Recap 12/18 to 1/7

In case you missed anything, here's a recap of what was posted Saturday, December 18th through Friday, January 7th. This is a larger Recap post due to my holiday break.

Reviews:

A Match Made in High School, by Kristin Walker
(Click on the link to go to my review)

Forgive My Fins, by Tera Lynn Childs
(Click on the link to go to my review)

The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall
(Click on the link to go to my review)

The Vespertine, by Saundra Mitchell 
(Click on the link to go to my review)

The Two Princesses of Bamarre, by Gail Carson Levine
(Click on the link to go to my review) 

Cloaked in Red, by Vivian Vande Velde
(Click on the link to go to my review) 

Cover review: The Luxe
(Click on the link to go to my review)

Cover review: The Replacement
(Click on the link to go to my review) 

Memes:

In My Mailbox

Cover Crazy

Tween Tuesday 
Forget Me Not

Waiting on Wednesday

Book Blogger Hop

Spotlight: 

Gothic Fiction, part I 
Gothic Fiction, part II

Discussion: 

I Don't Want to Read That Book 
The Backup Book

Summaries: 

Forgive My Fins, by Tera Lynn Childs
Cloaked in Red, by Vivian Vande Velde

Other Events:

Blog Award Nomination
2011 Challenges Entered 
How To Make a Progress Bar
How to Customize a Progress Bar
Busting the Newbie Blues Recap

Vote: Do you want an email alert when I respond to your comments?
(Poll in the top right sidebar. Closes at the end of the month.)

What's Your Status? Is a new meme created by Zakiya from Butterfly Feet Walking on Life where we recap our reading week. Here's how my week went:

Finished:

Tighter, by Adele Griffin
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

StarCrossed, by Elizabeth C. Bunce
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)

The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads) 

My Soul to Take, by Rachel Vincent
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads) 

Dead Beautiful, by Yvonne Woon
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads) 

Currently Reading: 

Athena the Brain (Goddess Girls #1), by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
(Click on the link to go to Goodreads)
 
Did Not Finish: 

Pegasus, by Robin McKinley
Page 126 of 404

I truly am so disappointed I didn't like this book. I had never read Robin McKinley before and, knowing that is a travesty, I figured what better book to start with than Pegasus? Honestly, I was captivated by the cover. It is gorgeous. One of those covers I want to hang on my wall as artwork. It's stunning, and it's even more beautiful in person. 

But a book is more than its cover, and unfortunately I found this book tedious. The narration constantly shifts from the present to memories of the past, without any warning or indication. This not only made things confusing, but I also was never really able to get into the story. Just as I would become immersed in events, the narrative would suddenly shift to a memory. I felt like I was reading a bunch of fragments only loosely tied together. Another effect of this was that the story never really took off. Events happened, but only after a ton of detours and tangents into only somewhat relevant memories. I read up to page 126, and nothing happened that wasn't already described on the jacket. 

I kept trying to force myself to read this book because I can see McKinley is a brilliant writer. Her characters, world, and writing style are just what I want. I can easily see myself falling in love with her books. The slow pacing and back and forth with the memories was killing me, though. The final nail in the coffin was when I discovered this book apparently ends on a gigantic cliffhanger with absolutely no resolution. There will be a sequel (and maybe a third?), and so, given that, I am not about to force myself to the end of this book only to have it not actually end. 

I'll wait until the complete story is published and maybe try again. Or maybe I'll just try another McKinley book in the meantime. I have a number on my TBR. 

The Healer's Apprentice, by Melanie Dickerson
Page 26 of 261

There's nothing wrong with this book, but I didn't connect with the characters and things seemed a little too...smooth? Perfect? Does that make sense? The main character seemed a little *too* good. I read a few reviews looking for information about the characters. It seems others said similar things. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, but it didn't work for me now.

Miss anything last week? Click here to see what happened.

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Spotlight List: Sleeping Beauty Retold

Spotlight is a feature I do where I pick a topic or theme and then highlight some books that fall into that theme. Here are some previous Spotlight posts:

Classics that are Actually Fun to Read
Little Red Riding Hood Retold

I'm always a sucker for a good fairy tale retelling. I like seeing how different authors take the same basic story and make it their own. My favorite movie when I was very young was Disney's Sleeping Beauty. I would watch it over and over again every day (scanning through the parts with Maleficent's henchmen because they frightened me!), so the Sleeping Beauty story holds a special place in my heart. The following are some authors' takes on the tale. Some I've read, some I haven't.

Beauty Sleep, by Cameron Dokey
Release Date: December 2002
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages:186
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

Part of the Once Upon a Time series of fairy tale retellings, Beauty Sleep is a completely unique twist on the classic tale. The set up is familiar enough (bad fairy not invited, curses child, good fairy changes curse of death to curse of sleep), but the resolution is what makes this story different.The ending is a really original spin on how the curse plays out, an ending that I found wholly satisfying. Much of the story is spent following Princess Aurore's life in her castle and her relationship with her cousin who is a complicated and likable man. You really get to know Aurore in this version, and I found myself liking her very much. While this is a short book, there are no less than three parts that really touched me, and one that even made me cry a little. I highly recommend this one as both a touching story in its own right and an interesting retelling.

Briar Rose, by Jane Yolen
Release Date: March 15, 2002
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 224
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

I haven't read this one, but I remember loving Jane Yolen when I was younger.

From Goodreads:

Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma’s stories about Briar Rose. But a promise Rebecca makes to her dying grandmother will lead her on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma’s astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose. A journey that will lead her to unspeakable brutality and horror. But also to redemption and hope. A Tor Teen edition of the modern classic by critically-acclaimed author Jane Yolen

A Kiss in Time, by Alex Flinn
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 384
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

Set in modern times, this story alternates narration between the princess Talia, who has slept through the last 300 years, and the definitely-not-a-prince Jack, who had the misfortune of waking up Talia and her entire kingdom. Will Jack and Talia fall in love? Can Talia and her kingdom adapt to living in the 21st century? To complicate matters further, neither characters' parents are too keen on the situation and the witch that created the curse isn't satisfied with it's outcome.

Both characters start out as aimless and bratty teenagers but grow through the story by seeing themselves and their actions through the eyes of one another. Despite their bratty starts, both characters are likable and have distinct voices. I laughed out loud a number of times (the scene at the modeling agency was great!) and enjoyed this Flinn offering even more than her previous fairy tale retelling, Beastly. Definitely recommended.

 

When Rose Wakes, by Christopher Golden
Release Date: September 28, 2010
Publisher: MTV
Pages: 320
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

I haven't read this one either, but it sounds interesting.

Product Description:

Her terrifying dreams are nothing compared to the all-too-real nightmare that awaits. . . .Ever since sixteen-year-old Rose DuBois woke up from months in a coma with absolutely no memories, she’s had to start from scratch. She knows she loves her two aunts who take care of her, and that they all used to live in France, but everything else from her life before is a blank.Rose tries to push through the memory gaps and start her new life, attending high school and living in Boston with her aunts, who have seriously old world ideas. Especially when it comes to boys. But despite their seemingly irrational fears and odd superstitions, they insist Rose not worry about the eerie dreams she’s having, vivid nightmares that she comes to realize are strangely like the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. The evil witch, the friendly fairies, a curse that puts an entire town to sleep—Rose relives the frightening story every night. And when a mysterious raven-haired woman starts following her, Rose begins to wonder if she is the dormant princess. And now that she’s awake, she’s in terrible, terrible danger. . . .

 

The Wide-Awake Princess, by E. D. Baker
Release Date: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 272
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

Sleeping Beauty isn't the protagonist of this version. She spends most of the time sleeping. Instead, her younger sister Annie steals the show as she sets out to try to undo the curse and find a prince to kiss her sister. Annie is immune to magic, so a lot of funny scenes ensue as other fairy tale people try to cast spells on her. While Sleeping Beauty is the main focus of this story, a whole host of other fairy tales are also included. I laughed my way through this book. Annie and Liam, the castle guard who accompanies her, are both very likable characters who break the stereotypical molds of "tough girl" and her guy.

 

Thornspell, by Helen Lowe
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

I started reading this one but didn't get very far. I don't have any complaints about the book (other than the beginning seemed kind of slow), but I think I just wasn't in the right mood at the time. I did like that this one is from the point of view of the prince.The cover is also pretty neat looking. 

 Goodreads Description: 

PRINCE SIGISMUND HAS grown up in a remote castle, dreaming of going on heroic knightly quests while staring out at the forbidden wood that looms to the west. His great-grandfather placed an interdict on the wood nearly 100 years ago, though no one seems to know exactly why. But for those still young or credulous enough to believe in magic, the rumors and stories abound—of an enchanted castle and a sleeping princess cursed by an evil faie.

Helen Lowe has spun a grand, adventurous, romantic tale about the prince destined to wake the sleeping princess. This thoughtful hero must delve into a world of mystery and magic to discover the truth of his own fate. Enemies with powers he never imagined abound, sometimes hiding behind a mask of friendship. And an elusive girl haunts his dreams—is she helping him or binding him tighter into a thorny cage? For Sigismund, the truth turns out to be more fantastical than any story he’s ever heard.

 

Spindle's End, by Robin McKinley
Release Date: 2000
Publisher: Ace
Pages: 384
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

I've never read a Robin McKinley book before (*gasp* I know!) so I haven't read this one either. 

Goodreads Description: 

All the creatures of the forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep-a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her.

 

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, by Gail Carson Levine
Release Date: September 8, 1999
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages:112
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

I haven't read this story, but I have read other books by Gail Carson Levine and I've loved them. This one sounds really cute from the description. 

Product Description:

A spiteful fairy. A beautiful princess. An outstretched finger. A spindle. A hundred year snooze. A charming prince. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients.

But wait! Where did that extra prince come from? And those fairy gifts that have never been there before? And what does a flock of balding sheep have to do with anything?

Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over this old standby, and presto! It reappears, transformed—new, sparking, and funny! Hoots and guffaws are likely, chuckles and giggles are guaranteed.

In this third of her Princess Tales, Levine shows a precocious but lovable girl taking control of a destiny she never asked for, with hilarious and happily-ever-after results.

 

The Healer's Apprentice, by Melanie Dickerson
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Publisher: Zondervan
Pages: 272
Author's Page
Amazon Page
Goodreads Page

I'm not really sure I see how this one is a retelling, but I've heard that it is a loose retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I have it on order, so I suppose I'll find out soon enough. The plot sounds interesting, and that cover is so pretty. 

Product Description: 

Two Hearts. One Hope. Rose has been appointed as a healer's apprentice at Hagenheim Castle, a rare opportunity for a woodcutter's daughter like her. While she often feels uneasy at the sight of blood, Rose is determined to prove herself capable. Failure will mean returning home to marry the aging bachelor her mother has chosen for her---a bloated, disgusting merchant who makes Rose feel ill. When Lord Hamlin, the future duke, is injured, it is Rose who must tend to him. As she works to heal his wound, she begins to understand emotions she's never felt before and wonders if he feels the same. But falling in love is forbidden, as Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a mysterious young woman in hiding. As Rose's life spins toward confusion, she must take the first steps on a journey to discover her own destiny.

Have you read any Sleeping Beauty retellings? What did you think of them?

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