Persy -- Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock

Sherlock Holmes is a 13-year-old Jewish misfit who doesn't go to school and reads police newspapers for fun. He never interferes with investigations, but follows them closely, all the while solving little mysteries around his household and surrounding neighborhood. But when random chance implicates Sherlock as the accomplice to a violent murder, he has no choice but to go into hiding and attempt to clear his name. But first, he must escape from prison...

 

I'm not quite sure why, but I was expecting this to be some kind of retelling of Sherlock Holmes, in which Sherlock is a young boy in modern day London or something like that. I have no idea where I got that idea, because that's not what this series is. This really is about Sherlock as a kid before his master detective years.

 

First of all, everyone should know better than to meddle with Sherlock's past. That's part of the fun and mystery of Sherlock -- you know nothing about him. If you start trying to fabricate mysteries and adventures and details, it just starts to feel a little... meh.

 

But the funny thing is, Eye of the Crow is actually a pretty good mystery/adventure/historical book, but I really really wish it wasn't about Sherlock Holmes. If it wasn't about him, I'd look on the series with a much fonder eye.

 

I'm also not sure if this is some kind of precursor to the original Sherlock Holmes, or if Shane Peacock is retelling basic Sherlock Holmes stories. Because there's an Irene in this book (though her name isn't Irene Adler and she's not a thief or anything), and I would find it curious to name her that if it wasn't supposed to mean something. There's also the leader of a street gang, The Malefactor, who is something like Moriarty. The only thing I can figure is that maybe these characters turn into Irene Adler and Moriarty. Or perhaps it's just a big coincidence.

 

The writing isn't bad, and the plot's okay, and the mystery bit is pretty well done. Nothing about this book screams greatness, and when you add in that it's supposed to be Sherlock Holmes, it turns out to just be a meh-y book. Unfortunately, I'm required to review books four and six, so I'm going to have to continue through the whole series.

 

--Persy

 

You might like this if you: love Sherlock Holmes, and feel obligated to read every version of him you can find; like quick, easy mystery reads that don't require too much energy; like historical fiction; or if you like historical mysteries and don't care a whit about Sherlock Holmes.

Arty -- Time Stops For No Mouse by Michael Hoeye

Yeah, Arty's alive.  Sorry 'bout that, much importantness crammed my weekends.

So.  Time Stops For No Mouse.  I've seen other books in this series in various places, and they all look very cute - I mean, mouse detective stories.  Generally the only mysteries of any sort that I can abide.  The Great Mouse Detective springs to mind.  But I digress.

I finally found the first book in the Hermux Tantamoq Mysteries, and it took me way too long to read it.  But I finally did, and now I'm wishing that I had before now, because it's really, really cute.  That's the word that sums up basically everything about this book - cute.  (Even with the villainous youth-crazed mad scientists and the murder-by-mousetrap and such.)

Hermux Tantamoq is a humble mouse watchmaker.  He's minding his own business, fixing watches and clocks, when in strolls Linka Perflinger - daring and lovely aviatrix/adventuress mouse.  She broke her watch during an adventure, and needs it fixed posthaste (watches are critical to the timing and execution of life-threatening stunts).

Hermux is taken with Ms. Perflinger and readily agrees to fix the watch for her.  Unfortunately, Ms. Perflinger is involved with much more than just innocent, death-defying tricks.  When a strange, sinister rat comes into Hermux's establishment, demanding to have Ms. Perflinger's watch, Hermux knows something is up.  He follows the rat, and...

Okay, if I keep summarizing, then I'll never stop.

This is one of those books that's hard to sum up, because there are several threads of conflict that emerge later on and connect in unexpected ways.  It's not complicated, per se - just not simple.  You have Tucka Mertslin's cosmetics and shady new Millennium line that makes everyone look younger, the scientific exploration into a tribal community of rodents who never age or die, Dr. Mennus's 'Youthanasia Resort'...

One of my favorite parts about the book was the character names.  Hermux Tantamoq.  Linka Perflinger.  Tucka Mertslin.  Pup Schoonagliffen.  I've read reviews where readers were bugged by this, but I LOVE it.  So... cute.

Basically, if you don't like cute, then don't read this book.

Hermux is an adorable main character.  He's the perfect regular Joe, just doing what he does.  There is no real point where he's all I'm Going To Be A Hero now.  He just... is one.  Because he's cool.  And cute.  I love Hermux.  Officially one of my favorite literary mice, up there behind Reepicheep.

And then there are the surrounding cast, most of whom aren't particularly good people, but are still interesting.  Tucka Mertslin is appropriately nasty and obnoxious.  Dr. Mennus is a little cliché, but he still has a very cavalier feel to him that seems creepy.  Pup Schoonagliffen fulfilled his role very well.  And Terfle.  Terfle is Hermux's pet ladybug.  She was so. adorable.  Ladybugs have never been that adorable.

There are some downsides.  Like I said, it's a very cute book - well-written, definitely, but cute.  It won't appeal to a lot of people for that reason.  The mystery seems to be wrapped up very neatly at the end, although I don't know if anything besides a neat ending could suit this kind of book.  And the first half of the book, while incredibly amusing, might bore some readers - it's very much about Hermux's daily life.

In my mind, though, there was very little that was wasted about this book.  It's adorable.  It's about amateur mouse sleuths and fountain-of-youth chemical formulas.  Just... read it.  Read it.  It's awesome. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequels.

Wednesday (Almost) Scrolls - Best And Worst of November, 2011

Arty here. Well, how was your Thanksgiving? Awesome, I hope. Personally, I ate way too much. But then that goes without saying.

Anyway, it's time to evaluate our reading months.

In the month of November, I read 19 books and one manga.

Best November Book: Oh, so The Book Thief. I read it in about five days (I'm a busy girl) and completely abandoned everything else to finish this awesome work. I almost cried at the end. Read it - I can't summarize it. Just read it.

Honorable Mention: I read a lot of good books this month. I think the second best one, on purely entertainment purposes, was How To Break A Dragon's Heart by Cressida Cowell. Notice that this series has made it onto both of my Honorable Mentions? Because this series is like ICE CREAM, PEOPLE. It's just insanely fun. And Alvin is the BEST VILLAIN EVAR.

Worst November Book: Particularly Cats by Doris Lessing. Nonfiction about, of course, cats. Didn't realize it was quite so... realistic. Not my cup of tea.

Dishonorable Mention: Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Historical mystery/ghost story... thing. Just strange, though it does have the unique privilege of grossing me out. Not much grosses me out.

Arty

'Ello, Chaps! Persy's here! That was my British accent, in case you hadn't noticed. Yeah, I had weird dreams about John Simm and underground airports last night, don't ask.

November was a bad month for me. I read only 9 books, and that's counting 2 manga. My page count totalled up to a measly 1817. Sad. I'll do better this month (did I say that about November? Hm..)

Best November Book: I'll have to go with How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. I didn't really read any super amazing books this month, so this one wins easily.

Honorable Mention: Born of Ice by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 3 by Bisco Hatori. Yeah, so there's two honorable mentions, what are you going to do, sue me?

Worst November Book: Alexander The Great by John Gunther. A poorly written nonfiction book about, well, Alexander the Great.

Dishonorable Mention: There really isn't one. "Alexander" was the only book of November that I really didn't like. Whoohoo.

So there you have it, our best and worst of November. This weekend there'll be a new review and we'll return to our regularly scheduled Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck next week (maybe)!

--Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls - Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck, Other Arena

You know what I think this saga needs? A theme song. Maybe some Robert Kral? An epic intro would be epic. *cue awesome soundtrack*

We've had the lists. Fantasy. Urban Fantasy. Classic & History. Other.
We've had three shows in the Arena. Fantasy. Urban Fantasy. Classic & History. And now, for the conclusion. After this episode, we will be moving on into the next round, where the genres are mixed and the TRUE battle begins!

But anyway. Refresh your memory on the contestants, and then we'll get started!

Our first pair is... Frankie Landau-Banks (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart) vs. Gratuity "Tip" Tucci (The True Meaning of Smekday, Adam Rex)!

Category One. Personality.

Frankie certainly wouldn't have gotten as far as she did if she didn't have personality. She's a mastermind in a teenage girl's body, taking control of an entire (secret) organization at her boarding school without anyone knowing. And she has flaws that she herself corrects (she's a mastermind after all). She learns to be her own bear instead of the bear (er, girl) others assume she should be.

Tip is very matter of fact. She has serious guts. I mean, it's not like she went on a road trip with only a cat and an alien while the world was being ruled by aliens, and it's certainly not like she saved the world or anything. And she did it all while being awesome!

Winner: Frankie. She's smart enough to turn any situation to her advantage, and Tip wasn't too concerned about the whole thing to begin with.

Category Two. Fight!

Frankie's power lays in her mind. She certainly couldn't beat you up (she's tiny), but she'd more than make up for it afterwards.

Tip is also tiny, but better at using it to her advantage. She's stealthy and quick on her feet.

Winner: Tip. They're evenly matched when it comes to actual fighting, but Tip has more experience and is more resourceful.

Category Three. "Kiss Me, You Fool!"

Frankie can't believe it when the hottest, and smartest, guy asks her out, the guy she's liked for years. But he does, and they get together, and she's really happy. Until she discovers his true personality (he's really annoying)!

Tip's like, twelve. It's refreshing that she has no love interest at all.

Winner: Frankie. While her actual boyfriend may be an idiot, she gets points because her relationship truly grows. Plus, Tip didn't have a thing to contribute.

Category Four. Friends.

Frankie's got one best friend, but even she doesn't know all of Frankie's secrets. She doesn't have a true best friend.

Tip has a cat and an alien. Oh yeah.

Winner: Tip. You really can't beat J.Lo the alien.

Category Five. Juggling.

Frankie's not too awesome at it at first, but she practices nonstop until she masters it. Estimated Time Spent Mastering: three days.

Tip gets the basics easily, but doesn't care enough to spend a ton of time mastering it. Estimated Time Spent Mastering: two weeks.

Winner: Frankie.

End Score! Frankie: 3 Tip: 2 Congratulations, Frankie! We'll be seeing you next time! Sorry, Tip, but you didn't care much in the first place, right?

And our second fighting pair is...Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori) vs. Jasmine Callihan (Bad Kitty, Michele Jaffe)!

Category One. Personality.

Haruhi's strong, independant, and smart. She's not a feminist, but she doesn't see the point in distinguishing between males and females (no matter how many times she gets into situations where it would matter). She's always been poor and practically on her own, and it takes her a while to discover that sometimes you should ask for help.

Jasmine, while not poor, certainly has a hard life. Her father's a tyrant, won't let her study forensics (her dream), and abruptly moves them all to Italy whenever he feels like it. But this doesn't stop Jasmine from being totally awesome and totally hilarious. She's very smart, and probably the funniest main character ever.

Winner: Draw. Haruhi's good at arguing when she gets worked up, but Jasmine's easily distracted. Nevertheless, Jasmine keeps getting the upper hand with her humor and keeps on confusing Haruhi. They finally both get exhausted and leave.

Category Two. Fight!

Haruhi's pretty shrimpy, and the few times she's gotten into a fight (or slapped someone, rather), she mostly relied on the element of surprise. When she doesn't have that, she usually loses.

Jasmine's not quite coordinated enough to be good in a fight, but she knows enough about forensics to at least know what makes a good weapon.

Winner: Jasmine. Neither of them are very good, but Jasmine eventually wins.

Category Three. "Kiss Me, You Fool!"

Haruhi's got many love interests (it's shoujo manga, after all), but her main one is Tamaki. He's hilarious and doesn't really understand his feelings for Haruhi, but he tries everything to please and protect her.

Jasmine has her super awesome boyfriend Jack, who she's absolutely in love with. They're adorable together.

Winner: Haruhi. She spends more time with Tamaki than Jasmine does with Jack, so we get to know him better.

Category Four. Friends.

Haruhi has the entire Host Club, composed of an evil mastermind, two scheming twins, a strong and silent protecter, and deceptively cute martial artist. And Tamaki, of course.

Jasmine has her own band of merry men, including Polly the fashion expert (who always puts protection in her latest outfits), and the twins Roxy and Tom.

Winner: Haruhi. The Host Club just barely beats Jasmine's crew. Barely.

Category Five. Juggling.

Haruhi's not great at that sort of thing, but she's good at pretty much everything, so she picks it up quickly. Estimated Time Spent Mastering: One day (in the world of manga, it'd only take long enough for Mori to bribe her with fancy tuna).

Jasmine's a bit clumsy, so it takes her a while, but she's determined, so she gets it done! Estimated Time Spent Mastering: Almost a month.
Winner: Haruhi.

End Score! Haruhi: 3 Jasmine: 1 Draws: 1 Congrats, Haruhi! We all know you really wanted to move on to the next round! And I'm really sorry, Jas, but I was going to reread your book anyway.

And our last battle is... Audrey Cuttler (Audrey, Wait!, Robin Benway) vs. Shahara Dagan (Born of Fire, Sherrilyn Kenyon)!

Category One. Personality.

Audrey's snarky, grumpy, whiny, hilarious, and loves music. In a word, she's realistic. And yet, still likeable! Plus she has real character growth.

Shahara is a bit more 2D. She has layers, of course, with secret desires and thoughts and unexpectedness in general, but she's not the most unique crayon in the box.

Winner: Audrey. If they were crayons, she'd be Jazzberry Jam while Shahara would simply be Red.

Category Two. Fight!

Audrey would certainly punch you if you asked for it, but it's not her strong point.
Shahara, on the other hand, beats people up for a living.
Winner: Shahara, without a doubt.

Category Three. "Kiss Me, You Fool!"

Audrey's entire story is about her breakup with her ex-boyfriend, but amidst the chaos, she's discovering that her coworker actually has a personality, and is awesome.

Shahara falls for her latest mark, one of the worst criminals in the universe. Perhaps they're a cliché, but they do it well.

Winner: Shahara. She and Syn are just a bit awesomer than Audrey and James.

Category Four. Friends.

Audrey's best friend Victoria is certainly annoying, but she's also the one who practically smacks Audrey in the face and tells her to grow up (which is good).

Shahara's only real friends are her family, and they don't even really count.

Winner: Audrey. Victoria may be annoying, but she's still there and she still really cares about Audrey.

Category Five. Juggling.

It takes her more than a few times, but Audrey gets it pretty easily. Estimated Time Spent Mastering: one week.

Shahara expects it to be easy, but has more trouble than anticipated. She gets frustrated too easily. Estimated Time Spent Mastering: one month.

Winner: Audrey.

End Score! Audrey: 3 Shahara: 2 Congratulations, Audrey! You move on to the next round! Don't worry about it, Shahara, you can still beat her up.

Our Other finalists are: Frankie Landau-Banks, Haruhi Fujioka, and Audrey Cuttler! Next week we'll be moving on into the REAL battle, when the genres mix and the it gets truly dangerous!

--Persy

Arty -- Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon

You've read Twelfth Night, right? You know, Shakespeare and all? If you haven't, there are three things you should do. Firstly, you should repeatedly hit yourself in the face with a two-by-four. Secondly, turn off your computer. Thirdly, go read Twelfth Night. Right now. Because neither the book nor the review will make sense if you haven't read it.

Okay, read it now? Good.

The events of Shakespeare's tale are all true. There really was a Duke of Orsino who married an orphaned twin named Viola. Olivia really married Sebastian. And, most importantly, there really was a jester named Feste and a steward named Malvolio.

But their actions were all a bit more sinister than Shakespeare made it out to be.

Fastforward fifteen years afterward, and Feste, now known as Theophilus, is an aging clown with a drinking problem, seemingly useless in the Fools' Guild - a training center for fools, clowns... and secret agents. The Fools' Guild sends its jester-agents into highly touchy situations of international importance to sue for peace or war, convince nobles to courses of actions... and sometimes assassinate those nobles. But Theophilus, as he's fond of pointing out, is no longer a young man, and there's not much for him to do.

Then word comes that the Duke of Orsino is dead. Worried that Malvolio, the more-dangerous-than-he-appeared steward, who declared revenge on the Duke's house (and Feste) fifteen years ago, has begun to execute that revenge, Theophilus travels to Orsino to investigate.

Thus begins a continuation of Twelfth Night, returning to the lives of Viola and Sebastian, Olivia and Fabian, and, of course, Sir Toby Belch and Andrew Aguecheek, fifteen years after we first met them.

I really wanted to like this book. And - guess what? - I did! It's Shakespeare. It's mystery. And, come on, it's jesters. Who doesn't like jesters? (If you answered 'I don't,' go hit yourself with that two-by-four again. I mean it.)

Now, this was not a perfect book. A few aspects of the mystery were confusing, and there were times when there wasn't enough foreshadowing for the plot twists to make as much sense as they could have. The description was bare, too. I never quite got a feel for what even Theophilus looked like, except that he's always describing himself as 'old.' (I guesstimate he's around forty.) Most of the other characters don't have much to them, except for brief adjectives like 'fat,' 'beautiful,' or 'young.' I'm choosing to believe that this was to retain a shred of a playlike aspect.

But if you want to know anything about my reading habits, you should know that I need good characters more than a good plot - and the characters are where the awesomeness of this book lies. Theophilus is a great MC. He's witty and sarcastic (as all jesters should be), he's depressed but not mopey, and flawed but not a horrible person. He's very human. Viola (probably my favorite female Shakespeare character besides Beatrice) is a great character, as well as Andrew Aguecheek, Maria, Viola's and Orsino's son (who is ADORABLE!), and Bobo, the fool who's sent to help Theophilus unravel the mystery. Even the minor characters are funny and engaging, and you're really sad when any char dies (which happens a couple times).

The mystery, while not on level with the characterization, is interesting, and, while political, wasn't too much so for me to grasp. And I really hate political mysteries. I called the main villain about a third of the way through, though I didn't really have any evidence for it (it's always the one you least suspect, after all). However, there was a minor 'villain' who I really did not expect and nearly shouted when they revealed it - even though it made sense.

So if you like Shakespeare or period fiction or mystery or just a really well-written book, pick up Thirteenth Night. Oh, and it's a series! Book number one in the Fools' Guild Mysteries, there are seven sequels, as of 2010. Seven! Here's hoping they're all as interesting as the first one.

Wednesday Scrolls - Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck, Other Edition

We've gone over the big ones. Fantasy. Urban Fantasy. Classic & Historical. But what about scifi? What about chick lit? What about romances? What about those books you just can't find a genre for? What about THEM!!

Don't worry, I'm not ignoring them. All of the above fall into the lovely, broad genre of Other. As much as I love scifi, there just aren't a ton of heroines in science fiction literature. I don't read a lot of chick lit, and there are very few awesome heroines in chick lit anyway. And, well, the genre-less ones obviously go in Other. Here's a list of the awesomest ten heroines from the above-mentioned genres.

#10. Deryn Sharp from the Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld. Steampunk. Okay, so the whole girl-dressed-as-a-boy has been done millions upon millions of times, and, honestly, lots of people are sick of it. However, when it's done well, I actually love it. This time, Scott Westerfeld pulls it off. Deryn Sharp pretends to be a boy to get into the British Air Force, where she proves to be a brilliant air(wo)man. She's kind of like Bloody Jack only steampunk, and not quite as witty. And the book itself (Leviathan)? Surprisingly awesome.

#9. Dulcie from Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Scifi/Fantasy. She's a punk angel, which sounds like a boring cliché but actually isn't, and she's a little sad but a little cheerful at the same time. Pretty cool, in other words. And the book itself? OMGSOAWESOME!

#8. Sammy Keyes from the Sammy Keyes series by Wendelin Van Draanen. Mystery. The young-girl-detective thing's been done many times as well, but never has it been so enjoyable. Sammy is awesome for all ages, not just ten-year-olds. She's smart and resourceful, everything a good detective should be. She just has a bit of bad luck from time to time. And the book itself (Sammy Keyes And The Hotel Thief)? Awesome.

#7. D.J. Schwenk from Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. Chick Lit. She's funny, she's likeable, she's in an unfortunate situation, and she has character growth. A good main character is the only thing that will make it possible for me to actually like a coming-of-age/chick-lit/whatever book, and D.J. is very cool. And the book itself? Pretty awesome.

#6. Shahara Dagan from Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Scifi/Romance. Shahara is aweome because she's good at her job, but not much else. She often even seems like a complete idiot until you're reminded that she's never been a criminal before, only a policeman. Plus she's got a miserable past, and you know how I love those. And the book itself? Oh like you need me saying it again.

#5. Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori. Manga. Everybody loves manga! Okay, not everyone, but everyone should. I mean, pictures! But anyway. Surrounded by rich airheads, Haruhi is sarcastic and surprisingly laid back, just kind of 'whatever-but-please-don't-touch-my-stuff'. Let's face it, I just love everyone from OHSHC (Haruhi's just the only girl). And the manga? OMGSOAWESOME!

#4. Audrey Cuttler from Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway. Chick Lit. What were the qualities of a good chick lit heroine? Funny, likeable, unfortunate situation, and character growth? Well, Audrey's got all of those PLUS music! And the book itself? Absolutely hilarious.

#3. Gratuity "Tip" Tucci from The True Meaning Of Smekday by Adam Rex. Scifi. First of all, Tip is pretty much traveling across the world with an alien named J.Lo in a worled pretty much controled by aliens. Yes, that beeping noise is the awesome-o-meter warning you that it is about to explode. Tip not only navigates the cold cruel world by herself (she's like, twelve, by the way), but even saves the cold cruel world. And the book itself? OMGSOAWESOME!!

#2. Frankie Landau-Banks from The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Chick lit? When Frankie realizes how her new boyfriend looks down on her and doesn't expect or want her to be smarter than him, she decides to prove him wrong. She turns out to be a freakin' genius. And just...well...awesome. And the book itself? Oh go read it for goodness sake!
#1. Jasmine Callihan from Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe. Forensics. Cats. Fashion. Hilarity. Ooh yes. Jasmine has got to be the. funniest. main character. ever. This is one of the few books that makes me laugh out loud, and yet the mystery is still intriquing and fun to figure out on your own. Jasmine is just epic. And the book itself? Absolutely HILARIOUS.

So there you are.

This concludes the Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck Saga. Should they battle it out to see who is the queen of heroines? I think they should. TO THE ARENA!!!

...Next week.

--Persy

Persy -- The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

You ever wake up and find yourself strapped to a chair, covered in burns and cuts and bruises? You are, that is, not the chair. The chair's fine. Well, probably. Who knows what these dastardly villains have done to the poor thing.

Who are these dastardly villains, you suddenly ask yourself. You can't remember. You have no idea where you are. You frantically think to yourself, what's The Last Thing I Remember?

Well, The Last Thing I Remember is actually a book by Andrew Klavan, about a boy who finds himself in the exact same position. The last thing Charlie West can remember is a normal day--Yesterday? Sure, it was filled with some excitement (epic karate demonstration, finally getting Beth's phone number, arguing with Alex), but in the end, it was a normal day. Nothing to explain why he's just woken up from a night of torture.

Charlie barely escapes with his life, but now he must embark on a quest to figure out what's going on. But just as he seems to get close to safety...he finds he will never again be safe.

This book starts out strong. There's a smooth blend of flashbacks and scenes from the present, both of which keeps the reader (you!) interested. But soon the novelty of an amnesia-suffering MC wears off, and you start noticing some things.

First of all, Andrew Klavan's writing isn't exactly epic. His sentence structure is very repetitive (usually beginning with 'I'), and he tends to use short sentences for dramatic effect. He often does this. He starts the sentences with the same word. He thinks this will be cool. He is wrong.

Then, before you know it, you've reached the end of the novel, and you're left with this feeling of, "Whaaaaaa?" It's one of the most abrupt endings ever. The only warning you get is when you start noticing you're running out of pages. Klavan never quite finishes setting the story up, so the whole book feels more like a really, really long prologue.

So points to Klavan for a good idea and a good MC, but he needs to work on his actual writing style. There are three more books in the Homelanders series, and I'm at least going to read the second one in search of some kind of climax.

--Persy

You might like this if you like: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Richard Yancey, or if you like like YA thriller/suspense or action/adventure novels, or if you're worried about one day waking up with amnesia.

Wednesday Scrolls - Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck, Classic & Historical Fiction Edition

Time to continue the ongoing Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck Saga! We've already covered fantasy and urban fantasy, and today we'll be taking a look at both classic and historical fiction. I combined the two genres because there just weren't enough to warrant a list for each. Even combined, there's only 8, not even a full 10. I don't read a lot of historical fiction, and there aren't really a lot of heroines in classic novels. What's really amazing though, is that they're all almsot equal in their awesomeness. Here's a list of the 8 I've encounted in my travels:

#8. Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker from Dracula by Bram Stoker. Classic Horror. Listen, y'all (and I don't use that term lightly), Dracula is not boring, it is not tedious, and it is not filled with obscene pages of violence and dirt. It's a work of genius. and Mina Harker is actually very cool. She's certainly not the best character in the book, but that hardly makes her boring. She's comfortable in her situation as a woman, doesn't run off to kill the vampires behind Van Helsing's back, and yet is still brave. She is dignified. And the book itself? ^^ Work of genius.

#7. Kit Tyler from The Witch Of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. Classic Fiction. "Despite winning the Newberry Award..." Yeah, I did just quote myself. But let's face it, Newberry Award winners are usually dull and boring, but "Blackbird Pond" is an exception to the rule. Kit is pretty awesome, seen as a foreign witch by her new neighbors and relatives. But she ends up making a school (by accident) for the young children, teaching them to read and write. Go Kit! And the book itself? Excellent.

#6. Rosalind Hawkins from The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey. Historical Fiction/Fantasy. As I've said before, best Beauty and the Beast retelling. Ever. Rosalind, like Mina, is perfectly content being a woman and wearing corsets and skirts, and doesn't even think about it. Instead, she just curls up in her chair, forgetting all about her skirts, to read her books in comfort. She's and educated woman, irritated that men don't always accept her knowledge, but she doesn't jump up on a soapbox and start shouting at everyone. Plus, she's just kind of cute. And the book itself? ^^Best B&B retelling. Ever.

#5. Emily Trefusis from Murder At Hazelmoor (AKA The Sittaford Mystery) by Agatha Christie. Classic Mystery. Christie doesn't always do it for me, but Emily is very cool. If you want something done, do it yourself. That's what she decides when her fiancé (a silly little man, but for some reason she can't figure out, she loves him anyway) is charged with murder. So she heads down to solve the mystery herself, weedling her way into the heart of the little village. She's a brilliantly created heroine. And the book itself? Ending a bit disappointing, but overall quite good.

#4. Cat Royal from the Cat Royal series by Julia Golding. Historical Fiction. Cat's actually a very average young adult historical heroine: spunky, adventurous, and witty. She's good at getting into tight situations, and she's good at getting out of them. Perhaps it's Golding's writing that distinguishes Cat from all the others. And the book itself (The Diamond of Drury Lane)? So good.

#3. Marguerite St. Just from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. Classic Adventure/Superhero. *squees* Best book EVER. While Marguerite isn't the best part of it, she plays her part(s) superbly. You want a double agent? Check her out. And the book itself? OMGZ SO AWESOME.

#2. Mary "Jacky" Faber from the Bloody Jack/Jacky Faber series by L.A. Meyer. Historical Adventure. Girl dresses as boy to get into some sort of all-boy situation. Cliché. But when it's actually done well, it's amazing. Jacky doesn't start dressing as a boy because she particularly wants to, it just kind of happens and she's got nowhere else to go but the sea, and they don't take girls anyway. Jacky is full of adventure and absolute hilarity. And the book itself (Bloody Jack)? Go read ALL THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES!

#1. Mara from Mara, Daughter Of The Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Classic/Historical Espionage. Okay, remember how I said Marguerite St. Just is the best example of a double agent? Mara would actually give her a serious run for her money. I would love to see these two in battle. Mara is roped into double agent-dom, but she does it so well and she's so amazing. And the book itself? Dude, READ IT ALREADY.

And there you have it. This weekend I'll be doing a review, and the following Wednesday we'll have the last installment of the Literary Heroines Who Don't Suck Saga! Unless we have an ultimate showdown, of course...

--Persy

Persy -- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Welcome to the Southern town of Gatlin, and when we say Southern, we mean Southern. You don't say 'Civil War' down here, you say 'War Between The States'. Every year, you do participate in the Civil War Reenactment. You don't keep secrets in Gatlin.

The exception, of course, is Macon Ravenwood and "Amma". Macon Ravenwood is the town's Boo Radley, as they often call him. No one's ever seen him, he never comes out of his manor. Amma is Ethan Wate's housekeeper/almost-grandmother. Ethan Wate is a teenage boy. Lena Duchannes is Macon Ravenwood's niece who appears out of nowhere and does not fit in. At all. Plus, she's got more than a few secrets.

But here's the deal, Ethan's had dreams about Lena long before they've ever met. And the closer he gets to the mysterious girl, the more secrets Gatlin unveils. Ethan learns about Amma's past, he meets the infamous Macon Ravenwood, and he gets pulled into a mystery surrounding his and Lena's ancestors centuries ago. Ethan determinedly picks at all of Lena's layers until he finds out the truth, and then he has to keep digging to save her from her destiny.

This book surprised me, I'll just say that right now. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I opened it up, but I was thinking along the lines of a random supernatural character, some bad writing, and long speeches of heartfelt love. Forget that. This book is more of a cross between historical mystery and supernatural romance/mystery.

Plus, Macon Ravenwood is so freakin' awesome I thought I might die. But anyway.

I often got tired of Lena. She's an easily depressed and hopeless girl who can't seem to make up her mind about her other personality traits. But Ethan's not a bad guy, even though he makes a few stupid mistakes throughout the story.

And now for the plot itself. It was actually a pretty okay plot, but the ending seemed...convenient. Sort of like the authors wrote themselves into a corner, didn't want to make a decision, and so threw in a very lucky forecast. I'm hoping they'll actually make a resolution about the 'destiny' thing in the second book. And they also make a big deal out of how Ethan can always predict the murderer in movies and is great at solving puzzles, but he only really uses this skill once, when it seems like it would've sprung into gear many more times. Plus, why did no one ever just SMACK RIDLEY?

Sorry.

Anyway. Besides the ending and the no-smacking-of-Ridley, the only things that really bothered me was that some of the elements strongly reminded me of one of my friend's books and there was a character named Wesley Jefferson -- the name of my cousin. Luckily, they actually called him Link the whole time, so it wasn't too disconcerting after his initial introduction.

To conclude, Beautiful Creatures is a pretty fascinating mystery with one of the awesomest characters ever with only a few unfortunate plotholes and annoyances. It really is rather unique, and I'd reccommend it to teenage mystery-lovers who also have a thing for the supernatural. I get the feeling that Kami Garcia's and Margaret Stohl's writing will get better with time, so I'm really looking forward to the second book, Beautiful Darkness.

--Persy

Arty -- The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

There are three Hardscrabble children. Otto is the oldest, and he hasn't spoken aloud or taken off his scarf since he was eight years old. Lucia (pronounce it Lu-CHEE-ah or she'll get annoyed) is in the middle, and she keeps the two boys in line. Max is ten years old and probably too smart and thoughtful for his own good.

They live in Little Tunks, with their father, Casper, who paints dethroned royalty for a living. Classically, their mother is missing or dead, and no one seems to know which. Fortunately, nothing else about this book is very classical. When their father leaves suddenly and the Hardscrabble children are left alone in London... well, a lot happens. Castles and castle follies, missing sultans, bikes in the air, and perhaps a misshapen freak of a boy haunting the woods... and more.

While the plot (or plots, really) is definitely complex enough to keep your attention, it's really the characters that stand out. In fact, all three main characters were amazing. If that's not a feat, I don't know what is. There's silent, mysterious Otto (my favorite), with his sign language and penchant for animals and perhaps a few secrets up his sleeve. Lucia, who could have easily turned out horrible, was perfect as a business-like but sweet sister (look at her picture on the cover - that's pretty much her). Max was cute and believably intelligent without being too over-the-top. And they all work perfectly together. The other characters, though perhaps not as fully developed, are almost as engaging.

There are several plot points at work in The Kneebone Boy. Curiously, the titular entity isn't the main point - or is he...? Then there is of course the missing mother, the castle folly where the Hardscrabbles stay, even their relationships with each other (Lucia and Otto - one of the most priceless pictures of sibling relations I've ever read).

Sadly, Kneebone Boy is one of those books that reminds you not to celebrate over a book until it's over. The ending wasn't disappointing, per se; it was just... easy. It was so easy that I had to read through it a couple times to make sure I hadn't missed something. Yes, it all makes sense; but it was drab compared to the caliber of the previous adventures. In the words of an Amazon reviewer, "...All Is Explained. And this is the kind of book where you kind of wish it weren't."

Don't look for a happily easy ending, either. It's really rather sad once you get past the shock of not being shocked. But it fits somehow. And honestly, the colossal fun of this American-written-British-quirk book is worth the ending.

Arty -- Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young

If you read my earlier post on Kiss, you know I don't like Christian adult authors, except for some exceptions. Nicole Young is now an exception.

"A run-down Victorian to renovate, a past to leave behind--who has time for romance...or murder?" Patricia "Tish" Amble has just moved to the small town of Rawlings, and she thinks she's finally got her life together. The police aren't on her, she's nicely isolated in her new fixer-upper - everything seems to be falling into place.

Then she meets her two neighbors - handsome Brit David, and rugged policeman Brad. And both of them want more than a friendly neighborship. Did I mention that Brad's a policeman? So Tish stays away from him in favor of the more elegant David.

But there's more to the old Victorian house than Tish knows. Faces appear, and voices come out of nowhere. The high point of the hijinks is the body she thinks she sees in the basement cistern. But when she gets the police to look... there's nothing there. They tell her it was a trick of the light. Tish isn't so sure.

To say any more would give away a lot of the surprises in Love Me. Suffice it to say that there are murders, scandals, doppelgangers, and a lot of lovely confrontations with the said love triangle.

Love Me is written in first-person, which is a definite plus. Tish's sometimes wry, sometimes manic, sometimes naive voice is consistent (and very, very amusing at times). The characters are all more than they seem - I can't remember more than one or two people who didn't have ulterior motives, and the ones that didn't were very minor.

As a mystery, the story falls a little flat. There are no brilliant revelations, no stunning red herrings, no shocking betrayals. But, just as a suspenseful, interesting novel, it shines - at least among adult novels. I especially enjoyed the ending - to say anything except that it was utterly different would spoil a surprise.

There are two more books in the Patricia Amble Mysteries series, with equally interesting titles: Kill Me If You Can and Kiss Me If You Dare. I'm waiting to get them from the library, but I've heard that Kill Me ends on a cliffhanger. Definitely a series to watch.

Persy -- In The Spotlight by Ann Mauren

Right after losing her beloved Grandpa, Ellery Mayne discovers she is being watched. There's a surveillance team following her around, always observing and, at times, recuing.

Ellery has no idea why she's being observed and protected, so she decides to experiment. She "forgets" objects all over the place, only to find them reappear in places she might've left them (but didn't actually). After she makes friends with goth queen Samantha (Sam), she let's herself get talked into being turned goth for a few minutes. When she comes out of the movie theater bathroom "gothified" she watches as a particularly handsome young man gets more and more anxious as the real Ellery doesn't appear.

After that, Ellery starts looking for the young man, and finds him often. But her biggest surprise comes when she finds he's living right next door in her grandpa's old house. It's not too long before the watched and the watcher are desperately in love, but they must keep it secret because Ellery's still not supposed to know she's under surveillance, and Ash could lose his job.

Then Gray Gregory, past crush of Ellery's, pops up out of the blue inviting Ellery on a trip to Canada where she'll be an intern for their geological survey team. Ellery is apprehensive to go on a trip with Gray, especially since she doesn't know what his intentions towards her are and she doesn't want things with Ash to get complicated. In the end she decides to go.

Soon she's got two men hopelessly in love in with her, and she with them. Throughout this entire time, she still hasn't been able to figure out why she's suddenly the "Mayne Attraction".

Aside from the rather slow prologue, this book starts great. Ellery is a very interesting teenager, with lots of big words to satisfy my vocabulary thirst. But after the first ten or so chapters, when she and Ash get together and start proclaiming their undying love for each other, it kind of lost its appeal for me. They were being gooey-eyed to each other and saying cheesy love lines, when they really hadn't known each other for more than a few weeks. You could argue that Ash knows Ellery inside out, since he's been watching her for months, but Ellery knows nothing about him. This bothered me, to say the least.

Then there's the fact that everyone bosses Ellery around, and she does nothing about. Her friends nearly drown her, and she doesn't even shout at them. I'd be hollering my head off in that situation.

Another thing that bugged me was how much Ellery loved Twilight, which is all good and fine, I'm not a huge Twilight-hater or anything, but I have to hear enough about that series in real life. Also, the story kind of reminded me of Twilight (so if you just LOVE Twilight, this is the book for you!). There's the main character, a girl who is nothing special to look at but the two fabulously handsome gentlemen think is gorgeous. Then there are the two said fabulously handsome gentlemen, one who is nothing but chivalrous towards her and is a bit emotionless, and the other who kisses and touches her whenever he gets the chance. The only thing they don't have in common is that everyone is disappointingly human in this story.

Another similarity is the guy I was rooting for. In Twilight, I really don't care about Edward or Jacob (though I think I'd prefer Edward over Jacob), but I love Carlisle. In In The Spotlight, I don't much like Ash or Gray (though I'd prefer Ash over Gray), but Trevor is awesome.

The fact that every character isbeautiful/handsome bothers me as well. Ellery is gorgeous, her mother is gorgeous, Sam is gorgeous, Trevor is handsome, Ash is handsome, Gray is handsome, just about every named character is either handsome or gorgeous, respectively. But it's not a gaping plothole, so it doesn't annoy me terribly so.

The story is told in a rather confusing way, with flashbacks in a few places. It's almost like the author got an idea for something that happened, but didn't go back to the proper place to put it in. It's a little tough to follow at first, but after a bit you get used to it.

BUT!! Before you go thinking I hated this book, let me get to the ending! The ending of this book was fab.u.lous. The main character listened to my advice and did the smart thing. I won't tell you what it was because I don't want to ruin it, but she saved the book with her actions. Despite the excessive love lines and gooey eyes, I love Ellery Mayne.

So even if you're not a fan of romance novels, if you can get through all the romance parts, then the ending makes up for it. Like I said, the beginning is great, and they say as long as you've got an engaging beginning and a grand finale, you're good (I personally believe a nice creamy filling is the icing on the cake, but you can get by with the foundation and candles, if you can understand this mixed metaphor). If you gag at love lines, then I'd suggest just taking a break about three quarters of the way through and reading something else (I chose Magic Pickle by Scott Morse for my halftime show).

Let me also make a note that this is probably the first actual romance novel I've ever read, so it might be a brilliant romance novel. I just don't have experience in that area, so I can't properly judge.

Unfortunately, this book is nearly impossible for one to get one's hands on. You can get it off of Amazon and a place called Createspace, and through the link on Ann Mauren's website (http://mayneattraction.com/), but that's it. In an earlier post (http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/07/persy-special-book-deal.html), I posted the special code you can use to get the ebook version for free, but this deal is only available until the end of August. If you happen to wait until after the end of August and don't want to take a gamble on a book you've never read, you can read excerpts on Ann Mauren's site instead of just ordering the book.

Ann Mauren is currently working on the two sequels, In The Smoke and In The Shadow, but I don't know when they'll be released. I believe (I may be wrong about this) that each book is the same story, but told by a different character. In The Smoke is the story from Gray's point of view, and In The Shadow is from Ash's. This is great for a person like me, because I'm always curious as to what the other characters were thinking. Hopefully they'll be out soon, and maybe by then the books will be more easily accessable.

-Persy