The Mermaid's Mirror- L.K. Madigan

Synopsis:

"Lena has lived her whole life near the beach—walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves—the problem is, she’s spent her whole life just watching.

As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf.

But her father – a former surfer himself – refuses to allow her to take lessons. After a near drowning in his past, he can’t bear to let Lena take up the risky sport.

Yet something lures Lena to the water … an ancient, powerful magic. One morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman—with a silvery tail.

Nothing will keep Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove.

And soon … what she sees in the mermaid’s mirror will change her life …"

Summary: I blogged earlier in the year about L.K. Madigan, who was facing stage IV pancreatic cancer. I entered a contest to win her two books and was one of the winners. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago L.K. Madigan passed away, however her books will live on. I have already reviewed Flash Burnout, her first novel, and very much recommend it. Now onto my review of The Mermaid's Mirror.

I don't usually read books that feature mermaids. I haven't actually come across many, but I feel like they are creatures that are hard to put into stories. L.K. Madigan however, was able to write them and this entire story brilliantly.

One thing I loved about this book, as well as Flash Burnout, is how wonderfully her characters are created. Lena, as well has her family and friends, are all incredibly real. They are unique too. I read a lot of books where the main characters or the secondary characters are sort of interchangeable, but the characters L.K. Madigan wrote are characters with specific quirks and personalities that I know I won't forget.

I thought that the way Lena was connected to the mermaids was well written. I also really enjoyed the great amount of thought that was put into the mermaids and their lives and culture. Although L.K. Madigan had intended to write a sequel before she dies, this book works very well as a standalone book, which I was very happy about.

Finally I would like to send my condolences to the authors family, and note that a college fund has been set up for her son if anyone would like to donate to it. Checks can be made out to the Nathan Wolfeson Trust and sent to:

Becker Capital Management, Inc.
Attn: Sharon Gueck/John Becker
1211 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2185
Portland, OR 97204
Rating: A-


Other Recommended Books:
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan
The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric

The Replacement- Brenna Yovanoff

Synopsis:

"Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. 


He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world. 

Mackie would give anything to live among us. He just wants to play bass guitar and find out more about an oddly intriguing girl named Tate.


 But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs."


Summary: I have honestly never read anything like this book. When I first saw the cover I knew I wanted to read it, which is slightly strange as I don't usually like anything remotely creepy. However this book is the exception to that rule.

Mackie Doyle is a character who isn't normal. He isn't human, he's from belowground, a castoff placed into a crib of a murdered baby as a replacement. He was supposed to die, but instead he lives, thanks a great deal to his loving older sister Emma.

I found this cast of characters, especially Mackie, to be charming. Mackie is a little creepy if you didn't know him, but he is a sweet, caring kid who absolutely loves his older sister Emma. He is portrayed to the town as a sort of a rebel. His father is a minister, but because he can't step foot on hallowed ground, Mackie has never been inside the church.

Something I found interesting about the book is the way the town sort of knows that every 7 years a child is sacrificed for prosperity and they just let it happen. It isn't directly talked about and no one, until Tate speaks out, mentions that the children who are buried in their town aren't really the children everyone knew and loved.

While the plot of this story was not very complex, the characters were fun to read about and really grew on me. I thought the plot was incredibly unique and managed to make things that are creepy and ugly become really beautiful, especially with Mackie, who doesn't really belong with the ugly, dead (or perhaps undead) creatures from below the slag heap.

One last general note about the story. For those of you looking for a genuinely creepy story that will give you nightmares, this really isn't it. Some parts of the story are rather creepy but in a very light sort of way. The fact that I could read it without ever becoming freaked out is a good indicator of this as I hate all things frightening.

Rating: A-


Other Recommended Books:
Cirque du Freak Series by Darren Shan
The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Queen of Attolia- Megan Whalen Turner

Warning: Synopsis and Review will probably contain some minor spoilers for The Thief


Synopsis: 

"Revenge

When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes's Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eudenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered...she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge.

...but

Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times.

...at what price?

When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph--and his greatest loss--comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago..."


Summary: Having just finished The Thief, I immediately moved onto The Queen of Attolia, hoping to be wowed just as I was with the first book. And I was. Only a little bit less.

This book focuses on Eugenides and Eddis after he returns to his homeland. After a scarring incident involving the Queen of Attolia, Eugenides feels as though he has lost his purpose, and much of the novel is spent with him regaining his confidence and skills.

What I love about this book, and about The Thief, is Turner's way of surprising the reader near the end, but not in a way that's completely crazy or unbelievable, just in a "how didn't I see that before?" sort of way. She also is great about showing you a character and making you believe that they don't know a certain bit of information, or don't have involvement in some plan or another, and then completely surprising you with that character's actions later.

The thing I probably disliked the most about this book as compared to The Thief, was the switch from first person to third person. While it allowed the reader to see more of the story other than just Eugenides' point of view, I really had enjoyed his first person perspective in the first novel, and wish that the rest of the series had continued with it.

That being said, I still adored this book, especially the end of it, and am anxious to finish The King of Attolia, the next book in the series.

Rating: A-


Other Recommended Books:
Alanna Quartet by Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Series by Tamora Pierce
Any other series by Tamora Pierce
Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell
Graceling and Fire books by Kristin Cashore
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

A Match Made in High School- Kristin Walker

Synopsis: "When a mandatory marriage education course forces Fiona to “try the knot” with super-jock Todd Harding, she’s convinced life could not possibly get any worse. Until moments later, when her long-time crush is paired with her arch-enemy (otherwise known as Todd’s obscenely hot, slightly sadistic girlfriend). But that’s nothing compared to her best friend’s fate – a year with the very shy, very goofy, very big Johnny Mercer.

A series of hilarious pranks and misunderstandings leave Fiona wondering: is there something her supposed “best friend” hasn’t told her? Could there be more to Johnny Mercer than a deep voice and an awesome music collection? And perhaps most intriguing of all, is it possible that Todd Harding could actually have a heart – and a brain – beneath his pretty-boy exterior?"

Review: When I read the review of this book I had high expectations. I didn't think this would be a revolutionary plot or something of the sort, but I had heard that this book was very funny. And it certainly lived up to that expectation. The pranks and the interactions between Fiona and Todd were genuinely hilarious and didn't seem at all forced.

The rest of the book luckily, lived up to the humor. There was a lot about this book I hadn't expected. the way relationships formed between characters wasn't what I expected when I read the back cover of the book, but in a very good way. And I loved that the story which deals in large part with the fake marriage between Fiona and Todd wasn't just a mechanism to make them fall in love, as would have been the case if this book had been written by almost any other teen author. It was a device to make them fall into friendship and I think that it worked great. The grudging respect and admiration they gain for one another as they go along seemed very real to me, and I absolutely loved reading it.

Very funny novel with lots of great character interactions. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys light-hearted stories about teens in high school.

Rating: A-

Other books I'd recommend:

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Any other book by Simone Elkeles

Any book by Sarah Dessen

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares- Rachel Cohn and David Levithan