Sunday, September 14, 2008

Magical creatures, a charming English family, and an ancient society



Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone (#2) and Lucinda's Secret (#3): This series continues to charm me. I like the dynamics amongst the siblings and that they all have very different personalities. I look forward to the rest of these books, and also anything else by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.




Forever Rose by Hilary McKay: It makes me slightly sad that the Casson children are growing up. According to McKay's website, this will be her last Casson book due to the age of the characters. This story takes place as Christmas approaches and Rose is stressed about lots of issues: mom, Eve, is sick and trying to finish paintings that she's making on comission, Saffy and Indigo seem far too busy for Rose, and Caddy is nowhere to be found. On top of all that Rose's teacher is a terror who won't let the class celebrate Christmas. After finishing this book, I wanted to read the whole series again from the beginning.

Last but not least, A Great and Terrible Beauty. I loved the magical elements mixed with Victorian London. I know that The Luxe is supposed to be the 19th century Gossip Girl, but I would love to see Felicity square off against Blair. The magic in this book definitely has the sinister feel found in the works of Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. This title is for the First in a Series and RIP 3 challenges.