Goose Girl - Shannon Hale

Rating:
Pages
Challenges: Once Upon a Time II tl;dr


Synopsis
Ani is a princess who is on her way to an arranged marriage with a Prince she has not met. Along the way her lady-in-waiting who posesses the power to manipulate convices Ani's soldiers to betray her and announce Sari as the princess. Ani survives by her wits and her "friends" animals and the wind who she can speak to. This is the story of what happens to Ani and how the incident changes her life.

Review
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters especially Ani and I loved seeing her grow in adversity. The book kept me guessing about what would come next which was great! This was my first Shannon Hale book and I will read more. I am glad that she has 2 other books with some of the characters from this one Enna Burning and River Secrets.

First Among Sequels (Thursday Next) - Jasper Fforde

Rating: Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 363
Challenges: Once Upon a Time II

Synopsis (from BN.com)
Jasper Fforde returns to BookWorld in this New York Times bestselling installment of his Thursday Next series Jasper Fforde has thrilled readers everywhere with his gloriously outlandish novels in the Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series. Now, after a two-year hiatus, the demand for Thursday Next has more than tripled. And with Thursday Next: First Among Sequels, Fforde's famous literary detective is once again ready to make the world safe for fiction. Thursday Next is grappling with a host of problems in BookWorld: a recalcitrant new apprentice, the death of Sherlock Holmes, and the inexplicable departure of comedy from the once-hilarious Thomas Hardy novels, to name just a few—all while captaining the ship Moral Dilemma and facing down her most vicious enemy yet: herself.

Review
I have really enjoyed this series but this was my least favorite book. I was distracted when listening to this book so that may be part of it. Also I thought this book was confusing in parts there are 3 Thursdays so sometimes it was hard to keep track of them.

Something Rotten - Jasper Fforde

Rating: 5 Better than a new Derby Hat and the winning horse (¨¨¨¨¨)

Pages: 385

Challenges: Once Upon A Time II

Synopsis (From BN.com)
Detective Thursday Next has had her fill of her responsibilities as the Bellman in Jurisfiction, enough with Emperor Zhark's pointlessly dramatic entrances, outbreaks of slapstick raging across pulp genres, and hacking her hair off to fill in for Joan of Arc. Packing up her son, Friday, Thursday returns to Swindon accompanied by none other than the dithering Danish prince Hamlet. Caring for both is more than a full- time job and Thursday decides it is definitely time to get her husband Landen back, if only to babysit. Luckily, those responsible for Landen's eradication, The Goliath Corporation- formerly an oppressive multinational conglomerate, now an oppressive multinational religion- have pledged to right the wrong.

But returning to SpecOps isn't a snap. When outlaw fictioneer Yorrick Kaine seeks to get himself elected dictator, he whips up a frenzy of anti-Danish sentiment and demands mass book burnings. The return of Swindon's patron saint bearing divine prophecies could spell the end of the world within five years, possibly faster if the laughably terrible Swindon Mallets don't win the Superhoop, the most important croquet tournament in the land. And if that's not bad enough, The Merry Wives of Windsor is becoming entangled with Hamlet. Can Thursday find a Shakespeare clone to stop this hostile takeover? Can she prevent the world from plunging into war? Can she vanquish Kaine before he realizes his dream of absolute power? And, most important, will she ever find reliable child care?

Review

I love this series. Part of the reason is that it's all about books and I just can't get enough of books! Also there are things I would NEVER think of in these books - for example in this book The Cheshire Cat and Yorrick Kane have a battle, but the battle is fought using literary characters where each person picks a literary character to battle the character the other person conjures. For example, Medusa versus Beowulf! How fun! And the end of this battle is great - it's a battle of inteligence for sure. I like learning how Tuesday's life is going and if she has finally beaten the evil of the world. Plus it is set in 1980...I love the 80's! I listen to these on CD and I have to say they are great...for one they got the same person to read all the novels which makes you feel like Tuesday has a voice that doesn't change and some of the names are hillarious!

The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly

Rating: 2 Drink more Mint Juleps before reading (åå)

Pages: 480

Challenges: Once Upon a Time, tl;dr

Synopsis (From BN.com)
High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populatedby heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.
Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

Review

I can summarize this book by saying it is the Wizard of Oz in a forest with side aventures through off-kilter fairy tales. For example, Snow White calls the dwarfs by number. She has lost her beauty and is very demanding. The dwarfs are praying for a prince to take her off their hands. I thought it was pretty gory and graphic for a young adult book. It did keep my interest though!

Dewey has also finished this book recently and her review is here she really liked the book.

Once Upon A Marigold - Jean Ferris

Rating:3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Challenges: Once Upon a Time, A-Z Challenge (F Author)

Synopsis:

This story is about a Christian who lives with his foster father Ed in a cave. Near his cave you can see the castle where Marigold lives. Christian starts sending her pigeon-mail and they become friends. Christian is Marigold's only friend. He decides he has to meet her and gets a job at a castle. There is one problem though. Marigold's mother is trying to marry her off!

Review

I liked this book and though it was a great young adult book! It was a quick read and has some great lessons in it.

Another day...another challenge

I am still on my challenge crazy quest.... I am joining the Once Upon A Time II hosted by Carl. I am not normally a big fantasy reader, but I LOVED Harry Potter. I saw Stephanie's list at The Written Word and looked that the synopsis at B&N and decided that this sounds like a fun challenge. I think I loved her list because the books were pictured...I have an obsession with buying books. I picked several that were on Stephanie's list. They are mostly Young Adult so hopefully I will get through them fast and they won't affect my other challenges. :) I also want to finish the Thursday Next Series, which I started last year, so this is a great opportunity for that! This challenge lasts until June 20.



I am going to do Quest One: Read five books from any category or combination of category.

1. Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
2. Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
3. Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
4. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
5. Something Rotten: A Thursday Next Novel
6. Thursday Next: First Among Sequels
7. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (I have this on request at the library, but I am #9 so I am not sure it will come in before the challenge is over)

This one might interfere with the Spring Thing Challenge, but I am trying to increase the number of books I am reading so we'll see in June how I did!! :) Several of these are YA so I think I might be OK. Also my real goal with Spring Thing was to read one book a week...I will be happy if I complete this regardless of what the books are!