Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

Rating: Cleaner

Audience:  Though it was shelved in the JF section of the library, I would say eighth grade and up. Lady Jane's husband (not present in the book) is physically abusive and she is pregnant with another man's child.  I also just think that a lot of the wit would be lost on younger children.

Premise: After Sleeping Beauty woke up and got married and lived happily ever after, her castle and kingdom sort of just went to rot.  Her three ladies in waiting still live in the castle as old women and invite anyone who is looking for a refuge from the world to come live there as well.

Plot: The book is made up of a bunch of anecdotes (I believe each story was originally published separately in comic book form) from the different characters that live in the castle.  There is a pregnant noblewoman on the run, a bird-faced castle steward, a handsome talking horse, and my favorite: a bearded nun with a host of great stories from her circus days.

What makes it great?

Medieval fantasy setting, wit and humor on every page, and great illustrations.  I recommend this collection to anyone who 1. likes graphic novels 2. wants to like graphic novels 3. enjoys humorous fairy tale adaptations 4. LOVES THE STRANGE AND BIZARRE.

There is also a second volume (Castle Waiting Vol. 2) which is also very entertaining, though I prefer the first volume.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Book #3 of the Heroes of Olympus series
Read #1 The Lost Hero
and #2 The Son of Neptune

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Fourth grade and up. As always, it depends on the child.  There is a good dose of violence, and the complexity of the myths can be hard to follow.

Plot: Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, Jason, Hazel, and Frank leave Camp Jupiter in a hurry after a happy reunion, an awkward banquet, and the accidental start of a civil war between the Greeks and Romans. (Only Rick Riordan can stick all of that in the first few chapters!) Their flying ship is damaged, and they know they have to figure out the rest of the prophecy before the two camps destroy each other.  The plot is super complex and I don't want to accidentally give any spoilers so I'm going to leave it at that for now...

Favorite parts:

1. Any moment between Annabeth and Percy, but especially their hilarious reunion scene

2. The chapter where they visit my home turf at the Great Salt Lake.

Warning: This book has a killer cliff-hanger ending, so be prepared to go out and buy book four as soon as you finish book three.  I'm so excited!!!

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Rating: Cleaner

Audience: Eighth grade and up. Some of the earliest versions of Little Red Riding Hood focused on the sensual, carnal nature of the Wolf and the danger of traveling alone with strange men, so it's no surprise that the romance in "Scarlet" is a bit more passionate than in "Cinder."  This book is also a bit more violent. However, there is no sex or nudity, so I still give it a double thumbs up!

Plot: Book two in Marissa Meyer's "Lunar Chronicles" is just as exciting as the first! The Story centers on Scarlet Benoit (a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood), who is on a quest to find her abducted grandmother with a mysterious street-fighter called "Wolf."  Scarlet's story is it is intertwined with Cinder's where we left her last: breaking out of prison and starting a life on the run. Eventually, our two heroines meet in the middle of the war they have unknowingly been a part of, and they have to work together to survive.

What makes it great?

Scarlet is fiery, brave, opinionated, and just as admirable a heroine as Cinder. I really like Wolf too.  If you want a better understanding of Wolf's character/history, go read The Queen's Army, after you read Scarlet.  It is only a few chapters long and the e-book is free on Amazon. "Little Red Riding Hood" has never been one of my favorite stories, but I really liked the way Meyer worked the fairy tale allusions into the story.

My favorite part of this book, however, is that several of the chapters are told from Kai's perspective as he is trying to find Cinder.  I liked Kai in the first book, of course, but he really won me over in this one.

I am getting really excited for the third book, Cress,to be released this coming February and for book four, Winter, to come out in 2015.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Rating: Cleaner/Cleanest

Audience: Seventh/eighth grade and up.  Younger readers could definitely enjoy this book, but the target age is more middle school.  Cinder's romance with the prince is very clean and I don't remember seeing any sexual innuendos. (Book 2, Scarlet, is a little more mature.) Like all dystopian novels, there are some alarming societal problems: plague, violent discrimination, etc. Just something to be aware of.

Audio book recommendation: Maybe. I stopped listening to the audio book after thirty seconds because I didn't like the readers voice.  However, when I was living in China and didn't have any English reading materials, I went back to listening to it on my iPod.  I got so sucked into the story that I didn't care about the narrators voice anymore and even came to like it, but I still would recommend reading instead of listening to this one.

The Plot: As you can probably tell from the cover and title, it's a fairy tale adaptation (my favorite), but it's set in the future after World War IV in the city of New Beijing.  The heroine, Cinder, is a cyborg.  Her metal hand and leg automatically make her a lesser citizen, but she holds her own by being sassy, sarcastic, and the best mechanic in the city.  The world is experiencing a horrible plague, to which the emperor himself falls ill, and the emperor's son, Prince Kai, is trying desperately to save his people while avoiding a diplomatic marriage with the manipulative Lunar Queen.  In the middle of it all is a teenage cyborg mechanic who is more important to the fate of the world than she could have ever guessed.

What makes it great?

This book is just fresh! We get a lot of dystopian America books, but dystopian China is new. The characters are great as well. Cinder is tough and spunky.  Kai is loveable. Iko, Cinder's android best friend, is adorable . . .

This is a great book for taking on vacation, reading at home or on the go--the plot is full of interesting twists but isn't so deep that you have to strain your brain to understand.  It is just a fun, exciting read and I think it will be a great series.