YA - Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

What to say about this book - I really wanted to like it, I really, really did.  I thought for sure it would quench my thirst for some fun fantasy horror.  Boy, was I disappointed.  Clementine has been magically trapped the basement of her burnt out home for years, caught somewhere between this world and the next.  When a couple of boys from town stumble upon her, one - Fisher, is able to hear her and saves her.  From there she reintegrates herself into her family and the community.  She figures out the history of her town, her craft, and the reasons she was locked away.  She poses some questions, get some answers.  The book was so awful that I'm having trouble articulating how bad it actually was.  Trust me - if you're looking for some YA fun - keep looking.

YA - Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

  I was so in love with this book that I asked a co-worker to read it just so I could confirm that I wasn't overreacting.  She agreed.  Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson is FABULOUS!  There's murder, romance, political intrigue, rich imagery - it has it all.
  When we meet Princess Lia, the First Daughter of the House of Morrighan, she is horrified that she is to be married to a man she's never met.  She is a peace offering, a pawn in a political alliance, secured by her own father.  Lia can't do it, and so, she flees with her closest confidant - her handmaiden.  
  As Lia settles into life in a sleepy, yet beautiful fishing village, she is intrigued when two beautiful men walk into the tavern in which she is working.  What she doesn't know - one is the prince she left at the altar, the other is an assassin who has orders to kill her.
  Kiss of Deception is the first book in a trilogy that promises to be one hell of a ride.  And, may I say, whichever movie studio is bidding on the rights to this book has a huge hit on their hands.  I can't wait for the next installment which, unfortunately, isn't set to be published until sometime in 2015.  My advice: read this book before everyone else catches on!

YA - The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

  Can I just say that I really, really enjoyed this book?  Finally, an author creates a work for young adults that assumes they're literate, capable and open to learning.  The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy follows a group of friends (Luke, Ethan, Elizabeth and Jackson), their pet gerbil Baconnaise, and the evil force that is changing the face of their school - kTV.  kTV has created a reality program centered on a few students from Selwyn Academy called "For Art's Sake".  The program has corrupted everything that Ethan and his friends hold dear.  No longer are hallway conversations debating the merits of Monet vs. Manet, people are more interested in who Maura Heldsman made out with last week.  When one of their own crosses to the dark side, the rest of the group will stop at nothing to rid their school of kTV.
  Seriously, this book was great.  Like I said earlier, it's refreshing to see a YA author use an extended vocabulary (I had to grab a dictionary more than once).  It's also refreshing to read a book about kids that care about school, their families, and each other.  Really - you need to read this book.  It's my favorite of the year (so far).

NON FICT - Sex With Kings : 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge by Eleanor Herman

  Sex with Kings is educational gossip at its finest.  It covers scandalous relationships from the past through the semi-present (the book was published in 2004, so the Charles and Camilla info is a little dated).  Herman uses what little recorded information she can get her hands on, mostly personal correspondence, to paint an extremely entertaining portrait of what royal sex lives were like over the last 500 years.  What I've learned from this book is that mistresses were an extremely powerful force at their zenith.  After that they were usually exiled, sent to covenants, beheaded, publicly derided, and subjected to the merciless gossip of those once fawning courtiers.  Some, of course, laughed all the way to the bank - raking in millions upon millions in titles, estates, and pensions.  Some, on the other hand, as I previously stated, were not so fortunate.
  If your desire is to write a research paper about the sexuality of the past royals, this probably isn't the book for you.  The content is somewhat disorganized, jumping back and forth between kings, their mistresses, and time periods.  If you're looking for an entertaining and sometimes hilarious read - this will do the job.  I found the stories to be really interesting, especially the focus on the mistresses' fall from grace.  Not to mention the money! Oh, the money!  Oh yeah - how could I forget the queen?  The poor queen.  Being queen stinks (apparently).  Give this book a read if you need to relax and enjoy.

YA - Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

  Creed centers on the total misfortune of Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and Luke's brother Mike.  Dee has planned a surprise getaway for Luke's birthday, but everything goes astray the minute their car breaks down.  In freezing cold, all three walk towards the closest town, but once there realize that the town seems to be deserted.  There's no one at the gas station, no one on the streets, and no one in the houses.  They decide to take refuge in one of the homes and what they find sets the tone for the rest of the book.
  Creed was a good book.  It's one that I'd recommend to a teen looking for a thriller/horror novel.  The plot is unusual and the pace moves quickly.  I will say YA is entering this trend where there is no "consumer satisfaction".  Part of the twist is that not everyone gets what they deserve, some things fall through the cracks, and good doesn't always trump evil.  Personally - I'm over it.  There is no shock value in it anymore.  The shine has worn off and now it's exactly what I'm expecting. 
  I was provided with an advanced reader copy of Creed via NetGalley.  Creed will be released on 11/8/2014.  Look for at the Lewes Public Library.

Bio - WILD: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

WILD: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dustbowl   by Timothy Egan

  I read these books simultaneously and found an extreme juxtaposition of individual angst vs  tragedy of epic proportion. In both instances, people started out for a new life with as much baggage as they could carry. One was a voluntary personal journey of self-fulfillment, the other a necessary migration for survival.  
 
  Wild is the story of a woman who had a bad home life while young, then in her early 20's, lost her mother to cancer.  Failing to keep her family and marriage together, she embarks on a whirlwind of casual sex and drug use, ultimately deciding to hike the daunting Pacific Crest Trail solo as a purging experience. With no hiking experience, she buys gear and books from REI and starts out on her trek. Cheryl makes irresponsible life choices, taps into the luck gene, and survives relatively unscathed. This book has been viewed alternately as:  1. a self-indulgent me-fest;   2. a poignant homage to her mother;  or 3. a serious coming-of-age journey. What it assuredly is NOT - - is a guide to hiking the PCT. 

  The Worst Hard Time is a history of people who weathered the Great American Dustbowl of the 1930s. Taken from diaries, oral history, and interviews with survivors, it's a gripping story of optimistic, hardy westward-bound homesteaders.  The "Sod-Busters" or "Nesters" came to the Prairie lured by free land and a promise of better life life. It's also the story of speculators, lawmen, and desperados who killed then displaced entire nations of Indians while slaughtering millions of bison; both of whom had roamed the land in harmony for centuries. The magnitude of inexperience, hopefulness, stupidity, greed, and bad weather made for a perfect storm of desperation, poverty, and death. The lessons in responsible land stewardship were learned the hard way. 

Fict - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

We are introduced to A. J. Fikry, owner of the Island Book Store, as he meets with a publisher’s sales rep. He is extremely cranky and proceeds to tell her what kinds of books he does not like. “I do not like postmodernism, post apocalyptic settings, postmortem narrators, or magical realism…I rarely stock debuts, chick lit, poetry or translations…”  The list goes on but you get the idea.  Amy, the poor sales rep, does not have anything to sell him.  

What has made A. J. so unpleasant and unhappy? He has had a terrible tragedy in his life and is not coping well. Soon somebody leaves something in his store that will change his life and outlook forever.

I really liked this book. It has great characters, some romance, and a mystery that takes years to solve.  I also appreciated that it was less than 300 pages and not part of a trilogy or series. It also had some engaging book reviews by A. J.