Magic in the Mix (2014)

Magic in the Mix. Annie Barrows. 2014. Bloomsbury. 288 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Magic in the Mix is the sequel to Magic Half. I enjoyed both Magic Half and Magic in the Mix. Both books star Miri, a middle child. In the first book, Magic Half, Miri travels back in time and "rescues" Molly, a girl living in 1935. Molly fits right in with Miri's family when the two return. In fact, Miri and Molly are the only two that remember Molly's true origin. To everyone else, Miri and Molly are twins. Molly has always been a part of their family. In the second book, Molly and Miri do more time traveling. First, they travel back in time to 1918. Molly recognizes her mother, Maudie, and her aunt, Flo. The two are teens. Flo sees Molly and Miri as unwelcome intruders--gypsies, she calls them. Maudie, on the other hand, while still thinking of them as gypsies, sees them as potential friends. Second, they travel back in time to the Civil War era. I'm not exactly sure the book names a year. If it does, I can't recall it. Here's where everything turns tricksy. Molly and Miri aren't the only ones doing time travel. (view spoiler)

I liked the book fine. However, there were several things that didn't charm me. I don't necessarily enjoy the family scenes. I don't know about the two youngest, but the oldest four children are irresponsible, disobedient, and disrespectful. All of the children are rude and insult one another. I didn't like some of the phrases they use. The children think absolutely nothing of lying and sneaking around. The dad. Has he had even a sentence or two in either book that could count as characterization? The mom. On the one hand, her children are always, always doing something they shouldn't be, and are very proud of the fact. But she seems to have only one tone: angry. The time travel also seemed even less realistic to me. I'm not sure how either girl managed to fool anyone in the Civil War era. (Rolling up your pants so they just see your T-shirt doesn't seem very a very authentic way of passing, even if you go the extra step and take off your glasses.)

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Thursdays with the Crown (2014)

Thursdays with the Crown. (Castle Glower #3) Jessica Day George. 2014. Bloomsbury. 224 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I enjoyed reading Thursdays with the Crown. I'm glad I read it so soon after finishing Wednesdays in the Tower. I only wish I'd had the time to reread the first novel in this fantasy series, Tuesdays at the Castle. I'm sure I would have appreciated the whole series even more if I'd had the chance to reconnect with the characters and have an attachment. That being said, I ended up enjoying so many of the characters anyway. Thursdays with the Crown picks up right where Wednesdays in the Tower left off. I was prepared to love it from the start.

The novel opens with Celie, Lilah, Pogue, Rolf, Lulath, and Rufus (Celie's griffin) finding themselves in a strange, foreign place. They have been transported to the Glorious Arkower, a land they believe the Castle originated from. They come into this adventure with a few assumptions for better or worse. When they come across two different men with two very different stories--contradictory stories--everything becomes a bit confusing. Who is telling the truth? Is either man telling the whole truth? What is true and what is only half-true? If a man lies about one thing, does that mean he's lying about everything? Celie and her friends will have to puzzle things out.

It is definitely an adventure fantasy. It is a quick read, a delightful read in many ways. I think I love Lulath best of all.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

The Chapel Wars (2014)

The Chapel Wars. Lindsey Leavitt. 2014. Bloomsbury USA. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Holly, our heroine, has inherited her grandpa's wedding chappel, Rose of Sharon. This wedding chapel is one of the classiest in Las Vegas, at least that is what Holly and her family would have us to believe. Her grandpa had a certain standard to uphold. No gimmicks. Just real romance. In other words, no preachers in Elvis suits. But poor financial decisions from several years ago has left the chapel in big trouble. Grandpa Jim knew this before he died. He failed to mention it, of course. But he speaks the truth in a letter to his favorite grandchild, Holly. Seventeen IS young to be THE BOSS, but, Holly is super-smart. She is GREAT at numbers. She has vision too. She's going to give it her ALL. She is not afraid to make decisions and stand behind those decisions even when other employees disagree. In other words, hello, Elvis. She knows that she absolutely cannot save the business IF she binds herself to WHAT WOULD GRANDPA DO?

One of the highlights of this novel, and there are many, is the romance. Grandpa left TWO letters behind. One for Holly. One for Dax. Dax is the boy-next-door. The boy-from-the-wedding-chapel-next door. He not only works at the chapel next door, he is the grandson of the owner. These two businesses share a parking lot. Though they've never really spoken before her Grandpa's death, after his death, these two become something...

I loved, loved, loved the developing relationship between Holly and Dax. I loved their conversations. I loved their dates. I loved how everything was far from perfect. I loved the emotion and tension between these two.

I also loved the character development. Many members of Holly's family were developed. And Holly had a circle of friends that were developed too. This made the novel believable. Readers were invited to share a life, a messy life.

This one will most likely be one of my favorite YA books of 2014. I just loved, loved, loved it.
© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Searching for Sky (2014)

Searching for Sky. Jillian Cantor. 2014. Bloomsbury USA. 288 pages. [Source: Review copy]

I would definitely recommend Jillian Cantor's Searching for Sky. I found it impossible to put down. Sky and River live together on an island, or, perhaps I should say THE ISLAND. Sky and River have been raised on the island. Sky does not remember life BEFORE the island. River, who was around four or five, does remember a few things about life in California. Both remember Helmut and Petal who died after eating mushrooms. Helmut was River's father; Petal was Sky's mother. Though these two have been raised as brother and sister, before Petal's death, she told her daughter that soon--very soon--she would start having all these feelings and desires for River, and that would be a good thing. The novel opens on Sky's sixteenth birthday. These opening chapters give readers an idea of what life is like on the island for two isolated teenagers; they have survival skills to a certain degree. But the two are rescued and returned to California. Sky's world is about to crumble. It will get worse before it gets better.

Sky does NOT want to be rescued. Sky does NOT want to live in California with other people, in a society that she thinks her mother despised. She does not like feeling ashamed and scared and confused and frustrated and angry. Life has suddenly become too much, too overwhelming. Because she has no memories of life before--she was under the age of two when she arrived on the island--she doesn't understand the most simplest, basic things that everyone takes for granted: forks, plates, toilets and sinks, pencils and paper. She'll need to learn EVERYTHING if she's to function in this strange, new world that readers are oh-so-familiar with. And that might not be the hardest part to accept: there are facts about her mother and Helmut that will challenge her incredibly.

I found Sky's story to be very compelling. I would definitely recommend this one.

© 2014 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews