Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale, Illustrated by Nathan Hale

 I've never read any graphic novels before and I've always been a little skeptical of them. When I think of graphic novels I think of nerdy, comic book obsessed, acne ridden teen boys, hiding out in their dark and dusty bedrooms. I'll admit I was mildly embarrassed to be browsing the graphic novel section of the library (after I was able to find it). But I must say, these were two of the most fun books I have ever read. I picked these up, of course, because they are written by Shannon Hale, whose books I have reviewed on this blog many times. I love her stories and was certainly not disappointed with these gems. Co-written by her husband with detailed and beautiful illustrations by Nathan Hale (not related), these short stories were captivating and full of action, humor, and a touch of romance.

Rapunzel's Revenge is the story of Rapunzel (obviously) and really gets going once her "mother" (at least, the one who calls herself her mother) puts Rapunzel in a tower for being disobedient. Mother Gothel has powerful magic and can make things grow but uses her magic to enslave the people. Her tower is actually a very, very tall tree. Food grows magically and somehow Rapunzel's hair is affected by the magic and grows super long. She escapes by using her hair as a lasso and soon runs into Jack. Together, Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel go on an adventure to stop Mother Gothel's reign of terror, with the help of her trusty hair, and help people along the way, becoming heroes of the west. 

Calamity Jack picks up where Rapunzel's Revenge leaves off and is told from Jack's perspective. The pair heads east to Jack's hometown, where Jack is hoping to reunite with his mother and rebuild her house, since the first was destroyed by a giant beanstalk. When they arrive, they find themselves in a war zone and the city under attack by huge ant people and protected by giants. Jack and Rapunzel discover the giants are behind the ant people threat and fight to expose them to the city. In addition to the adventure, Jack goes through a personal journey of proving to his mother, Rapunzel and himself that he is a "good guy," despite having a shady background of scheming to get what he wanted.

Adjusting to reading a book that depends on the pictures to tell most of the story took a little time, but once I figured it out, the pictures were actually really fun to interpret and added so much to the story. I wish each book was about 3 times as long and I hope they write more sequels, though I haven't heard any reports for more books. I loved these books; they were so funny and easy to read. The pictures were so beautiful and detailed and expressive. Character development was also surprisingly good. Fun, fun stories I would absolutely recommend to everyone! Even those opposed to graphic novels, like I used to be. 

5 out of 5 stars

The Declaration; The Resistance; The Legacy by Gemma Malley

Well this was certainly an interesting trilogy to read! My sister recommended I read these books and they were definitely entertaining.

The Declaration is set in England in the future, around 2140 or so, and mankind has discovered a pill called Longevity that will enable the human body to live forever. Since nobody dies, the world becomes over-populated and they create the "Declaration," a document every citizen must sign, in which they promise not to produce children in exchange for eternal life. If you don't sign you are an Opt-Out, you may have a child but you may not take Longevity. There are very few Opt-Outs. Some people choose not to follow the rules though and have kids anyway. All these unauthorized children are called Surpluses and are taken from their parents to grow up in delegated Surplus Houses that educate them to become the most useful slaves they can be.

In one of these houses we meet our heroine, Anna Covey, known as Surplus Anna. She has an innate desire to please authority and has learned very well that she does not deserve to live because she is a drain on Mother Earth's resources. She strives to be a good Surplus and performs her work meticulously to try and please the house matron, a cruel woman who looks on the children she governs with disdain. Anna's world is turned upside down when a new boy named Peter (one of our heroes) comes to the House and challenges her ideas of right and wrong. He tries to convince her that not everyone believes children are criminals just for being born and tries to persuade her to escape with him.

 In "The Resistance" the story continues with Peter and Anna, after escaping the Surplus House, joining the Resistance group that fights Longevity and the man in charge of the company that produces it, Richard Pincent of Pincent Pharma. The Resistance believes that children are the future and that no one should live forever. We are introduced to the resistance leader Pip (featured on the cover) and Peter's half brother Jude.

 The fight against Longevity continues in "The Legacy." People are dying across the world from a virus that has mutated and Longevity cannot fight. Richard Pincent is desperate to find a cure and avoids blame for the deaths by pointing the finger at the underground rebels. Our characters must pull together to bring down Richard Pincent and expose the truth.

So I liked a lot of things about these books, particularly the idea of immortality and its practical effects. What would happen to the world if there was no death? Humankind is on the constant search for ways to decrease sickness and suffering and extend life. But do we really want to live forever? I like that the author focused on the ramifications of eternal life, the most severe of which (in my opinion) is the inability to have children. There is nothing I love more in this world than my daughter. I cannot imagine what I would do without her. I plan to have more children and cannot imagine the government telling me I could not have them, or taking them away from me if I did and being branded a criminal.

I did not like some of the political implications I felt the author was making throughout the books. Particularly branding the conservatives as the bad guys who choose eternal life and make kids slaves and making the liberals the heroes who save the world. I guess I only take offense to that because I'm conservative. This isn't a political blog so I won't comment further.

Overall I liked the idea of the story. Sometimes the books (especially #2) were a bit tedious to read, but overall I would recommend them to others.

3 out of 5 stars

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

I think this is my least favorite Shannon Hale novel to date, though I still liked it well enough.

The story is about a Mormon housewife, Becky Jack, who sells a screenplay to a major movie company in Hollywood. During her meeting she happens upon her lifelong celebrity crush Felix Callahan. They have great chemistry together and quickly become best friends, nothing more, since they are both already happily married. The plot centers around the complications of having a best friend of the opposite gender.

I had a hard time getting into the story, and not because there were some blurred lines of morality (in my opinion). I actually think the idea of what exactly is appropriate when it comes to having friends of the opposite sex very interesting. I had a hard time because I couldn't see where the story was going. I'm not sure how to articulate myself very well here, but the plot wasn't very...followable. I like to know somewhat where the story is going when I'm reading it.

Overall, it was an interesting and entertaining enough read, but I won't read it again.

3 out of 5 stars

Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Here is yet another book by the amazing Shannon Hale. I really, really love her books and "Midnight in Austenland" didn't disappoint! This is the sequel to "Austenland," which I reviewed here.

"Midnight in Austenland" was similar to it's prequel in that they're both about a girl in her thirties who goes to Austenland looking for something. The first sought to find her own Mr. Darcy while the second desired to have an experience that would change her. Charlotte is a self-described "nice" girl with a successful online landscaping business who is recovering from her recent divorce, due to her husband cheating and falling in love with another woman. She goes to Austenland with the hope of having an experience that will change her and help her learn to feel again.

I enjoyed this book even more than the first. It had a delightful blend of mystery/suspense, romance, and humor. Definitely had a darker twist than the first. I grew to love Charlotte; while I couldn't really identify with her life experiences of divorce and infidelity, I began to feel as though she were my sister. I could feel her heartaches, fears, and joy. I think it's so important for a story to have a main character that you really care about, and I definitely think Shannon Hale accomplished that in this book.

I definitely recommend this one!!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

I've always enjoyed Orson Scott Card's books, especially Ender's Game, so I was curious when my sister recommended this spin-off of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.

The story starts in Russia, where Ivan and his family live. Around the age of 10, Ivan's family decides to leave Russia to move to America, but not before visiting Cousin Marek in Ukraine. In the woods near Cousin Marek's home, Ivan encounters a beautiful sleeping woman guarded by a bear. He runs away but is haunted by this image for years to come.

Years later in America, Ivan is a graduate student, engaged to a girl named Ruth, and goes back to Russia to complete his post grad research. Unable to shake his memory of the sleeping woman, Ivan goes back to those woods near Cousin Marek's and frees her from the bear and wakes her from her sleep. Princess Katerina was put under the sleeping spell by the evil Baba Yaga, the witch who torments her kingdom, and Ivan must agree to marry Katerina in order to defeat the witch and liberate her people.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It took a classic fairy tale and threw in modern Ivan and time travel and lots of other great stuff. It was fun to learn about Jewish Russian history and about the differences between Russian fairy tales and American ones. The character development in this book was fantastic; all of the main characters get to tell their perspectives, which really lets you get in their heads; and the love story between Ivan and Katerina was wonderful. I would definitely recommend Enchantment!

4.5 out of 5 stars

(I'm only not giving a 5 star rating because I can't see myself reading this over and over again, even though it was great.)

Angel (Maximum Ride) by James Patterson

Ok, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little tired of reviewing the Maximum Ride books. The plots are all practically the same; some combination of bad guys out to get the good guys and Max trying to save the world. "Angel" was no different. The story picks up where "Fang" (the previous book) left off--Fang has just left the flock and Max is dealing with her feelings of betrayal at being dumped. There's also this new guy, Dylan, who was created to be her perfect match, but it's hard for Max to give this guy a chance when she's pining for Fang. Amidst all the teenage angst, there is a group that is trying to take over the world. So Fang and Max try to set aside their differences and work together to stop the bad guys.

I've made comparisons of books I read to junk food before, and this one definitely fits the mold. It's a book that you only read because you've read the prequels, and once you're done, you're left not feeling very satisfied. Like eating a big bag of potato chips, you only keep eating out of habit, and upon finishing you feel kind of sick and wish you had spent your time in a more productive manner. Luckily, this book is short and a very quick read, so you don't waste too much time on it.

Overall, it was entertaining enough but not all that fulfilling. Pretty much what I expected.

2.5 out of 5 stars


Here's the link to my review of "Fang,"

http://sninny.blogspot.com/2010/08/fang-maximum-ride-novel-by-james.html

which I just read over and was surprised by how much I said I liked it. I do enjoy the Maximum Ride books, but "Angel" just wasn't as good as the others. And I really am getting a little tired of the same repeated plot in each book. And I'm getting annoyed at how short the chapters are; they're like 2-5 pages each! I heard that the series is ending soon and I think that'll be a good thing.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

This delightful book came my way from a friend in my ward. We were talking about good books to read and she gave me this one. And I do mean that she gave me this book, which is, in my opinion, quite a gift. There's nothing better than a bookshelf full of good books.

Anyway, I would describe this read as a great follow-up to Harry Potter, or A Series of Unfortunate Events, or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, or the Percy Jackson books. It's about 4 orphans who are discovered by a *mysterious* man named Mr. Benedict through a series of tests. These children all have special abilities--nothing supernatural, just special. Reynie is extremely smart and has a gift of solving complex puzzles. Sticky has a photographic memory. Kate is exceptionally resourceful and always carries around a bucket full of useful supplies, like a slingshot and a mini telescope. Constance has the gift of stubbornness, which may not seem like much, but it turns out to be lifesaving where these kids are sent. Their mission is to go undercover at a school that is training children to send subliminal messages that will brainwash society. It is incredibly dangerous and the kids must pull together to defeat Ledroptha Curtain, the evil mastermind who wants to take over the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! It had good humor, an intelligent plot, and fun characters. I'm planning on reading the sequels as soon as I can get them from the library. Good read!

4.5 out of 5 stars