Furthermore is Very Hungry for Magic

~Furthermore~
Furthermore
Book 1
By Tahereh Mafi
Amazon ~ Powell's

Twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow has only three things in the world that matter: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; triplet brothers, who never knew her; and Father, who always loved her.

The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him, so some said he’d gone to measure the sea. Others said the sky. The moon. Maybe he’d learned to fly and had forgotten how to come back down. But it’s been almost six years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she’s about to embark on one to find the other. No matter the cost.

It’s a kind of fairytale, a story where magic is a must, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.


I remember reading stories like The Phantom Tollbooth or The Neverending Story, imagining this wise British narrator (along the lines of the Winnie the Pooh movies) telling a fantastical tale in their knowing way. A twinkle in their eye, and a wide-set grin, and a character all their own, breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to us. Now imagine that type of storytelling but with progressive ideals.

The Kingsbane, The Lady of Death

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Furyborn, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Kingsbane~
Empirium Trilogy
Book 2
By Claire Legrand
Amazon ~ Powell's

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity's long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana's power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted by embracing her mother's power or rejecting it forever.


This was not the best time for me to read this book. Then again, I don't know if there's ever a good time to read a book like this, but definitely not when you're already feeling depressed. It's not uncommon for the 2nd book in a trilogy to be more depressing than the first, what with needing to set up for the more triumphant finale, but this one, I think, takes it to a new extreme. I mean, I don't even think Catching Fire (The Hunger Games) was this disheartening.

The One Who Rises, The Furyborn Child

~Furyborn~
Empirium Trilogy
Book 1
By Claire Legrand
Amazon ~ Powell's

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable—until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world—and of each other.


This book is one helluva ride. Switching between the perspectives of two formidable women, it was never easy to put this book down, and I loved it.

Word Collecting is a Snicker of Magic

~A Snicker of Magic~
By Natalie Lloyd
Amazon ~ Powell's

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.


I didn't know much going into A Snicker of Magic. Honestly, I first picked it up as a Christmas gift because the cover was so cute. But, since I'd be loathe to give away a bad book, I decided I had to read it for myself. And I'm so glad I did.

This Insider Feels Only Hope

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, Shell Game and Dark Passage, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Insider~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 7
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

Deep within the catacombs beneath an Aztec temple, a Disney witch doctor is summoning powers that should be left alone. As terrifying wraiths and demons attack the Archives on the Walt Disney Studios lot, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, Finn, Willa, Philby, Maybeck, and Charlene are summoned to Disneyland fresh from high school graduation. They must stop an enemy that hasn't been clearly identified.

In this, the final installment in the epic Kingdom Keepers series, betrayal and ambition push the boundaries of loyalty. Chasing scattered clues in pursuit of a long-lost icon--whose magic offers a fighting chance against an evil that Walt Disney himself created--the Keepers find their hearts and minds tested in the park where it all began. Bonds that once threatened to fray are renewed under the pressure for survival. As the five are pushed to their limits--and then beyond--feelings intensify behind self-imposed walls of well-kept secrets.

With its dazzling action sequences and moments of touching intimacy, Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider will leave readers breathless, cheering, and biting their nails. It's a winner-take-all battle for magical good--but then why is Disneyland burning out of control?

Not only was this the longest of the series, it also dragged way, way, WAY too long. The Insider included everything, plus the kitchen sink, yet still managed not to expand on anything other books set up. It took me three borrows from the library to get through this, and even then I almost ran out of time on the 3rd try.

You Will Never Reach That Passage

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, and Shell Game, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Dark Passage~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 6
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

The five Kingdom Keepers and their core friends have uncovered a startling truth: Maleficent and the Overtakers (Disney villains) are plotting a catastrophic event that could have repercussions far beyond the world of Disney.

Aboard the Disney Cruise Line’s inaugural passage through the new Panama Canal, the Keepers and their holograms uncover a puzzle hidden within the pages of a stolen journal. The point of that puzzle will reveal itself in the caves of Aruba, the zip lines of Costa Rica, and the jungles of Mexico. A destructive force, dormant for decades, is about to be unleashed. The five Kingdom Keepers are to be its first victims.

I'm so glad I'm almost done with this series. This book took me forever to actually get to reading - I made just about any excuse not to have to read it.

The Game is Never Over

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, and Power Play, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Shell Game~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 5
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

As the Disney Fantasy joins the cruise fleet, a special treat is in store for guests aboard its inaugural sail from Cape Canaveral to Los Angeles: the Disney Host Interactive teenage guides will be part of the Fantasy crew.

Finn, Maybeck, Charlene, Willa, and Philby are to attend the cruise as celebrity guests, and to perform a ribbon cutting for the DHI server to go live. The Fantasy is now the most advanced cruise ship in the world.

But all is not right belowdecks. Strange things are happening. Unexplained phenomena. Only the Kingdom Keepers know the truth behind their invitation: nearly every Disney villain is represented onboard the new ship: whether on its decks or in its theaters. It's believed the Overtakers have infiltrated the cast and are "stowaways." Worse: it is believed they have stolen an important journal that once belonged to Walt Disney himself--Finn has been having dreams about this--and that some kind of mission is planned.

The ship sets sail filled with enthusiastic guests and crew, and the battle is on in new and exotic arenas: the beaches of Castaway Cay, the caves of Aruba, the locks of the Panama Canal, Costa Rica's rain forest zip line . . . But the end game is far more complicated and intense than anything the Kingdom Keepers had planned on. If the Overtakers get their way, a power will be unleashed that no one will have the ability to vanquish: Chernabog, dormant for years, is about to have his full powers restored. . . .

First things first, this series has no concept of continuity, as further evidenced in Book 5. And I don't even mean stuff that's changed from previous books, I mean stuff that happens all within this book.

Cut Off The Power

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, and Disney In Shadow, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Power Play~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 4
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

For the five teens who modeled as Disney Hologram Imaging hosts, life is beginning to settle down when an intriguing video arrives to Philby's computer at school. It's a call for action: the Overtakers, a group of Disney villains, seem to be plotting to attempt a rescue of two of their leaders, both of whom the Disney Imagineers have hidden away somewhere following a violent encounter in Epcot. A staged attack by new Overtakers at Downtown Disney, startles the group. One of their own, Charlene, is acting strange of late. Has she tired of her role as a Kingdom Keeper or is there something more sinister at play? When caught sneaking into Epcot as her DHI, acting strictly against the group's rules, Finn and Philby take action. Has the 'impossible' occurred? Have the Overtakers created their own holograms? Have they found a way to 'jump' from the Virtual Maintenance Network onto the Internet, and if so, what does that mean for the safety of the parks, and the spread and reach of the Overtakers? Are they recruiting an army from outside the parks? A dark cloud in the Kingdom Keeper era is unfolding, and with dissention in their own ranks, it's unclear if there's any chance of escape.

Don't know if it's because of the break between the first three and this one, or if the writing has actually improved, but I liked this book a lot more than the others. That said, I still have a bit of nit-picking to bring up.