Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book.
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco.
Goodreads Synopsis:
From the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series comes a new blockbuster series…
Two sisters.
One brutal murder.
A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…
And an intoxicating romance.
Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…
Title: The Lost Wonderland Diaries Author: J. Scott Savage Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy Publisher: Shadow Mountain Source: Publisher Format: Paperback ARC Release Date: September 8, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Something monstrous wants to exit Wonderland and enter the real world.
Lewis Carroll, author of the classic book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, secretly recorded the true story of his actual travels to Wonderland in four journals which have been lost to the world . . . until now.
Celia and Tyrus discover the legendary Lost Diaries of Wonderland and fall into a portal that pulls them into the same fantasy world as the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. However, Wonderland has vastly changed. Some of the characters that Tyrus remembers from the book have been transformed into angry monsters.
Helped by the Cheshire Cat and a new character, Sylvan, a young rabbit, Celia and Tyrus desperately work to solve puzzles and riddles, looking for a way out of Wonderland. But the danger increases when the Queen of Hearts begins hunting them, believing the two young visitors hold the key to opening multiple portals to multiple worlds, and she will stop at nothing to capture them.
Will the crazed creatures of Wonderland escape into the real world? Can Celia and Tyrus stop them and save both worlds? Or will they be trapped in Wonderland forever?
Review:
Celia is the great-great-great-grandniece of Lewis Carroll. Her mom is a librarian, and they move across the country so her mom can start a new job. Celia has to spend her summer days at her mom’s library, where she meets Tyrus, another new student to the area. After they meet, they find a box in Celia’s mom’s office. They use Tyrus’s imagination and Celia’s logic to open the secret box, which holds Lewis Carroll’s lost diaries. These diaries hold the secrets to opening a portal into Wonderland, which is in dire need of help to get rid of the monsters that have taken over. Celia and Tyrus have to use their unique skills to help save Wonderland.
Celia and Tyrus were both bullied at their previous schools for being different. Celia is dyslexic, and has always felt left out because she can’t learn like her other classmates. Tyrus buries himself in his books, which his classmates never understood. They were both bullied, but through their adventure in Wonderland, they learn that their differences are what make them strong and unique.
I loved the puzzles in this book. The word puzzles were written in the style of Lewis Carroll’s writing, yet they were original. I wasn’t a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, but I loved this story. The puzzles had the same quirky style of Carroll, but without the strange and confusing parts.
One thing that I didn’t like about this story was that it switched between narrative perspectives. The chapters where Celia and Tyrus were in the real world had a first-person narrative from Celia’s perspective. The chapters in Wonderland, which took up most of the book, were narrated by a third-person narrator. There were only one or two chapters that didn’t include Celia, so they could have been changed to be either all first-person or all third-person. I read an advanced copy of this book and this narration style could have been changed in the final copy, so I didn’t hold it against the book in my rating.
This was a fun story! I hope there will be a sequel.
Thank you Shadow Mountain for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
Have you read The Lost Wonderland Diaries? What did you think of it?
Title: The Archived (The Archived #1) Author: Victoria Schwab Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: January 22, 2013 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was: a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost, Da’s death was hard enough, but now that her little brother is gone too, Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself may crumble and fall.
In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.
Review:
Mackenzie Bishop’s family moves to a renovated hotel for a fresh start after the death of her brother and her grandfather. Mac had a special bond with her grandfather: they were both Keepers, people who return the dead to the Library where they belong. The dead are called Histories, and sometimes they escape the shelves in the Library where they are kept, and they can wreck havoc in the world if they get out. Mac meets Wes, another Keeper who often visits her new building. Mac has to adjust to her new home and the Histories that are kept there, while also piecing together the crumbling Library.
This was an original ghost story. The “ghosts” are called histories, and they are kept in a library. When they get out, they can become dangerous, so it’s important that a Keeper returns them to the library using their special key. I loved how the library and books played an important role in protecting people from the ghosts.
There were some flashbacks in this story to when Mac was taught how to be a Keeper from her grandfather, who she calls Da. These flashbacks were jarring at first, because I didn’t know who he was and when these flashbacks were happening. A couple of chapters into the story, I got into the flow of the narrative and I loved Mac’s voice in the story.
This is a great, original ghost story!
What to read next:
The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Other books in the series:
The Unbound
Have you read The Archived? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“I hate first Friday. It makes the village crowded, and now, in the heat of high summer, that’s the last thing anyone wants.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard.
Goodreads synopsis:
This is a world divided by blood—red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance—Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
Title: Agnes at the End of the World Author: Kelly McWilliams Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Source: Library Format: Ebook Release Date: June 9, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
The Handmaid’s Tale meets Wilder Girls in this unique, voice-driven novel from Kelly McWilliams.
Agnes loves her home of Red Creek–its quiet, sunny mornings, its dusty roads, and its God. There, she cares tirelessly for her younger siblings and follows the town’s strict laws. What she doesn’t know is that Red Creek is a cult, controlled by a madman who calls himself a prophet.
Then Agnes meets Danny, an Outsider boy, and begins to question what is and isn’t a sin. Her younger brother, Ezekiel, will die without the insulin she barters for once a month, even though medicine is considered outlawed. Is she a sinner for saving him? Is her sister, Beth, a sinner for dreaming of the world beyond Red Creek?
As the Prophet grows more dangerous, Agnes realizes she must escape with Ezekiel and leave everyone else, including Beth, behind. But it isn’t safe Outside, either: A viral pandemic is burning through the population at a terrifying rate. As Agnes ventures forth, a mysterious connection grows between her and the Virus. But in a world where faith, miracles, and cruelty have long been indistinguishable, will Agnes be able to choose between saving her family and saving the world?
Review:
Agnes lives in a cult called Red Creek. She was born there, to a mother who came from outside the cult and a father who is descended from the founder of the cult. Agnes also has a secret: she meets with a nurse from the Outside to get insulin for her brother who has type 1 diabetes. The prophet of their town says that getting outside help is a sin, because he can provide everything they need, but Agnes knows that her brother will die if he doesn’t get his medication. One day, Agnes meets with the nurse’s son and learns of a mysterious virus that is attacking people and animals on the Outside. She begins to question whether the leaders of her town have the right answers or if they’ve been lying to them about the dangers that are on the Outside.
I was drawn to this story because of the cult theme, but I found it so relevant because of the viral pandemic. This book would have been written before the COVID-19 pandemic, though it was published this summer. It was eerily similar to the current pandemic. Some symptoms were similar, like starting with a high fever, while others were different, such as people forming a red shell over their skin. This was a creepy read for right now.
There were some heartbreaking parts of this story as well. Agnes’s brother suffered with his diabetes before he started receiving treatment. The men in the cult had multiple wives, including child brides. There was also child abuse. These things were considered normal and accepted by the leaders of the community. They would make any rules they wanted, and expect everyone to follow them. Agnes realized that it’s important to question where these society rules come from and who they benefit, to understand if they are actually for the greater good.
This was a powerful story with a beautiful ending.
What to read next:
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Have you read Agnes at the End of the World? What did you think of it?
TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.
My pick this week is Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland.
Goodreads Synopsis:
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Title: Welcome to the New World Author: Jake Halpern, Michael Sloan (illustrator) Genre: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. Source: Publisher Format: Paperback Release Date: September 8, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Now in a full-length book, the New York Times Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic story of a refugee family who fled the civil war in Syria to make a new life in America
After escaping a Syrian prison, Ibrahim Aldabaan and his family fled the country to seek protection in America. Among the few refugees to receive visas, they finally landed in JFK airport on November 8, 2016, Election Day. The family had reached a safe harbor, but woke up to the world of Donald Trump and a Muslim ban that would sever them from the grandmother, brothers, sisters, and cousins stranded in exile in Jordan.
Welcome to the New World tells the Aldabaans’ story. Resettled in Connecticut with little English, few friends, and even less money, the family of seven strive to create something like home. As a blur of language classes, job-training programs, and the fearsome first days of high school (with hijab) give way to normalcy, the Aldabaans are lulled into a sense of security. A white van cruising slowly past the house prompts some unease, which erupts into full terror when the family receives a death threat and is forced to flee and start all over yet again. The America in which the Aldabaans must make their way is by turns kind and ignorant, generous and cruel, uplifting and heartbreaking.
Delivered with warmth and intimacy, Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan’s Welcome to the New World is a wholly original view of the immigrant experience, revealing not only the trials and successes of one family but showing the spirit of a town and a country, for good and bad.
Review:
In November of 2016, the Aldabaan family moved to the United States from Syria as refugees. They didn’t speak English and had to leave many family members in Syria. The family had to adjust to life in America, including finding jobs, navigating the school system, and seeking protection in their new home, despite death threats and an oppressive political system.
This was an incredible graphic novel. It is based on a real family who moved to the U.S. as refugees from Syria. Though many of my childhood friends immigrated or were from families who immigrated from other countries, I wasn’t familiar with this process. I can’t imagine what it would be like to feel so unsafe in your home that you have to move to a new country that you’ve never been to. I recognize that I have this privilege, and this book opened my eyes to the Syrian refugee experience.
Some parts of this story were devastating. The Aldabaan family left a dangerous situation in their home country, but they didn’t arrive to a safe situation in America. The children faced bullies at school. The parents struggled to find work that would support their family of seven. They were constantly worried about the way immigrants were treated by the new government. They even received a terrifying death threat at one point, for no other reason than being refugees. These were some very upsetting events that I’m so sorry they had to go through.
This is an incredibly powerful and informative graphic novel! I highly recommend it.
Thank you Henry Holt and Co for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Homes: A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah with Winnie Yeung
Have you read Welcome to the New World? What did you think of it?
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