Mrs. McGriff's Reading Blog

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Tag Archives: fantasy

March 5, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff
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Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Sometimes sequels let me know, but not in this case.  If it is even possible, I loved Scarlet (Feiwel and Friends 2013) even more than I did Cinder.  I introduce Cinder as my all-time favorite Cinderella story.  Marissa Meyer takes the sci-fi cyborg and stirs in elements from yet another fairy tale, this time Little Red Riding Hood.

Scarlet is tough and stubborn enough to walk blindly into danger to rescue her grandmother.  When the police won’t help her, she turns to the mysterious (and possibly dangerous) Wolf to track down what happened.  Scarlet discovers much more than she bargained for, including desperate secrets kept by Wolf and her grandmother.

Don’t worry.  We still get to follow the adventures of Cinder (and her new sidekick Thorne) as she escapes from prison and comes to terms with her real identity and growing Lunar power.  When Cinder’s path collides with Scarlet’s quest, things really get interesting.  Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the release of Cress in 2014 to find out any more.

Cinder:

Scarlet:

February 27, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff
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Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

Tony DiTerlizzi has created a vividly imagined world filled with fantastical beasts, outrageous danger, and unbelievable choices.  Not only do you get all of this packed into the pages of this book, but you can find more adventure on the WondLa website.  It comes complete with games, extras, and the brand new technology of Wondla Vision.  All you need is a copy of the book, a computer with Internet access, and a webcam.  Then you, too, can visit this world of never-ending wonder.

What will you find?  Who will you meet?  Start with Eva Nine, a girl who has lived her entire life in an underground bunker.  Muthr, a robot, has trained her to one day survive on the surface.  Now that day has come.  When a marauder attacks the bunker, Eva Nine must flee to the surface alone to escape and survive.  All she has to guide her is a scrap of cardboard with the words “Wond La” on them.  On her journey she encounters both dangers and friends, but no one like her.

I loved the blend of fairy tale and science fiction in this book.  I loved not knowing what kind of fascinating creature I might meet next.  Rovender and Otto are both fantastical, but in totally different ways.  Besteel is one of the nastiest villains I’ve encountered in quite a while.   My favorite, though, is the indomitable Eva Nine.  She is thrust into situations that would send most of us into utter despair, yet she always manages to find a way out, not just for herself, but also for her new friends.

February 18, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff
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Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

The Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi is extremely popular with  my 8th graders.  Since so many of them are reading these graphic novels and raving about them, I thought it was time for me to finish the series and release the new copies into my classroom.

Book One:  The Stonekeeper (Scholastic 2008)- A fatal accident prompts Emily and Navin and their mother to start over in an old house that has been in the family for years.  Once they arrive, all three are drawn into a mysterious world where they find their great-grandfather.  Emily is given a choice to become the newest Stonekeeper.  Either choice she makes will have far-reaching consequences, but can the Stone help her rescue her mother?

I was drawn into this vividly imagined world.   I loved the quirky creatures who inhabit this world as well as the danger that lurks within it.  Emily and Navin are characters I can cheer for as they seek to rescue their mother and learn the ways of Alledia.  Usually when I read graphic novels, I tend to rush, but I found myself lingering over the pictures in these books.  The colors are lush and vivid.

 

Book Two:  The Stonekeeper’s Curse (Scholastic 2009)- While Book I introduces the world of Alledia, Book II sets up the central conflict with the Elf King.  The Elf King is a rogue Stone Keeper who wants all of Alledia for himself and will destroy the world in order to get what he wants.  Emily learns more about using the power of the Stone and about the curse that comes with accepting its power.  If she cannot control it, it will control and destroy her just as it did with the Elf King.

Again, there are more characters to love.  In addition to Miskit and Cogsley (created by Silas to train and protect Emily), Leon, the red warrior fox makes his first appearance.  I love Leon, who reminds me a bit of Puss in Boots with is fierce bravado.  Navin learns of the role he plays in fulfilling the prophecy to overcome the Elf King.  I also love the gadoba trees and hope we hear more from them in later books.

 

Book Three, The Cloud Searchers (Scholastic 2010)- Emily and her crew must search for help from the missing city of Cielis.  They find an old pilot and his airship to take them on this journey.  Old Enzo has been ridiculed for years for searching on his own for the city.  Will he trust Leon and Emily enough to try one more time?  Meanwhile, time is running out. Will Emily’s crew of resistance fighters find the lost city before the Elf King finds–and destroys–them?

I love the portrayal of Emily and Navin’s mom now that she is awake and with them.  She won’t leave them to return home.  Even though she worries (it’s her full time job) and wants to protect them, she allows them to make their own choices and stays with them to offer what guidance and support she can.  Sometimes, though, the “mom” in her just pops out as when she insists on cleaning out Navin’s wound because we just don’t know what dangers lurk in this strange world.  We also get a more complex view of Trellis (the Elf Prince) and Luger (once a loyal servant to the Elf King).

 

Book Four, The Last Council (Scholastic 2011)- Now that Emily and Navin and Leon and their crew are finallly in Cielis, they hope to find help from the Guardian Council.  Unfortunately, they areseparated  at the city gate and Emily is asked to compete for a spot on the Council.  It’s not long before they all realize that something is rotten through and through.  Not completely through and through, Leon finds a few willing helpers left in the city even though most of the once bustling streets are now deserted.  The prison, however, is overflowing.  Will they learn the truth and reunite before it is too late?  Is there anyone left in the city who will become another ally?

Once again, I meet another character or two to love–and some more villains to hate.  The old Stonekeeper has an uncanny way of showing up at just the right time.  Cogsley and Miskit pick up Dagno, a baby wyvern bird.  I trust Leon even more, but not Max.  Max is not what he appears to be.  Even though their situation seems more and more dire by the minute, Navin reminds Emily of an important truth at the end–she is not alone.  Each of them may be imperfect and weak alone, but when they come together, they can do so much more.  How true that is for all of us.

 

Book Five, Prince of the Elves (Scholastic 2012)- Oh no!  The story doesn’t end.  That means I have to wait to see if Emily and Navin and their friends finally defeat the Elf King.  Meanwhile, this installment fills in some of the past for some important characters.  Trellis visits the void to learn from and to try to change the past of the elves.  Max also visits the voids and we learn of the event that drove him to the dark side of the Stonekeepers.  I still don’t trust him, but I understand him better now.  Emily also learns of the true nature of the stonekeeper’s curse on her visit to the void.  It’s much worse than anyone thought.

Don’t worry.  The action keeps coming, too, as the elf army attacks cities on their way to conquer Ceilis.  It seems as if nothing can stop them, much less the rag tag army of resistance fighters that are left.  Navin and Ally have to call on all their skill as pilots while Cogsley and the other robots struggle to get the fighting machines running in time.

February 1, 2013
by Mrs. McGriff
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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I finished reading Maggie Stiefvater’s latest book, The Raven Boys, last night, and I can’t get the words and images out of my head.  I am captivated with Blue–the daughter of a psychic, but she is the only one in her home who cannot see beyond.  She can, however, amplify the psychic energy around her.  I am fascinated with the Raven Boys–four classmates from the exclusive Aglionby School who are on a quest to discover ley lines and a sleeping Welsh king.  When Blue’s life intersects with theirs, they awaken more energy and unearth more secrets than they are ready for.  I am ready for the next book in the series, but until then enjoy this book trailer:

December 28, 2012
by Mrs. McGriff
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Fun on a Friday: Son by Lois Lowry

First Lois Lowry gave us Jonas in The Giver. And that ending–whether you loved it or hated it, it left us wondering what happened to Jonas and Gabe as they fled the Community.  What happened to the Community left behind?  Lowry gave us glimpses in two companion books, Gathering Blue and Messenger, but still I wondered.  Now with Son, Lowry takes us back to the Community where it all started and back to Jonas and Gabe.

Listen to what Lowry has to say about Son.  Click the link below:

 Lois Lowry Author Video for Son

i loved getting to know Clair and seeing the boy Gabe grew up to become.  I still wish I knew what happened to the Community and the Giver after Jonas left, but Clair escaped just after Jonas and Gabe.

December 14, 2012
by Mrs. McGriff
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The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede

What if the Wild West had been infused with magic?  What if the settlers on the Western Frontier had to fight monstrous, fantastical creatures?  What if being born the seventh son of a seventh son gave you incredible power?  What if being born the thirteenth child cursed you?  Would it be possible to overcome the stigma and start over?

Patricia Wrede weaves together an alternative history of the Wild West frontier with a world of magic in The Thirteenth Child.  She builds a world with not just one system of magic, but with three.  I love the world-building that combines this complex magic with the Wild West.  Even more, I love the characters.  Lan can be cocky with the knowledge he is the seventh son of a seventh son, but he sticks up for his sister Eff.  I love Eff.  She wants so desperately to be good, but his convinced by superstition that she is doomed to be cursed.  I love how she finds her own way with the encouragement of  a couple of incredible mentors.

Enjoy this book trailer:

December 11, 2012
by Mrs. McGriff
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Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

I loved Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton when it first came out and have been eagerly waiting for the companion novel, Blood Keeper.  Once I finished Blood Keeper, it is definitely my favorite of the two books, but I’m finding very hard to write about.  It is a more complex book, with more woven through its pages.  Here is a list of what I loved about it:

  • Mab Prowd:  I wasn’t sure I liked Mab at first.  She is wild with magic, and I thought she was careless–even cocky–at first when she created the homunculus just to find out more about what lay buried beneath the roses.  Didn’t she know what trouble that might cause?  She’s not perfect by any means, but as I got to know her I learned that she cares–about Will, about the boy who comes to stay, about the land and about the magic.
  • Will is perfectly ordinary but struggling through his own problems dealing with a complex family.  He doesn’t want to let his family down, but he’s not sure he wants the life they have chosen for him, either.  His collision with Mab’s wild magic adds to his confusion.  He only slowly opens his mind to Mab’s magic even though he is drawn to her wildness.
  • Just as in Blood Magic, a third point of view is revealed through letters that give a glimpse of the past.  No one can escape the past, even when its secrets are hidden.
  • The magic has a rich history and tradition that is more fully explored in this book.  Its roots sink deep into the Kansas soil and grow through succeeding generations.  The blood witches are a family connected by their magic.  They may disagree, but they come together to defend each other.  The magic itself is neither good nor evil, but those who practice it can choose whether to use it for good or evil.
  • The villain is truly evil and downright creepy.  The more power he gains, the more ruthless he becomes.  It will take sacrifice to stop him.

Best of all, days after turning the last page, I’m still mulling over the story.  Characters and images fill my mind and draw me back into the magic a little longer.

November 28, 2012
by Mrs. McGriff
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I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

I had been hearing good things about I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder, but it wasn’t until I bought it that I realized it is a novel in verse.  That just made it all the better and instantly moved it up to the top of my TBR pile.  I love novels in verse, and so do many of my students.

The story opens with Ava sitting through the funeral of Jackson, the first boy she ever loved.  Not only is she is devastated by his death,but she also blames herself for it.  Little by little, the short poems on each page reveal more and more of Ava’s story–her grief, her guilt, her indecision.

Then Ava begins to sense Jackson’s presence in her house.  At first its just a feeling of cold or a glimpse in a mirror.  Then Jackson begins to enter her thoughts and leave her messages by turning on lights or slamming doors.  How can Ava go on with life when her dead boyfriend is still hanging on to hers?

I loved this romantic ghost story and can’t wait to hear what my students think about it.

November 26, 2012
by Mrs. McGriff
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Graphic novel roundup

My students this year are loving graphic novels, and I am feeling the lack in my book collection.  I currently have only three books on that shelf.  That’s been pretty typical this entire year.  At the Scholastic book fair this week, I stocked up on some more titles.  I’m reading them as quickly as I can so I can put them in the hands of students.  Here they come!

Poe by J. Barton Mitchell (writer), Dean Kotz (art), and many more (BOOM! Studios 2011)

At first I wasn’t sure how to take this fictional biography of Poe, but the further I got into it, the more I liked it.  The story line of Poe’s supposed life is as dark and twisted as his short stories and poems.  He’s haunted by a Raven and sees visions of gruesome death’s.  As Poe helps his police detective (a word Poe creates in this story) brother, they escape one bizarre event after another.  The most fun for me was recognizing elements from Poe’s stories in their adventures. The dark artwork lends even more doom to the mood.

Avengers by Paul Toben and others (Marvel worldwide 2010)

I read this one for my students.  I am not a huge superhero fan, but I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.  I wss surprised by the somewhat silly humor and allusions.this is a collection of previously collected comics Superheros, Supernova, and Tails of the Pet Avengers.  If have to confess that my favorites were from the Pet Avengers.  Classic superhero artwork carries the story along with the text.

Excaliber: The Legend of King Arthur: A Graphic Novel by Tony Lee and Sam Heart (Candlewick Press 2010)

No matter what form it’s in, I love stories of King Arthur amd the knights of the Round Table.  This version focuses closely on Arthur and how his decision to forget the Lady of the Lake bring about his death and the end of Camelot. Lancelot and his love for Arthur’s Guinivere also are prominent. Lush illustrations add to the fantasy components with the faerie, both seelie and unseelie.

Trouble Maker by Janet and Alex Evanovich, art by Joelle Jones (Dark Horse Books 2010, 2011) 

Explosions, kidnappings, and angry chickens lead Alex Barnaby and Sam Hooker on a non stop thrill ride through the streets of MiamI and the swamps of the Florida Keys as they try to outsmart a voodoo priest.  The trouble begins when Lorna is kidnapped and held hostage for a statue stolen by her boss, Walter Percy.  The nefarious Nitro will stop at nothing to get him back.  Can Alex and Sam rescue Rosa and return the Baron Samedi statue to the museum before it’s too late?  Vibrant colors bring Miami and South Florida to the page.

 The Clique: A Graphic Novel by Lisi Harrison & Yishan Li (Yen Press/Hachette Book Group 2010)

I have never gotten around to reading the popular Clique series even though my middle school girls have raved about it for years.  When I saw this graphic novel edition at the book fair, I had to grab it.  I can see why middle school girls love it.  Massie and her friends are the ultimate mean girls, but newcomer Claire manages to hold her own and even get sweet revenge as she navigates the very expensive social customs of her new school.  The manga illustrations are perfect for these girls.

I know these graphic novels won’t stay on my shelf for long.  Which ones do you want to read?

November 18, 2012
by Mrs. McGriff
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Just for Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Tera Lynn Childs creates a satisfying ending to the trilogy of books about Lily Sanderson, a secret mermaid princess learning about life on land as a high school student.  Just for Fins (Katherine Tegen Books 2012) is my favorite in this series because Lily has grown into her own person with grace and courage.

No longer is Lily plagued with deciding what is right for herself (Brody or Quinn?  Princess or not?).  Instead she is ready to take on the responsibilities that are her birthright–and not a moment to soon.  Trouble is brewing under the waves as multiple kingdoms are threatened by a changing climate and increasing pollution from humans.  The leaders of the seven seas come at Lily’s invitation, but they do not respond favorably to her pleas for help.  Many have secretly decided to take matters into their own hands, threatening the secrecy that protects the mer kingdoms.  Can Princess WaterLily uncover and stop the plot. before it is too late?  Meanwhile, an ancient mer-law threatens to separate Lily and Quinn, this time forever.  Quinn must pass three tests of his physical, mental, and emotional endurance without any help from anyone.

I really liked how the characters grow through this series.  Not only does Lily grow into a leader, but Quinn also changes through his quests.  He might even make a believable merman by the end.  The biggest change, though comes with Dosinia and Brody.  No longer a spoiled brat rebelling against everything, Dosinia becomes Lily’s staunchest ally.

This trilogy has been very popular in my classroom, and I think my readers will enjoy this final installment.  Of course, they may be begging for more!