Books finished in December

1. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
2. The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 3
3. The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
4. Siberiak: My Cold War Adventure on the River Ob by Jenny Jaeckel
5. Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Hepperman
6. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
7. Audacious (a novel in verse) by Gabrielle S. Prendergast
8. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

REVIEWS:

1. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

Discussed elsewhere.

2. The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 3

Discussed elsewhere.

3. The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

The Crown of Embers is the second book in a series and picks up where The Girl of Fire and Thorns ends. At seventeen years old, Elisa is a hero and a queen with enemies at every side, a war scarred kingdom to rebuild, an army to raise, and the truth about her godstone and destiny to figure out — not to mention choosing a prince consort to marry and ensure her countries stability.

Though this is clearly a middle book, strung between the beginning and the end, it was better than the first book. The story opens just a few months after a battle and things seem almost cheery and hopeful, but the ease is quickly ripped away when an assassin comes for Elisa during her birthday procession, causing a rippling effect of panic and riots throughout her kingdom. This is immediately followed by a succession of bloody near-death incidents, court intrigues, and difficult decision making that leaves me never wanting to be the ruler of any country EVER. Elisa grew a lot in the first book and here we see her grow even more as she tries to figure out just what it means to be a queen and rule.

Like the first book, there is also a love story and this, too, was a more interesting story to me, more grown up and more complicated. Her reasons behind holding back are understandable; she’s a queen, she must show propriety in all her actions, and she must choose a partner who will help consolidate her power. Love has little to do with marriage in her world.

Altogether a solid story and I can’t wait to read the final book.

4. Siberiak: My Cold War Adventure on the River Ob by Jenny Jaeckel

Note: This was an ARC provided by the publishers through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Siberiak is a graphic memoir about Jaeckel’s experiences during the end of the Cold War, when she took part in a young ambassadors program in Russia. The group of American students flew to Russia and joined up with a group of Russian students and together they took a journey down the river Ob, camping, speaking and laughing in pantomime, and partying by the campfire.

The art is cartoony, with animal headed characters playing out the travelogue, which fits with the lighthearted tone of the story. For the most part, relations between the two cultures are pleasant with the Russian communities being very open and welcoming. Conflicts are few and far between. The story is not riveting, being a soft narrative of a mostly peaceful journey with rained out roads and blisters from rowing. But though light, it was entertaining enough and interesting to learn that such delegations existed.

5. Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Hepperman

Discussed elsewhere.

6. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

It feels good to finish out a series all in one go, something I haven’t done in a while. As this book is a direct continuation of the previous book, I won’t talk much about the plot due to spoilers.

This book felt a bit more disjointed and scattered in it’s plot than in previous books, with a lot of threads of story wrapped up fairly quickly and perhaps too neatly. However, Elisa really reaches her true heroic potential in this book, becoming a powerful rival both with and without the power of her godstone. She’s clever and formidable. Though she’s young, ruling a kingdom at seventeen, it’s clear that she will likely grow into even a stronger ruler as she ages. The trilogy concluded in a satisfying manner and I enjoyed the journey.

7. Audacious (a novel in verse) by Gabrielle S. Prendergast

Note: This book was an ARC provided by the publisher through the Early Reviewers program on LibraryThing.

“I’m wary of them
Their glossy lips hide sharp fangs
And I have been bitten
One too many times.”

After a spat of problems at previous schools, Raphaelle decides to remake herself at her new school as Ella, a good girl who fits in and doesn’t say or do the wrong things. But her plan is short lived. The popular girls are quick to mock her and she finds that her audacious self soon shines through. She makes friends with Samir, a Muslim boy in her art class, she is drawn to. Each of them is pulled aside to make an art piece for the student art competition, and each comes up with a society challenging piece of art that evoke their frustration with their lives and the world, drawing a considerable amount of controversy and problems.

This novel is written in free verse and in some cases this means prose broken up into lines and stanzas. However, Prendergast does a good job of making each poem feel whole within itself and presents some good poetry in the mix of telling the story.

“The weight of that name
Is sometimes a mountain
With a cave of secrets

And sometimes a feather
Floating on a puff of air”

I didn’t expect to like this story as much as I did. I didn’t expect events to take the turns they did or the characters to be as fully fleshed out as they were. I have to say it was a very pleasant surprise.

8. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

Rose travels to a beach cottage with her parents every summer, where she always hangs out with her summer friend Windy. But this one summer things are not as light hearted as they used to be. Rose is growing up and feeling caught between longing for an older boy and hanging out with her younger friend. Her mom is dealing with some sort of depression and can’t seem to have fun. Her dad is trying too hard.

This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a summer in which nothing happens, and yet everything seems to be changing. The art is purple and blue toned, whispy, reflecting the floating, absent, lazy feeling of a summer by the water. Somehow in the midst of these lazy days, Rose’s life shifts and we can see her not quite, but beginning her journey into adulthood. The story progresses naturally, almost like a memoir. An excellent graphic novel.