The Fantasy Island Column
By Liz B.
This is a space for those who want to escape. I'll be reviewing young adult books and historic novels that will take you far away from your safe world. The one you know and maybe even love. The stories will open worlds of ruthless betrayals, paranormal activities, self-loathing, self-love, regular love, irregular love, deep-seeded rivalries, daunting dystopias, relentless unreality and anything else that you can both identify with and disappear into.
Currently Reading:
Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder
Reader's Interests
Here are a few of my past loves...
Avery has already accomplished the impossible. She's survived a disease that killed thousands of people in the 15 realms. With her life in tact, her man by her side, and the freedom that only comes with everyone assuming you're dead, she has to figure out what her next moves are. Her first idea? Find her little sister and make amends before the war with aspiring dictator, Tohon starts in earnest. Too bad her sister works for the opposite side and Avery wants to conceal her identity from them. The only solution? Fashion a convincing disguise and work undercover for the resistance while keeping tabs on her little sis.
Kerrick, her brave prince, has to go his own way...returning home provide intelligence to Prince Ryne that could help as they march against Tohon. Unfortunately, this means he's separated from his beloved Avery who he's had so little time with already. When he reaches Ryne, things only get worse. The Northern Tribes are forging a path of destruction as they head south to claim land while the army is distracted by Tohon.
The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum
I know I’m a few years behind on reading this book, but here goes, anyway.
We start with 17-year-old Abby who is just realizing how routine her life has become. It’s gotten to the point where she can literally predict the presents people will give her for her birthday. She’s dating her life-long male best friend who just so happens to be the literal boy-next-door and trying to figure a way out of her rut. She applies for a school on the east coast called Emery College as her one escape plan and hopes for the best. That is, until she meets the dreamy Italian “foreign exchange student”, Dante Alexander. There is an instant connection between Abby and Dante and, although Dante is constantly wearing bizarre gloves and disappearing from school for days at a time, his mystery only adds to his appeal.
Both Abby and Dante are working on the play Much Ado About Nothing and there are constant comparisons drawn between our couple and Beatrice and Benedick in the play. Abby, as assistant director, is asked to spend more time with Dante to get him up to speed on the play and they continue to grow closer, while she and Jason (boy-next-door) start to fall apart romantically.
Abby’s other best friend, Valerie, is obsessed with the band Zero Hour that suddenly appears in their small town and decides to stick around for a while. The band’s members, Tony, V, and especially Zo give off extreme creeper vibes, but Valerie ends up getting sucked into their group and becomes almost like a cult member around them. Time in this book is flexible and it flows in odd ways. The band and Dante turn out to be immortal prisoners from the 15th Century who went through a time machine built by Da Vinci himself. But the guys are slaves to a place called “the bank” which is on a parallel plane from the normal flow of time and our normal reality. To break the chains of having to go back to the bank every few days to rebalance themselves they have to go back through the Hourglass Door (the time machine). The only problem is that if they go through the door for the 2nd time, they will be masters of time and can travel both to the past and the future and change things.
As Zero Hour’s evil troupe struggles to pull the necessary pieces together to accomplish their goal it becomes obvious they will stop at nothing to achieve it. But what are the consequences if three ancient criminals have control over all of time? Can Abby and Dante stop them in time? And what will it mean for their love if they do?
Best Thing: The book was like a compulsion to read. It drew you in immediately and held you captive throughout. I thought the machinations for the plot at the beginning were pretty generic, but as the book goes on, you see that it sets itself apart from others in the genre. The overall themes of love and time are interesting ones in and of themselves, but when written beautifully, they take this “teen” book to another level.
Worst Thing: At almost 500 pages I thought it went a little long. Some of the language got a bit too flowery for my tastes and is probably the culprit in contributing to the length. It was overly detailed. Kills self.
Overall: I’ve been sitting on this book for a few months, so I’m glad I picked it back up. Definitely worth the read. 7 out of 10.
First things, first – this book was genuinely creepy! When I read the synopsis, I had no idea that it was going to be so scary! It starts out following two lead characters – Chase and Em.
Chase is a boy with an inferiority complex. He grew up in a trailer park on the wrong side of town in an extremely wealthy Maine town. As he got older he figured out how to dress and act to achieve his goal of being popular. Being the star quarterback of the football team didn’t hurt, either. Still – he worries about his position at the school and always tries to make a good impression. However…he did something cruel to a girl he grew up with in the trailer park who rose to popularity for a bit, but quickly fell back to “freak” status. He’s able to keep his transgression a secret from the other students – but does that mean no one knows?
Em has been crushing on her best friend’s boyfriend for months. She knows it’s wrong, but because he hasn’t seemed to return her attraction, she knows it’s harmless. Until her best friend and his girlfriend, Gabby, goes on vacation at Christmas and the two are left to their own devices. Zach finally makes a move and Em is excited, but also worried about where their steamy make-out sessions will lead. Zach says he will break up with Gabby and they’ll explain everything to her…but so far all he’s done is talk. Em doesn’t want to hurt her friend, but she can’t seem to resist Zach’s advances, either.
Em also has a best friend, JD, who she takes for granted (of course)…until after she realizes how much of a player Zach is and how loyal JD is. Then she understands that she’s in love with him. But is it too late?
This book had me on edge the whole way through! Perfectly executed scare tactics that seriously had my skin crawling throughout the book. (We’re talking I had to finish it in the light of day because I thought I’d have bad dreams.) The balance of love story vs. the larger, revenge-driven plot, was facilitated well. So, basically, the Fury’s are real entities and in this Maine town they are three beautiful young girls. They chose Chase and Em to exact their revenge on, eye-for-an-eye style. They aren’t able to feel remorse and their MO appears to be stalking and slowly driving people crazy before, finally, right when people are at their wit’s end, taking pity on them and doing something colossally evil to them.
Best Thing: This book had a high page-turner quality. I was on the edge of my seat the whole book. Plus, this was a very realistic view into teen life – especially for those who have wealthy parents and few cares. The cruelty, the drinking, the bravado, the language – everything was spot-on. I was glad that Ms. Miles didn’t soften things up for the reader. The transgressions were bad and the consequences were worse.
Worst Thing: Some of the romantic plot points were a bit obvious – like the best friend being the one Em eventually falls for. But that was the only “obvious” thing about this book…most of it was extremely unexpected and original.
Overall: 9 out of 10. This book really surprised me – but beware the scary quotient. Sleep with the lights on for this one!
Fury by Elizabeth Miles
Can Avery find her sister before war breaks out? Can Kerrick drive back the Northern Tribes in time to help in the larger fight against Tohon? With Avery and Kerrick separated can either focus enough to accomplish the vital and dangerous tasks they've set for themselves?