Active Voice

By Karen Healey [LibraryThing - Goodreads]

High school student Ellie’s life is fairly normal, until she agrees to help out with a play at the local university, thanks to the urging of her best friend, Kevin. But someone else in the play has her sights set on Kevin – someone not quite human – and suddenly Ellie finds herself navigating the world of the New Zealand supernatural armed only with a magic mask and the help of the mysterious Mark (on whom Ellie just happens to have an enormous crush). As Ellie discovers that the mythology of her homeland is all too real, she finds that that selfsame mythology is threatening to destroy New Zealand – and that she may be the only person left who can stop it.

Read the rest of this entry »

By R. L. LaFevers [LibraryThing – Goodreads]

Because Theodosia’s parents work at the London Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Theodosia spends a lot of time around quite a lot of very cool ancient artifacts. The only problem is that most of these items come into the museum with curses on them, and Theodosia appears to be the only one who can see the curses. When one particularly curse-heavy artifact is stolen from the museum, Theodosia must recover it, along with her brother Henry and her new pickpocket friend Will, before the whole country is flung into war.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Susan Cooper [LibraryThing]

On his 11th birthday, Will Stanton learns that he not merely human; he is the last of the immortal Old Ones, destined to protect the world from those that would destroy it. Since time immemorial there has been a constant struggle between the forces of the Light and those of the Dark. Now the Dark is rising, gathering for a final push, and the chances of stopping it for once and for all rest with a small group of children: Will, youngest of the Old Ones; Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, powerless but clever and resourceful; and Bran Davies the Raven Boy, with a secret magical heritage of his own.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Anne Ursu [LibraryThing]

Charlotte and Zee have had enough Greek god-based weirdness in the past few months to last a lifetime, but they know they’ve got more coming, especially when their mortal enemy Philonecron gets his hands on Poseidon’s trident, and gets it in his head to take over the universe. Now Philonecron’s wreaking havoc, Zeus is seriously considering eliminating humans entirely, and Charlotte and Zee have to sort through a secret society, an ancient weapon, and a prophesied “secret son” before they can even think about hurdling the final obstacle: Mount Olympus itself.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Pon [Amazon -- LibraryThing]

After Ai Ling’s father disappears, strange things start to happen. She begins to develop strange powers, like the ability to hear people’s thoughts. But when a local merchant tries to blackmail her into marriage, she runs away and vows to bring her father home. But as she searches for him, something evil is searching for her…
Read the rest of this entry »

By Jessica Day George [LibraryThing - Amazon]

Every night, the twelve princesses of Westfalin escape from their locked rooms and go dancing, and none of them will – or can – say where they dance. For his part, with the war over young soldier Galen is happy to work as a simple under-gardener in the palace. But as the lovely Princess Rose and her sisters grow more exhausted and despairing, and the country begins to tear itself apart, Galen must use all of his wits and courage to untangle the mystery of the princesses’ enchantment – and just possibly win the hand of Princess Rose himself.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Carolyn Hennesy [LibraryThing - Amazon]

Pandora and her friends have collected Jealousy and Vanity, but now they must travel to the Atlas Mountains to collect Laziness. To make matters worse, Pandora is quickly separated from her friends, all of the heroes are quickly enslaved, and Hera has kidnapped Pandy’s beloved dog. Alone for real now, Pandora must use her wits to free herself and find Laziness, but that’s no easy task when the sky is, quite literally falling.

Read the rest of this entry »

Book Ten
Starting Time: 1:30 pm
Ending Time: 3:22 pm

Title: The Pharaoh’s Secret
Author: Marissa Moss
Genre: Contemporary/urban / fairy tale/mythic / historical fantasy
Pages: 307
Summary: Talibah finds herself trying to unravel ancient Egyptian intrigue in order to put the souls that are haunting her to rest.
Thoughts: I liked the entirely non-white cast, the pluckiness of the little brother, and the solid grounding in history and Egyptology, but otherwise this book wasn’t very good. The prose was weak, and the resolution of the mystery – the explanation of how the modern characters were connected to the historical ones – was incoherent.

Two and a half cupcakes

By Grace Lin [LibraryThing - Amazon]

Minli’s family is very poor, so Minli sets off to ask the Man in the Moon how her family can change their fortune. With her new friend, a dragon who cannot fly, Minli finds herself navigating the world of folklore. But will she know what to ask the Man in the Moon when she finally meets him?

Read the rest of this entry »

By Carolyn Hennesy [LibraryThing - Amazon]

Having returned Jealousy to the box of evils she accidentally opened last month, Pandora heads off to find the next plague: Vanity. Accompanied by her best friends Alcie and Iole, her faithful dog Dido, and their hunky new bodyguard Homer, Pandora travels to Alexandria, Egypt. But even if she can master the language, avoid the mummies, and break Vanity’s grip over the 10-year-old Queen Cleopatra, can she survive the traps the goddess Hera keeps laying in her path?

Read the rest of this entry »