"The Infernal Devices" by Cassandra Clare

I just finished reading The Clockwork Angel and The Clockwork Prince, the first two in a planned trilogy by Cassandra Clare. The Clockwork Princess, the final installment, will be released on March 19, 2013.

These two books impressed me quite a bit. I would have to say that Cassandra Clare is now one of my favorite authors. I read the first three books of her first series, The Mortal Instruments, and plan on reading the fourth and fifth novels, which have already been published, and the final novel in the series, City of Heavenly Fire, which is planned for publication in March 2014.

The Infernal Devices trilogy is a prequel to The Mortal Instruments series. Devices is a fantasy/steampunk story set in the late 1800s of London. Instruments is an urban fantasy series set in modern-day New York City. Devices might be a harder sell to teens who are sickened by anything "historical" or "old," but they might feel inclined to read it if they have already been hooked in by Instruments.

Okay, so, The Infernal Devices trilogy is about a 16-year-old girl, Tessa, who has just found out that she has the magical ability to transform into any person, so long as she can touch something that once belonged to them. Once she transforms into someone one time, she can then transform into the person at will without touching one of their belongings. This talent makes Tessa an extremely valuable tool (weapon?!), because not only can she become any other person physically, she can also access their thoughts and feelings while she is transformed.

Of course, there is a romantic element in this series, which really kept me reading. There is Will, the brooding, emotionally-marred, witty one that can't seem to decide whether he loves or hates Tessa, and Jem, the thoughtful, caring, but physically ailing one, who at first seems to be only a friend for Tessa. As usual we have the "who do I really love" and "who really loves me" story, but Clare is a better storyteller than that, and fleshes out the story with amazing characters and a twisting plot that keeps you turning the pages.

I'm so excited to read The Clockwork Princess when it comes out, but in the meantime I have lots of books to read for class, for various practicum events, and other stuff!

The Clockwork Angel book trailer:

Happy Reading!
Krystal

"Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson

Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Loss

163 pages

Ages 10+

Summary:

Jess becomes friends with Leslie, the girl who moves in next door. 

The two of them create another world, Terabithia, in the woods behind their houses. 

In Terabithia, the two of them are royalty. 

Leslie teaches Jess how to be brave. 

When Leslie is gone, Jess is left to rebuild Terabithia, which is not the same without its queen.

Read-alikes:

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Happy Reading!

Krystal

"Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale

Fantasy, Royalty

314 pages

Ages 10+

Summary:

Miri is a 14-year-old girl from Mount Eskel. She lives with her father and her 18-year-old sister.

Her sister works in the quarry with her father and Miri does the house work because she is too small to work in the quarry.

One day men arrive from the lowlands where the king lives and announces that all of the girls ages 12-17 will be taken to the Princess Academy where they will learn to be proper ladies.

A year later, the prince will come and choose one of them to be his future wife. The girls are treated very harshly by their teacher, but forge great friendships.

The prince chooses Miri's friend, and Miri returns to Mount Eskel where she plans to start a school to teach everyone in her village to read.

Read-alikes:

Twelve Dancing Princesses Series by Jessica Day George
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris


Happy Reading!
Krystal

"Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Fantasy, Fairy Tale

232 pages

Ages 8+

Summary:

 

In the tradition of Cinderella, Ella is the daughter of a widower who has lost all of his riches.

In order to better his social position, her father marries a woman with two evil daughters.

He leaves Ella with them while he tries to regain his wealth and she is left to be their house slave.

Unfortunately, at birth Ella was cursed by a fairy to be forever and always obedient.

Read-alikes:

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Mira, Mirror by Mette Harrison
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley


Happy Reading!
Krystal

"The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Steam punk, Illustrated novel

533 pages

Ages 9+

Summary:

Hugo Cabret, a 12-year-old orphan boy spends his days winding the clocks in a 1930s Paris train station and attempting to fix the one thing he has left of his father--a broken automaton.

Hugo befriends a girl, Isabelle, whose godfather owns the toy booth in the train station where Hugo has been stealing parts to fix the automaton.

Along the way, Hugo and Isabelle learn that Isabelle's godfather is one of the most famous original filmmakers and that Hugo's automaton was the old man's invention.

Once Hugo repairs the machine, he discovers that the key Isabelle wears around her neck would fit its key hole.

The two of them activate the automaton, and it draws a magnificent picture of a scene from Hugo's late father's favorite film, made by Isabelle's godfather.

Read-alikes:

 

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Coming up next:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Happy Reading! <3
Krystal

"Found: The Missing, Book 1" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Found: The Missing, Book 1 by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mystery, Time Travel

320 pages

Ages 8+

Summary:

Jonah has known his whole life that he was adopted as a baby. His friend Chip just found out he was also adopted as a baby.

The two of them begin receiving mysterious messages about the circumstances of their adoptions.

Jonah and Chip learn that they were plucked from the past by time traveling humanitarians and given up for adoption to 21st century families.

In the end, the boys, along with Jonah's sister and another time travel adoptee, get catapulted to the 15th century.

Read-alikes:

Unwind by Neal Schusterman
The 39 Clues Series by various authors
Tunnels by Roderick Gordon

Coming up next:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Happy Reading! <3
Krystal

"Crow" by Barbara Wright

Crow by Barbara Wright

Historical fiction

304 pages

Ages 10+

 

Summary:

Moses Thomas is a 12-year-old African-American boy living with his family in 1898 Wilmington, NC. More than a half century after emancipation, blacks and whites have been coexisting in Wilmington fairly peacefully.

However, when the editor of the black newspaper writes an editorial suggesting that white woman can be attracted to black men, the white supremacist Red Shirt militia rises up and takes the city by force, shooting and stabbing black men and setting fire to black businesses.

Moses is forced into the realization that the fair world his father tried to create for him does not yet exist, and that in the face of hatred, logic and reason mean nothing.

Read-alikes:

Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood
The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Coming up next:

Found: The Missing, Book 1 by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Happy Reading! <3
Krystal