight, to fight for her people and keep them alive. But life is complicated, people not so different than she thought, and what was once unthinkable will have to happen if Eelyn wants all whom she loves to survive.

Eelyn is a warrior, strong and head-strong. Determined. Trained since she was a child to fight back against her clan's ancient enemy, the Riki. She will fight, and one day, she will die with honour on the battlefield. Until the day she sees her dead brother, only he's not dead and he's fighting for the other side. Until she follows him, lost and confused, and is captured by the Riki. Forced to become a servant. Hating everyone around her, including her brother Iri. But some things are not what Eelyn expected, some things are different while others are far too similar. And in order to survive, Eelyn will have to fight with the Riki.

Books like this give you a glimpse of human nature, of something everyone does. Loyalty and belief take us so far, they can give us family and friends. A place to be. Something to live for, and for some, something to fight for. Perhaps to die for. But then comes the blind loyalty, then comes the refusal to see things a different way. In Eelyn's case, it's the need of the Aska and the Riki to come together in order to survive against a greater enemy, a common enemy. It's a battle between wanting, needing to survive and being unwilling to trust the other side. From outside the story the reader can see the choice that must be made, the choice that would mean survival for both sides, would mean an end to their war. But that's because they're the reader. They're not the Aska or the Riki, fighting year after year, unwilling to trust or come together. It's books like this that show us the stubborn, unwilling to listen side of being human, that show us sometimes we need to stop and listen, stop and consider, stop and work together against something that would destroy all of us. There's always time to stop and work together.

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

Me on Now I Rise

Title: Now I Rise
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: June 27, 2017
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House imprint)

Lada Dracul has no allies. No throne. All she has is what she's always had: herself. After failing to secure the Wallachian throne, Lada is out to punish anyone who dares to cross her blood-strewn path. Filled with a white-hot rage, she storms the countryside with her men, accompanied by her childhood friend Bogdan, terrorizing the land. But brute force isn't getting Lada what she wants. And thinking of Mehmed brings little comfort to her thorny heart. There's no time to wonder whether he still thinks about her, even loves her. She left him before he could leave her. What Lada needs is her younger brother Radu's subtlety and skill. But Mehmed has sent him to Constantinople—and it's no diplomatic mission. Mehmed wants control of the city, and Radu has earned an unwanted place as a double-crossing spy behind enemy lines. Radu longs for his sister's fierce confidence—but for the first time in his life, he rejects her unexpected plea for help. Torn between loyalties to faith, to the Ottomans, and to Mehmed, he knows he owes Lada nothing. If she dies, he could never forgive himself—but if he fails in Constantinople, will Mehmed ever forgive him? As nations fall around them, the Dracul siblings must decide: what will they sacrifice to fulfill their destinies? Empires will topple, thrones will be won... and souls will be lost.

Now I Rise is the continuation of an epic tale of power and family, of faith, of sacrifice and determination.

Lada is continuing forward with her mission. her dream. It's time to take back Wallachia, to become its prince. But it's not that simple. She needs men, more than those currently loyal to her. And she needs the nobles of Wallachia and Hungary to stop seeing her as a useless girl with only one purpose. Determined, stubborn, ruthless, bloodthirsty, Lada will stop at nothing. But when battle turns to negotiations, Lada is as subtle as a punch to the nose. What she needs is Radu's way with words. But she can't have him. Radu is too busy hiding. Hiding in his marriage, hiding his feelings for Mehmed, hiding the conflict in his heart. The regret he feels for not following Lada. But he can't escape Mehmed, can't escape what he feels for him. And when Mehmed asks for his help? Radu is willing to do anything. But pose as a spy? Leave him for Constantinople? He's not sure if he can do this, not sure if his heart can be pulled in so many directions. Not sure if he's willing to make the sacrifices it could take.

It's hard to describe this book. The story is continuing from where the first book left off. Lada is still hungry, hungry for power and respect. Hungry for the throne. And Radu is still conflicted, not sure where to turn when caught up in Mehmed, Lada, his feelings, his faith, and the battle he sees coming. If you enjoyed the epic journeys and the conflicted, battered hearts of the first, you will relish this second book while cursing the wait for the third.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Random House through NetGalley.)

Me on The Valiant

Title: The Valiant
Author: Lesley Livingston
Release Date: February 14, 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada

The youngest daughter of a proud Celtic king, Fallon has always lived in the shadow of her older sister Sorcha's legendary reputation as a warrior. But when Fallon was a young child, the armies of Julius Caesar invaded the island of Britain and her beloved older sister was killed in battle. On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her rightful place in her father's royal war band. But she never gets the chance. Instead, Fallon is captured by a band of ruthless brigands who sell her to an exclusive training school for female gladiators—and its most influential patron is none other than Julius Caesar himself. In a cruel twist of fate, Fallon's worst enemy, the man who destroyed her family, might be her only hope of survival. Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries, chilling threats and the dangerous attention of Caesar himself to survive the deadly fights that take place both in and out of the arena—and claim her place in history among the Valiant.

The Valiant is dangerous, brutal and complicated. It's about the price of freedom and the holders of power, about survival and kinship. About rivalries and revenge.

Fallon is skilled, determined, furious. Furious at her father for his actions. Furious at the ones who kidnapped her, forced her into slavery. Furious at the Romans she must now serve and entertain as a gladiatrix in a fighting ring. What follows for Fallon is a hard journey, repeated fights and battles for survival and pride. For honour. Because what is honour in this place? In the country of her enemy, in the service of her greatest enemy. If she wants to survive, potentially escape she'll have to watch, learn, train. Bide her time. Wait for the right moment to strike. Even when her nature would make her refuse to bow her head.

There are two things I know I will get from a book by Lesley Livingston: detailed world-building, be they historical or fantastical, and strong female characters. The smell of the dust in the air, the drip of sweat down the back of a neck, the roar of the crowd as they cheer in the area. And the young girls and women, the ways they come together and the ways they fight. In the open with sword and spear, in the shadows with coin and persuasion. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Lesley's previous books and to those looking for more books about young women fighting for what they believe in and refusing to give up.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from HarperCollins Canada.)

Me on A Shadow Burning and Bright

Title: A Shadow Bright and Burning
Author: Jessica Cluess
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (Random House imprint)

Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, Henrietta Howel is shocked when instead of being executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers. Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

A Shadow Bright and Burning is a dangerous magic, one of shadows and demons, one of sorcerers and magicians. It's the story of a young woman trying to become something many claim she is and her navigating that demand while the fire inside of her rages on.

Henrietta is a familiar sort of heroine: a meek young woman from a poor and humble upbringing, an orphan with only a loyal friend for support and hopes for the future. The book begins with her in a place she's not technically safe in but it's a roof over her head and her friend Rook by her side. It's a horrible place, but she's alive. Then the sorcerer comes, looking for a student at the school Henrietta teaches at. Then the Ancient and the Familiars come. Then her fire is revealed, and she's whisked off to London to learn the ways of being a sorcerer. But in a city like London, danger lurks around every corner.

I found the world-building intriguing. The inclusion of magic and the Ancients in a Victorian-esque London. The different kinds of magic, the disgust and feud between sorcerers and magicians. The Ancients and the Unclean. All different kinds of magic and impossibility live here in this world. Underneath the magic, there are a number of clear and familiar overarching themes and sensibilities here. Like class inequality, how the rich hold themselves above the poor. Like gender inequality, how a number of trainees and sorcerers find it foolish to teach a young woman the ways of magic like how they teach Henrietta. How it would be better for her to know her place, which would be under their overbearing and pompous male thumbs. Because how dare a woman think she be equal to a man.

I was rather surprised by this book, and rather surprised as to how much I enjoyed it. It was exciting and tense, the Ancients were wonderfully creepy and disturbing, and a number of the sorcerers were rather obvious and spiteful in their dated misogyny. Not all, which was helpful to Henrietta. Sometimes you really need to put aside your views on women in power if you want to live. I'm curious as to what will happen in the next book, as it looks like Henrietta will be in more and more battles to come, and which secrets will be uncovered. Because there are quite a few.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this title from the library.)

Me on Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling

Title: Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling
Author/artist: Tony Cliff
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: First Second (Macmillan imprint)

After being falsely accused of spying by the nefarious Major Merrick, Delilah Dirk and Mister Selim sail to England to clear her name (and beat the tar out of the Major while they're at it). But once on her home turf, Delilah encounters an adversary mightier than the entire British Army: her mother.

Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling is a brand new adventure with a familiar adventurer and her practical companion. But the situation is far stickier this time around, and it won't be as easy to escape from.

Delilah Dirk is back at it, righting wrongs and investigating treasure and inconveniencing Mister Selim. This time, the story starts in Portugal with the saving of a young boy from his controlling and battle-hungry father. But then, like always, Delilah and Mister Selim fall into a dangerous situation and have to fight their way out of it. Things are different this time around, there's a lot more to do with revenge and Delilah's personal feelings about the scum they come across. And then there's the added struggle of her having to navigate her investigating and adventuring around her unsuspecting mother.

There are hints of why Delilah has made a name for herself in Europe and around the world, why she's spent her days adventuring. She's not the kind of young woman who would sit around at luncheons, flit about at balls and dinners. She needs excitement in her life, she needs to do something. She won't be tied down.

There's some more plot going on in this book, compared to the first one. The first was certainly about Mister Selim and how his life changed after meeting Delilah. Now, things are complicated. The two have fallen, rather handily, into the gaze of an English Major looking to place some blame and espionage onto someone that isn't him.

The artwork is just as it was in the first book, the colours slightly muted once Delilah and Mister Selim arrive in England, the characters' faces expressive and constantly changing. It was obvious whenever Delilah was frustrated or Mister Selim feeling put out or inconvenienced by Delilah's decisions. A good follow-up to the first, a great showing at expanding this world, the time period and its problems, and an intriguing ending that hints at some possible revenge in the future. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll enjoy this.

(I received a finished copy of this book to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Exile for Dreamers

Title: Exile for Dreamers
Author: Kathleen Baldwin
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen

Tess Aubreyson can't run far enough or fast enough to escape the prophetic dreams that haunt her. Dreams bring nothing but death and grief, and Tess refuses to accept that she may be destined for the same madness that destroyed her mother. Until her disturbing dreams become the only means of saving Lord Ravencross, the man she loves, and her fellow students at Stranje House. Tess's old friend, the traitorous Lady Daneska, and Ghost, the ruthless leader of the Iron Crown, have returned to England, intent on paving the way for Napoleon's invasion. Can the young ladies of Stranje House prevail once more? Or is England destined to fall into the hands of the power-mad dictator?

Exile for Dreamers is a tale of mystery and investigation, of searching for answers and preventing invasions. Of a young woman running from a future she fears while protecting those she cares about more than herself.

Tess is afraid of the future, of what it may hold for her, if what happened to her mother is anything to go by. The future, to her, means a descent into madness and darkness. It means becoming overwhelmed by the prophetic visions and dreams that strike her with no warning or reason. She spends her mornings running, both literally and metaphorically. Running from the future. Running from the connection between Lord Ravencross and herself. Running instead of admitting that she needs help, that she needs the support of the other young women of Stranje House. But fear doesn't keep her frozen. It motivates her to protect those she holds dear, like Georgie and Jane, like Miss Stranje herself. Like Lord Ravencross. But she has to be careful if she makes the decision to sacrifice herself for them.

Here's a return to an alternate version of Regency England, to a version where Napoleon is free and plotting to invade England with the help of a group called the Iron Crown. To a place where standing in the way of said possible invasion is a house full of unconventional young women, each with their own secrets and curious abilities. Trained in the art of subterfuge and defense, it's these young women who will uncover secret plans and protect England from its shadowed enemies.

I was looking forward to how this series continued after reading the first book. I like the sound of this house, of these young women cast aside by family members and polite society only to end up in a place where they'll be taught, where their skills will be strengthened and utilized. Respected instead of feared or avoided. This is a house of secrets, of skeletons in closets and hearts left bruised. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book, to see how far the plots and plans stretch out towards England and what is invented next.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

Me on Riders

Title: Riders
Author: Veronica Rossi
Release Date: February 16, 2016
Publisher: Tor Teen

For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does. Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse. Over the coming weeks, he and the other horsemen-Conquest, Famine, and Death-are brought together by a frustratingly secretive girl to help save humanity from an ancient evil on the emergence. They fail. Now, bound, bloodied, and drugged, Gideon is interrogated by the authorities about his role in a battle that has become an international incident. If he stands any chance of saving his friends, not to mention all of humankind, he needs to convince the skeptical government officials the world is in imminent danger. But will anyone believe him?

Riders is the beginning of a longer war, the first few battles against evil, the search for missing allies.

Gideon is the pensive one caught up in his past, the avoiding one trapped by his father's death, hoping that enlisting in the Army will help him forget what happened. After an accident that should've killed him, that did kill him, he comes back different. He comes back confused, powerful. He comes back hunted. And now the race is on, the race to find the others. The race to figure out these new powers and the weapons that come with them. And for Gideon especially, the race to try and punch everyone. Because he certainly tries to.

The part that intrigued me most about this book is the reworking and the usage of the four horsemen. I was curious as to how the author would use their origin and their mission, how it wouldn't be completely evil and bring about the end of the world. It's so much less of that here. Instead, it's more of a fated thing, of the four of them coming together, massive flaws and all, and trusting in themselves. In fighting back against the darkness.

Even before I read this, I was wary of it. The description says a lot, so much so that I was afraid it gave away most of the book. But it doesn't, not really. As most of the book is told through Gideon's flashbacks, everything is slowly revealed. Almost too slowly for me. His becoming war. Meeting the girl. Finding the others. But where is he? Who is he talking to? What's happening to him? As I read this I got hints of Kendare Blake's Goddess War trilogy and Brigid Kemmerer's Elementals series. The overall battle against a determined foe, the searching for others, the combination of the paranormal and the impossible in a contemporary setting. With how it ends, I'm so curious as to what happens next, but knowing it's a duology, that there's only one more book, I'm also confused. What could happen next that would only take one book to tell?

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

Me on The Winner's Kiss

Title: The Winner's Kiss
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers (Macmillan imprint)

War has begun. Arin is in the thick of it with untrustworthy new allies and the empire as his enemy. Though he has convinced himself that he no longer loves Kestrel, Arin hasn't forgotten her, or how she became exactly the kind of person he has always despised. She cared more for the empire than she did for the lives of innocent people—and certainly more than she did for him. At least, that's what he thinks. In the frozen north, Kestrel is a prisoner in a brutal work camp. As she searches desperately for a way to escape, she wishes Arin could know what she sacrificed for him. She wishes she could make the empire pay for what they've done to her. But no one gets what they want just by wishing. As the war intensifies, both Kestrel and Arin discover that the world is changing. The East is pitted against the West, and they are caught in between. With so much to lose, can anybody really win?

The Winner's Kiss is a conclusion. It's weighted by determination, by anger and betrayal, by the bitter taste found on the tongue when one trusts in a lie. But it's also buoyed by a glimpse of the future, by the hope that war won't always be the answer. By the hope that one day the war will end.

I look at Arin and I see someone driven, someone searching for ways to make things right. The Valerians invaded, colonized, took everything from the Herrani and made them slaves. Now Arin fights back, leads soldiers and those hoping to regain their homes. I look at Arin and I see someone who couldn't look past his own anger, who couldn't look at Kestrel and the things she wanted to say but couldn't. Someone who wouldn't listen. It's painful, all the ways he wouldn't listen to Kestrel. Each and every time he would only see lies on her face, in her voice. But he couldn't afford to listen.

I look at Kestrel and I see a smart, determined young woman hoping to do the right thing, hoping to save those she cares about, and ending up caught by those who would wield power and control like a slavemaster would wield a whip. Without hesitation, moving smoothly and cleanly. Inflicting the most damage. Enforcing control. She's caught, punished, forced north towards a horrific work camp. But what then? I don't want to say what happens next, I don't want to give it away, but what follows for Kestrel is a rather surprising search. A look back at herself, into herself, and who she becomes on the other side.

This book is the end result. A land of war and change, the result of lies believes and truths unspoken and cast aside. The air between Arin and Kestrel is thick with regret and mistake. As heavy and dry as a mouth full of sand. But it's not the only thing between them, not the only thing that pushes them together. This had been a series of empire and war, of winners and losers, of soldiers and musicians. Of those favoured by the gods. This series has been a heavy one, with serious consequences, and the overall story is amazing. A must-read.

(I purchased a copy of this title.)

Me on The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One

Title: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Volume One: At the Edge of Empire
Author: Daniel Kraus
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

May 7, 1896. Dusk. A swaggering seventeen-year-old gangster named Zebulon Finch is gunned down on the shores of Lake Michigan. But after mere minutes in the void, he is mysteriously resurrected. His second life will be nothing like his first. Zebulon's new existence begins as a sideshow attraction in a traveling medicine show. From there, he will be poked and prodded by a scientist obsessed with mastering the secrets of death. He will fight in the trenches of World War I. He will run from his nightmares—and from poverty—in Depression-era New York City. And he will become the companion of the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. Love, hate, hope, and horror—Zebulon finds them. But will he ever find redemption?

The Life and Death of Zebulon Finch, Volume One is the start of an epic story, a look back at beginnings. At the first lifetime that crafted Zebulon Finch and the second that showed him all the horrors and delights of the world.

Zebulon is reflective and bold, not necessarily all that boastful. There are many words he wishes to share with his readers, which makes him a pensive and witty narrator. His tales are full of intricate details, from his childhood in Chicago with his controlling mother, to his time as a member of a gang, to his death and subsequent awakening. To his afterlife full of charlatans and criminals, villains and heroes, people desperate for money or desperate for fame. Or desperate for life. From America to Europe and back again. He wanders through space and time, experiencing, learning. Decaying. Because, with all his adventures and stories, Zebulon Finch is still dead.

It's a curious story with a voice keen to describing every single detail of what occurred to him and around him during his time as a resurrected young man. It's almost 700 pages of description, narration, and reflection on how cruel he once was, how clueless he was, how jaded he was, how battered he was, how smart he was, and how reminiscent he's become.

The idea of this story is intriguing, very intriguing, but I struggled with the overall length of the story. Zebulon has had more than 100 years to ponder life, to wonder about peoples' motivation for their actions. To think about why him, why didn't he die. It's a dark story full of wit and adventure, but it's just so long. If you think you can handle the length, if you are interested in Zebulon's journey from Chicago to Georgia to Boston to France to New York to Hollywood, if you're interested in the story of a dead man discovering what it is to be alive and human, then give this a read.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada.)

Me on A History of Glitter and Blood

Title: A History of Glitter and Blood
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Release Date: August 18, 2015
Publisher: Chronicle Books

Sixteen-year-old Beckan and her friends are the only fairies brave enough to stay in Ferrum when war breaks out. Now there is tension between the immortal fairies, the subterranean gnomes, and the mysterious tightropers who arrived to liberate the fairies. But when Beckan's clan is forced to venture into the gnome underworld to survive, they find themselves tentatively forming unlikely friendships and making sacrifices they couldn't have imagined. As danger mounts, Beckan finds herself caught between her loyalty to her friends, her desire for peace, and a love she never expected.

A History of Glitter and Blood is at times magical and gruesome, a story of what war leaves behind, of what war makes us do in order to survive. A story of family and friendship, of the ways we bind ourselves together.

Beckan, Josha, Scrap, Cricket. When the war starts, they're the only ones to stay in Ferrum. Why would they leave their home? But staying behind means surviving bombs. Staying behind means joining together. Staying behind means heading underground for work. It's not easy for any of them. In no way is anything any of them goes through easy. It's harsh, painful, distasteful. But it's what they do in order to survive. And when they're not working? They pretend as hard as they can, they laugh and love and look forward to the day when the war will be over. But when it ends, how it ends, is it what they expected would happen?

The narrator is unreliable. The story is told in a mixture of fictional prose and journal accounts, of what the narrator knows and witnessed and what the narrator imagines happened when they weren't in the room. It's an intriguing way to tell the story. It gives it authenticity, makes it sound real. Makes every cut and bite and fever dream feel that much more real. Like this war actually happened.

This book highlights all the parts of war, uncovers the secrets often left unspoken by survivors. What happens to those who stay, what decisions they are forces to make. What pieces of themselves they're forced to give up. If after reading this you're filled with all kinds of uncomfortable feelings, if you're all squicked out inside, then the book did its job. It's not a happy book, it's not meant to cheer you up. This book is all harsh reality and the day-in day-out of those living with war every single day, the stories you never hear about on the news. The stories you should hear about.

This is fairy tale, but one without the usual magic. The fairies do have glitter, but it's to keep the gnomes from eating too much of their limbs and bodies. This is a messy book about war, politics, racism, family, and love. It's a slap in the face and a punch in the gut. This won't be for everyone, but if you find yourself interested, read it for the characters. Read it for Beckan, for Scrap, for Josha and Cricket. Read it to learn what their lives become, to learn who they become. Read it to learn what war does to them, does to us.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)