Far From the Tree

Oh my goodness. Dear readers, please do yourselves a favor and read this fantastic book. It’s the 2017 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature winner, and it deserves that title a thousand-fold. Also, Robin Benway is a super sweet and wonderful person, so you should read more of her books just in general.I met…

Starry Eyes

I got my copy of Starry Eyes through my Uppercase Box subscription, and oh my goodness. The feels. The cute, and the heart-wrenching, and the realness. This is a fabulous book, and you should go pick it up right now. Seriously.If you’re not sold just on the amount of feels I had when I read…

Ink, Iron, and Glass

I’m always a tiny bit hesitant to get invested in a novel whose protagonist is more practical than emotional. It’s absolutely a strange personal bias of mine, made even more odd by the fact that I’m a Ravenclaw, so practical people are my tribe, yo.The Gryffindor secondary is strong with me, however, so of course…

Warcross

When I describe this book to people, Ready Player One usually comes up as a comp title. Protagonist finds herself in a virtual reality tournament. Except that’s the thing—Warcross is *better* than Ready Player One. It appeals to me a lot more, which probably has a lot to do with my personal tastes. I feel…

La Belle Sauvage

I would love this book even if it was terrible--I'm a little biased when it comes to my favorite author. Okay, a LOT biased. I seriously question my friendships with people who haven't read Pullman, or don't like what they have read. His writing is just so damn good.I thought this book was wonderful, though.…

Six of Crows

It’s rare that I enjoy a book with an ensemble cast. It usually feels too disjointed, too scattered. I was hooked on the story, however, and it was so easy to read that I was already halfway through before I realized that I cared about ALL the characters way more than I expected to. Watching…

Bitterblue

Bitterblue is such an awesome character. She is thoughtful and intelligent and struggling *so hard* to run a kingdom that suffered so much. She has to find a way to take responsibility and step into her leadership role, supporting the people close to her, finding sense and meaning from decades of trauma and heinous acts.The…

Fire

I like Fire a lot more than Katsa from Graceling, which is saying a lot. Fire has so much more inner turmoil. She’s fascinating, and her relationship with her father is fascinating, and the depth and power in her are frightening and awesome to see.This story takes place before the events of Graceling, chronologically. I…

Graceling

This is one of those books that I keep around to re-read every so often. It’s such a delightful fantasy, with a female protagonist who is capable, interesting, and ultimately isn’t scared to ask for what she wants.I really enjoy the Graceling Realm books. Kristin Cashore knows what she’s doing, and her books are easy…

The Golden Compass

I don’t know how to adequately describe my love for this book, and for Philip Pullman’s writing.The first time I read this, I was 13 years old. It was a formative year for me. I found Paganism, decided I was a writer…and read His Dark Materials. Pullman created a world that was familiar and yet…