Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding
If you enjoy the atmosphere and imagination of Philip Pullman, Garth Nix, or Philip Reeve, then you’re sure to like Chris Wooding, a YA fantasy author who does not feel the need to fill his fantasy world with elves, dwarfs, wizards, dragons and every other fantasy cliché that’s been done to death since Tolkien published The Lord of the Rings.
Some authors are willing to explore new territory,
January 9th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Chris Wooding | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede
We last saw the cousins Cecelia and Kate at the conclusion of Sorcery and Cecelia:The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, in which they had foiled a devious plot and found true love with their new husbands, Thomas Schofield and James Tartleton. The story was unique because it was told in the format of letters between the two cousins, each one telling the other about their separate adventures; and as they did with their previous collaboration, the authors Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer each take a character (Wrede is Cecelia;
January 7th, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Caroline Stevermer, Patricia C. Wrede | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Princess Cimorene is tired of embroidery, etiquette, dancing, and protocol classes. She wants to take Latin, fencing, magic, and cooking lessons instead. But, that’s just “not done.” Princesses are supposed to be beautiful, submissive and, preferably, in distress. They’re supposed to wait for a handsome prince to rescue them.
Not Cimorene. To avoid a betrothal to a handsome and charming (but not particularly bright) prince, she runs away to become housekeeper for a dragon. As a dragon’s princess, Cimorene gets the freedom to cook and clean and to organize libraries and treasure rooms.
January 5th, 2010. Kat Hooper´s rating: 5 | Patricia C. Wrede | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Here There Be Witches by Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen’s anthology is centered around the topic of witches and holds a wide range of writing styles, whether it be poetry, short stories, retelling of legends or dialogue. This variety of these stories and their tones sometimes makes a rather mish-mashed collection; the serious stories don’t quite fit with the light-hearted ones and you feel as if they should be in separate books. On the other hand, the range means that there’s something for everyone and one gets to see the many sides of witches and their crafts.
January 3rd, 2010. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | Jane Yolen | Short Fiction, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Cybermage is Alma Alexander’s third book in the Worldweavers series and one that can satisfyingly close this particular series though I hesitate to ever use the word “concluding” with any fantasy trilogy as authors (or nervous publishers/agents) are wont to reopen allegedly “done” series.
Cybermage picks up just a little while after book two ended and while this book can stand on its own, with an independent storyline, it will make much more sense and be all the richer for having read the previous two (Gift of the Unmage and Spellspam),
January 3rd, 2010. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Alma Alexander | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Leviathan is the beginning of a new steampunk YA series by Scott Westerfeld, author of other well-known (and highly recommended) YA series such as Uglies and Midnighters, along with one of my favorite non-YA science fiction works of recent memory, The Risen Empire (even more highly recommended). As is usual with good YA, don’t let the label turn you away; Westerfeld knows how to write for a younger audience without dumbing things down and without excluding older readers.
January 1st, 2010. Bill Capossere and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4, 5 | Scott Westerfeld | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
The Morganville Vampires (Glass Houses & The Dead Girl’s Dance) by Rachel Caine
I pretty much avoid sparkly vampire stories. I’ve never read Twilight, and have not seen the movies. I am only vaguely familiar with Anne Rice’s stuff. I have been “self-sheltered” from vampire fantasy fiction. But when I saw that Penguin Books was re-releasing Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires in omnibus editions, I asked for a copy of the first one (Glass Houses and The Dead Girl’s Dance).
December 30th, 2009. Justin Blazier´s rating: 3.5 | Rachel Caine | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
Kaylee Cavanaugh wants to be a normal teenage girl, but her “panic attacks” stand in the way. Kaylee can sense when someone is about to die. She can’t save the dying person, though, and can’t warn them. All she can do is let out an unearthly scream. If you’re familiar with mythology, you can probably guess what kind of supernatural being Kaylee turns out to be!
As My Soul to Take begins, Kaylee learns that her premonitions are real and that her screaming episodes aren’t symptoms of mental illness.
December 30th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Rachel Vincent | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Eugenides ends The Thief in triumph, but within the first chapter of this sequel, he is back in the prisons of the Queen of Attolia, where he loses his hand to the executioner’s axe, while the Queen looks on impassively. Forced to deal with the rest of his life as the Queen’s Thief of Eddis, with only one hand, he bitterly retreats to his rooms in seclusion, leaving Eddis without his skills just as the peninsula erupts in warfare, from both within and without.
December 18th, 2009. Ruth Arnell and Tadiana Jones | Megan Whalen Turner | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Halfway through Beautiful Creatures, I remember thinking, “Hey, this is like The Witching Hour, but for teenagers!” The Witching Hour is probably my favorite Anne Rice book of all time, so this is high praise coming from me. It’s different, of course — Beautiful Creatures is much more PG-rated and unfolds at a faster pace — but both are big, meaty books featuring antebellum mansions,
December 11th, 2009. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Kami Garcia | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…