Happy Friday! This week we have wooden dolls, exorcism, glass hearts and girls made of snow, and more!
--Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (9/5/17)
“At sixteen, Mina’s mother is dead, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone - has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother. Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image, at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do - and who to be - to win back the only mother she’s ever known...or else defeat her once and for all. Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything - unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.”
I have been putting this one off for a while. I wanted to find the perfect moment to mention it but its release date will be here before we know so why delay any longer. This is probably my most anticipated release for this year, aside from the reasons why October and November are going to kick ass. I first came across the title in April and I still periodically look it up just to read the description. I’ve been checking the arcs at my work every day hoping that it would be there.
I love everything about this. A girl with a glass heart and one made entirely out of snow. Both dangerous and also so fragile. I can’t help but feel like they will destroy themselves in their rivalry. Though I am really hoping for a more happy end. Through their love for each other to make themselves fully human. I want them to love each other. I imagine this will be hard for Mina because even though she gains the kings love that doesn’t mean her heart still isn’t made of glass. I want them to support each other by the end. I want Mina to not be a villain by the end. I’m just so excited for this book.
--The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol
“Arianwyn has flunked her witch’s assessment: She’s doomed. Declared an apprentice and sent to the town of Lull is disgrace, she may never become a real witch - much to the glee of her arch-rival, Gimma. But remote Lull is not as boring as it seems. Strange things are sighted in the woods, a dangerous infestation of hex creeps throughout the town, and a mysterious magical visitor arrives with his eye on her. With every spirit banished, creature helped, and spell cast, Arianwyn starts to get the hang of being witch - even if she’s only an apprentice. But the worst still lies ahead. For a sinister darkness has begun to haunt her spells, and there may be more at stake than just her pride...for Arianwyn and the entire world.”
I came across this title a day after I saw Kiki’s Delivery Service in theaters back in July. So I felt an immediate connection between them. Except for this book having a save the world kind of ending. There is a preview up on Goodreads. It starts with Arianwyn going in for her assessment exam. In this world witches are a part of life. Towns and villages can request for one to take up residence there, mainly to defend against spirits. They even reference a war that might be about to happen or is already underway that witches are fighting in. The preview ends with Arianwyn about to fail her assessment. Which is a shame because I want to know about the town Lull and who she might be apprenticed to. But I think my main attraction to it currently remains at how much it makes me think of Kiki’s Delivery Service.
--The Bone Snatcher by Charlotte Sadler
“Sophie Seacove is a storyteller. She tells stories of what the world would be like if madness hadn’t take over. If her parents hadn’t sold her off as a servant to pay for their stupid vacation. If she wasn’t now trapped in a decaying mansion filled with creepy people and surrounded by ravenous sea monsters. The mansion has plenty of stories, too: About fantastical machines, and the tragic inventor who created them. About his highly suspicious death. And about the Monster Box, a mysterious object hidden in the house that just might hold the key to escaping this horrible place - and to reuniting Sophie with her family. But not everyone wants Sophie to have the Monster Box, and as she gets closer to finding it, she finds herself unspooling years-old secrets - and dodging dangerous attacks. Sophie needs to use her brains, her brawn, and her unbreakable nature if she wants to make it off this wretched island...and live to tell this story.”
I actually refound this title while going through my long list of ‘want to read’ on Goodreads. Read through the preview and I’m in love. Sophie was sold by her parents but not to go on a vacation. They sold her because they were going to start a new life on the New Continent across the sea. Why they sold her aside from that, I don’t know. It could be because Sophie enjoys the view of the sea while everyone else is afraid of it because of all the strange and terrifying creatures that live in it. In one scene in the preview, the sea itself almost seems conscious. As it drives to take Sophie with it while she crosses an ever smaller tidal path to reach the mansion. A tentacle tries to drag her down, hooks on the seabed try to keep her in place, and the waves keep trying to drown her. Even undead sailors are rumored to live in the sea, waiting to take children who wandered after dark. It stops before Sophie reaches the mansion. I’m curious to see what kind of ‘weird’ people that she will be living with. And as much as I want Sophie to escape to New Continent to get revenge on her parents, I hope she realizes that she is already where she belongs. Or at least that’s the kind of message I’m expecting to read from this.
--My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
“A heartwarming story of friendship and demonic possession. The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act...different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries - and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?...Blends teen angst, adolescent drama, unspeakable horrors, and a mix of ‘80′s pop songs into a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller.”
Was drawn to this title because of the cover of the paperback. It looks like a 1980′s horror movie poster. I don’t watch a lot of horror movies because I am a chicken; unless it’s an old horror movie that’s great because it’s just that terrible, but I do read a lot of scary-ish books. Though sometimes not once it gets dark outside. Depends on the book. Anyway. My Best Friend’s Exorcism is supposed to be satirical to the genre and maybe even more specifically to the film The Exorcism. From what I’ve seen and heard of it so far, this is more of a tale of friendship but it still has a lot of gore and horror to it.
--Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter
“In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now - but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood. In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling away again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters - and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of the night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission. But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a touch-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Bab’s won’t be playing fair...”
This is based off the Russian fairytale Vasilisa the Beautiful. I’m really interested in Erg. I just enjoy the idea of a little wooden doll, small enough to fit in your pocket, yet strong enough to help resolve your problems. I know Erg is supposed to help Vassa and keep her safe. Yet I hope Vassa won’t rely on Erg too much. I want to see Vassa solve some of the challenges herself. It sounds really good and strange.
