Rebel Angels

Ahhhhh. God bless the advanced reader's copy! I read A Great and Terrible Beauty , by Libba Bray mainly because of the corset on the front cover (even on the galley). That was a great read. And I was sad when my friend Jen told me, "Wait...it's only the first in the trilogy!" I tend not to have high hopes for sequels. Sorceress, by Rees gave me hope. After loving Witch Child so much (again...an awesome cover!) I had been worried. So this is the hope I clung to waiting for Rebel Angels to come out.
I love having friends on the BBYA and Printz committees because it means that I can get my hands on EVERYTHING that is getting published BEFORE it gets published. To a librarian, this is dreamy. So, after Jen got RA, I got to read it.
I was disappointed. At first. It did start slowly for me. I wasn't sure that I could believe in Gemma and Felicity's friendship, seeing as only 2 months had past since the last novel. But then Libba did it again. I read and read and read, and only slowed down at the end because I wasn't ready for it to be over yet.
Gemma has smashed the runes in the realms and the magic is no longer contained. Pippa is still trapped in the realms and is dead and buried in London. I don't want to tell too much of the plot until the book is released in the fall, but the reader learns much more about the Order, the Rakshana, Kartik and London society.
It is fast paced, exciting and as a reader I really feel that I know Gemma a lot better than I used to!

4 stars!

David Levithan

I remember first reading Boy Meets Boy during the furious reading year that I was on the Quick Picks committee. At first I wasn't sure what to make of it. I mean, come on, drag queens in high school? But then I just relaxed and went with it, and really enjoyed the ride.
That's how I approached Are We There Yet. Some friends of mine have criticized it as being too convenient in it's poignancy. But I just enjoyed the writing, and I loved the characters. Since I was reading the ARC I meant to underline some passages that I found moving, or that gave me pause...but I didn't want to stop reading to search out a pencil!
I was fortunate enough to hear the author read a passage from Realms of Possibility that was also amazing.
I don't like to gush. Really I don't. And that is not what I am trying to do here. I am not sure that Are We There Yet will find its audience with YAs...but as an adult reader I truly enjoyed it.
4 stars

The Perfect Book

Have you ever read the perfect book? Or at least perfect for the time? The first time that I remember it happening as an adult was when I read High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby. That was the book that my music loving self wished she could have written. I love the music, I love the relationship angst...I loved it all.

I just finished reading The Minister's Daughter, by Julie Hearn. Instead of music, this book is full of fairy lore, herbalism, magick, religious fervor and intergirl relationships.

Nell is a merrybegot and the granddaughter of the local midwife/healer. She is wild, opinionated and strong...qualities that are not found in girls in Puritan society.

Those girls are like Grace and Patience...the minister's daughters. They sit in the parlour doing their cross stich, remain with heads bowed in church, and are above suspicion.

Grace proves to be human afterall, and instead of being truthful or facing up to her circumstance, she calls upon the hysteria over witchcraft to explain away her actions.

As reader I experienced so many emotions while reading this book, and found myself entranced and repelled by this world. What a time for a girl to live!

I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Witch Child, by Rees or A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Bray.

An amazing read.
5 stars