Book Blogger Hop! (early)

For those fellow hoppers, welcome to Imagination in Focus!

The idea of the Hop is to network and find cool blogs you might not have found otherwise. Check it out at Crazy-for-Books and join in the fun!

Review - THE RED NECKLACE

**It's another week of no-fun-reading, so I'm posting a review from a pre-blog read...

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

# of pages: 416 (pb)

Amelia's Age-Level Suggestion: 13+

My Thoughts

I usually am a very big fan of historical fiction---if it is done right. Ann Rinaldi is probably my top historical fiction writer--she happens to write stuff geared more towards kids, and to me that is an awesome balance. Sally Gardner is perhaps just a hair under her, but throughout the entire story (and it is quite a lengthy story) I was completely captivated.

The setting is 1789-1792 France, with a brief switch over to England. I saw similarites to The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities both, not only in the setting and plot but also in the story's more intricate details. Sally Gardner is a perfect author for young readers because she has such a natural gift for using literary elements-- The Red Necklace is full of clever metaphors, allusions and personifications as 18th century France is brought to life.

The two main villains of the novel--a foppish (that's my word of the day, I guess) Marquis and the sinister Count Kalliovski --are entertainingly one-sided. JUST BECAUSE A CHARACTER IS ONE-SIDED DOES NOT MEAN HE IS FLAT! Sometimes the best villains - especially in childrens/YA literature - are the ones who are just downright bad. That being said, the narration didnt really show Kalliovski's POV until the very last of the story, and I would have liked more of a window into his behavior throughout the story. I'm totally okay with evil characters doing evil things, but I'd like to know why they do evil things or what their purpose is for doing evil things. I'm still a bit confused, in fact, about Kalliovski's reasons for doing anything.

While I love the story's two protagonists - a mysterious gypsy boy named Yann and a longsuffering aristocrat-with-a-heart-of-gold Sido, I feel a bit disappointed by their relationship. I was under the impression that the book would spend a great deal of time - or at least SOME time - on their romantic development, but actually, they only have a few conversations together. Yes, they're in love and all that, but why? Sally Gardner is such a talented author and she really has a gift for words, so I wish she could have given their relationship a bit more detail.

- My one main criticism of the book comes out of this: Her beginning and end segments are clearly the strength of the book, and the middle drags. That being said, the last half of the book, I'd say (beginning when the book flashes forward to 1792) at times feels really rushed, and her once descriptive narrative voice gets choppy and sloppy. For example, when Yann first sees Sido after a 3-year-absence, they just start talking like "oh, whatever. there you are." And then ending...? It should have been better explained. I knew it was coming, but still... an author really needs to expand on the great "WHY's" of their books. And one more nitpicky thing: In historical fiction (particularly kids/YA) you cant just throw out characters without taking the time to explain who they are. The "Big Three" of the Revolution--Robespierre, Marat, and Danton-- are all mentioned, but in a very random "name-dropping" sort of way. I will admit that my little issue could stem totally from the fact that I am a college-age history major. MS and HS kids will love this, and I certainly see this as a book I could read aloud to my future students.

Amelialand Rating

V: It's a book about the French Revolution, so yeah, it's pretty violent...but not really in a "disturbing" way - I would definitely recommend this to middle school and up

S: Some pretty blunt innuendos, which surprised/annoyed me. Completely unnecessary, but

Gardner probably thought she was being witty or something.

L: pretty 'PG'-level

Final Rating: 4/5. If you're into historical fiction, this should definitely be on your to-read list :)

Cover Wars [9]

This week I'm going to do a quick Cover Wars - the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike

* I have yet to read these...are they any good?

Here are the US covers for Wings and Spells

vs the UK covers...

And I want to know what Enchantments looks like!!

Personally, I like the UK ones better - they seem cuter and the US ones seem kind of bland :)

Have a good rest of the week

My LAST OLYMPIAN anniversary giveaway!

Zac & Corbin couldn't be here today, so I got another piece of eye candy to announce my next giveaway! Well, actually, I agreed to stop following him if he's announce my giveaway...so without further adoo, here is:


That's right! In just a few weeks it will be May 4, the 1-year anniversary of The Last Olympian's release. To celebrate (and it indeed is worth celebrating - long live the PJ series!) I'm going to be giving away one copy from The Book Depository--and you know what that means: INTERNATIONAL!

this one really is the best in the series!

• Oh, and if I hit 215 followers by May 3, I'll give away 2 copies - two is better than one, right?!

Real quick, here's the fine print:

1. You must be a follower to enter - and I do check. Please, please be sure you click the "Follow" button on the right-hand side. :)

2. You need to fill out my little form in order for the entry to count.

3. If you are a blogger and you win, please post a review of this book once you're finished reading. Yes, the series is hugely popular, but it's always good to spread the word!

This contest will run through May 3, at 11:59 PM (central time).

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

My Almost-200 Giveaway!

Hello, everybody! It's time for another contest!

My buddy Zac was so kind to reschedule his waxing so he could announce my next contest! And look, he brought Corbin along, too!

2 winners will have a chance to win...

• My slightly used UK edition of Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher!
• My slightly used UK edition of Sapphique, the sequel to Incarceron - For US/Canada folks, this won't be out in the US until December '10!

My sweet little grandparents have agreed to ship these for me, so I'm sorry but THIS CONTEST is for US & Canada only (my other contest will be int'l!)

Okay, here are some things to know:

1. You must be a follower - and I do check :) Just click on the "Follow" button which is on the right-hand side

2. When you fill out the form, there is a question that asks if you are entering to win Incarceron or Sapphique or both. So really, you're entering 2 contests: there will be a winner from the Incarceron/Both category, and there will be a winner from the Sapphique/Both category.

3. Remember, these are UK covers, so they look like THIS:

4. I always love comments (they're like fudge brownies to me) but in this case, they won't count as an entry.

5. If you are a blogger and you win, please agree to read & review these titles (ESPECIALLY SAPPHIQUE) so we can spread the word on these exciting books!

THIS CONTEST will run through May 2, 2010 at 11:00 PM (Central Time)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

My second contest will be up TOMORROW - so check back for that, too!

review - THE HOLLOW KINGDOM

The Hollow Kingdom - Clare Dunkle
Genre: YA Fantasy
# of pages: 240 (pb)
Publisher: Henry Holt, Macmillan
Age-Level Suggestion: 13&up

In nineteenth-century England, a powerful sorcerer and King of the Goblins chooses Kate, the elder of two orphan girls recently arrived at their ancestral home, Hallow Hill, to be his bride and queen.

I just read this book again last night, and I have to say, I love it *MORE* than the first time!! The Hollow Kingdom is absolutely one of my all-time favorite books!! WAY TO GO, CLARE DUNKLE!!!! Thanks for writing such an amazing story :)

Original Review: Wow! I started this at 7 at night and finished at 2something in the morning! It was that engrossing! The fact that Clare Dunkle's writing was praised by Lloyd Alexander (one of my favorite authors of all time) really impressed me, and I see why. Though published within the last 5 years, she writes with a lyrical narrative not seen among today's more "urban fantasy/modern" authors. I can't really describe it, but it sounded reminiscent of Alexander's own work: simple yet elegant. And I have to say, I was and still am almost entirely in love with the story! Although the story's order of events were...unconventional (certainly like nothing I've ever read before) I was not bothered or uneasy in the least. If you've read the story, you may know what I mean: there are some things in fantasy stories that you just don't expect to happen, and when they do, it's very surprising, to say the least! And in fact, the sometimes shocking plotline is what I remember most about this story - the things you'd never expect to happen actually do - and from those shocking twists and turns comes an amazing, beautiful story that will stay with you forever. At least, this story will definitely stay with me forever.

This is a simple enough love story, and I found myself found it a little similar to the Phantom of the Opera scenario...but it is still different... It doesn't take an English professor to crack the major themes and the overall message of the story. Typical YA: sometimes those "messages" tend to be a little "after-school-special" for my taste, but still... great story, very well-developed characters, and an extremely talented

author.

PS... he's totally not described this way, but I couldn't help but picture the Goblin King as the one played by David Bowie in Labyrinth! I *LOVE* Labyrinth and you all need to watch this movie after you read the book!

book blogger hop!

This Friday, I think I'll head on over to the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books!

I've seen this a lot and just had to join in!

The Hop is a weekly event where book bloggers and readers can connect to find new blogs to read. It's a great way to network with other bloggers and make new friends!

So hop on over to Crazy for Books and sign up today! It's FUN!