Waiting on Wednesday (35)

WoW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach
Speak/3.31.2011
Description (from GoodReads):
A haunted castle, a handsome young man dead for four hundred years, one heck of a scary portrait of a witch, and a treasure hunt -- not to mention a princess for a roommate! -- all await 15 year old American girl Caitlyn Monahan when she earns a scholarship to a French boarding school.


There are secrets behind the stone walls of Chateau de la Fortune, buried for centuries along with the mystery of who killed Raphael, the charming ghost who visits Caitlyn at night. But as Caitlyn unearths the history of the castle, nothing scares her as badly as the secret she learns about herself, and the reason she was chosen to come to the Fortune School.

And nothing breaks her heart as badly as falling in love with a dead guy.

I think I was most drawn to this novel by the fact that she falls for a dead guy. Even though this plot is nothing like Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR series, I can't help but compare the romances... and find myself liking the similarity! The rest of the plot sounds interesting as well. I'm a fan of boarding school mystery type novels, so I'm definitely interested!

Review: Faithful by Janet Fox

Title: Faithful
Author: Janet Fox
Publisher: Speak
Release Date: 5.13.10
Genre: YA (Historical)
Keywords: Mothers & Daughters, Love, Family, Loss, Social status
Pages: 336
Description (from GoodReads):
Sixteen-year-old Maggie Bennet’s life is in tatters. Her mother has disappeared, and is presumed dead. The next thing she knows, her father has dragged Maggie away from their elegant Newport home, off on some mad excursion to Yellowstone in Montana. Torn from the only life she’s ever known, away from her friends, from society, and verging on no prospects, Maggie is furious and devastated by her father’s betrayal. But when she arrives, she finds herself drawn to the frustratingly stubborn, handsome Tom Rowland, the son of a park geologist, and to the wild romantic beauty of Yellowstone itself. And as Tom and the promise of freedom capture Maggie’s heart, Maggie is forced to choose between who she is and who she wants to be.

I'm sorry to report that I didn't enjoy this book as much I had expected to. I still think that the cover is unbelievably gorgeous - I couldn't stop myself from picking it up and admiring it in the bookstore - but I found the pages within sadly lacking.


First off, I will say that Janet Fox appears to be a competent writer with a wonderful imagination - that was not my issue with the novel. My main two complaints stemmed from the main character and the pace of the novel.


Maggie is one of the whiniest characters I've ever read. I'll admit that her situation isn't desireable and I would be miserable as well, but after chapters upon chapters of her bemoaning her lot, I started to lose interest. I wanted her to take charge of her life and go after what she wanted, instead of merely talking about it! Part of her behavior (and lack of initiative) may be due the time period in which the novel takes place. If this is the case, I feel confident saying that my annoyance at this aspect of the novel may have been merely personal perference, rather than the fault of the character.


Usually, if a book has a strong plot and characters that I feel a connection to, I don't mind - and appreciate - a slower plot. Unfortunately, since I wasn't particularly attached to any character, the slow pace of Faithful made it difficult to for me to stay focused on the story. The only character that I truly enjoyed was Tom.


That said, I wasn't particularly impressed by Maggie and Tom's relationship. Maggie acted like a spoiled little girl most the time, so it was refreshing to see Tom confront her when she said particularly rude and narrow things. I really did like Tom's character, though he did come off as preachy in a couple passages.


Faithful did improve toward the end of the novel, so I will probably look into the next book, Forgiven. Readers who generally enjoy Historical YA should still take the time to read this novel, especially since it was released in paperback and can be obtained at a reasonable price.


Grade: C


Cover Notes:
I adore this cover! I've always wanted to go out west and this cover makes me daydream about Yellowstone! Plus, it totally made me pick up this book, even though it's something I might not usually read.

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

WoW is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Faithful by Janet Fox (Speak, 5/13/2010)
Sixteen-year-old Maggie Bennet’s life is in tatters. Her mother has disappeared, and is presumed dead. The next thing she knows, her father has dragged Maggie away from their elegant Newport home, off on some mad excursion to Yellowstone in Montana. Torn from the only life she’s ever known, away from her friends, from society, and verging on no prospects, Maggie is furious and devastated by her father’s betrayal. But when she arrives, she finds herself drawn to the frustratingly stubborn, handsome Tom Rowland, the son of a park geologist, and to the wild romantic beauty of Yellowstone itself. And as Tom and the promise of freedom capture Maggie’s heart, Maggie is forced to choose between who she is and who she wants to be.

I am completely in love with the cover and description of this novel. I'm so excited to read it... and hope it lives up to my expectations!

Waiting on Wednesday (18): Fairy Tale Edition

WoW is hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine!

This week's WoW is the Fairy Tale Edition as part of Once Upon a Week, hosted by Today's Adventure!

Little Miss Red by Robin Palmer (Speak, 2/9/10)

Sophie Greene gets good grades, does the right thing, and has a boyfriend that her parents— and her younger brother—just love. (Too bad she doesn’t love him.) Sophie dreams of being more like Devon Deveraux, star of her favorite romance novels, but, in reality, Sophie isn’t even daring enough to change her nail polish. All of that changes when Sophie goes to Florida to visit her grandma Roz, and she finds herself seated next to a wolfishly goodlooking guy on the plane. The two hit it off, and before she knows it, Sophie’s living on the edge. But is the drama all it’s cracked up to be?

Review: Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor

Title: Seeing Redd
Author: Frank Beddor
Publisher: SPEAK
Pub. Date: 2007
Genre: YA
Main Themes: Retelling, Alice in Wonderland, Love, Family, Good vs. Evil
Pages: 371
Plot (from back):
"Wonderland under attack.
Alyss of Wonderland's rule has only just begun, and already those who prefere chaos to peace are threatening to destroy everything worth imagining. With her life now a mix of duty, love, and tough decisions, Alyss is doing her best to keep pace with the nonstop demands. And then a series of phantom sighting set fire to an urban myth. The people think Her Imperial Viciousness has returned. And everyone is seeing Redd.
But has Redd somehow freed herself and her chief assassin, The Cat, from the confines of the Heart's Crystal? If not, then who has resurrected Redd's brutal foot soldiers, the Glass Eyes, ans et them loose to attack Wonderland on all sides? Can Alyss unite her country and her people to defend White Imagination, or will Wonderland be lost?"

Seeing Redd is a wonderful continuation of the story Frank Beddor began with The Looking Glass Wars. As a little girl I was in love with Disney's Alice in Wonderland, but I've found a new love in Beddor's Alyss.

I am constantly surprised by the intricacy of Alyss' world. Beddor perfectly weaves fantasy elements with more concrete elements, like mechanical fighting machines. I can honestly say that I've never read anything like The Looking Glass Wars books.

I love the fact that Beddor claims that he is telling Alyss' true story, and proves his point by using characters and places that were present in Carrol's version of Alice in Wonderland, but with a dark twist.

There is an added character and plot line in Beddor's version of the story: Alyss has a beau. Readers saw bit of Alyss and Dodge's relationship in the first installment, but Seeing Redd allowed for further development of their story. Their love story is epic in ways, yet absolutely real at the same time. Alyss and Dodge are so absolutely perfect for one another - they just can never seem to find the right time or place to be together - life and politics always seem to get in the way. Their story is not to be missed and  one of my favorite parts of the story.

There were quite a few secondary characters in book one that were discussed much more in the second book, which made for an interesting read because you see how all the characters lives are intertwined.

Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Writing: 10
Romance: 10
Originality: 10
Total: 50/50 (A!)

I highly recommend The Looking Glass Wars trilogy! As a fan of the original Alice in Wonderland and as a fantasy reads, Frank Beddor's books have all the elements I appreciate in a book!

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