fantasy Archives - The Pencil Princess Workshop

Jade City

I’ve been meaning to read Jade City for a while, and I don’t know what took me so long.

Once I finally got into it, I found this book totally lived up to its hype. It’s a brilliant story, with intricate plotting and rich world-building

The real stars, though, are the characters. My favorite is Kaul Shaelinsan, the prodigal daughter returned to her hometown to lick her wounds and try not to get caught up in the family business. But I also love her brothers, and her cousin. And the dozens of minor characters who fill out this magical city-state.

If you like young adult fantasy, or martial arts, or stories about crime syndicates, or just a wonderful story well-told, I’d recommend Jade City. (And if you don’t like any of those things, why are you reading book reviews?)

A Voice that Thunders

In A Voice that Thunders, Cully Mack plays around with that weird bit from Genesis 6. You know the bit–where Nephilim are on Earth, and sons of God are having children with daughters of men.

That bit is a mysterious and intriguing glimpse of something odd going on in ancient times. As such, it has given rise to more than a few fascinating stories (including Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle). Mack’s story doesn’t have as strong a setting as L’Engle’s, but I like the way it explores temptation. The story is about Mirah, a captive of a band of warriors from a far off place. Before capturing Mirah and several of her friends, these warriors slaughtered everyone else in Mirah’s village.

As Mirah and her friends seek to survive, to escape, and perhaps even seek revenge, they receive amazing, powerful tools. Unfortunately, those tools come at a great cost. That’s where the temptation comes in. Do they use the tools they’ve been given? Or do they figure out another way to survive and defeat their enemies?

If you like young adult stories, especially ones with magic and romance sprinkled in liberally, you’ll probably enjoy A Voice that Thunders. I enjoyed it, and I suspect I’ll go looking for the rest of the series at some point.

Flora & Ulysses

If you need a fun, quick read that’s delightfully magical and laugh-out-loud funny, Flora & Ulysses is a great pick.

Flora is a wonderful character. Smart and cynical, she nonetheless manages to be be sweet. Also, her ability to accept the incredible (but true) is refreshing.

I wonder, in fact, if that ability to accept the incredible is one of the great gifts of childhood. Those, like Flora, who can navigate the path toward adulthood and its worries without losing that acceptance, are gifted. Or stubbornly unique. Or something.

Flora isn’t the only character I like in here. Ulysses is probably the most well-rounded squirrel I have ever met in a book. The neighbors–both her mother’s and her father’s neighbors–are quirky and full of compassion. And Flora’s parents, despite their issues (real issues!) are fascinating people we can empathize with.

There are plenty of difficult things in this book, but it doesn’t come off as heavy. In fact, the humor keeps it almost buoyant–without ever getting crass or minimizing the problems. This is an amazing book, well worth its Newbery. If you can at all tolerate middle-grade books, I’d recommend this one. (Note: I have not seen the movie. I’ve heard it’s good, but have no other information on that point.)

The Kingdom of Back

Marie Lu’s The Kingdom of Back surprises with its mix of fantasy and historical fiction. I expected a fantasy, but at first, got nothing but a tale of Mozart’s forgotten sister.

As a historical tale, this story immerses me in a world of rich detail, patriarchy, ambition, and music. Then, just when I’m comfortable, fantasy seeps in. It infuses the story, seeping into the everyday world in a magical realist style.

So, not quite what I expected–but so much better. I love Nannerl. I’ve never quite connected to music the way she does, but I relate to her ambition and the complicated feelings she has about her brother and her brother’s talent. This story is epic–both in the realm of music (with genius rising, getting squelched and sometimes getting stolen) and in the Kingdom of Back (where Nannerl fights monsters that are not always exactly what they seem).

I’d strongly recommend this book for anyone who likes fantasy, magical realism, historical fiction, or stories about women in the arts. I may even try picking up a physical copy for myself (and I don’t like books that much very often. I did feel that way about this one, too.)

The Priestess Trials

The Priestess Trials by A. A. Lee places me in a rich, unique world that feels vaguely familiar.

It’s like something I saw or heard during my time in China–but in the countryside, not the city. However that doesn’t quite fit either because this world has very little modern technology. (They have knives and cooking pots and spears, but certainly nothing electric.)

The main character, Tala, barely survives as a slave for a poor family at the edge of a village facing famine and war. With their harvest threatened, the family plans to sell off Tala as a wife–to a man who has killed off his last several wives. Desperate to escape, Tala joins the priestess trials, where she must tap into her hidden store of magic to make the final cut and have a chance at a future.

From the first page to the last, Tala’s story engages me. I’m rooting for her, hoping that things will work out even when it seems like all of society is designed to keep her down.

Though I found one or two points confusing and was less than satisfied with the ending, this was an excellent book. I will be looking for the sequels.

The Raven and The Dove

I picked up The Raven and The Dove from a sales promotion that Songs of Healing was also in, and I was glad I did. This story by Kaitlyn Davis has great world building, interesting magic, good pacing, fascinating political intrigue, and romance. Plus, people can fly!

Seriously, I love the flying bits. I also love the secret, dangerous magic and the friendships. There are lots of conflicting loyalties here, and they make the story fascinating and frustrating all at once.

I was less excited about how this story ended–or didn’t. I know it’s the first in a series, but there was much more pushing toward the next story than settling this one into a good place. Despite this, I will probably go looking for the sequels to The Raven and The Dove since I did enjoy the characters and quite a few other things about this book.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

I have loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon since I first read it when my daughter picked it up for a contest back when she was in fifth grade. So, several years, now.

Like all the best fantasies, this one immerses me in a world that feels both familiar and wonderfully different from the world where I live.

And the characters! Kelly Barnhill, the author, has created so many fascinating people in this book. I love Luna, especially for her exuberance. And the swamp monster. I love the Simply Enormous dragon (who fits in Luna’s pocket). And so many more…

What I love most might be that in this story, even good people make problems worse. They do this even when they’re trying to do right. In a messed up system, treating symptoms may be necessary, but it won’t touch the heart of the issue. Systemic evil must be dismantled before lives can improve.

And this book helps me to see that in a story that I would have no qualms about reading with an eight-year-old. It’s that kind of good.

Anyway, if you like fantasy at all–or middle grade–or just fabulously good writing–and you haven’t yet read The Girl Who Drank the Moon, you absolutely should.

Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun, as you probably already know, is the latest book in the Twilight series. It covers much of the same ground as the original books–but from Edward’s point of view.

I admit I liked it, but that might be at least partly nostalgia. Still, some of Edward’s behavior feels a bit more comprehensible after reading this. I still feel like he’s annoyingly overprotective, and more into the Bella in his brain than the Bella who actually exists. (If a character in a book can be said to actually exist…. She does, right? At least for that story?) At any rate, I still find myself frustrated with Edward as a hero, but I understand him better than I did before. It’s an interesting exercise–taking the same story from different points of view. And fun to read.

Midnight Sun is enjoyable, and though I didn’t love it, I liked it quite a bit, and would recommend it for people who like YA fantasy, especially for those who enjoyed the original Twilight series. Like my Songs of Healing, it has a fairly modern setting. If you prefer your fantasy a bit medieval, maybe check out Adelaide and the Dragon Castle.

Adelaide and the Dragon Castle

Adelaide and the Dragon Castle has a lot of my favorite things in YA fantasy–great characters, coming of age, dragons.

I love the way Adelaide finds her own solutions in a world that glorifies violence. And I love that these solutions don’t come instantly, but take some trial and error.

I’m not as thrilled with the way the story advocates for anything-goes sexuality, but I understand how that could feel completely reasonable in a world that so unreasonably limits a woman’s choices. When most restrictions are nonsensical, why should a person pay attention to any restrictions at all?

I get that modern sensibility says that if I’m uncomfortable with this, I’m the one with the problem, but I still believe there’s value in keeping sex within committed, long-term, (and yes, I’ll even say monogamous, relationships). Sex is a powerful thing, and easily abused–and just because it has been abused one way (a lot) in the past doesn’t mean that going to an opposite extreme is a great idea.

Despite my concerns in this area, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing was good; the characters well-rounded; the pacing and plot exciting. There were also some great bits of humor, and I enjoyed the world-building, which was very well done (though the language sometimes dropped out of the more formal usage that helped create the feel of an older-style society).

All in all, this was well worth a read. At some point, I’ll probably be reading the sequels.

Check the book out on Goodreads to see other people’s takes on this book.

Dance

This Cinderella retelling has an Asian setting and a warrior-trained girl as the main character. Mai manages to be humble and confident at the same time, a difficult, but believable mix in this environment. I enjoyed her story very much.