A Great and Terrible Beauty

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A Great and Terrible Beauty 

Libba Bray

Simon and Schuster: 2003, 403 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Sixteen year old Gemma Doyle lives in India with her mother and father, miffed at not being able to go back to London for her first season.  Suddenly there is a horrible family tragedy and she is sent not only back to England but straight to Spence's Academy for Girls.  It's the quintessential Victorian boarding school, focused on educating girls on how to be great wives, hostesses, and mothers.  But Gemma isn't like the other girls; she has a secret, a power that she doesn't understand and doesn't know how to control.  She tries to ignore it while she learns to navigate her new surroundings.  Gemma tricks her way into the mean-girl clique consisting of power-hungry Felicity and Pippa, the most beautiful girl in the whole school, bringing along her roommate, Ann, the scholarship student who is constantly picked on.  When the girls find a hidden diary of a long-ago student who shares the same powers that Gemma is experiencing, the foursome decides to try their hand at this new and unusual magic.  Are they just having some fun they wouldn't ever be allowed to have in the real world or are they acting beyond their control?  What is the price to pay for such pleasure?  Readers should be aware that this is the first book in Bray's trilogy.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

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Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

Katie Alender

Scholastic Press: 2013, 296 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Colette Iselin is going back to her French roots!  A junior at a private school in Ohio, Colette leaps at the chance to spend nine days in France for a school trip.  But Paris is on alert right now: there's a serial killer targeting the young and beautiful and the killing method of choice is decapitation.  Colette isn't worried until she starts seeing visions of a pale woman in a pink ball gown and large white wig, like Marie Antoinette herself. Colette starts to investigate and teams up with a local French boy since her self-obsessed "friends" don't seem that interested.  Colette learns that her father's family may have been a part of something and now it seems that Colette is also involved and in danger! Can she solve the mystery and keep her head connected to her body before the trip is over?

My Brilliant Friend

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My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante

Europa Editions: 2011, 331 pages

Reviewed by Sheryl Walters

My Brilliant Friend is a novel translated from Italian.  I found it hard to follow in some parts, but the story line did keep me interested.  It basically interweaves the lives to two girls as they grow up into young women.  It details the paths they take and how each led to a traditional life or something a bit different.  The author did an excellent job showing how girls are friends and yet dislike one another at times.  There are more books in the series and I want to read to find out more about their paths in life.

The Quickening

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The Quickening

Michelle Hoover

Other Press: 2010, 215 pages

Reviewed by Tori Lyons

Enidina "Eddie" Current enjoys the simple life of a farmer in the Midwest during the early 1900's.  Her neighbor Mary Morrow, however, is unhappy with her rural life and yearns for more.  Although they have little in common and are often, in fact, at odds with one another, these two women come to rely on one another.  But when the Great Depression forces families everywhere to make difficult choices, Eddie and Mary's tenuous friendship unravels, and along with it their families and everything they hold dear.

Anna Dressed in Blood

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Anna Dressed in Blood

Kendare Blake

Tor Teen: 2011, 320 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Cas Lowood is not your average teenager: he's a ghost hunter.  He is constantly traveling with his mother and his ghost-sniffing cat, putting to rest dangerous ghosts who like to kill.  Following a tip, Cas and his troupe head to Canada to find a ghost called Anna Dressed in Blood.  Anna was murdered in 1958 and still wears the dress she was killed in, except that instead of the color white, the dress drips blood red.  While Cas is efficient and has yet to meet a ghost he can't defeat, Anna is different.  She's not known to spare the life of anyone who dares to enter her house but for some reason, she spares Cas's life.  Readers should be aware that there is a hint of explicit language.  There is violence throughout the book.  It is not extremely graphic but enough to make the more squeamish uncomfortable.  There is a sequel titled Girl of Nightmares.  

Dumplin'

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Dumplin'

Julie Murphy

Balzer + Bray: 2015, 375 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Willowdean Dickson (Will to her friends, Dumplin' to her mother) lives in small town Texas where football and the local beauty pageant reigns supreme.  Will knows she's fat, calls herself fat, but never really had an issue with it.  That it, until Bo Larson comes into her life.  He's attractive, mysterious, and genuinely likes Will back.  But suddenly Will sees all her flaws and her confidence is gone.  So how can she get it back?  By entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant!  Dumplin' is funny, heartwarming, but also realistic and with some great references to the genius that is Dolly Parton.

Happily Ever Ninja

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Happily Ever Ninja (Knitting in the City #5)

Penny Reid

Caped Publishing: 2016, 376 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Penny Reid's Knitting in the City series is set in present day Chicago and revolves around seven women who meet once a week to drink wine and knit.  Each book in the series focuses on a particular member of the group.  They are can be read as a stand alone but there are little novellas that are recommended, especially #4.75 Ninja at First Sight which tells the backstory of our two main characters.

Fiona and Greg have been married for fourteen years and have two young children.  Husband Greg is often away months at a time for work and Fiona manages...perhaps a little too well.  She's bogging herself down but never shows any weakness and Greg feels like he's not needed when she feels the exact opposite.  When an emergency strikes the family and pushes Fiona into a more leading role, Greg is unsure of how to handle it.  This is a story about how difficult marriage can be, even if both people are still desperately in love with one another.  While that sounds dramatic, the book is actually quite humorous and a bit action-y as well!

Goodbye Stranger

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Goodbye Stranger

Rebecca Stead

Wendy Lamb Books: 2015, 304 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Goodbye Stranger is a middle-grade novel about changing friendships and relationships.  Set in present day New York City, the book follows the friendship between Bridge, Tabitha, and Em.  They're in 7th grade, still best friends forever, but things have been different lately.  Em "has curves now," is popular with the older soccer crowd, and is texting an 8th grade boy.  Tab believes most people have an ulterior motive and Bridge is still wondering what her purpose is in the world, especially after surviving a horrible accident while also thinking about what her new friendship with Sherm Russo means.  Throw in an unnamed high school girl who is dealing with betrayal on Valentine's Day and you've got the recipe for a funny and poignant novel that shows readers that no matter what age you are, it's still difficult to deal with changes in the relationships that mean the most to you.

Auggie & Me

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Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories

R. J. Palacio

Corgi Childrens: 2015, 303 pages

Reviewed by Jessie Park

Auggie & Me is not a sequel to Wonder, written by the same author, R. J. Palacio.  It is a parallel to Wonder and offers the perspective of three characters from the original book: Julian, Christopher, and Charlotte.  Julian is the main antagonist and bully and his chapter answers some lingering questions that readers may have had while reading Wonder.  Christopher is Auggie's childhood best friend who moved away and Charlotte is one of Auggie's classmates and original "welcome buddy" who showed Auggie around the building before the school year began.  Again, readers gain insight as to how Auggie's presence effected those around him in numerous ways while also focusing on their own issues that seemingly every middle schooler goes through: changing friendships, family problems, worrying about popularity, and just trying to fit in and be liked.