Lore by Alexandra Bracken

 From the publisher:

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

HER NAME WILL BE LEGEND

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

 

If Lore sounds like a cross between The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson, you're right. If you enjoy one or both of those, you'll probably enjoy Lore. If you're not familiar with either franchise, but do have an interest in Greek mythology, hidden societies, and revenge, you'll also probably enjoy Lore. As indicated by the publisher, this YA but entertaining for adult readers novel follows Lore as she tries to distance herself from the society that her family has been a part of for almost 2000 years. The descendants of the famous heroes like Perseus and Heracles hunt down the remaining original gods, as well as those who were once mortal but have achieved immortality in a previous Agon. I found this to be a unique twist on the demigod/descendant motif that's so popular right now. 

Lore is well-written and action packed. I believe the body count is probably close to that of The Hunger Games, but with more on-screen violence. I found the dialog and pacing to be well done, and I'd definitely like to see more of this world. While Lore reads as white, two of the main supporting characters are Korean and Black, and there's some LGBTQIA+ representation as well. 

Whether you're looking for something similar to a familiar series, or want to dive into a novel that will have you looking up lesser known figures from Greek mythology, I highly recommend Lore. 

Lore will be available from Galesburg Public Library after it is published in January of 2021. Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and Hyperion and NetGalley for the full e-ARC.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

What a delight!  The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a thoroughly enjoyable space opera. A varied crew made up of mostly humans plus individuals from other species live in a patchwork spaceship called the Wayfarer. The crew makes a living by punching tunnels in space for a fee. Each member of the crew is critical to the ship’s livelihood. They are all fairly well developed, though some better than others, and are not uniformly likable. I imagine we’ll see more about each crew member in future books in the series.

This book is episodic, rather than leading to one great conclusion. This serves to build the world and introduce the characters and species. There are varied romantic relationships – between members of the opposite sex of different species, between members of the same sex of different species, between one of the crew and the ship’s AI. The crew includes a human with dwarfism and a member of a species that starts out female and becomes male later in life. This character, Dr. Chef, was my favorite. He is both the doctor and the chef aboard the Wayfarer; his real name in his own language translates to something like “A Grove of Trees Where Friends Meet to Watch the Moons Align During a Sunset in Mid-Autumn," and he is described as being somewhat like an otter crossed with a gecko that walks like a six-legged caterpillar.

Interactions with other species are believable – there are common languages, but not everyone speaks them. Also, humans are not one of the great primary species in this world. After practically destroying Earth, most humans took to space and were fortunate to be rescued from extinction by others. Life in space feels real - for example, some people get physically sick in space.

Although the book is episodic, it also is thought provoking on issues like war and interaction with those who are not like us. The crew members act like a real family, despite their differences. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

The series would make a great TV show. A definite recommend for lovers of (mostly) light-hearted science fiction set in space. 

The Galesburg Public Library owns The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

The House Between Tides by Sarah Maine

From the publisher: Kate Morton meets Daphne du Maurier in this atmospheric debut novel about a woman who discovers the century-old remains of a murder victim on her family’s Scottish estate, plunging her into an investigation of its mysterious former occupants.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sarah Maine’s debut novel The House Between Tides. In 2010, Hetty Deveraux contemplates turning the massive house that she has inherited on a remote Scottish island into an upscale hotel. She meets resistance from the cordial but cool locals, who have just found the remains of a body in the decaying home as Hetty arrives to examine the property. Her pushy boyfriend Giles and the two shallow agents he has employed consider the hotel a done deal, but Hetty is not so sure.

The narrative flashes back and forth between 2010 and 1910, when young Beatrice arrives on the island as a new bride with her much older husband, artist Theo Blake. Woven throughout the story are works of art, loves lost, family mysteries, and wild birds.

The descriptions of the island in the Hebrides are very evocative. The author also captures the mansion in its glory in 1910 and in its moldering state in 2010. As a bird lover, I was interested in the thread about the irony of birdwatchers of the past shooting birds and collecting their eggs, no matter how rare or endangered. I was reminded of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black because the house can only be reached when the tide is out, but otherwise they are quite different books. (However, if you liked The Woman in Black you will probably enjoy this book also.)

The House Between Tides is not a perfect book. It takes Hetty too long to grow a spine, and the “bad guy” boyfriend and agents are stereotypical with no depth. Some of the family mysteries are obvious from the start, and I guessed the identification of the body long before the end. Still, I stayed up late finishing The House Between Tides, something I don’t do that often anymore. I also love the cover!

I recommend The House Between Tides to lovers of romantic gothic fiction and mysteries. I read an advance reader copy. It will be published in August 2016 and will be available for checkout at the Galesburg Public Library as a print book and an ebook.  

Only in Naples by Katherine Wilson

From the publisher: Full of lighthearted humor, sumptuous food, the wisdom of an Italian mother-in-law, and all the atmosphere of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, this warm and witty memoir follows American-born Katherine Wilson on her adventures abroad. Thanks to a surprising romance—and a spirited woman who teaches her to laugh, to seize joy, and to love—a three-month rite of passage in Naples turns into a permanent embrace of this boisterous city on the Mediterranean.

I'm not really a foodie or a big reader of memoirs, but I visited Naples last fall and was intrigued by this book. I had to read it when I received an advance reader copy.

I enjoyed the insight into Naples and Neapolitans. Although I think some of the customs have relaxed since the author first arrived in Naples - Halloween seems fully entrenched in Italy, for example - much is still valid. When I was packing for my trip and asked my Neapolitan friend for advice, she told me that no one in Italy wears capri pants, and indeed I saw none on my visit. (They do wear Daisy Duke shorts with nylons, however, go figure.) My hostess mamma, my friend's mother, is in her 70s and always had perfect makeup and hair. In fact, I imagined her when reading about the author's mother-in-law. And the TV shows! Oh, the TV shows! Those haven't changed.

The level of detail about the author's life in Italy, the making of Italian food, and the family relationships was a little too detailed for my tastes, but I imagine lovers of this kind of book will eat it all up, so to speak. I definitely recommend Only in Naples to lovers of foodie memoirs and books about colorful families and to Italians of all nationalities.

One thing Only in Naples definitely did was make me want to return to Naples! I read an advance reader copy of Only in Naples. It will be available for checkout at the Galesburg Public Library after April 19.

Unexpected by Sharon Creech

Genres: Contemporary, Magic Realism, Middle Grade

Release Date: September 4th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Library

Add on Goodreads

Humorous and heartfelt, this is a story of pairs—of young Naomi and Lizzie, both orphans in present-day Blackbird Tree, USA, and of Sybil and Nula, grown-up sisters from faraway Rook's Orchard, Ireland, who have become estranged.

Young Naomi Deane is brimming with curiosity and her best friend, Lizzie Scatterding, could talk the ears off a cornfield. Naomi has a knack for being around when trouble happens. She knows all the peculiar people in town—like Crazy Cora and Witch Wiggins. But then, one day, a boy drops out of a tree. Just like that. A strangely charming Finn boy. And then the Dingle Dangle man appears, asking all kinds of questions. Curious surprises are revealed—three locked trunks, a pair of rooks, a crooked bridge, and that boy—and soon Naomi and Lizzie find their lives changed forever.

As two worlds are woven together, Creech reveals that hearts can be mended and that there is indeed a gossamer thread that connects us all.

As gorgeous as this book was, I felt let down. Sharon Creech is one of my favorite childhood authors and I’ve been wanting to read this book forever, since it came out to be precise. I remember the excitement I felt when I found out Sharon Creech had a new book out. I added it to my Goodreads, to-read list but like the case with a lot of other books that I placed on the list, it found it’s way to a place on the list that I don’t often check.

When I finally got my hands on the book, I was excited to dive in and I was disappointed when it started to seem that this middle grade book had a situation where two young girls were being torn apart because of there shared interest in one guy. I mean realistically, it’s quite possible. We all had our crushes when we were young, but I just don’t expect stuff like that in middle grade books so I was shocked.

My shock aside, after pondering about the situation a bit, it made me think. Shouldn’t middle grade books also explore certain concepts like this? After all there are young tweens that might read these books looking for some kind of reassurance they aren’t on their own or that the way they feel isn’t abnormal or that boys don’t actually have cooties (we all went through that phase :P)!

Lizzie and Naomi are both wonderful characters and I adored being inside of Naomi’s head. It’s clear that in spite of the way she may present herself, she does want to be loved and doesn’t just want to be a ‘burden’ to Nula and Joe. She wants to know that she matters to them too and it's obvious she was too scared to ask the right question. Especially after seeing the kind of affect Lizzie’s obviously high expectations had on her. Naomi was just such a lovable character and you wanted to hold her and reassure her that everything would be okay. 

Lizzie was slightly overwhelming at first but I came to adore her too. She talked a lot and there were times where you, like Naomi, just wanted her to zip it but her innocence made it obvious that she never thought anything but the best of everyone and would never want to hurt anyone. Most of all, Naomi.

I loved the magic realism in this book. It definitely made the book more exciting but at the same time, I wanted so much more. This book is full of so much potential and when I compare it to some of Creech’s other works, I cannot help but find the book lacking.

To add to that, the ending to this book just seemed so unlike Creech. The other books I’ve read by her always ended in a sweet but realistic manner but the ending to this book bordered on unrealistic. There were elements to it that made me smile but other parts of it made me cringe with their perfectness.

Don’t be confused by what I said though, this book still has it’s brutal parts and while I wish they had been given more attention, they do manage to break your heart.

All in all, while I feel a little let down by this book, it’s still a fantastic read and one I won’t hesitate to recommend (unless it’s your first time reading Creech in which case, I’d say start with Walk Two Moons).