Princess Diaries 3 Movie, South Korean Writer Han Kang Wins Nobel Prize, Trevor Noah is Indies Spokesperson, Oprah Picks From Here to the Great Unknown, Robert Gray's Book Pilgrimage to Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher, Broken Light by Joanne Harris, Murder at King's Crossing by Andrea Penrose and The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez

Hurrah for Autumn! It's actually too warm for October out there (today it will reach 70 degrees here in Maple Valley), but I'm still all in for the cozy reading vibes with the big chair/bed and blankets and a cuppa hot tea, a good book and some chocolate to keep me reading into the wee hours. I'm excited for all the new fall books as well, and I'm looking forward to birthdays and Christmas, which in my household are all in November and December, when hopefully I will get gift cards to bookstores so I can buy a bunch of new novels to start the new year! Meanwhile, here are some tidbits and four reviews for your reading pleasure. 

 

I'm a big Anne Hathaway fan, especially of her turn in The Devil Wears Prada, which is one of those classic movies that will be watched and enjoyed for decades to come (I mean, it has the perfect cast! La Streep, chilled to icy perfection! Hathaway at her most winsome and willowy! Stanley Tucci at his most sarcastic and lovable gay icon-ness! Emily Blunt at her b*tchy best!) so I can't imagine this movie will be anything but rom-com joy. I hope they get the original cast (including Julie Andrews, pretty please) to join up soon!

 

Movies: Princess Diaries 3

Anne Hathaway is returning for Princess Diaries 3,

based on Meg Cabot's bestselling YA and adult Princess Diaries book

series, Deadline reported. Hathaway, who confirmed her return on

Instagram: https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVWPxLkI6a42Khl_Gg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mSXcXxpoMLg-gVdw, first played teen Mia Thermopolis in the original Princess Diaries film (2001), and

followed that up in 2004 with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.

The new movie will be directed by Adele Lim, who wrote Disney's animated

feature Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), made her directorial debut with

Lionsgate's R-rated comedy Joy Ride (2023).She also wrote the Jon Chu-directed rom com Crazy Rich Asians, based on the book by Kevin Kwan. Flora

Greeson is writing the screenplay. Other original cast have not yet been

confirmed to return to the third installment.

This is splendid news! A woman of color finally won the Nobel! 

 Once the frenzy to read her book has died down, I plan on getting a copy from the library ASAP.

South Korean Writer Han Kang Wins Nobel Prize for Literature

South Korean writer Han Kang has won the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature

https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVWAlOsI6a42KhF-SQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mSUpWjpoMLg-gVdw, announced this morning

by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Kang was cited for "her intense

poetic prose" that "confronts historical traumas and invisible sets of

rules and, in each of her works, exposes the fragility of human life.

She has a unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the

living and the dead, and in her poetic and experimental style has become

an innovator in contemporary prose." She is the first Korean to win the

Nobel Prize for Literature. She receives 11 million Swedish kronor (just

over $1 million).

Kang is best known in the English-speaking world for The Vegetarian,

translated by Deborah Smith (Hogarth), which won the Man Booker

International Prize for fiction in 2016 and was made into a movie.

The Swedish Academy commented: "Written in three parts, the book

portrays the violent consequences that ensue when its protagonist

Yeong-hye refuses to submit to the norms of food intake. Her decision

not to eat meat is met with various, entirely different reactions. Her

behavior is forcibly rejected by both her husband and her authoritarian

father, and she is exploited erotically and aesthetically by her

brother-in-law, a video artist who becomes obsessed with her passive

body. Ultimately, she is committed to a psychiatric clinic, where her

sister attempts to rescue her and bring her back to a 'normal' life.

However, Yeong-hye sinks ever deeper into a psychosis-like condition

expressed through the 'flaming trees,' a symbol for a plant kingdom that

is as enticing as it is dangerous."

Her other titles published in English include The White Book, translated

by Deborah Smith (Hogarth), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker

International Prize in 2018; Human Acts: A Novel, translated by Deborah

Smith (Hogarth); Greek Lessons, translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won (Hogarth); and We Do Not Part: A Novel, translated by Emily Yae Won and Paige Aniyah Morris (Hogarth).

YAY! Go Trevor! I love his humor and I enjoyed his book Born a Crime.

 I love that he's trying to improve access to education for young people in South Africa.

Trevor Noah Is this Year's Indies First Spokesperson

Comedian, author, producer, political commentator, actor, and TV host

Trevor Noah will be the official 2024 spokesperson for Indies First, the American Booksellers Association's national campaign of activities and events in support of independent bookstores that takes place on Small Business Saturday, November 30.

"Independent bookstores connect readers to ideas and stories, and they

are the rare physical places in our communities where we can connect

with each other," he said.

Noah is the author of the bestselling book Born a Crime: Stories from a

South African Childhood, which won the 2017 Thurber Prize for American Humor. In addition to his success as a comedian, he was the host of the Emmy Award-winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central. He has served as the Grammy Awards host for four years in a row, and currently hosts What Now? With Trevor Noah, a Spotify original weekly podcast.

In 2018, Noah launched the Trevor Noah Foundation to improve equitable

access to quality education for underserved youth in South Africa. His

vision is a world where education enables youth to dream, see, and build

the impossible.

I can hardly believe it has been over 100 books that Oprah has recommended and elevated over the past decades. She has been a great booster for the publishing industry, at a time when they've been desperate to keep America reading books.

This one looks especially interesting, as I'm a fan of Riley Keough, Elvis's grandchild.

Oprah's Book Club Pick: From Here to the Great Unknown

Oprah Winfrey has chosen From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by

Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough (Random House) as her 108th Oprah's

Book Club Pick: "Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley tells her whole story for the first time in this raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir faithfully completed by her daughter, Riley Keough."

"I have great love and admiration for Lisa Marie Presley, and was so

moved that her daughter Riley, through her grief, was able to help her

finish a beautifully touching memoir that allows us to see her mother at

her most honest and vulnerable," Oprah said. "This is an intimate look

at what it was like growing up as heir to one of America's most famous

families." "I was just a few pages into this book, recognizing that it was going to

be your voice and her voice, and then I thought, 'Oh, I have to choose

this for the Book Club,' " Oprah told Keough in a CBS interview. "It's a

lot of brave work you did in this book."

I've made no secret of the fact that I have planned and executed a once a year pilgrimage to Powell's City of Books in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon. If I were lucky enough to be able to travel to Europe, however, I know that I'd want to stop at Shakespeare and Company, the iconic bookstore that I've read about in so many famous books. Robert Gray's musings on bookstore pilgrimages are, as usual, fascinating.

Robert Gray: What Was Your 'Must-visit' Bookshop Pilgrimage?

Here's a story we all can tell; the variations are nearly infinite. It's

a tale about finally making a pilgrimage to the bookshop that has been

on your "must visit" list for a long, long time. It's about being there,

browsing the stacks, buying a book or two or three; savoring the moment

and then, years later, being able to recall that moment at will.

If you're reading this, you've had the experience. I know you have. Tell

me about it sometime. What was your "must-visit" bookshop pilgrimage

like?

A couple of things triggered thoughts about this recently. The first was

an article ("Why I always visit a local indie bookstore on my travels")

I read in the Straits Times.

"I always plan a visit to a local independent bookstore early into my

travels to find my bearings and pick up a book related to the place,"

Shawn Hoo wrote. "A city without bookstores is a nightmare for a

traveler like me--it is like visiting a city without maps."

Then, a couple of nights ago, I was listening to a Shakespeare and

Company interview, recorded live at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival. It featured Adam Biles, literary director at the legendary Paris

bookshop; Lauren Groff, author and owner of the Lynx bookstore, Gainesville, Fla.; and author Neel Mukherjee in "a wide-ranging discussion that takes the temperature (and the pulse!) of the book industry, from bookshops, to publishers, to prizes,to festivals."

Biles opened the program by wondering, "when a volume chosen from a

million-strong catalog can be fired through your window by a drone

barely an hour after you've ordered it, or when the very same book,

searchable, resizable, updatable, shareable, can appear on your e-reader

in a matter of seconds, what good do the dusty, inefficient,

brick-and-mortar relics we call bookshops still serve?"

A conversation starter if there ever was one, and the panel's discussion

is well worth a listen, but a slightly off-topic comment during the q&a

sent my mind in another direction.

A woman mentioned that the last few times she'd been in Paris, she

wasn't able to get inside Shakespeare and Company due to the long queue:

"I'm wondering how you manage the fact that you are essentially a

tourist landmark/bookshop between the sales of books and trying to sell

books, but also having to deal with people who might want to visit the

shop and not necessarily buy something."

Biles replied, "It's been harder and harder to manage, and we're a small

bookshop in a 17th-century building. We took the decision to have a

queue because we wanted the experience once you're inside to be as close

to being in a normal bookshop as possible. And to anybody in the room or

anybody listening, I should say that the queue does move pretty fast.

But one of the very gratifying things is that people do buy books.

"And one of the things that actually drives me mad is every so often you

will see comments on Google or things like that, and people say, oh,

it's just a tourist attraction full of young women who want to take

photos for their Instagram accounts. And the first thing you should say

is that without young women, the book industry is dead. They are the

people who buy books, who read books, who engage with books more than

any other demographic.

"And these young women are not just coming to take photos. They come,

they buy the books and they buy serious, engaging literature,

philosophy, politics, much more than the men they bring in with them,

actually. And I'm sure much more than the men who are writing these kind

of comments online."

For many years, Shakespeare and Company was my "must-visit" bookshop,

and since listening to the podcast, I've had pleasant flashbacks to my

pilgrimage there about a decade ago.

There was no queue outside Shakespeare and Company that day, and

inside, a blissful near silence. We browsed for a long time, exploring

the ground floor stacks as well as the library upstairs.

We bought several books, of course.Eventually, we carried our new treasures, stamped with Shakespeare and Company's iconic logo, outside and strolled across the Pont au Double, a bookish pilgrim's path if there ever was one, to Notre Dame cathedral.--Robert Gray

Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher is a delightful LGBTQ rom com that takes place after the Arthurian era, in the part of England that still worships, sometimes literally, the old tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Here's the blurb: Heartstopper meets A Knight’s Tale in this queer medieval rom com YA debut about love, friendship, and being brave enough to change the course of history.

It’s been hundreds of years since King Arthur’s reign. His descendant, Arthur, a future Lord and general gadabout, has been betrothed to Gwendoline, the quick-witted, short-tempered princess of England, since birth. The only thing they can agree on is that they despise each other.

They’re forced to spend the summer together at Camelot in the run up to their nuptials, and within 24 hours, Gwen has discovered Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur has gone digging for Gwen's childhood diary and found confessions about her crush on the kingdom's only lady knight, Bridget Leclair.

Realizing they might make better allies than enemies, they make a reluctant pact to cover for each other, and as things heat up at the annual royal tournament, Gwen is swept off her feet by her knight and Arthur takes an interest in Gwen's royal brother. Lex Croucher's Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is chock full of sword-fighting, found family, and romantic shenanigans destined to make readers fall in love.

“Fun and genuinely funny, with lovely friendships and first-rate dialogue. Gwen and Art may not be in love, but I fell for both of them.” - Rainbow Rowell

 

I completely agree with Rowell, this is a book that will have you laughing and crying and loving all the snappy dialogue between the two protagonists, both of whom are gay and definitely not in love with each other. the prose is witty and helps the plot move along at a fantastic fast pace...you'll be at the end before you realize it. I'd give this wonderful re-told tale an A, and recommend it to everyone who ever wondered how LGBTQ people would manage their love lives in ancient England.

 

Broken Light by Joanne Harris is a suspense-filled supernatural or paranormal thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page onward. I found myself hoping that the story would become a little less like Stephen King's Carrie and more like Harris's Chocolat, her most famous romantic novel, but though it skirted the line between thriller and horror a few times, ultimately it reigned in the ugliness to produce a somewhat sad but satisfying ending. Here's the blurb:

A bold and timely novel that explores how women can feel invisible as they grow older—and what happens when they decide to take back control.

Bernie Moon's ambitions and dreams have been forgotten by everyone, even Bernie herself. At nineteen she was full of promise, but now, facing fifty and going through the menopause, she's a fading light.

Until the murder of a woman in a local park unlocks a series of childhood memories, and with them, a talent that she has hidden all her adult life.

What happens when the frustrations and power of an older woman are finally given their chance to be revealed?

Filled with growth and redemption, revenge and visibility, friendship and self-discovery, Broken Light is an explosive new thriller that challenges our notions of womanhood and power.

Being a woman over 60 myself, I could identify with how lost and broken and invisible Bernie felt, especially by her cold and nearly autistic husband who seems to pine for "the girl of his dreams" from high school, who was Bernie's best friend until she became popular and decided to pretend her mental powers no longer existed in order to "fit in". Now Bernie is feeling isolated and alone, until she finds a group of feminist runners and decides to empower herself by getting in shape, doing some good with her telepathic powers, and by building a good life for herself without her husband. I can really relate to Bernie, as my marriage situation is also difficult and isolating. Though I don't have Bernie's power to "redirect" bad male behavior, I wish that I could show men how their misogyny affects not just the women in their lives, but women and girls everywhere...it's toxic and frightening, as Harris points out, that women have to constantly be in fear for their lives while in public or at home with men who are supposed to love them, not hurt or kill them. The last time I checked with the FBI database, one in three women/girls will be sexually harassed and/or raped/murdered in this country. As it stands now, I don't know any women who haven't experienced sexual harassment, which is disgusting and terrifying all at once. It seems every day now I read about a supposedly feminist "ally" in the entertainment or publishing business, whom I previously looked up to, who now has more than a few women accusing them of sexual harassment or rape...like Neil Gaiman, whose works I've loved over the years. It makes me angry and sad for the wives and daughters of these men, who have sunken to the level of beasts with their cruel and criminal behavior. That said, this book provides a clearer view into the hate-filled minds of these men, whose egos are so fragile and who think of women as expendable servants at best, slaves at worst. I'd give this thought-provoking work an A, and recommend it to any woman over the age of 50 who wonders what it would take to get her life back.

 

Murder at King's Crossing by Andrea Penrose is the 8th Wrexford and Sloane historical mystery. Having read them all, I can honestly say that this novel doesn't disappoint. The found family of Lord Wrex and Lady Charlotte is, as always, charming and fascinating, and the sidekick characters always on hand to provide help in gaining clues in the case. Here's the blurb: For fans of Miss Scarlet and the Duke and Bridgerton—a masterfully plotted mystery that combines engaging protagonists with rich historical detail, plus a touch of romance that readers of Amanda Quick and Deanna Raybourn will savor.

Celebration is in the air at Wrexford and Charlotte’s country estate as they host the nuptials of their friends, Christopher Sheffield and Lady Cordelia Mansfield. But on the afternoon of the wedding, the festivities are interrupted when the local authorities arrive with news that a murdered man has been discovered at the bridge over King’s Crossing, his only identification an invitation to the wedding. Lady Cordelia is horrified when the victim is identified as Jasper Milton, her childhood friend and a brilliant engineer who is rumored to have discovered a revolutionary technological innovation in bridge design. That he had the invitation meant for her cousin Oliver, who never showed up for the wedding, stirs a number of unsettling questions.

Both men were involved in the Revolutions-Per-Minute Society, a scientific group dedicated to making radical improvements in the speed and cost of transportation throughout Britain. Is someone plotting to steal Milton’s designs? And why has her cousin disappeared?

Wrexford and Charlotte were looking forward to spending a peaceful interlude in the country, but when Lady Cordelia resolves to solve the mystery, they offer their help, along with that of the Weasels and their unconventional inner circle of friends. The investigation turns tangled and soon all of them are caught up in a treacherous web of greed, ambition, and dangerous secrets. And when the trail takes a shocking turn, Wrexford and Charlotte must decide what risks they are willing to take with their family to bring the villains to justice. 

Though I do enjoy reading about the latest scientific engineering feats being created in the early 19th century, the math/science explanations about bridges and roads became tiresome as they're repeated throughout the book, and it slowed the plot down considerably. That said, the prose was sterling, and most of the plot chugged along like a steam engine, or the "Puffing Billy" as they called it at this time in history. The weasels made several appearances and I was glad when Peregrine was released from the odious racist Eton boys boarding school and returned to Wrex and Charlotte for private tutoring and expeditions to help solve mysteries. All in all, I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Regency era mysteries.

 

The Next Best Fling by Gabriella Gamez is a romantic comedy with a plus sized Latina protagonist and an engaging "fake dating" plot to rival some of the great TV movie rom coms, like The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Here's the blurb: 

Two broken hearts decide that the best way to get over their first loves is with a no-strings-attached relationship in this spicy and charming debut romance.

Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years—and when he gets engaged, she knows it’s long past time to move on. But before she gets the chance, she has a bigger problem to contend with in the form of Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she’s in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela is quick to stop him—despite how tempting it is to let him run away with the bride-to-be. She manages to convince Theo to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place and when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.

Since Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her unrequited feelings for the groom, they decide to roll with the lie. Until one late night at a bar, they take it a step further and discover a layer of attraction neither realized existed. Soon, they find themselves exploring the simmering chemistry between them, whether in library aisles or Marcela's bed. There are no boundaries for the rebound relationship they form—just a host of complicated feelings, messy familial dynamics, and uncovered secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can even admit to themselves that their rebound is working. Maybe a little too well.  

I loved the fact that Marcela was a librarian, and that Theo set up a special date night for her in the library, using electric or battery powered fake candles so as not to endanger her beloved books. Marcela is a huge fan of YA fiction, so that puts her in my good graces right away (I am a huge fan of YA as well). Theo also buys her an entire box of books that she's missing for her collection, which endeared him to me more than any description of his good looks. Any man who supports a woman's book habit is a keeper, IMHO. Anyway, their journey to sloughing off their manipulative and mean crushes and allow their love for one another to flourish is deliciously satisfying in the end. Gamez's prose is light and sweet, and her plot swift and engrossing...this book is a page turner that will keep your eyes glued to the page until the final scenes. I'd give it a B+, and recommend this spicy romantic novel to anyone who has fought hard to find someone real to share their life with.

 

Reese Co-Writes with Coben, Publishing Jobs Decrease by 40 Percent Over Past 30 Years, October Book Club Pick is Society of Lies, Rimbaud Movie, Hackers Create More Problems for Libraries, The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin, The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts, Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune and Wisteria by Adalyn Grace

Good evening my fellow readers and writers and general book beasts! It's the second week of October, and while we're still experiencing warm temps (thankfully it gets much cooler at night), the smell of smoke from home hearths and dried leaves and cinnamon spice is in the air! It is nearly time for the harvest moon and Halloween, or Samhain to arrive and bring joy and candy to children everywhere. Meanwhile, since there hasn't been any good television shows on for awhile, I've been reading about 4-5 books a week, so I have a lot to review here, after these regularly scheduled tidbits about the world of books.

It's great that RW is teaming up with authors to write fiction, but I would hope that this won't keep her from taking good books and adapting them into streaming series, because she's been so successful at that so far.

Reese Witherspoon Announces First Novel, Co-Written With Harlen Coben

I have long wondered why Witherspoon didn’t have her own imprint…or house. But after the spate of high profile celebrity thriller collaborations (Viola Davis, both Clintons, etc), I should have seen something like this coming . (I know you will be shocked to hear that this will be a thriller.) I am surprised that she didn’t choose to team up with a woman, since most of her book club selections are by women and she has stated clearly that her bookish enterprises are geared toward women. I also would pay folding money to see the terms of the deal (advance, royalty split, etc etc). Vegas is not taking bets that one of the main characters will be a 40ish blond woman.

The publishing industry is having a rough go of it these days, just like journalism has had over the past nearly 20 years now, with so many papers closing or consolidating, so now there are few reputable newspapers in existence. It wouldn't surprise me, with the expense of paper, ink, etc, if this trend continues into the next 5-10 years. I pray that I'm wrong.

Over 30 Years, 40% of Publishing Jobs Disappeared. What Happened?

Good look at labor data and the publishing industry from Thad McIlroy and Jim Millot that considers the whole board. The top line is pretty striking –almost half of the book gigs that existed when I was in high school don’t exist. This is bad, right? Right? Well, productivity improvements happen. Consolidation happens. Self-publishing might account for half of all dollars that go toward buying books, and that activity isn’t captured here. And what of Audible originals etc? Sub-groups of tech companies that produce books much like a traditional publisher. Layoffs continue, this year faster than in any year that I have paid close attention to the industry, even as profits rise. Welcome to capitalism, kids. 

I'm going to try to get a copy of this book ASAP, as it sounds fascinating.  

Reese's October Book Club Pick: Society of Lies

Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown (Bantam) is the October pick for Reese's Book Club https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVWMw7gI6a42Ix93Hg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mSXsLwpoMLg-gVdw, which described the novel as: "In this twisty thriller, Maya returns to her alma mater to solve her younger sister's murder and is forced to confront the dark secrets of her past, including her involvement in an elite secret society. Lauren Ling Brown's debut explores collegiate scandals, the bonds of sisterhood, and how far some people will go in the name of power. Witherspoon wrote: "If you're looking for a page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat this spooky season, this one is a must-read."

I remember reading poems by Rimbaud and other French poets when I was in high school and college, and being thrilled at how easily they incorporated sensuality into their works. I can hardly wait for the debut of this film.

 Movies: A. Rimbaud

Blake Draper (Prom Pact, Clickbait) will star as the sole actor in A. Rimbaud https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscVWNlLoI6a42I00gTg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6mSX5XypoMLg-gVdw, a film about French poet Arthur Rimbaud. Variety reported that the project, which recently wrapped production in Winnipeg, "follows the writer from his schoolboy days in Charleville to his final years in Africa. As Rimbaud explored and broke with traditional forms of poetry, the movie likewise escapes the confines of a biopic." Writer-director Patrick Wang, said, "The only way to keep up with Rimbaud is to be as playful and as inventive as Rimbaud. We have the team of rogues ready to do this. At the center of it all is a young actor who is lightning in a bottle."

This is sad and disgusting that librarians have to deal with so much evil in today's society, especially all the threats to freedom to read and write whatever you choose, with book bans, and deplorable hackers demanding ransoms to unlock computers and keep hackers from sharing patron data publically.

Hackers Create More Problems For Libraries

Along with bomb threats and book challenges, we’re seeing an increase in the number of libraries dealing with ransomware attacks, where hackers gain access to a library system’s data, encrypt the files, and then demand a ransom in exchange. (The Seattle Public Library system recently went through an enormous ordeal earlier this year that has already cost the library over $1 million  in technology upgrades and legal fees.) But now Delaware libraries across the state have closed their computer labs after being hacked last week. The ransom demand is allegedly around $1 million, although typically, organizations rebuild in the wake of a ransomware attack, rather than pay the ransom. Thankfully, patron data has not been affected in Delaware.

 

The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin is a historical romance set before, during and after World War 2, that has a strong feminist through-line about societal misogyny that kept women from getting a job if they were married or widowed and had children. Though it takes place in Nottingham and London, England, I would bet that women all over the world experienced much the same in their struggle to survive and provide for their children. Here's the blurb: A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of books that bring them together, by the bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London.

In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job. She and her beloved daughter Olivia have always managed just fine on their own, but with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her with a job.

When the threat of war in England becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In the wake of being separated from her daughter, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, and a renewed sense of purpose through the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing and the work at the lending library forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.

One of the things that bothered me about this book was Emma's inability to listen to the pleas of her daughter Olivia, who was evacuated THREE times because the government kept telling mothers that children were not safe from German bombs in London or Nottingham or anywhere else where there were munitions factories. Though her daughter writes her and is miserable every time she's placed on some grim farm somewhere (on her second evacuation, she's starved and abused, with other children, and her caretakers squeeze money from all the parents for things for themselves, not for the children at all...its horrific, and I can't imagine ever wanting to evacuate my child again after they've suffered such an experience. But no, Emma the idiot sends her away once more to her grandparents, who despise her because their son died when she was still pregnant), Emma keeps sending the poor kid away, until Olivia finally takes matters into her own hands and runs away, only to have them rescue her after she has walked miles to get back to her mother. Why she wants to come back to her spineless and weak-willed mother who consistently acts against her child's health and safety is beyond me. Emma has a good time romancing a man who, due to injury, can't be conscripted into the military, and she also has no problem lying to as many people as possible so she can keep her job at the subscription library (meaning patrons have to pay to check out books, and only class A patrons, ie rich people who can afford to pay more, get to check out the best and most recent volumes, curated by the staff of women) and read all the latest books so she can recommend them to a quirky line up of ridiculous subscribers who often steal or misplace books to cover it up. I'd give this decent prose and snappily plotted book a B-, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in the plight of widowed women with children during WWII.

The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts is a romantic comedy set in the Gig Harbor area of the PNW, with lots of quirky side characters and their stories and not a whole lot of book discussions. The only place that the name of the book club is mentioned is in the title, BTW. Here's the blurb:It started as a book club. It became a way to build a better life together.

Karissa Newcomb is ready for a new start in a new neighborhood, as far away as she can get from Seattle, where her husband cheated on her with the neighbor who was supposed to be her best friend. She and her nine-year-old daughter are moving on to the city of Gig Harbor on the bay in Puget Sound. She even has a new job as an assistant at a small publishing company right in Gig Harbor. Her new boss seems like a bit of a curmudgeon, but a job is a job, she loves to read, and the idea of possibly meeting writers sounds fabulous.

Soon she finds she’s not the only one in need of a refresh. Her new neighbors, Alice and Margot, are dealing with their own crises. Alice is still grieving her late husband and hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car since a close call after his death. Margot is floundering after getting divorced and laid off in quick succession. They could all use a distraction, and a book club seems like just the ticket. Together, the three women, along with Alice’s grumpy older sister, Josie, embark on a literary journey that just might be the kick start they need to begin building their best lives yet.

 

Inevitably, everyone's problems are solved, because they meet up and become friends with one another, and give each other courage to try to move out of their comfort zones, by the end of the novel. Of course the female protagonist falls for her new boss at the publishing company, because he's not only rich, he's gorgeous, and though she's shy and demure and allergic to cosmetics (really? Could the author have tried any harder to make her "unassuming" and non-threatening to other women? Sad, that she had to use a tired old trope of, "little caterpillar becomes a butterfly when she gains the attention of a wealthy man"). The other thing that was like nails on a chalkboard-level irritating about this book was the drive-by religious scenes, like when Karrissa talks about her daughter praying at night before bed, and how she "blesses" the nasty twat who claimed to be Karissa's friend and then stabbed her in the back by having an affair with her husband. Karissa feels bad that she doesn't want her daughter mentioning the back-stabber in her prayers, but personally, I felt like that was just a smokescreen to try and wedge some Christian religion into an otherwise pleasant little beach book. Later on there's a scene of Karissa going to church, which was, again, disingenuous. I feel strongly that the editor should have taken these scenes completely out of the book, as they were jarring to an otherwise smooth plot. I'd give this cheesy rom com a C+, and only recommend it to those who like trope and religion filled novels.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune was the much-anticipated sequel to Klune's bestselling "House on the Cerulean Sea," which was utterly magnificent and delightful. I didn't think that it was possible to love a book more, and then I read through "Beyond the Sea" in one sitting and was utterly captivated and engrossed. Here's the blurb: Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade.

A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.
He’s the headmaster of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they’re at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.Welcome back to Marsyas Island.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it. 

I have nothing negative to say about this book...Klune creates characters so rich and full bodied that you find yourself hoping to run into them on vacation or in the grocery store. I loved Arthur and Linus and their continued love story, of course, but the growth and change and love that the children had for each other and for their caretakers was just heart-breakingly beautiful. The story itself was written in evocative prose with a glorious plot that danced along on fairy feet. Reading this book was like listening to the music of the spheres, or seeing a painting by a master artist, or eating a meal that is unrivaled in a variety of flavors and textures and colors that make you wish you could continue to eat such ambrosia forever. Of course this book deserves an A+, and I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone. One more thing...if you've ever finished a book and loved it so much you want to hug it to your heart, that would be this sweet novel. Having read everything he's published, I can only hope that TJ Klune continues to write books like this, which make the world a better place by having such a wonderful story & characters in it. Mr Klune, wherever you are, you have my profound thanks for being the anti-JK Rowling. 

 

Wisteria by Adalyn Grace is the third and final book in the Belladonna series of YA romantic fantasy, also known as romantasy, which are all three encased in such beautiful cover art that the books nearly sell themselves on sight. Here's the blurb: Bestselling author Adalyn Grace delivers a sensational conclusion to the deathly and decadent Belladonna trilogy, with dramatic twists and a seductive new romance that will set readers' hearts ablaze.

Blythe Hawthorne has never let anyone tell her what to do—not society, not her overprotective father, and certainly not the man she’s bound herself to, no matter how rude and insufferable he is. In fact, she’s determined to be a thorn in his side for the rest of her days, even as he ensures that her life in his palace is anything but a fairytale. But as Blythe discovers a new side of herself linked to his past, she’ll have to decide if she’s willing to let an unexpected spark ignite…and to discover the truth about who she really is.

 

The world building that Grace uses is always enchanting, and her characters are top notch fantasy beings, with plenty of heart and emotional growth to get through before the end of the novel. I also enjoy the prose, which sparkles with banter and wit, and the staunch and determined plot, which marches along no matter what happens with the traumatic relationships and reveals. What surprised me most about this book was that Chaos didn't get in trouble for her misdeeds, but instead just disappeared and, one imagines, will reappear at the worst possible time to wreak havoc on whatever time or situation she lands in. Her malevolent behavior was accepted by the other characters as "just the way she is" and, because like Death and Fate and Life she never actually dies, I gather they all felt it was just a relief to not have to deal with her or try to kill her for a short time. There was a nice twist at the end that I won't spoil for you, but I will say that it spiced things up a bit in this B+ book. I'd recommend it to any YA who enjoys myths and legendary characters brought to life in a somewhat contemporary fashion.

 

Stacy Abrams Fights Book Bans, Robert Gray on Book Blogs, Who Pays For the Arts?, Brandon Sanderson Building a Bookstore, The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson, Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective and is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel, and Fyrebirds by Kate J Armstrong

BOO! Welcome to October, my fellow readers! Though I know that many of you read and recommend horror novels during "spooky season" I'm not a fan of being scared or of blood and gore, so I will just continue to recommend (or not, if it's not a good book) books that I've read and enjoyed that are most definitely outside of the horror genre. Meanwhile, here's some interesting tidbits.

 

I love this! Stacy Abrams, in addition to being a kick ass politician and a guest star on Star Trek Discovery, is fighting the fascist book bans that are creeping through our country in direct conflict with our constitution.

 

Avengers Assemble

Stacey Abrams is a lawyer, a politician, a voting rights activist, an author, and now, she’s also a podcast host. Her new show Assembly Required is all about “connecting the people and pieces in order to make our union a little more perfect.” On the latest episode, Abrams speaks with her mom (a former librarian!) and national treasure LeVar Burton about fighting book bans and defending the freedom to read . If you need a shot in the arm from some legit American heroes, this’ll do the trick.

I also started a book blog (this one) in the early aughts (2005) and while I realize that blogs have become, shall we say, passe, I still find this book review blog a good outlet for my writing itch. Robert Gray doesn't share this opinion, but I always find his musings funny and insightful.

 

Robert Gray: Revisiting a Book Blog--What Was I Thinking? 

Earlier this month, a somewhat notable date passed by without fanfare:

September 12 marked the 20th anniversary of my first post on a new blog

called Fresh Eyes: A Bookseller's Journal.

Back then, I'd hoped to explore the book business from the perspective

of a frontline bookseller. That initial post would eventually (June 2006 to be precise) grow up to become this weekly Shelf Awareness column, though I

sure as hell didn't know that when I started.

In olden times, there weren't as many blogs around, especially in the

book world. I had been a bookseller at that point for 12 years, and was

fascinated by what a business consultant/customer called "the last three

feet," that mysterious point of contact when a product or service

transfers from a business to its customer. Frontline booksellers were

one of those points of contact. I just wanted to write about them, about

us. Here's what I said initially:

"It would be tempting to begin a journal like this on a day that might

serve as an official portal into the bookselling world--the first day of

the year, for example, with the journal reaching its climactic finish

during the mad holiday season. But bookselling isn't a dramatic

profession. Often people who envy booksellers do so because they imagine

some idyllic little bookshop myth, where the bookseller reads peacefully

at a counter, his well-fed cat sleeping near his elbow, and when the

little bell over the door rings, announcing a customer's arrival, he

looks up casually from his book and welcomes the newcomer to

biblioparadise.

" 'Nothing's worth noting that is not seen with fresh eyes,' Bashō

observed..... His writing blends the random observations, poetry, and

sharp imagery he captured on his travels through Japan with the twin

lenses of his heart and mind. He collected experiences and strung them

together like prayer beads. Fresh eyes. Let's begin the trip."

In the early blog posts, I wrote about topics like Decoding Customer

Requests ("a daily task, a Holmesian moment in which clues are presented

and deductions made, elementary and otherwise"), Discovering Books

("every reader 'discovers' books, but a bookseller gets to do this

before the publication date, thanks to the never-cresting wave of

Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) that flood our buyers' offices on a daily

basis"), and For Writers: The Fine Art of Choosing a Bookseller ("That

point of contact, of course, is in the casual yet pointed conversations

between booksellers and readers on the sales floor. These foot soldiers

are often overlooked when writers wonder why their books seem to get

lost in the biblioshuffle.").

Time passed. A couple of years later, as my work at Shelf Awareness

expanded, the Fresh Eyes blog drifted away quietly. During the winter of

2007, I revisited the blog's origin story in one of the final posts,

noting that "its modest mission has altered over that brief time, but

one aspect that hasn't changed is the original wellspring, the journals

and poetry of Bashō. Publishing industry headlines are still rife with

closing indie bookstores and evolving technology that may threaten the

very existence of 'fiber-based' texts. Should we be afraid, like

medieval peasants terrified by the prospect of what army or disease

might be coming over the hill to annihilate their village next?

"I'm a reader. I look ahead with faith. I look back with gratitude. This

blog has been, as it was intended to be, a travel journal of one

bookseller's trip. I'm not a fan of itineraries, however, so even though

there has been an unavoidable chronology here (today's entry is posted

today, etc.), the illusion of time moving forward breaks down regularly.

Memory often plays a role, and memory is a sieve. I've been looking for

signs of what books mean and why we value them, not just timelines of

progress and destruction."

Bashō wrote, "A lifetime adrift in a boat or in old age leading a tired

horse into the years, every day is a journey, and the journey itself is

home." And so, happy 20th blog birthday to the late Fresh Eyes: a

Bookseller's Journal. I began with just one question--What am I

thinking?--to which there have been, and continue to be, an

ever-changing series of momentary answers.--Robert Gray

This is an ongoing conundrum, and one that has been building, especially in the past 5-10 years, when funding for the arts has been cut to the bone. Then the pandemic closed down a lot of art venues, and their budgets took a huge hit. The arts are an important part of humanity, and they should be supported by everyone, including the government.

 

Who Pays for the Arts?

The money, for art as for anything, has to come from somewhere. This piece in Esquire looks at a recent decline in private giving for arts organizations and how they are trying to figure out what’s next . Iceland is held up as a model in governmental support (one of the more striking facts in the world of books and reading that I have ever read crops up again here: 1 in 10 Icelanders will publish a book in their lifetime), but like private giving, government support is subject to changes of heart, fashion, or politics. Could crowd-funding and subscriptions offer a way forward? These are essentially recurring micro-philanthropy payments, which diversifies the risk of a big donor walking away. For profit companies, including this one, have already seen the ballast that direct cash from audiences can provide. The question becomes will your listeners or readers or attendees sign up to support you, outside of buying the books themselves as they come out, forever?

I just finished the second book in Brandon Sanderson's wildly popular "Mistborn" series, as my son has read 3 of his series via audiobooks, and LOVES them. He gets together with his former boss and has book group nights, in fact, during which all they discuss is Sanderson's works. So he will be thrilled that "Brando Sando" as they've nicknamed him, will be opening his own bookstore, though it is far away in Utah, the land of the Mormon religion. While my son is an atheist, he still loves Brando's works, and would really love to visit his bookstore, when it opens.

 

Author Brandon Sanderson Unveils Plan to 'Build a Bookstore'

Bestselling author Brandon Sanderson's Dragonsteel Entertainment has

purchased land next to the former Evermore Park in Pleasant Grove, Utah,

with plans to eventually open a bookstore there. The Salt Lake City

Tribune reported that Sanderson announced his plan Saturday during a FanX

appearance at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

"We're going to theoretically build a bookstore," he said on Saturday.

The area will be called Dragonsteel Plaza. Sanderson also revealed that

Dragonsteel's headquarters is now located in a warehouse in Pleasant

Grove, which fans cannot visit, but he did show a few photos of the

property at the panel.

Dragonsteel had a pop-up store on the vendor floor all three days of the

convention. Sanderson's wide-ranging panel featured slides that shared

his art process for books, upcoming book bundles fans can buy, plans for

Dragonsteel Plaza, a q&a session, and a reading from the fifth

Stormlight book, Wind and Truth.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson is the second book in the Mistborn series, which is a fantasy dystopia series that my son Nick all but forced me to read, as he has read most of Sanderson's series (via audiobooks) and loves them dearly. I plowed through the "desperately in need of an editor" Mistborn, though it took me nearly two weeks, and while I wasn't as enthralled as my son, I could see why he liked the book, because the characters were quirky and funny and there was plenty of swordplay and gory battles with swords and magic...just what the doctor ordered for someone in their 20s. For someone in their early 60s, though, who has read much more widely than my son, Mistborn read like a latter day LOTR without the fine prose and the rigorous plot. Here's the blurb: The Mistborn Series has the thrills of a heist story, the twistiness of political intrigue, and the epic scale of a landmark fantasy saga.

The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler -- the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years -- has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead too, and now the awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to the idealistic young nobleman she loves.

As Kelsier's protégé and slayer of the Lord Ruler she is now venerated by a budding new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more worrying, the mists have begun behaving strangely since the Lord Ruler died, and seem to harbor a strange vaporous entity that haunts her.

Stopping assassins may keep Vin's Mistborn skills sharp, but it's the least of her problems. Luthadel, the largest city of the former empire, doesn't run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who lead the revolution, must learn a whole new set of practical and political skills to help. It certainly won't get easier with three armies – one of them composed of ferocious giants – now vying to conquer the city, and no sign of the Lord Ruler's hidden cache of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.

As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.
The first 200 pages of this book are truly boring, with a lot of reflecting back on what happened in the first book, a lot of teenage girl angst from Vin (whom I must say I didn't like in Mistborn, and I liked her even less in the WOA), and a great deal of descriptive info dumping that will make your eyes glaze over, unless you are one of those people who really gets into miniscule details that have no bearing on the story at large and slow the plot to a crawl. If you make it past page 350, things start to heat up, and it doesn't slow down again until the last 175 pages of the novel. The ending was unsurprising, and the love affair between Elend the wussy king and Vin the nasty teenage assassin (and realistically, I believe most girls between the ages of 13-18 would make excellent, remorseless assassins...most of the ones I met were vicious, heartless creatures, and I was one of them for a time),finally gets to the point where they must admit that they need each other as lovers/partners. The "big surprise" reveal that Oreseur is dead and was taken over by TenSoon early on wasn't worth the hype, and ended up being more sad than satisfying. Because I love my son, I will read the final book in the trilogy, The Hero of Ages, but I plan on doing so only when I'm out of other, better books to enjoy that aren't over 350 pages long. I'd give this book a C, and only recommend it to those who enjoy epic fantasy that is unedited and full of phat prose/paragraphs.

 

Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective and Charlotte Illes is Not a Teacher by Katie Siegel are humorous, cozy YA mysteries starring a young woman, Charlotte or Lottie, as she was called as a child, who is dragged back into solving mysteries by her cadre of over-eager and often irritating friends and family, who seem willing to run her life since she can't seem to find herself. Here's the blurb: 

For everyone who grew up wanting to be Harriet the Spy or Nancy Drew, this witty and charming series from a TikTok sensation offers a modern, millennial-friendly spin on cozy mysteries, featuring an irresistible heroine and one-time child detective who’s now a directionless twenty-something—until another mystery comes calling.

The downside about being a famous child detective is that sooner or later, you have to grow up.
 
As a kid, Charlotte Illes’ uncanny sleuthing abilities made her a minor celebrity. But in high school, she hung up her detective’s hat and stashed away the signature blue landline in her “office”—aka garage—convinced that finding her adult purpose would be as easy as tracking down missing pudding cups or locating stolen diamonds.
 
Now 25, Charlotte has a nagging fear that she hit her peak in middle school. She’s living with her mom, scrolling through job listings, and her love life consists mostly of first dates. When it comes to knowing what to do next, Charlotte hasn’t got a clue.
 
And then, her old blue phone rings . . .
 
Reluctantly, Charlotte is pulled back into the mystery-solving world she knew—just one more time. But that world is a whole lot more complicated for an adult. As a kid, she was able to crack the case and still get her homework done on time. Now she’s dealing with dead bodies, missing persons, and villains who actually see her as a viable threat. And the detective skills she was once so eager to never use again are the only things that can stop a killer ready to make sure her next retirement is permanent.

The déjà vu is strong for 25-year-old former kid detective Charlotte Illes when she lands back in Frencham Middle School – this time as a substitute teacher with a sideline in sleuthing – in the second zany mystery.

Mention “returning to the scene of a crime,” and people don’t usually picture a middle school. But that’s where kid detective Lottie Illes enjoyed some of her greatest successes, solving mysteries and winning acclaim—before the world of adult responsibilities came crashing in.

Twenty-something Charlotte is now back in the classroom, this time as a substitute teacher. However, as much as she’s tried to escape the shadow of her younger self, others haven’t forgotten about Lottie. In fact, a fellow teacher is hoping for help discovering the culprit behind anonymous threats being sent to her and her aunt, who’s running for reelection to the Board of Education. 

At first, Charlotte assumes the messages are a harmless prank. But maybe it’s a good thing she left a detective kit hidden in the band room storage closet all those years ago—just in case. Because the threats are escalating, and it’s clear that untangling mysteries isn’t child’s play anymore. 

There's a lot of frustration in these two books as Charlotte, time and again, caves into the mysteries brought to her by her annoying friends and family, whom apparently she's unable to say NO to, or even to set boundaries with, when it comes to her life and career. Not only was Charlotte reluctant and often confused, but she only seemed able to put the clues/pieces of the mystery together in the last 10-20 pages of the novel, while the rest of the time she's flailing around lamenting the fact that she was in her prime problem-solving years as a child, and that while she wants to find a different purpose to her life, she can't seem to be a functioning adult because she's still stuck, in her mind, as a brilliant, immature child. Her child self was fearless, in other words, while her adult self is plagued by doubts...none of which are resolved during the course of these two books. While they're amusing to read, they're also irritatingly stupid, and I'd have to give them both a B-, and recommend them only to those looking for a "beach read" that doesn't require too much brain power or attention.

 

Fyrebirds by Kate J. Armstrong is a YA fantasy with a bit of romance and a dark mileau, and it's also the sequel to the well received Nightbirds. Here's the blurb: 

With tensions rising and their powers no longer a secret, the Nightbirds must decide for whom and for what they are willing to fight for and how far they will go in the spellbinding sequel to the international bestseller Nightbirds.

The Nightbirds were once their city’s best-kept secret, but now the secret’s out. What’s more, they can do feats of magic no one has seen in centuries. They’re like the Fyrebirds of old: the powerful women who once moved mountains, parted seas, and led armies. Some say that when four join together, they become a force that shakes the earth and sends magic rippling through it. It does seem as if something has awoken in Eudea, but the four girls responsible don’t want the world to know the full extent of what they can do—at least not yet.

As the new leader of Eudea works to lift the prohibition on magic, the churchmen who do not support it—and the gang lords who profit from it—whisper rebellion. The secret resistance who once sheltered the Nightbirds is rallying, too. Smelling blood in the water, an ambitious Farlands king threatens to take Eudea. As war looms, and the empire’s fate hangs from a knife’s edge, the Nightbirds have to decide if becoming more than that are—Fyrebirds—to protect Simta is worth losing themselves entirely and the lives and loves they might have had.

 

Though I enjoyed Nightbirds, I wasn't expecting this sophomore effort to live up to the original, and was therefore surprised when I found the feminist coloring of the plot to be riveting reading. The drug that the men of the kingdom plan on using to take away young women's free will and keep them as magical slaves, called "sugar" sounded a lot like cocaine or "roofies" of the 80s that were often slipped into women's drinks and used to keep them compliant while they were raped and abused. That Matilde, Sayre and the others all are fighting the patriarchy and men who would enslave women was heartening and made the firey plot combust with action. Sadly, some women don't make it, so there are parts of the story that add realism to the plot. The prose is vigorous and the plot swift and full of action that leads to a HFN ending, making me think that another book in this series must be on the way. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes YA magic stories with young women who know how to fight back.