The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin and read by Lynn Redgrave

Summary from Goodreads:

Annabelle Doll is 8 years old--and has been for over 100 years. Nothing much has changed in the dollhouse during that time, except for the fact that 45 years ago, Annabelle's Auntie Sarah disappeared from the dollhouse without a trace. After all this time, restless Annabelle is becoming more and more curious about her aunt's fate. And when she discovers Auntie Sarah's old diary, she becomes positively driven.

Her cautious family tries to discourage her, but Annabelle won't be stopped, even though she risks Permanent Doll State, in which she could turn into a regular, nonliving doll. And when the "Real Pink Plastic" Funcraft family moves in next door, the Doll family's world is turned upside down--in more ways than one! Fans of The Borrowers and Stuart Little will love this exciting story of adventure and mystery. The relationship between the two doll families, one antique, one modern, is hilariously, wonderfully drawn. The Funcrafts are reckless and raucous, with fearlessness born of their unbreakable plastic parts. The Doll family is reserved and somewhat prim, even though they occasionally break into '60s tunes like "Respect" in their sing-alongs. Annabelle is a heroine with integrity and gumption. Ann Martin (The Babysitters Club series) and Laura Godwin create a witty, intriguing tale, illustrated with humor and a clever eye for detail by Brian Selznick.

Review

What a treat! I have read this book once before (many, many years ago). I recommend it at the library all the time and I thought I was due for a re-read. I wanted a light, fast audio book and I got just that. The only sad thing is I missed Brian Selznick’s excellent illustrations. However, I got to listen to one of the best readers I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to. I must find more books read by Lynn Redgrave! Her different voices were amazing. If you told me, five different readers voiced all the characters, I’d believe you. What a talent.

The story is just magical. It’s Toy Story mixed with The Borrowers mixed with something brand new. And I loved it. The idea of dolls coming to life after their people go to sleep for the night, or to school for the day is not new idea. It’s something every kid thinks about. I love that these authors gave truth to this idea. I loved that dolls were given the option of becoming real or not. And Annabelle’s doll family was passed down from generation to generation in her house. I love that the grandmother feels as attached to the dolls as her granddaughter does.

And when the new, plastic doll family moves into the little sister’s house, it was fascinating to heard about the differences. It was like a “new money”/ American family moving next door to the Crawleys’ in Downton Abbey. It was fun to watch. There was a strong emphasis on family and friendship. Annabelle felt lest restless until she found a friend.

I love how brave Annabelle is, despite her china visage. I love that reading her aunt’s diary is the incentive she needs to break away from the comforts of all she knows and to go on an adventure to find her. There’s clear family dynamics and believable arguments between her parents and her uncle. I loved that the dolls have strict time lines to follow. Also, there are so many dangers to factor in that I wouldn’t have thought about. Dangers like a cat, named the Captain, deep stairs being harder to climb up than down, cat beds, and children not being able to fall asleep.

This was a fun, light book. I love recommending it to families who want something light (with no cliques or romantic relationships yet). There’s a sense of adventure and mystery. There’s a big family factor. And there soon becomes a friendship element to the plot also. I give it a 9/10.

Waiting on Wednesday (231)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on Nothing by Annie Barrows (9/5/17):

Descriptoin on Goodreads:

Nothing ever happens to Charlotte and Frankie. Their lives are nothing like the lives of the girls they read about in their YA novels. They don’t have flowing red hair and hot romantic encounters never happen—let alone meeting a true soul mate. They just go to high school and live at home with their parents, who are pretty normal, all things considered. But when Charlotte decides to write down everything that happens during their sophomore year to prove that nothing happens and there is no plot or character development in real life, she’s surprised to find that being fifteen isn’t as boring as she thought. It’s weird, heartbreaking, silly, and complicated. And maybe, just perfect.

Why I’m Waiting:

I’m not going to lie: I think the Ivy and Bean series is pretty fantastic. I am a Youth Services Librarian and this author has helped me with some of my toughest critics: kids. So many kids fall in love with her books. I love the topic of this book. It seems so real and completely possible. I love that the characters read YA novels. And I love that it seems to be a friendship story that also involves writing. It has a kind of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants feel to it, and I’m so ready to read this!

What are you waiting on this week?

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Summary from Goodreads:

Kell is one of the last travelers--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city.

There's Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad King--George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered--and where Kell was raised alongside Rhy Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London--a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Review:

As I said on Goodreads, “Okay, I get it now. This is my third Victoria Schwab book, and I liked the other books I read, fine. This one though, was pure magic. I want more! It's some of the best world-building I've read in years. Just magic.”

I’ve read The Near Witch and This Savage Song. I enjoyed them both, but I didn’t get what people were so obsessed about. I didn’t find either of those two books to be that special. In honesty, I don’t even remember the plot of The Near Witch at all. A Darker Shade of Magic though was special. The world building was above and beyond what I’ve come to expect any more in fantasy novels.

This is a book for people who love fantasy worlds. It’s also for people who love magic and stories of parallel worlds. Basically, it was written for me. I felt like I was traveling between the Londons with Kell. And when Delilah sees things for the first time, I felt like I got to see things all over for the first time too.

Also, the characters are all such Gryffindors! I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to go to White London and face the creepiest brother/sister duo of all time. The loyalty and love shared between Kell and his “brother” was so amazing. And then there’s the loyalty earned between Kell and Delilah. I’m not quite sure I’m shipping them yet, but maybe. I love their friendship though and their mutual respect for each other. This was more a book of friendship than of love. The one thing this book was missing was romance. Though, things were seriously hinted at for books to come.

I have such a fictional crush on Kell. I cried when he lost something to a fire. I felt his pain when he was fighting his possessed friend. And I cared for him deeply. I’m not quite on the same level of empathy with Delilah quite yet. She does have a sort of lack of general morality and enjoys stealing from people (not just to survive). She wants to be a pirate, which is awesome. But, I guess I wanted to know why. Did she hear pirate stories growing up? Did she see a female pirate once and get inspired? Why does she have her dreams? What’s her story?  When did she start dressing in men’s clothes? I’m hoping she gets more developed in book 2. And oh my goodness, I want book 2. And I want to read her story.

All in all, this was an incredible fantasy. I get why people love this author. I felt like I was sliding between doors and entering new worlds. I’ll have to get my hands on the rest of this series (like yesterday). I loved Kell, like I haven’t loved a character in some time. I wanted to know a little more of Delilah’s story, and I want a little more romance. Though, I have a strong feeling this is all coming later in the series. I give it a 9/10.

A Good Week in Books (159)

I had a nice, little book week. I finished one masterful fantasy novel. I also finished an adorable middle grade audio book that I loved. I received one book for review from Macmillan and one ARC from Penguin Teen (First in Line). I’ve also already started reading that ARC. So far, so awesome.

I also just bought my plane ticket for Chicago, and booked my registration for ALA Annual in Chicago this June. I’m so excited to attend this conference. I haven’t attended this one since I was in library school. I’m skipping BEA this year (one giant book conference at a time for me). I have so many books in my future!

This week’s books:

The Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdeih (ARC)
Sunkissed by Jenny McLachlan

How was your week in books?

Waiting on Wednesday (230)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that allows bloggers to share which books we are most anticipating.

This week I am waiting on The Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston (10/3/17):

Description on Goodreads:

Set in a near-future world where the British Empire never fell and the United States never rose, That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a novel of love, duty, and the small moments that can change people and the world.

Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendent of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she'll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire's greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.

Why I’m Waiting:

First off, what a gorgeous cover! Second, this story sounds super amazing. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like it. Also, it has so many things I tend to love in stories: princesses, Victoria I, friendship, pirates, balls, politically charged tea parties, and romance. I can’t wait to read this one.

What are you waiting on this week?

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Summary from Goodreads:

Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

Review:

I received this ARC for review from Penguin Teen (First in Line). The book comes out in May, and I’m so proud of myself for actually reading an ARC before it’s pub date. Go me. Also, I was pretty excited to see this one waiting on my doorstep. I love Jennifer E. Smith. True, her books are extraordinarily fluffy and sometimes Disney channel original movie-esque, but I love them. Sometimes I want a formulaic YA contemporary. And basically, she had the formulaic YA contemporary down.

This was the perfect book to take with me on vacation. I wanted something light and fun, and romantic to take with me on my light, fun, and romantic trip to London. It was the perfect book for me at the perfect time. That being said, I don’t think it will be everyone’s right book at the right moment like it was for me.

I can see a lot of people not liking the main character. Sometimes it’s hard to like a character that is so good. She’s not chosen one, Harry Potter good or super hero Spider-Man good. She’s the classic, do-good type personality. She seems to volunteer all of her free time at soup kitchens and other charitable organizations. And because of this she has an almost judgmental personality when it comes to normal people who don’t do that much good.

That being said, I think it’s good to have this character in YA. It’s important for readers to see that volunteering and helping people can be a normal part of life. I can even see Alice inspiring certain types of readers to do more for their communities. It was just a tiny bit hard at times to read about her not liking what her crush was doing with his newly won lottery millions.

I did ship her and her crush. There’s something about an unrequited, almost hopeless crush/first love that I super relate to. I get not being able to help who you fall for. And I loved that the two characters are so different, yet still somehow work enough for me to ship them. I also loved how believable Teddy was. He had a lot of learning and growing to do throughout this novel.

Watching him go from the kid everyone wants to succeed to the kid who “doesn’t deserve it” was hard. His peers handled him winning in a way that was to be expected, but was still harsh. I also loved Leo (the third best friend/cousin). I loved his long distant relationship with his boyfriend and how much importance was put on college decisions. I loved his family. I loved Alice learning to think of them as her family too. I found her grief relatable and redeeming.

All in all, this was a light book. It was just the right amount of fun (with a rags to riches element). I loved the characters, though Alice at times was a little much. I loved the location (Chicago). And basically it was the right book at the right moment for me. I give it a 9/10.

A Good Week in Books (158) - A Good Week in London

So, I was MIA last week…I was on vacation in London! Because I’m a giant Potter nerd, and because I can, I thought I’d share some of my book-tastic vacation with you. If you’d like to see more photos, please leave me a comment (and maybe we can connect via Facebook –there are hundreds of photos on my personal Facebook page).

I sealed the deal for this vacation almost two and a half years ago. Basically, I purchased tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2015…I missed the first round of tickets, but got tickets in the second round (this was before any news of the play even coming out in book format). I figured I had 2+ years to save up for a London trip. I’d been to London before (9 years ago) with a theater class. I saw 25 or so plays on that trip, but I didn’t get as much time to play tourist/aka: do the literary/HP things I wanted. This trip was all about playing tourist and doing literary/HP things. I traveled with my boyfriend, who is also a librarian, and we geeked out completely.

We went to the Tower of London, the London Eye, The Warner Brothers Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter, The British Museum, several British bookstores (of course) including Forbidden Planet and Foyles, The West End (including the Palace Theater –where the play happened), the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the British Library, King’s Cross Station, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Harrod’s. Basically, we went to everything on my super organized itinerary. Go us! Touring the Harry Potter Studios was my favorite thing. It was so incredible, I feel like I’m still in a Harry Potter daze. I would go back to London in a heartbeat just to experience that again. Also, the play was probably the best play I’ve ever seen. Some pictures:

Now, I’m exhausted and jet-lagged. But, it was so, so worth it. I didn’t do much reading on this trip. I did read one book (mostly at airports). And I came home with several books (some of which are signed). I also received one for review while I was away (Thank you, Macmillan).

The books:

Meg and Linus by Hanna Nowinski
Rebel of the Sands (signed) by Alwyn Hamilton
Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton
The Lies of Locke Lamora (signed) by Scott Lynch
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (wanted a British copy) by J.K. Rowling
The Up Side of Un Requitted by Becky Albertalli
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (the British copy is so pretty and blue!)

Some souvenirs:

How was your week in books?