Winter by Marissa Meyer

I love series books.  There was a time when I wasn't a fan because I am not the most patient person and waiting around for the next installment can be frustrating.  There have been many series that I started that I lost interest in while waiting and I didn't go back to but this wasn't one of them.  I totally enjoyed waiting for this last installment.  I have thought about the interesting twists that Marissa Meyer's incorporated to her story using the much beloved fairy tales.  It was an exciting and heart wrenching ride at times.  But it was so well worth it.  I highly recommend the series to fans of dystopian novels, fairy tales and science fiction.  It is gruesome enough for guys with enough romance to keep girls swooning.  A great read!

The Walking Dead Vol. 1-Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

Well if you ever came into the library on a Monday you would know that I am a HUGE fan of The Walking Dead television series.  One of my first questions on Monday is did you watch?!?  And as big of a fan of the show i have never read the graphic novel although my nephews have sang its praises since the beginning.  They tell me that while similar at times there are many differences that take the story into different directions.
I recently read Days Gone Bye and my overall feeling was Hmmmmm.  I can't say I loved it like the series but I didn't hate it.  It was a very quick read.  Pretty much the first season of the show was Volume One with enough similarities to make me feel like I was seeing my friends from the series and enough differences to make go OH!.  The illustrations tell more of the story then the text so if you don't pay close attention to them you will miss a great deal.  I will probably continue with the graphic novel but I have to admit it is one of the first times when I like the TV show more.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Ok, so I am not only on an end of the world/dystopian kick I love novelized fairy tales or fairy tales with a twist.  The 1939 film the Wizard of Oz is a classic for many reasons.  It is the first full color film and it was and still is amazing.  It brought the book by L. Frank Baum to life.  Who would have thought Dorothy had a dark side.
Danielle Paige would.  Amy Gumm is whisked away to the land of Oz by way of tornado and that is where her similarities to Dorothy ends. All Amy really wants to do is survive, but Dorothy has turned into quiet the sociopath and that is just not in her plan.  Power has corrupted the originals from Oz.  Its just amazing how thoroughly it has.

Legend by Marie Lu

So I have been on an end of the world kick/Dystopian novel kick for the last couple of years.  I have tried to read a variety of these types of books and usually I just love them.  You will probably see many more reviews for this genre throughout the blog so I like to think I know a bit about the genre.
With that said let me talk about Legend.  I wanted to read this books when it first came out but for some reason I just never got around to it.  Not really sure why but it was always on my to read list but other books always called louder to me.
This is the first book in a series and I think this book will be the only one in the series I read.  I wanted to love it, then I wanted to like it.  I felt neither.  I didn't even hate it.  I just wanted to finish it.  I kept giving it another chance hoping there would be something to pull me to it.
While I know dystopian novels and science fiction genre are not realistic they should make you believe that they could be.  I am not sure if it was the story line or the charterers but I just didn't care enough about either to believe in them.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

This historical tale tell the compelling story of Chiyo and her life after being sold to a Geisha house at nine years old because her family can no longer afford to care for her.  We watch as Chiyo struggles with life around her and then see her transform into Sayuri a popular Geisha sought after by many. This vivid tale is difficult to put down as we hope that Sayuri finds the happiness and love she seeks.  

18 Things by Jamie Ayres

This was a tough one, because I honestly am not sure if I liked it or not.  I know I didn't love it.  Olga the main character suffered a great tragedy witnessing the death of her best friend and secret crush Connor.  (This happens I think within 20 pages of the book and I think it is in the blurb so not a spoiler.)
There were times when my heart was literally breaking for her pain.  But then just as quick I was bored and felt the story dragging.
Then about 4 chapters in I figured something out and I lost all interest in the story.  I kept reading, but more skimming just in case I was wrong. Turns out I wasn't.  Will I read the other books in this series?  I highly doubt it.  But I never say never.

Cress by Marissa Meyer

I am completely enjoying the way the series is progressing and I am so looking forward to the last installment of Winter in November.  I have already pre-ordered it.  There is a good balance between action, adventure, a touch of romance and a lot of humor.  I find myself laughing out loud at the sarcasm and banter between the characters.  I have grown attached to them and feel their joy and pain right along with them.

Cress our title character of this segment has been trapped away in a satellite for the last seven years.  Trapped to due the bidding of Mistress Sybil.  While sequestered away she lets the net dramas she watches invade her imagination and her fantasies.  When she is finally rescued will reality live up to them?

Cress is our Rapunzel, and Cinder and Scarlet come into play.  I am rooting for them all.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Sorry I haven't reviewed this past September but it was a pretty busy month getting acclimated in the new school.  But I am back now and hopefully will be able to post at least two reviews a month.

So lets get on with it.  I think I posted preciously about starting this series.  I was a bit reluctant, because while I love fairy tales and I love novelization of fairy tales I wasn't sure if I was going to love the novelization and scifi version of fairy tales.  Well quick answer is I do love them.

Scarlet is book two of the Lunar Chronicles.  A feisty, hot-tempered red head.  And while a bit stero-typical it fits her well. Scarlet is passionate and hard-working and will stick up for the underdog.  Then there is Wolf.  Is he truly evil?  Or does he want to help Scarlet and her quest to find her grandmother.

Marissa Meyer takes elements of the Little Red Riding Hood tale and makes them her own.  Intertwining them with Cinders story.  I highly recommend this series.  It is exciting and fun.  Filled with humor, action, adventure and even romance.  There is something for everyone.

Salem's Vengeance by Aaron Galvin

Salem’s Vengeance by Aaron Galvin is a historical fiction novel that takes place 19 years after the Salem Witch Trials of The Crucible.  It took me about two chapters before I became invested in the story but once I was in I was trapped.  The tone is dark and menacing you can feel the peril that plagues our main character Sarah Kelly.  As the story unfolds we are as much in the dark as young Sarah.  But after an adventure of dancing in the moonlight with her friends demons seem to take hold.  But are they really demons?  Strong family ties and a small love triangle make the story complete.   An interesting take on the Salem Witch trials. I highly recommend this to fans of the time period and who like to be scared. 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

One word review....WOW.

Word number two.... uggggg CLIFFHANGERish. Which isn't a really a word.
I remember vaguely when this book first came out in the beginning of 2012.  I found the cover intriguing.  I am a sucker for a fairly tale retelling but for some reason every time I picked this book up, I put it back down.  I like dystopian fiction and cyborgs and science fiction I just didn't think I would like them all together.  Boy was I wrong.  Cinder is an engaging and magical story about a cyborg mechanic.  While the story is familiar, Marissa Meyer puts enough twist into it to make it her own.  I highly recommend this story to readers who like fairy tales with a twist.  It is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles Series and I will be reading book two very soon.

The Boy Meets Girl Massacre by Ainslie Hogarth

The Boy Meets Girl Massacre by Ainslie Hogarth is not for the faint of heart.  It is not often I have to put a book down because it scares me or grosses me out, but I had to put this one down a couple of times.  This gruesome horror story tells the tale of Noelle and her friend Alf's summer job at the most haunted hotel.  It is a dark and foreboding.  The reader can feel the tension building in out main character.  Are there really ghosts or is she just cracking up?  It is character driven story told by Noelle or more importantly her diary.  I recommend this book to people who like a good scare, but if you are squeamish maybe you should steer clear.

Pokergeist by Michael Phillip Cash

What happens in Vegas just may be supernatural.  Pokergeist is a fast paced humorous tale about you guessed it poker!  Clutch Henderson was one game away from the coveted Poker World Series championship and the gaudy gold bracelet when the unexpected happened.  But not even death will stop him from his dream.  In comes Telly Martin a down on his luck, not very skilled player.  A single wish on a coin joins the two and the adventure beings.  Among the laughs you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat routing for the ending you are hoping for.  Recommend to get your heart racing.

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

What if it were Jafar who summoned the genie? What if he became the new sultan, was granted a great power no one else could surpass and took complete control of the city of Agrabah?

A new twist on a Disney favorite.  I will say that it has been many many years since I saw the Disney movie Aladdin so I do not recall the details of the movie but I do recall the story.  In A Whole New World we meet our lovable street rat Aladdin.  Our favorite their with a moral compass.

The book is an action adventure fairy tale that gives us a bit of back story on Aladdin.  The story takes a turn from the Disney movie when it is Jafar who gets his hands on the lamp and gets control of the genie.

The story mores at a steady pace.  There were times when I felt it was dragging a bit but it soon picked up the pace.  Watching Jafar and his evil wishes gave the story the dark and creepy feeling you would expect.  I loved the secondary characters and wished I had been given more back story on them.
I enjoyed this twisted tale and would recommend it to someone who likes a new take on an old favorite.

Meet the New Librarian---Arlene Laverde

  Hi I am Arlene Laverde the new librarian at Townsend Harris High School. I am looking forward to the 2015-2016 school year.  I have been a NYCDOE employee for the last 25 years and a librarian for nine of them.  I love to read all types of books, but my favorite genres are dystopian, fractured fairy tales, supernatural, and horror.  I also love the movies---action, horror, and drama are my first choices.  

I have a vision for the library.  I am hoping that it will be a place where students go to study, read, learn, and most importantly be comfortable.  I am open to all suggestions you may have for the library.  THHS Library is now a part of social media.  You can find links to the various social media accounts at the top of this blog so be sure to follow us.  You can also comment and suggestions here or drop me an email.