Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

Over the past month, I read Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black. Rule of Wolves continues right where King of Scars left off. Nikolai and Zoya are now planning to go to battle against the Fjerdans, while Nina is living with the family of her new friend, Hanne, as a spy. At the same time, there is a terrible blight that brings death and destruction wherever it appears. Nikolai, Zoya, and Nina, along with their allies, must find a way to bring peace to their land even when the odds are against them. Although I enjoyed reading this book for the adventure and magic, I did not love it as much as I loved King of Scars. There were things I liked and disliked about the plot, especially towards the end of the book. Although I didn't mind that the end left the story open for another book, I was frustrated how the author handled one of my favorite characters, the Darkling, after being delighted by the chapters from his point of view. Although he's supposed to be one of the villains, I can't help but like him. I find him fascinating, so I always want more of him. I've always thought he would be better used as an antihero than a villain because he's Grisha and wants the same thing as other Grisha, like Zoya and Nina, want: to be able to live without fear of persecution. With that said, it was fun seeing the characters of Kaz, Jesper, Wylan, and Inej from the Six of Crows duology again during their small cameos. I would recommend Rule of Wolves if you've read King of Scars.

On the other hand, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories was a delight from beginning to end. This book is a collection of short stories taking place in the Folk of the Air universe from Cardan Greenbrier's perspective. These short stories are tied together by his meetings with a troll woman, Aslog, who told him two tales before the events of The Cruel Prince. At some point after The Queen of Nothing, Cardan and Jude have to go to the human world where a troll is wreaking havoc. Cardon finds out that it's Aslog and decides to try being the hero. I loved reading about Cardan's childhood, moments from the trilogy, and the adventure taking place after The Queen of Nothing because the stories expanded on the development of Cardan's character. Not to mention, the art in the book is gorgeous. My only complaint is that the book was too short, and I wish more moments from the trilogy with Jude were included. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories is definitely a must-read for all Cardan Greenbrier fans.

The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black

 

Over spring break and the last few days, I read The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, which is led off by The Cruel Prince. This dark fantasy is about a human girl, Jude Duarte, who watched her mother and father be murdered right in front of her in their own home and was then taken, along with her older and twin sisters, to the islands of Elfhame to be raised by the faerie, Madoc, who killed their parents. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to be a knight for the king of Elfhame and prove that she does belong, despite being human. Because Madoc is the Grand General of the king, Jude and her sisters are regularly invited to the celebrations of the royal court and go to school with High King Eldred's youngest son, Prince Cardan Greenbriar. Although Cardan is the most beautiful of all the faeries, Jude hates him because he constantly undermines and disrespects her and they end up playing tricks on each other to the point of cruelty. After her success at the Summer Tournament, Jude becomes a spy for Crown Prince Dain, Cardan's second oldest brother, to uncover the plans for an assassination attempt before his coronation. In exchange, Jude receives a geas that gives her protection against the glamour of faeries. Although Jude and her fellow spies find clues as to when the assassination attempt will be, there is a devastating coup at a point of weakness during the coronation. Badly shaken, Jude reluctantly decides to protect Cardan as her prisoner in order to take back the throne.

I enjoyed The Cruel Prince and its sequels more than any other book I've read so far this year. I couldn't stop reading it and felt completely immersed in the world that Holly Black created. One of my favorite tropes is enemies to lovers, and this series didn't disappoint at all. I definitely admired the main character, Jude, because she was strong and brave in a fantastical world where others saw her as weak. I also loved Cardan. Cardan was not an easy character to like, let alone love, at first, but after the events of the coronation, I saw a new side of him, just like Jude did. He was funny, clever, and charming, and I couldn't help but be drawn to him. I don't want to say too much about the rest of the series, but he definitely grows a lot and became one of my favorite characters. The Folk of the Air is full of political intrigue and betrayal and each book had several shocking plot twists that sometimes left me reeling. Other times, I correctly guessed at the plot twists through Black's careful foreshadowing. All in all, this book series is an incredible choice for every fantasy fan.

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo

Over the past week and a half, I read King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. This high fantasy is the first novel of a duology and the sixth book taking place in the universe that Bardugo created in Shadow and Bone.  Although it’s been three years since the civil war in Ravka, Nikolai, the young king, is increasingly haunted by the small amount of the Darkling’s dark magic still inside inside his body and unpredictably transforms into a winged monster. One of the commanders of the Ravkan Second Army, Zoya, is focused on keeping Nikolai’s secret and making sure he doesn’t kill anyone with the help of Tolya and Tamar, members of Nikolai’s personal guard. Nikolai needs to make political alliances and find a queen to produce an heir to stabilize his reign, but after an incident with the Apparat and Yuri, a young monk who worships the Darkling, Nikolai goes on a journey to the Fold with Zoya, Yuri, Tamar, and Tolya to find a cure and destroy the monster inside him. On this quest, they confront hidden dangers and mysterious forces lurking in Ravka.

Undercover on a covert mission in Fjerda, the country to the north of Ravka, Nina is still devastated by the loss of her lover, Matthias, although she soon finds a place in the woods near a factory to lay his body to rest. Afterwards, she hears voices that take her to a grave site at the top of a mountain and decides to find out what is happing at the factory because it is poisoning the river according to a group of young women in disguise as soldiers. When she is lost in a snowstorm, she discovers that the girl from the convent who saves her is Grisha and befriends her to gather information, take down the factory, and bring justice to the women and girls who died there.

I thought King of Scars was absolutely amazing. I was enthralled from the beginning to the very end. The first chapter was creepy and suspenseful, almost like a horror novel, until it was revealed that Nikolai was the monster that the boy, Dima, found in his family's barn. After reading the first series within this universe, I thought that Nikolai was cured, so finding out that the Darkling, the villain of those three books, left a piece of his power in Nikolai was quite the reveal. I was terrified that the monster would take over Nikolai and the people of Ravka would find out their king is a monster before he could be cured. I was also excited that this book focused on Zoya and Nina, in addition to Nikolai, because Zoya was compelling in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and I loved Nina in the Six of Crows duology. I would definitely recommend reading both of those series before reading King of Scars because there are many interweaving plot lines. King of Scars is split into two parts and there are five point of view characters (Dima, Zoya, Nina, Nikolai, and Isaak, the young man who takes Nikolai's place as king when he is missing). Additionally, I enjoyed the sense of adventure and the new ways of using Grisha powers that Zoya and Nina learn. The plot twists at the end left me wanting more, so I'm very impatient to read the next book, Rule of Wolves, which will be released next week. If you love fantasy, you should definitely check this series out!

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

 

Two weekends ago, I read Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson. This novel in verse is the realistic story about a boy, Zachariah Johnson, Jr. or ZJ, whose family has to learn how to cope when his professional football playing father, "Zachariah 44" Johnson, experiences memory loss and anger management issues from having too many concussions. ZJ and his friends do not worry much when ZJ's father returns home instead of playing football on a game day, but as time goes on ZJ begins to notice that his father's condition is gradually worsening with frequent migraines, moments of anger, and lapses of memory. One day, his father doesn't even remember that he likes to call ZJ "little man". Even though ZJ's mother takes Zachariah to several doctors, they do not know exactly what the problem is and none of the treatments help much. ZJ reminisces on moments in his life when they were all happy, but he really just wants his father back.

As a novel in verse, this was a quick read, but at the same time it was heartbreaking because ZJ's family had many challenges learning to live with his father having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). I definitely felt really bad for ZJ because I could tell that sometimes it was like living with a stranger, and it was hard to read the mental breakdowns Zachariah had. There were moments of hope, though, when Zachariah would have good days. As someone who is familiar with the hot topic of sports-related concussions, I think the book was very enlightening about CTE and how it was a medical mystery as recently as the early 2000s. The story shows that those living with family members who have CTE can never turn back time. They can only move forward and learn to live with their new normal. My favorite parts of the novel were when ZJ would share his love for music with his father and hang out with his friends, Darry, Daniel, and Ollie. Before the Ever After is an excellent choice for football fans or anyone in the mood for a well-written sad story.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker

 

Last week, I also read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. This graphic memoir is about George Takei's experiences in the Japanese internment camps during World War II. When Takei was four years old, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war on Japan. Soon afterwards, Takei's family was forced from their home in Los Angeles to Camp Rohwer in Arkansas. Although Takei and his younger brother, Henry, tried to make the most of the situation by having adventures (and a few misadventures), the conditions at this camp were difficult for Takei's family. As the war went on for nearly four years, the U.S. government placed increasingly restrictive regulations on Japanese Americans and Takei's family became more and more uncertain about their future. These childhood experiences had a profound affect on Takei and he reflects upon them often to the present day.

I decided to read They Called Us Enemy because I wanted to get a head start on reading the Rebecca Caudill-nominated books for next year and thought it was a wonderful graphic memoir of courage and family. I was fascinated and horrified by his family's experiences in the internment camps. I think it is so unfair how Japanese Americans were treated because they just wanted to live their lives in the United States. It's definitely one of the many great injustices in American history. I was very worried for George and his family towards the end of the war when it was a very real possibility that they might have to move back to Japan, but it was also very exciting to read about his successes as an actor after WWII. The graphic memoir is not completely linear. To fill in the gaps of the story, it goes back and forth between Takei's childhood and other points in his life or events that were happening elsewhere that impacted him. In conclusion, I would recommend They Called Us Enemy to Star Trek fans or anyone who wants to learn more about the Japanese internment camps.

The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling

 

Last week, I read The Ickabog by J. K. Rowling. This fairy tale is about a small kingdom, Cornucopia, known for its happiness and gold. When King Fred hears about a monster in the northern Marshlands that allegedly ate a man's dog, he and his advisors, Lord Spittleworth and Lord Flapoon, take a team to hunt the monster. On this hunt, a terrible accident occurs and Lord Spittleworth begins to weave a tangle of lies to cover what really happened. This misadventure and the events that follow have a profound effect on two children, Bert Beamish and Daisy Dovetail, whose parents worked in the palace. As they grow up in the increasingly corrupt kingdom, they realize that not everything is what it seems and decide to go on an adventure to the Marshlands with their friends, Martha and Roderick, to find out the truth about the Ickabog and bring happiness back to Cornucopia.

I thought that this fairy tale was absolutely wonderful. I was so excited to read another children's book by J. K. Rowling and the story really resonated with me in this day and age because it shows what happens when people in power constantly tell lies. I had read reviews beforehand, so I knew this book would be darker than expected. Lord Spittleworth and Lord Flapoon are not good men, and they take advantage of their friendship with King Fred who is somewhat of a pushover and does not really know what is happening in his kingdom. On the other hand, the protagonists, Bert and Daisy, are brave and caring and I hoped that they would have a happy ending and be reunited with their parents who were held captive in the palace's dungeons. This book is full of twists and surprises. and I wasn't sure the monster was real or not for much of the book because it seemed like the only monster was Lord Spittleworth. Additionally, the artwork in the book is by children in the United States and Canada, who won an illustration contest Rowling ran earlier last year. The illustrations are beautiful and I loved seeing children's interpretation of the characters and settings. Anyone who is a fan of Harry Potter or fantasy will enjoy The Ickabog.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

 

Over the weekend, I finally finished reading Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer. This romantic dark fantasy is the story of Twilight from Edward Cullen's point of view. Although Edward has been a vampire for almost ninety years, he has never been in love, but when the beautiful and intriguing Bella Swan moves to his hometown of Forks, Washington, he is taken completely off guard. He is tempted by her blood and wants to stay away from her to protect her from himself. He can't help but want to get to know her, though, because he has never met anyone with a mind he can't read. After leaving Forks for a few days and Bella almost getting hurt during a car accident in the parking lot of Forks High School, Edward decides to befriend Bella to keep an eye on her because she is unusually accident-prone. As he gets to know her, he begins to fall in love with her. While Bella is unafraid of him even when she finds out his and his family's secret, he continues to struggles with his inner thoughts because he doesn't want to put her in danger by loving her.

Midnight Sun was one of the recent releases I couldn't wait to read to read last year when I learned that the author would be finally publishing it, and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading it very much, even though I already knew the story from reading Twilight when I was in college. Fantasy is my favorite genre and I've always been fascinated with vampires since I was a kid watching Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which had a few vampire-themed episodes. Although I originally thought vampires were a feature of horror, I began to see them in a new light after reading the Twilight series. I just couldn't get enough of vampire romances...and still can't! Anyways, I thought it was fascinating to read about the romance between Bella and Edward through Edward's eyes because I could tell that keeping Bella safe was a big challenge for Edward while reading Twilight. I wondered about his choices and why he acted the way he did sometimes and wanted to learn more about his past. Midnight Sun answered the questions I had about him and helped me understand what led to the choice that he makes in the second book, New Moon. The drama and danger in Midnight Sun was thrilling, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Twilight series or likes to read romances.