Girl, Interrupted on Stage with Music, Animal Farm Animated Movie, The Correspondent Wins James Patterson Prize, On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn, Fiends and Festivals by S Usher Evans, The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst, and The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson

Hello Bibliophiles! It's the second week of April already, and I'm nearly to the end of my TBR, which is worrisome. But I'm sure I will be able to get some more books soon, and I've already got my 4 books ready for the next blog post a week or so from now. I wasn't sure that I was going to continue with this blog after the 1,000th post, but thanks to the love and support of my son, I've decided to keep on writing for as long as I'm able. So keep on reading and reviewing on your own blogs or journals, folks. And Happy Spring!

 

This was such a ground-breaking movie, I'm anxious to see what they do with it as a musical play on stage. 

 

On Stage: Girl, Interrupted Play with Music

The cast has been set for the Public Theater's upcoming Off-Broadway world premiere stage adaptation of Girl, Interrupted, adapted from Susanna Kaysen's memoir and set to play at the company's Martinson Hall May 13-June 21, Playbill reported.

Pulitzer-winning playwright Martyna Majok (Cost of Living) is writing the book for the play with music, with Grammy-winning former 'Til Tuesday front-woman Aimee Mann writing the music. Material written for the musical previously comprised Mann's most recent album, Queens of the Summer Hotel. The production will also feature choreography by Sonya Tayeh.

Jo Bonney will direct the cast that includes Juliana Canfield as Susanna and singer-songwriter King Princess making her theater debut as Lisa, alongside Emily Skinner (Dr. Wick), Ta'Rea Campbell (Valerie), Gabi Campo (Tori), Mano Felciano (Man), Mia Pak (Grace), Katherine Reis (Daisy), Sally Shaw (Polly), and Lauren Jeanne Thomas (Judy).

Animated Animal Farm? Sign me up! This should be fascinating, and I can hardly wait for its premier.

Movies: Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail

Angel Studios has released a trailer for Andy Serkis's animated movie Animal Farm: A Cautionary Tail, adapted by Nicholas Stoller from George Orwell's classic novel, Deadline reported, adding that it will be released in theaters on May 1.

The voice cast for the project, which had its world premiere last June at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, includes Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani, and Serkis.

Serkis "has created a fresh take on the book, which Orwell wrote in the mid-1940s as Stalinism had taken firm hold in post-revolution Soviet Union," Deadline noted. "The book told the tale of a group of farm animals who rebel against their owner with a plan to create a utopian, free and happy life for themselves. But one group--the pigs--end up taking over and the society becomes as shackled as it was before."

This has been one of my favorite books of the year, as I'm a sucker for well written epistolary novels, which this is. I'm so glad that Ms Evans won this prize from James Patterson.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans won the inaugural James Patterson and Bookshop.org Prize

The prize, which is "dedicated to celebrating debut authors, hand-selected by independent booksellers." The award honors full-length debut books published in the U.S. within the past 12 months. All nominations and selections were made by booksellers working in qualifying independent bookstores. Evans receives $15,000 as winner, and first runner-up Milo Todd gets $10,000 for The Lilac People.

"I've been a longtime supporter of Indie bookstores–and emerging authors," Patterson said. "Creating this award that recognizes both the booksellers that are getting books into the hands of readers and of course, the books themselves, was a no-brainer to me. I'm excited to see which titles are nominated by those who in my opinion are the real experts!"

Beth Seufer Buss of Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, N.C., praised The Correspondent as a "powerful novel about connection; Sybil's journey through trauma and grief is both poignant and compelling, making this an unforgettable read. From the beginning of her book journey, Virginia Evans has been a champion of independent bookstores, and as her local indie, we've loved watching her journey and connection with readers. The trajectory of The Correspondent from a debut novel to a NYT bestseller (4 months after release) to a #1 NYT bestseller (8 months after release) illustrates the power of readers connecting and sharing books."

 

On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn is a YA (though its not listed as such) romantasy that pulls out all the vampire/dragon/high school/academy for the wealthy tropes and beats them like a drum until you nearly pass out from ennui. Here's the blurb: Welcome to Bloodwing Academy.

Expect magic. Expect competition. Expect blood.

I didn't sign up for this. A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for suffering.

I'm Medra Pendragon, last of the dragon riders—or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn't stopped the vampires from deciding I'm worth capturing. Now I'm stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything, and blightborn like me? We're just blood in their veins, pawns in their games.

But that's not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow: cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He's been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we're betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I'm not going down without a fight.

Bloodwing isn't just a school—it's a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you're weak, you're dead.

Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I'm starting to think the real danger isn't the academy—it's what I'm becoming in this twisted game of power.

And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge.

They think they can control me. They think they can use me. But they have no idea what they've awakened. 

 

Medra starts out, like a lot of her fellow female protagonists, smart and proud and not inclined to accept crap from anyone, but of course once she meets the male protagonist, Blake, who is gorgeous, all that goes out the window and suddenly she's a wimpy spineless girl who will do anything and forgive any horrible transgression, as long as she can sex it up with the wealthy, arrogant asshat Blake. UGH. the so called "twists" were run of the mill, and the plot was standard YA fare, led by pedestrian prose. The book itself is beautifully made, with a deep red illustrated book jacket and raised silver letters with red dragon scaled end papers. Such a pretty novel full of drivel. The ending was unsurprising and mediocre, and the book itself needed a sharp editor to weed out some of the overblown paragraphs. I'd give this lukewarm book a C+ and recommend it to teens who can't get enough of sexy vampire academy stories.

 

Fiends and Festivals by S Usher Evans is a cozy fun fantasy/mystery, and book 2 of the Weary Dragon Inn series. Short and filled with tightly written, evocative paragraphs, this sophomore novel has a swift plot that will keep you turning pages long after bedtime. Here's the blurb: 

The Harvest Festival is the most-anticipated event in the quaint village of Pigsend, and Bev and the Weary Dragon Inn are ready to welcome visitors from near and far. But when strange occurrences begin happening, including the destruction of Bev's beloved herb garden, Bev's got to put her sleuthing hat back on to uncover the truth.

There's no shortage of suspects, from the snooty official judge all the way from the Queen's Capital to a mischievous little dog who might be more than he seems. But if Bev doesn't figure it out soon, then this year's Harvest Festival may be Pigsend's last.

The eagerly awaited sequel to Drinks and Sinkholes, Fiends and Festivals is the second book in the Weary Dragon Inn series, a cozy fantasy adventure from two-time award-winning author S. Usher Evans.

 I found the characters as compelling and interesting as they were in the first book, especially the ever-competent Bev, who works hard to keep everyone in town fed and happy. In this part of the series, she's pushed to show off her best rosemary bread at the local festival, and becomes embroiled in the mystery of how things keep getting broken or spoiled, so one snobby guy in particular can take home as many winning ribbons as he wants. The story highlights how competitive things can get in small towns when it comes to handicrafts and baked goods. My own grandmothers, both farm wives, attended local fairs and festivals and often brought home ribbons for their quilts or pies or garden produce. I know my maternal grandmother kept her ribbons until they were so old they were literally falling apart. Bragging rights were a big deal in small towns back in the day. The prose is straightforward and the plot marches along without missing a beat. I'd give this delightful tale a B+ and recommend it to anyone who enjoys peeking into windows of small village life from back when.

 

The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst is a YA romantasy novel that is beautifully produced, with a pretty colorful cover design and floral colorful edges. Here's the blurb: A teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn—only to discover that the fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret—in this cozy and irresistible new young adult fantasy from the author of The Spellshop.

This stunning first edition of The Faraway Inn features gorgeous designed edges.

When sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s B&B in rural Vermont for the summer, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn rather than the cozy bed-and-breakfast she was expecting. Grumpy and eccentric, Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn . . . even though she clearly needs the help.

To convince her great-aunt to keep her around, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B—and its guests. Something almost . . . otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth before it’s too late. 

 

The magical secret (SPOILER) is that there are portals to other worlds within the closets of each room of the inn, which seams more science fiction-ish than fantasy, but I would guess that the publisher kept pushing it as fantasy because the audience for fantasy is broader than that of science fiction. I was entranced by the magical creatures (Steve!) and I also enjoyed the fact that Calisa doesn't give up, but instead works around her grumpy and mean great aunt to clean up and revitalize the inn and make breakfasts tailor made to suit her otherworldly guests. The prose was sweet and fascinating and the plot sweeps you off your feet. I'd give this delightful book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories of personal and professional growth in odd places.

 

The Library of Amorlin by Kalyn Josephson is a magical creature action/adventure fantasy with some romance woven throughout. Here's the blurb: A brilliant con artist and a secretive librarian collide in author Kalyn Josephson’s enchanting adult fantasy debut packed with twists, tricks, slowburn romantic tension, and magical creatures.

Kasira used to be a masterful con artist: choosing her target, building trust, judging the precise moment to make her move. Now, she’s working off a lengthy prison sentence by hunting dangerous magical creatures on behalf of the fanatical kingdom of Kalthos.

But Kasira’s past catches up to her when the ambassador from Kalthos arrives at her camp with a deal: her freedom in exchange for infiltrating and destabilizing the magical institution meant to protect all six kingdoms—the Library of Amorlin.

When Kasira assumes the role of the new Assistant Librarian, she enters an enchanting world brimming with books and beasts, tempting her with a life she can never have. But Kasira’s real future depends on her long con to bring down the Librarian. Unfortunately, Allaster is as prickly as he is handsome, and his monstrous secrets are about to catch up with them both.

I loved the enlivened library and the power that librarians and the library itself wield in this book, and I found myself wanting to visit this kingdom and it's powerful library and staff. The characters are charming and the plot swift and fascinating. The adventure and mysteries kept me turning pages long into the night, and even though the book was well over 400 pages long, it felt like the story ended way too soon. I wanted more of the wonders of this bibliophile's heaven and its inhabitants. I'd give this beautifully illustrated and designed volume a B+, and recommend it to anyone who is fascinated by fantastical creatures and books that reside in magical libraries.