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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.

Broken Skies

Theresa Kay’s Broken Skies is a young adult science fiction novel about Jax, a traumatized young woman, living in a post-apocalyptic world. Disease has decimated the human population, and aliens are colonizing Earth.

Then some of those aliens kidnap Jax’s brother, leaving one of their own behind, wounded. Jax makes a deal with the wounded alien. She’ll help him get back to his city if he gets her in, so she can rescue her brother.

What follows is a journey that’s as much about self-discovery as about surviving in a world become savage. There’s also a fair amount of romance.

I like Jax in this piece, and I think there’s lots of great conflict–both internal and external. The world-building is decent. Even better, the plot comes to a relatively satisfying conclusion for the first part of a series. I will probably eventually want to read more.

I’d recommend Broken Skies for people who like science fiction, especially dystopian. Interested in other science fiction recommendations? Check out my take on Beyond, The Left Hand of Darkness , or Cinder.

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.

Invisible

Invisible–another great book by Cecily Anne Paterson.

The book stars Jazmine Crawford–a young lady who actively avoids attracting attention. Since her father’s death, she has perfected the art of becoming invisible.

But then, Jazmine gets in trouble. To stay in school, she agrees to help with the school play. Soon, everybody sees her. Though it feels uncomfortable at first, Jazmine begins making friends. Her past haunts her, though. She must face it before she can truly move forward.

I love the characters in this story, especially Jazmine. Her insecurity reminds me so much of my own feelings at that age. I also like how this story handles the effects of frequent moves, disability, and mental health issues.

If you like your young adult books on the realistic side, this could be a good one for you. (For my other reviews of Cecily Anne Paterson’s books, check out Love and Muddy Puddles and Charlie Franks is A-OK.

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.

Beyond

Beyond by M. C. Winkkle is a young adult science fiction book. It stars Stella, a young woman who is being held captive as an alien spy.

However, Stella’s no spy. She’s just an ordinary girl who has had trouble fitting in with the other kids. She has a close relationship with her mom, though. Her captors use that relationship to push Stella into cooperating with with them, and Stella soon manifests abilities she didn’t know she had. Maybe she’s not quite as ordinary as she thought she was.

This was a fun book that I enjoyed a great deal despite some disconcerting shifts in point of view. If you like alien invasion stories that have a fair bit of nuance, this book might be a good one for you to try.

Interested in other science fiction recommendations? Check out my take on The Left Hand of Darkness or Cinder.

Blessings and Happy Reading

The Captain’s Boy

The Captain’s Boy is the newest release from one of my critique group members–Don Callaway.

This story follows a Pennsylvania farm boy from the period of the American Revolution. When Isaiah and his father return from a supply-gathering trip, they find that Hessians have looted and burned their farm.

With the rest of the family dead, Isaiah’s grief-stricken father throws himself into a quest for revenge. Though physically with his father, Isaiah must handle his own grief alone. He also must find his own way through his grief and the process of becoming a man in this new war-torn world.

The historical detail is wonderful. I particularly enjoy seeing how everyday tasks in that time were handled. It reminds me a bit of the Little House books in that way.

This is a good story that I recommend, especially for readers who enjoy historical fiction or coming of age stories. You can purchase your own copy here. Like historical books? I’d also recommend Boxers and Saints, and Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Sarah, Plain and Tall

I’ve often heard that Sarah, Plain and Tall is a very good book, but somehow I hadn’t read it before.

It’s a deceptively simple story, short, with easy-to-read language. Despite its simplicity, the story packs a big emotional punch.

Sarah, who is in fact plain and tall, comes from her home near the sea to the Nebraska prairies. She’s supposed to marry Anna and Caleb’s father, but there’s a trial period. She, naturally, misses her home, and Anna and Caleb worry that she will leave them–as their mother left them (quite unwillingly, we’re sure) by dying not long after Caleb was born. It’s a melancholy story, with lots of yearning underneath the surface.

Though this isn’t my favorite of the Newberys I’ve read recently, I like it. I would recommend it, especially for those who like historical fiction and those who struggle with reading but want decent stories. To find more of my book reviews, check out the bookshelf tab of my website. You can also connect on Goodreads or Librarything.

Fran, the Second Time Around

Fran is starting over at a new school because of some tragedy in her past, and at first we’re not sure what that is, but we can see that it’s affecting everything about Fran.

I love the voice here, and I love the way that Fran struggles to move past her problems, but I’m not thrilled with how long it takes to learn what those problems truly are.

I also felt that there were some unresolved issues left hanging at the end of the story–issues related to her mother’s mental health, for example. And I’m not sure that Fran has truly come to a place of peace, though she seems to be on her way there.

But on the whole, this was a good book with strong character development, and I’d recommend it for people who like realistic young adult stories.

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.