The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie MackesyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Monday, January 20, 2020
Review: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie MackesyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
View all my reviews
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Friday, January 10, 2020
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
Book 9/75
Come Tumbling Down
Wayward Children, Book 5
Published by Tor.Com Publishing
January 7, 2020
208 Pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0765399311 • $19.99
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To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads, click the links above!
Book description:
The fifth installment in New York Times bestselling author Seanan McGuire's award-winning Wayward Children series, Come Tumbling Down picks up the threads left dangling by Every Heart a Doorway and Down Among the Sticks and Bones.
When Jack left Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children she was carrying the body of her deliciously deranged sister―whom she had recently murdered in a fit of righteous justice―back to their home on the Moors.
But death in their adopted world isn't always as permanent as it is here, and when Jack is herself carried back into the school, it becomes clear that something has happened to her. Something terrible. Something of which only the maddest of scientists could conceive. Something only her friends are equipped to help her overcome.
Eleanor West's "No Quests" rule is about to be broken.
Again.
The Wayward Children Series
Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway
Book 2: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Book 4: In an Absent Dream
Book 5: Come Tumbling Down
Holy shit, Seanan McGuire doesn't disappoint in the fifth volume of her Wayward Children series. Picking up Jack and Jill's story from their introduction in Every Heart a Doorway and their backstory in Down Among the Sticks and Bones, we are returned to the Moors this time, and we are given a much wider view of this dark, terrifying, and beautiful world. This time out, there is another quest, even though Eleanor West continually forbids them, as Kade, Christopher, Cora, and Sumi help Jack take back something dear that Jill has stolen from her.
The continuing beauty of McGuire's Wayward Children, apart from her always fantastic narrative, is her inclusiveness with her characters. She makes such an important part of what makes these characters themselves, yet it doesn't feel forced. Sometimes I feel like authors have a checklist that they use to make sure they tick off all the important or proper points to show representation, and while this is needed in so many ways, it still comes off clumsy. McGuire writes her characters with such ease and understanding, it simply feels natural.
There is so much under the surface of Come Tumbling Down: what makes a person uniquely that person, and how devastating it can be when something happens to make that person not feel like themselves, however insignificant it may appear to others; how important it is to have people understand that every single person is unique, and surrounding yourself with people that understand you for who you are can make you so much stronger. It's OK to need help and to ask for it.
These characters are so near and dear to my heart. Sumi is becoming a favorite; her no bullshit view on life hides such a powerful caring for those around her, I think she's become one of the strongest characters in the series. And of course, Jack and Jill... I adore these girls and their crazy duality. I want to always see more of Kade, he's just so interesting to me.
As with all the books in this series, there is an overwhelming sense of hope throughout, but there is always a sense of sadness and loss that underlines this hope. We lose people in our lives, things are taken from us, life takes unexpected turns, but we can still find our way out of that loss.
This will always be the series that I push on my friends. I have reread the entire series before the release of each book next year, so some of the earlier are like dear friends I'm catching up with after a while. Another part of the magic of McGuire's writing: even after multiple readings, these books have not lost any of their magic.
I dearly hope that McGuire can continue writing these stories for years to come. There is so much potential, so many stories, so many characters that I want to learn more about: Kade & Christopher, Sumi's continuing story, more worlds to explore, Eleanor's finally going home. It will be a sad day when these stories come to their close, but it will also have been one hell of an adventure getting there.
Here is a handy outline of some of the portal worlds discovered so far in the series.
The books follow an every other pattern, one book set in the "now" at the school, the next telling a portal world story about one of the students, then back to the school.
- Every Heart a Doorway (2016): At the school
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017): Jack and Jill's portal story
- Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018): Back at the school
- In an Absent Dream (2019): Lundy's portal story
- Come Tumbling Down (2020): Back at the school and dealing with Jack & Jill's current development
Thursday, January 9, 2020
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
Book 8/75
In an Absent Dream
Wayward Children, Book 4
Published by Tor.Com Publishing
January 8, 2019
208 Pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0765399298 • $17.99
To purchase any of the books in this post, click the links above! I receive no commission from these links.
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads, click the links above!
Book description:
A stand-alone fantasy tale from Seanan McGuire's Alex award-winning Wayward Children series, which began in the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway.
This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.
The Wayward Children Series
Book 1: Every Heart a Doorway
Book 2: Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Book 3: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Book 4: In an Absent Dream
Book 5: Come Tumbling Down
Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series of books gets better with each addition, with the latest, In an Absent Dream, by far being the strongest story to date. Following the established every other book sequence, this volume tells Lundy's portal story, as she finds her door to the Goblin Market. McGuire offers up some serious ideas to ponder, such as idea of fair value for everything and what that means to either the recipient or the giver. It's some heavy ideas, and after finishing Absent Dream, I had to take some time to really mull over the notions that are put forth, and it really made me think about my own interactions with those around me and how the idea of fair value can applied to our real world.
McGuire doesn't just write one hell of an amazing book, but she pushes us, the readers, to consider how we can actually be better people by understanding how we can, and should, be fair to each other. It's really quite a remarkable book. And her writing; it's more beautiful with every book. There are so many potential stories to be told, I hope deep down that she never leaves this series and continues to offer us such amazing books forever.
Here is a handy outline of all the portal worlds discovered so far in the series.
The books follow an every other pattern, one book set in the "now" at the school, the next telling a portal world story about one of the students, then back to the school.
- Every Heart a Doorway (2016): At the school
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017): Jack and Jill's portal story
- Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018): Back at the school
- In an Absent Dream (2019): Lundy's portal story
- Come Tumbling Down (2020): Back at the school and dealing with Jack & Jill's current development
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Book 7/75
Beneath the Sugar Sky
Wayward Children, Book 3
Published by Tor.Com Publishing
January 9, 2018
176 Pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0765393586 • $17.99
To purchase any of the books in this post, click the links above! I receive no commission from these links.
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads, click the links above!
Book description:
A stand-alone fantasy tale from Seanan McGuire's Alex-award winning Wayward Children series, which began in the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List Every Heart a Doorway
Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third book in McGuire's Wayward Children series, returns to Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children in a standalone contemporary fantasy for fans of all ages. At this magical boarding school, children who have experienced fantasy adventures are reintroduced to the "real" world.
When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)
If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests...
A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do.
Warning: May contain nuts.
I honestly can't go too much into what this book is about as it could spoil portions of Every Heart a Doorway, but it's just as fantastic as every other book in the series. Back in Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, Beneath the Sugar Sky picks up shortly after the events of Every Heart and introduces us to some new students at the school; we also get to see more into a couple of the portal worlds that we have heard about in previous books.* I can't wait to see where McGuire takes the story next year after the events of this book.**
* Here is a handy outline of all the portal worlds discovered so far in the series. Some possible spoilers as this list is up to date with the most recent book.
** The books follow an every other pattern, one book set in the "now" at the school, the next telling a portal world story about one of the students, then back to the school.
- Every Heart a Doorway (2016): At the school
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017): Jack and Jill's portal story
- Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018): Back at the school
- In an Absent Dream (2019): Lundy's portal story
- Come Tumbling Down (2020): Back at the school and dealing with Jack & Jill's current development
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Book 6/75
Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Wayward Children, Book 2
Published by Tor.Com Publishing
June 13, 2017
June 13, 2017
176 Pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0765392039 • $17.99
ISBN 978-0765392039 • $17.99
To purchase any of the books in this post, click the links above! I receive no commission from these links.
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads, click the links above!
Book description:
Winner: 2018 Alex Award
Winner: 2018 ALA RUSA Fantasy Award
Seanan McGuire returns to her popular Wayward Children series with Down Among the Sticks and Bones―a truly standalone story suitable for adult and young adult readers of urban fantasy, and the follow-up to the Alex, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning, World Fantasy Award finalist, Tiptree Honor List book Every Heart a Doorway.
Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.
This is the story of what happened first…
Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter―polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.
Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter―adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you've got.
They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.
They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones, the remarkable follow-up to Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway, tells the story of twin sisters Jack & Jill, and how they found their door, and how they were forced back to the real world. Raised to fit the perfect ideals and preconceived notions of children that their parents have, Jacqueline and Jillian are never allowed to be children. They are told how to behave, how to dress, how to act, but never how to love or be loved. One day, the sisters decide to do something dangerous; they are going to break a rule and play in their grandmother's former room (Gemma Lou being the only person in their entire world who tried to encourage them to be individuals). They find an old steamer trunk in her room that contains costume jewelry and outfits for dress up, and underneath the clothes they find a stairwell in the trunk that shouldn't be there. Determined not to ruin their adventure, the sisters decide to follow the stairs down, their 12 year old minds not quite comprehending the impossibility of this event. At the bottom of the stairs they find a door, and that door holds a sign that reads, Be Sure.
This door leads them to The Moors, a dark and sinister world of vampires and werewolves, mad scientists and other things that go bump in the night. Here, the sisters discover their true selves. Here, they also discover that they have choices, and those choices eventually come with consequences.
Most portal fantasies always have a darker tone under their magic and whimsy, but on The Moors, all the magic and whimsy is stripped away to reveal just how dangerous and stark some worlds can be. Brutal and fierce, this book is the perfect follow up/companion to Every Heart a Doorway.
Here is a handy outline of all the portal worlds discovered so far in the series. Some possible spoilers as this list is up to date with the most recent book.
The books follow an every other pattern, one book set in the "now" at the school, the next telling a portal world story about one of the students, then back to the school.
- Every Heart a Doorway (2016): At the school
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017): Jack and Jill's portal story
- Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018): Back at the school
- In an Absent Dream (2019): Lundy's portal story
- Come Tumbling Down (2020): Back at the school and dealing with Jack & Jill's current development
Monday, January 6, 2020
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Book 5/75
Wayward Children, Book 1
by Seanan McGuire
Published by Tor.Com Publishing • April 5, 2016
176 Pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0765385505 • $17.99
IndieBound • Amazon • B&N • Books-A-Million
To purchase any of the books in this post, click the links above! I receive no commission from these links.
LibraryThing • Goodreads
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads, click the links above!
LibraryThing • Goodreads
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads, click the links above!
Book description:
Winner: 2017 Hugo Award
Winner: 2017 Alex Award
Winner: 2017 Locus Award
Winner: 2016 Nebula Award
Nominated: 2017 World Fantasy Award
Nominated: 2017 British Fantasy Award
2016 Tiptree Honor List
"A mini-masterpiece of portal fantasy ― a jewel of a book that deserves to be shelved with Lewis Carroll's and C. S. Lewis' classics" ―NPR
Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests
Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.
But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.
Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.
But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things.
No matter the cost.
This is such a fantastic idea for a story: a "home" for those who have come back from a portal world (think Wonderland, Narnia, or Oz), but can't accept that they are unable to go back to that portal world. Eleanor West (who has a portal all her own, and knows where it is, and is just biding her time until she can return) runs such a home, taking in the children who can't cope with the normalcy of the "real" world and who yearn to return to their true "homes." Some do find their way back, but many don't, and are in constant turmoil as a result.
Nancy is one such child. When she found her door to the Halls of the Dead, she thought she'd found her true home. But when then the Lord of the Dead sends Nancy back to the real world so that she can be certain that she wants to stay in the Halls of the Dead, she is unable to re-acclimate herself, and her parents send her to Eleanor West's School as a last resort.
As the new girl in the school, Nancy feels immediately out of place but is able to make friends with her roommate Sumi, Kade, a young man banished from his portal world, and Jack, who was apprenticed to a mad scientist. After one of the students is found murdered, suspicion immediately falls on Nancy as the newest arrival, but through the help of her friends they are able to discover the identity of the true murderer.
This is the fourth time I’ve read this book, as I do a complete reread when a new book is released in the series, and I’m still struck by the power of McGuire’s writing. The books are sinister and dark and beautiful and I can’t recommend them enough.
Here is a handy outline of all the portal worlds discovered so far in the series. Some possible spoilers as this list is up to date with the most recent book.
The books follow an every other pattern, one book set in the "now" at the school, the next telling a portal world story about one of the students, then back to the school.
- Every Heart a Doorway (2016): At the school
- Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017): Jack and Jill's portal story
- Beneath the Sugar Sky (2018): Back at the school
- In an Absent Dream (2019): Lundy's portal story
- Come Tumbling Down (2020): Back at the school and dealing with Jack & Jill's current development
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia
Book 4/75
Snow White by Jacob GrimmMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm fairly certain everyone is familiar with the story of Snow White, so I'm not going to go into details about the story. What I am going to tell you, though, is you should go pick up this edition of Snow White! Right now!!
Camille Rose Garcia's art is so visually striking and unique, and the typographic design of the book really works with her art style to create something rather beautiful. I was first introduced to her style when I picked up the edition of Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland that she illustrated a couple of years ago, and fell in love with her work then. I was thrilled when I found this new volume of Snow White at my local bookstore the other day, and am really hoping that she continues this partnership with HarperDesign and continues to illustrate more classic fairy tales. One book I'd particularly like to see in her vision is The Wizard of Oz. I'd be willing to bet she could create a truly stunning version of Oz and its inhabitants.
View all my reviews
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Marvel Comics #1000 by Al Ewing, et al.
Book 3/75
Marvel Comics #1000
by Al Ewing, et al.
Published by Marvel Comics
March 17, 2020
144 pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-1302921378 • $29.99
To purchase any of the books in this post, click the links above! I receive no commission from these links.
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads,
click the links above!
click the links above!
Book description:
Eighty years! An army of legendary creators! One story! All in one sensational hardcover! In celebration of Marvel's 80th anniversary, we have gathered the greatest array of talent ever to be assembled between two covers! Names from the past, the present and even the future! Every page is filled with all-new work from this cavalcade of comics luminaries! A mystery threads throughout the Marvel Universe -- one that began in MARVEL COMICS #1 and unites a disparate array of heroes and villains throughout the decades! What is the Eternity Mask? And who is responsible for the conspiracy to keep it hidden? As secrets are peeled away, answers await the entirety of the Marvel Universe! The landmark event is collected together with an awesome assortment of bonus features!
Written by: AL EWING, AUDREY LOEB, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, DECLAN SHALVEY, VITA AYALA, HOWARD CHAYKIN, KAARE ANDREWS, FRANK TIERI, AMY REEDER, NICK SPENCER, ROGER STERN, SCOTT AUKERMAN, BRIAN POSEHN, BILL MORRISON & MORE!
Art by: AMANDA CONNER, DECLAN SHALVEY, HOWARD CHAYKIN, KAARE ANDREWS, HUMBERT ORAMOS, NATACHA BUSTOS, JERRY ORDWAY, DARIO BRIZUELA, DAN PANOSIAN, BILL MORRISON & MORE!
Collecting: MARVEL COMICS #1000-1001, PLUS EXTRAS!
A mixed bag of one page stories by a variety of writers and artists, with each page highlighting 1 thing that happened in each year of Marvel's 80 year history. Like most of these anthology issues with so many writers and artists, some of the bits are better than others. The idea that there has been a common thread running thru the Marvel Universe since the first issue and is now coming to light is a cool idea, but does feel a little forced, as the idea of the Eternity Mask seems shoehorned into some aspects of the story, but I do think it's a clever idea and I'm interested to see how this will all play out in the grand scheme of things in the Marvel comic universe.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story by Anne Rice, adapted & illustrated by Ashley Marie Witter
Book 2/75
Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story
by Anne Rice, adapted & illustrated by Ashley Marie Witter
Published by Yen Press
November 20, 2012
224 pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0316176361 • $26.00
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Book description:
A richly-illustrated adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, told through the eyes of the vampire Claudia, who was just a little girl when she was turned by the vampire Lestat. Though she spends many years of happiness with her two vampire fathers, she gradually grows discontent with their insistence upon treating her like a little girl, even though she has lived as long as any mortal man...and her lust to kill is certainly no less than theirs...
Interview with the Vampire told from Claudia's POV, and only during her "lifetime" in the book. Illustrated in a beautiful manga style.
The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain by Steven R. Gundry, MD
Book 1/75
The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain
by Steven R. Gundry, MD
Published by Harper Wave
April 25, 2017
416 pages • Hardcover
ISBN 978-0062427137 • $29.99
To purchase any of the books in this post, click the links above! I receive no commission from these links.
To add your book to LibraryThing or Goodreads,
click the links above!
click the links above!
Book description:
I have been seeing a holistic doctor and she recommended this book to me as a lifestyle change for my eating habits. Not going to lie, I'm a little skeptical about all this but I'm willing to give it a try. Gundry does make some farfetched assertions about the benefits of his program, especially when he's also hocking his name brand version of the supplements he wants you to be on.
Most of us have heard of gluten—a protein found in wheat that causes widespread inflammation in the body. Americans spend billions of dollars on gluten-free diets in an effort to protect their health. But what if we’ve been missing the root of the problem? In The Plant Paradox, renowned cardiologist Dr. Steven Gundry reveals that gluten is just one variety of a common, and highly toxic, plant-based protein called lectin. Lectins are found not only in grains like wheat but also in the “gluten-free” foods most of us commonly regard as healthy, including many fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and conventional dairy products. These proteins, which are found in the seeds, grains, skins, rinds, and leaves of plants, are designed by nature to protect them from predators (including humans). Once ingested, they incite a kind of chemical warfare in our bodies, causing inflammatory reactions that can lead to weight gain and serious health conditions.
At his waitlist-only clinics in California, Dr. Gundry has successfully treated tens of thousands of patients suffering from autoimmune disorders, diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases with a protocol that detoxes the cells, repairs the gut, and nourishes the body. Now, in The Plant Paradox, he shares this clinically proven program with readers around the world.
The simple (and daunting) fact is, lectins are everywhere. Thankfully, Dr. Gundry offers simple hacks we easily can employ to avoid them, including:
- Peel your veggies. Most of the lectins are contained in the skin and seeds of plants; simply peeling and de-seeding vegetables (like tomatoes and peppers) reduces their lectin content.
- Shop for fruit in season. Fruit contain fewer lectins when ripe, so eating apples, berries, and other lectin-containing fruits at the peak of ripeness helps minimize your lectin consumption.
- Swap your brown rice for white. Whole grains and seeds with hard outer coatings are designed by nature to cause digestive distress—and are full of lectins.
With a full list of lectin-containing foods and simple substitutes for each, a step-by-step detox and eating plan, and delicious lectin-free recipes, The Plant Paradox illuminates the hidden dangers lurking in your salad bowl—and shows you how to eat whole foods in a whole new way.
I have been seeing a holistic doctor and she recommended this book to me as a lifestyle change for my eating habits. Not going to lie, I'm a little skeptical about all this but I'm willing to give it a try. Gundry does make some farfetched assertions about the benefits of his program, especially when he's also hocking his name brand version of the supplements he wants you to be on.
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