Books on my Growing List To Read: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

  So, this has actually been on my list of ‘to-read’ for a while, but, I admit, after watching Disney’s Mulan again, I now have a renewed interest in China. This is because these stories are so intriguing, and old China is extremely interesting.

This novel is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. This is, I am assured a book that is a ‘must-read’ for all girls from teens to seniors. Therefore, I believe I will try it, and I hope to be impressed.

  It is a novel that takes place in 19th century China, where tradition and men ruled domineered. Set in a remote area, the story of two women is supposed to be engrossing, and to ring true with women.

  Okay, if it rings true with women, why women? Do men not have friendships. Okay, so that’s not the point, but I want to know and understand why this is such a driving point for all of the reviews I have seen.

  What I like about it is that it takes place in China, which sets a wonderful backdrop for novels, and has woven many a wonderful tales, including one of my favourites, Memoirs of A Geisha. I also like that it is a secluded tale, not one buzzing with gossip and city life. I am sick of city life, I would rather enjoy a retreat from it.

  I believe I found this on Goodreads, or perhaps Teenreads, on a must read section. So, obviously it cannot be too bad.

  Which brings us to Goodreads stats. 3.97 rating out of 339804 ratings and 7040 reviews. Popular. And sounds pretty decent, almost guaranteed to be a good read.

  And, by the way, as I was googling this novel, It sounds like there is a movie set to be released based on the book. It’s set for release in 2011. So, now I have to read the novel if I want to see the movie!!

 

A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see.  Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women’s writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world.  Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives.  They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.

-From http://www.lisasee.com/snowflower/

Author: Lisa See

Published: June 28, 2005

Page Count: 272

ISBN: 1400060281   (isbn13: 978-1400060283)

Books On My Growing List To Read: Nomansland

  This novel is pretty much brand new, as it came out in June, and it sounds unique, that’s for sure.

  No Man’s Land is by Lesley Hauge, and certainly looks interesting. I would love to get my hands on this novel.

  It is supposed to be yet another dystopian novel, but hey, this is the new thing, and I have no issues with this genre because they bring the imagination and the ‘what-if’s’ to the table, which can be as unique as authors can imagine them.

  And this one, while not necessarily a new idea, sounds great.

  It is about a small island in the north that is completely run by women. Exclusively. Totally. Utterly, run by women.

  It’s been heard of before, but this is the first book I have found that I have been interested in that holds this subject.

  What I like about it is that it sounds so different. Usually with dystopian novels, you get government/society takeover, (Birthmarked, The Hunger Games, The Forest of Hands and Teeth), or a version of crazy ‘on their own to forge through the unknown wilds’, type thing.

  On Wikipedia, this technically could be filed under the name of ‘Feminist Utopias’, which, apparently, borders on ‘feminist science fiction’. Um. Okay then.

  Found it on good ol’ Teenreads, which is great for finding new teen novels, just so you all know. The description sounded lovely, so that is why I picked this one.

  Anyways, it looks good, sounds good, has been reviewed decently. On Goodreads, we have a 3.33avg rating with 123 ratings and 47 review. So a bit on the lower side, but the majority is not always right. So we will try it soon, I hope.

Sometime in the future, a lonely, windswept island in the north is populated solely by women.  Among these women is a group of teenaged Trackers – expert equestrians and archers – whose job is to protect their shores from the enemy.  The enemy, they’ve been told is men.  When these girls come upon a partially buried home from the distant past, they are fascinated by the strange objects – high-heeled shoes, teen magazines, makeup – found there.    What are they to make of these mysterious things, which introduce a world they have never known? And what does it mean for their strict society where friendship is forbidden and rules must be obeyed – at all costs?

From http://www.lesleyhauge.com/

Author: Lesley Hauge

Published: June 22, 2010

Page Count: 256

ISBN: 0805090649   (isbn13: 978-0805090642)

Books on My Growing List to Read: Hush

And here is my first novel to add to the growing pile of books to read this summer (now that it is here for me!) now that I can actually sit down and read. I think that a library trip sometime next week would be lovely…especially with an upcoming trip to Phoenix coming up!

So, the book that is going on this pile is Hush, by Donna Jo Napoli. It’s only three years old, as it was published in 2007.

It is supposed to be a ‘fairy-tale-retold’ novel, based on an Irish fairy tale. Sounds great.

But apparently this is not any happy fairy tale. This one is supposed to be gritty.

This is supposed to be like a Brother’s Grimm fairy tale, and not the Disney versions. The Grimm tales were – excuse the pun – grim. For example, in Cinderella, one of the step-sisters actually cuts off her toes when her foot does not fit into Cinderella’s shoe. Guess they had to leave that part out of the story when they wrote it for Disney.

So I am exited. After all, there have been too many happy-go-lucky novels out there, filled with princesses who want to find their prince, and somehow do. This is not supposed to be a novel that is like that, and for that, I am grateful.

To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea how I came across this novel. The most likely place is Goodreads, that much I now, otherwise I am clueless. I am writing about it now, becuase it was on my to-read shelf, and I clicked on it. And voila, it looks so very interesting.

I love the whole princess thing, and I love that it is based on a legend. And, if you couldn’t quite tell, I love the fact that it’s supposed to be different than the other novels I have read lately. Dark. Sad. I like it.

Not that I am a dark and sad person; I am just sick of the whole happy paranormal teenagers who fall in love, and everything is such a happy ending.  I am a little done with that.

Anyways, Goodreads stats. 863 ratings, a 3.44 average rating, and 229 reviews. The majority of people have voted this novel 3 stars, with a close 4 stars. But that might not mean anything. Just becuase only a few people like a book does not mean that I won’t, or you won’t. So there.

I am excited to get my hands on this…let’s hope that I get it soon!

Fifteen-year-old Melkorka, an Irish princess, is kidnapped by Russian slave traders and not only learns how to survive but to challenge some of the brutality of her captors, who are fascinated by her apparent muteness and the possibility that she is enchanted.

From http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765584.Hush_An_Irish_Princess_Tale (No synopsis on the author’s site)

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

Published: October 23rd 2007 by Atheneum

Page Count: 320

ISBN: 0689861761    (isbn13: 9780689861765)

Books on my Growing List to Read: Academy 7

I want to read this book, even though I was really turned off by the cover; it screams ‘young adult’ just a little too much for my liking. But, I will roll with it, and hopefully it comes with a coverslip that I can take off.

This is a novel that is just over a year old, as it was published in May 2009. Written by the author of Aurelia, (which is supposed to be pretty good) Anne Osterlund, this looks like a novel that has a twist of everything in it.

It is supposed to be a sci-fi, young-adult, fictional, fantasy novel, and it’s supposed to be a mix of The Host, Alanna, and The Hunger Games. So. It should be  decent.

I found this while I was looking at her former novel, Aurelia, which, truth be told, I was going to do as my next Books to Read article, but this is just too close to my latest favorite type of novel, mixed in with what I have loved the most in the past.

I find the whole space thing also a little iffy, but that it most definitely becuase I really have a thing where I just don’t like the whold space thing. It’s dark, seems dirty, and I just don’t like it. It’s strange, I know, and there is more to it than that, but this is about the book, and not my strange thing against space.

Reading the reviews on Goodreads, I think that perhaps there may or may not be a sequel, but to those who really enjoyed it, it sounds like there should or will be one.

And speaking of Goodreads, there are 877 ratings, with an 3.93 average rating, and 213 reviews. So, sounds like it is definitely worth a try. yet another novel for this summer…which is just around the corner!

With a past too terrible to speak of, and a bleak, lonely future ahead of her, Aerin Renning is shocked to find she has earned a place at the most exclusive school in the universe. Aerin excels at Academy 7 in all but debate, where Dane Madousin—son of one of the most powerful men in the Alliance— consistently outtalks her. Fortunately Aerin consistently outwits him at sparring. They are at the top of their class until Dane jeopardizes everything and Aerin is unintentionally dragged down with him. When the pair is given a joint punishment, an unexpected friendship—and romance—begins to form. But Dane and Aerin both harbor dangerous secrets, and the two are linked in ways neither of them could ever have imagined. . . .

-From http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5711714-academy-7 (No synopsis on the author’s site)

Author: Anne Osterlund

Published: May 14th 2009 by Puffin

Page Count: 259

ISBN: 0142414379    (isbn13: 9780142414378)

Books on My Growing List to Read: Moloka’i

No, don’t worry, this novel is in english. It does take place in Hawaii, which is a place I would love to be right now, but until that lucky day comes, I will just have to make do with reading about it.

This is a novel that was written a while ago; try fall of 2003. It was written by the former T.V writer Alan Brennert (www.alanbrennert.com), who writes mostly sci-fi and fantasy. This novel is more of a historical fiction, and takes place in the 1890′s. Moloka’i sounds intriguing, as well as full of information that has been hushed up.

What drew me to this novel was the cover (bright, open, tropical) and mostly the title. Moloka’i. Exotic. Strange. What in the world could it be about?

How about a Hawaiian leprosy colony that was hidden? Neat, in a strange and haunting way.

This seems to be a stand-alone novel that the author has no plans of adding onto, which will be good for a summer read.

The Goodreads stats are pretty decent, with 5,244 ratings, an 4.13 average rating, and 1,423 reviews. So for being out for almost seven years, this novel is doing pretty well, and sounds promising.

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i. Here her life is supposed to end—but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka’i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death. Such is the warmth, humor, and compassion of this novel that “few readers will remain unchanged by Rachel’s story” (mostlyfiction.com).

Moloka’i has become a favorite selection of reading groups across the country and has appeared on the BookSense Extended Paperback Bestseller list, as well as the bestseller lists of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Time, and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

From http://www.alanbrennert.com/Pg_Molokai.html

Author: Alan Brennert

Published: October 4th 2004 by St. Martin’s Griffin (first published 2003)

Page Count: 389

ISBN:0312304358    (isbn13: 9780312304355)

Books On My Growing List To Read: Stolen

Here is a novel that sounds frighteningly great, in one of those ‘so-creepy-it’s-compelling’ ways.

It is Stolen, by the new author Lucy Christopher  (http://www.lucychristopher.com/). This is a novel that I think will be good, becuase it just sounds so strange!

This novel was published May 4th 2009, so it is a newer novel. It was her debut author, and I think that is sounds just strange enough to be worth the read.

I came across this novel on Teenreads, where I go occasionally to find books that are coming out and what books are supposed to be really well done, and great for YA novels. The synopsis caught my eye; a girl stolen right out of an airport? Drugged? Hidden? Strange.

This is a stand-alone novel, and it explores a syndrome that happens when people who are kidnapped start to feel for their captors, sometimes even partly falling in what can be love. It is a frightening truth that does happen to people who do go through this hell.

Goodreads stats? Well, there are 179 ratings, the average rating is 4.23, and there are 64 reviews. So it is flying a little under the radar, considering that it has been out for a year, but we shall try it and see how this turns out.

Hopefully this will turn out to be a good novel. Can’t wait to get to the library this summer and get some books to read!

Told in a letter to her captor by 16-year-old Gemma, Stolen explores the influence that a really wild and remote space can have on the inner development of a young woman.

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops into what could be referred to as Stockholm syndrome.

-From http://www.lucychristopher.com/books.html

Author: Lucy Christopher

Published: May 1st 2010 by The Chicken House (first published May 4th 2009)

Page Count: 304

ISBN: 0545170931    (isbn13: 9780545170932)

Books On My Growing List To Read: Matched

The list is still growing! And here is yet another novel that looks promising.

It is Matched, by Ally Condie, (http://www.allysoncondie.com/), which sounds like a promising work of fiction similar to The Hunger Games trilogy.  It will not be out for a while, as it’s publish date is set for November 30^th, 2010, but I figure I can wait if it looks good. It’s like any other novel that you have to wait for; you get to speculate and wonder and sigh and wish that it would come out already. Let’s hope that this is a possibility for this novel.

What caught my eye was the cover, on a listopia list on Goodreads. It looked like a green blob of something-or-other on a plain cover. I clicked on the novel, and voila, I find another novel that looks enticing. (And, by the way, the green blob is a girl in a green dress in a bubble! Different. I like it.)

It sounds like this is supposed to be a stand-alone novel. That would be nice, as it seems lately the trend is series, and that can make it pretty hard to find a solitary novel to have for the beach. Not that I don’t have anything against series; I just would like a light read without having to worry about the next book coming out.

It looks promising from the praising reviews and the high ratings, even if they are few, because only a few ARC (advanced reader’s copy) ‘s have made it out to people. There is not one rating under three stars, and the majority of are five. So. Things look good.

Too bad I will have to wait until November before this comes out – I kind of want to read this now.

In the novel, a 17-year-old girl, who has waited her entire life to be told by a group known as “the Society” who her soul mate is, has her world upended when she discovers she’s in love with someone other than the group’s pick.

- From http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7735333-matched (No synopsis on the author’s site)

Author: Ally Condie

Published: November 30^{th 2010}

Page Count: 369

ISBN: 0525423648    (isbn13: 9780525423645)

Books on My Growing List To Read: Birthmarked

I have found another novel that I would love to get my hands on.

It’s only been out for a couple of months, as it was published on March 30th. The topic sounds different, if not similar to the other fad (which has been around for years) about what will happen to the world in a few hundred years if we don’t smarten up.

Birthmarked, by Caragh M. O’Brien (http://www.caraghobrien.com/), looks like it could be a good read due to it’s story; it has a Hunger Games element to it about the force of government and what our world will look like in a few hundred years.

I cannot remember how I came about this novel; the cover caught my eye, at first, then the thrilling synopsis. The idea that you, as a sixteen year old midwife, must take away the babies for a certain quota for the government is a twisted thing. And I love twisted novels, for the most part.

Apparently, this may or may not be a stand alone novel. The rumors are swirling. I personally have a feeling from some of the other reviews that this needs a second book, and the author sounds like she is ready to add on to the story; but I will have to read it to determine this for myself.

As for Goodreads stats…146 ratings, a 4.18 average rating, as well as 73 reviews, there is only about a 1% vote that the novel is worth only one star. Okay. So it has a chance in the young adult world, for teens and adults alike, as it sounds.

Hopefully I will be able to pick this up at the library, along with three other novels that sound like a good read.

After climate change, on the north shore of Unlake Superior, a dystopian world is divided between those who live inside the wall, and those, like sixteen-year-old midwife Gaia Stone, who live outside. It’s Gaia’s job to “advance” a quota of infants from poverty into the walled Enclave, until the night one agonized mother objects, and Gaia’s parents disappear.

As Gaia’s efforts to save her parents take her within the wall, she faces the brutal injustice of the Enclave and discovers she alone holds the key to a secret code, a code of “birthmarked” babies and genetic merit.

Fraught with difficult moral choices and rich with intricate layers of codes, BIRTHMARKED explores a colorful, cruel, eerily familiar world where a criminal is defined by her genes, and one girl can make all the difference.

-From http://www.caraghobrien.com/book/birthmarked/

Author: Caragh M. O’Brien

Published: March 30th 2010 by Roaring Brook Press

Page Count:320

ISBN: 1596435690    (isbn13: 9781596435698)

Books on My Growing List To Read: Poision Study

So many books, so little time! And here is yet another novel that sounds absolutely enthralling.

Poison Study, by Maria V. Snyder (http://www.mariavsnyder.com/). It is an older book, published in 2004, but from the reviews and the good ratings, this novel sounds like it is a good read, especially if you are one for magic and such.

I can’t honsetly say what really caught my eye other than the title and the latest cover. It looked pretty. Pretty in the way that makes you think exotic, and wonder what the book it about.

The back cover synopsis helped too. It even sounded exotic, pretty in a gritty way.

The idea is uniqe. The tag line unique. Hasty. Frightning. Choose: A quick death and hell or slow poison and hell. It captures the attention, that is for sure. It sounds like one of those novels that is hard to put down, so engrossing that it has to be read into the wee hours of the night, untill you look up at the clock and think ‘crap. It’s that time? Oops.’

So with some of the stats on Goodreads, it also made me wonder. With 6,079 ratings, a 4.21 average rating, and 1,260 reviews. It can’t be that bad. It also helps that 43% of the ratings are 5 stars, 39% 4, 14% 3, 2%2, and 0%, yes zero, are 1 stars. So the outlook seems good. Hopefully this will be yet another series I can fall in love with.

The only thing that confuses me is why I have never heard of this novel before.

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered a reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace, and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust, and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison. As Yelena tries to escape her dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and she develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life’s at stake again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear!

- From http://www.mariavsnyder.com/books.php

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Published: March 1st 2007 by Luna (first published 2004)

Page Count:416

ISBN: 0778324338    (isbn13: 9780778324331)

Books on My Growing List To Read: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

I am going to slowly whittle down this enormous list during the summer, I promise.

But for now, here is yet another novel that I will do my very best to get from the library and read when I have time (which I happen to be a little short on at the moment).

One of the books that caught my eye the other day was The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan (http://www.carrieryan.com/). This is about a year old, published in March 2009.  I admit, both the cover and the strange title caught my eye. I mean, The Forest of Hands and Teeth? What is going on here?

So then, Amazon being my very best friend when I want to get the jist of the book, I went on there and started to read inside the cover.

Not what I was expecting. I got all the way untill the end of the prieview and I thought to myself…put it on the list. This one is very well done so far.

What is done so well is the quality of the writing, and the strange, twisted idea. The undead. A fence. A controlling force. It, to tell the truth, reminded me of The Hunger Games (which I will review once Mockingjay is out…can’t wait!).

So. With 4,485 ratings, on Goodreads, with a 3.60 average rating, this cannot be too bad of a book. And from some of the reviews I have read on the book, it sounds like it is very well done, and should be another good series.

In Mary’s world, there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.

The Guardians will protect and serve.

The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

- From http://www.carrieryan.com/forest-hands-teeth.php

Author: Carrie Ryan

Published: March 10th 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Page Count:308

ISBN: 0385906315    (isbn13: 9780385906319)