July 2015
Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen - Review by Ashlee, Staff Blogger
Posted on 30-Jul-15 15:21
Stolen Songbird, author Danielle L. Jensen’s first novel, takes place in a historical fantasy setting in which trolls exist but were cursed by a witch to live underground in secret. The protagonist is Cécile de Troyes, a farmer’s daughter with a lovely voice who is kidnapped, brought to the city of Trollus under the mountain, and sold to trolls who intend to marry her to their troll prince, Tristan.
This element of cursed creatures abducting a beautiful human bride and taking her below ground reminded me of the 1991 animated movie The Princess and the Goblin, but after that, there are fewer similarities. Contrary to popular belief, Stolen Songbird explains, trolls aren’t ugly; they’re “more like beautiful things that have had the misfortune of being broken.” Most of the troll characters in this novel have various misfortunes like no limbs, misaligned halves of their face, or being conjoined twins. However, the book misses a potentially interesting element in exempting Prince Tristan from the difficulties of living with an unusual body. Instead, he is tall and beautiful, though cold and sardonic.
Read More
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean by David Almond – Review by Saul, Teen Blogger
Posted on 30-Jul-15 13:44
There are some books that after finishing the last page can only be described as odd. This book is one of those. This is not to say that it is bad, in fact I quite enjoyed it, but only that it is not like anything I have read before. David Almond has created a truly unique perspective on the world, seen through the eyes of a boy as he falls from innocence. Everything from the diction of writing to the topics explored within the story; it is all unusual and meaningful.
Read More
Black Hole Sun by David McInnis Gill - Review by Saul, Teen Blogger
Posted on 30-Jul-15 13:10
Setting a book in a sci-fi world can be difficult, especially when looking at how to be consistent with the science and technology. This is even more difficult when trying to set a story on Mars, a planet we know a fair amount about. Black Hole Sun does an excellent job of this however, becoming an interesting and action packed novel without any of the problems that often plague the genre (such as suddenly having a gadget for every situation or being inconsistent with the science throughout the novel). The author does a great job, creating an amazing world and filling it with powerful, realistic characters...
Read More
