travellinglibrarian

[travellinglibrarian]

Scythe

Title: Scythe Author: Neal Shusterman Call Number: Y SHU

This was a freaking amazing read. In fact it’s insane how good it was.

In the future, death has been eradicated by technology. People have healing nanites automatically implanted in their body that can repair any injury, and all serious bodily damage that can cause instant death can be repaired in any revival centre. People no longer have to die, and even as they age they can undergo a procedure to “turn the corner”, and become any age they want (just not any lower than the age of nineteen).

As a result of this, in order to prevent overpopulation, the all-knowing, all-powerful Artificial Intelligence entity known as the Thunderhead allows the creation of the Scythes—people who have been ordained to glean (render permanently dead) any human they wish. The Scythes are chosen not by the Thunderhead but by fellow humans who make up the Scythedom, and is the only aspect of humanity that the Thunderhead does not interfere in. Gleaning is seen as something unpleasant but necessary, and it causes people to either revere or fear Scythes.

Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch are two teenagers who encounter Honourable Scythe Faraday in two separate gleanings, and their reactions cause Scythe Faraday to recruit them both as apprentices. Both of them hate the idea of taking lives, but becoming a Scythe comes with certain perks: As long as the Scythe is alive, permanent immunity is granted to their immediate family members. They are also allowed to grant temporary one-year immunities from gleaning to anyone they want, which results in people bending over backward to get on the good side of a Scythe.

Under the tutelage of Scythe Faraday, both the young apprentices learn why they were chosen, and what values are important when given the power to grant life and death. Unfortunately, taking in two apprentices is something highly irregular, and to create competition, the unpleasant Honourable Scythe Goddard suggests that the one who is ultimately ordained gleans the other apprentice immediately, and his suggestion is made law by the High Blade Xenocrates.

When Faraday dies suddenly and abruptly (apparently from an act of self-gleaning), they are released from his apprenticeship, and are thought to be spared from this unnecessarily cruel act of having to glean the other. However, this does not happen as two different Scythe mentors step in to take Faraday’s place; Citra comes under the wing of the legendary Honourable Scythe Curie, while Rowan is given to the morally dubious and unscrupulous Scythe Goddard, who seems to enjoy the job of gleaning more than he should.

With the edict that one has to glean the other still hanging over their heads, both apprentices continue their training. While Citra learns the “old guard” methods of what it means to be a compassionate Scythe, Rowan is trained to glean in cruel and unusual ways. Before long, both of them begin to change under their new mentors, and continue to compete closely to become the next Scythe. Who will succeed and who will be gleaned?

This was an exhilarating read from start to finish, and Shusterman’s skill in world-building is truly unparalleled. His utopian/dystopian depictions of the future are truly chilling, simply because you can see these things happening.

What a book. Recommended for anyone and everyone. JUST READ IT. NOW. I INSIST.

[travellinglibrarian]

This Savage Song

Title: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, Book 1) Author: Victoria Schwab Call No.: Y SCH

After binge reading so many of Schwab’s books at one shot and loving all of them, I realised what her books have in common: Tragedy. They all comprise an intrinsically beautiful sort of tragedy. 

The city of Verity is divided in two: The North, owned by Callum Harker, where he reins in the monsters and people beg to be kept under his protection; and the South, where the Flynn family keeps the monster population down by hunting and killing them with the Flynn Task Force (FTF).

The book is centred on the children of the two faction’s leaders: Kate Harker and August Flynn. Kate wants nothing than to be like her father, ruthless and unforgiving, while August’s story is a bit more complicated. You see, August is a monster, one of the most powerful monsters to have ever been born, and he desperately wants to be human.

Now comes the beautiful tragedy (though you think, what can be more tragic than a monster who yearns to be human?): There are three different types of monsters that exist in V-City, and they’re all born from humanity: The Corsai, who feed on flesh and bone, come from non-lethal acts of violence; The Malchai, who feed on blood, are born from murder; and finally the Sunai, who come into being from tragedies, “acts of horror so dark they upset the cosmic balance” (p307), feed on the souls of sinners. Sunai are very, very rare, and August and his two siblings (Ilsa and Leo) are the only three in existence. 

One of my favourites parts of this monstrous dystopia is that each Sunai has their own song, and use the music to bring souls to the surface so they can feed on them. 

This isn’t a love story. It’s a story of what happens when peace hangs on a thread. It’s a book about war, and suffering. It’s a book that asks where monsters come from, and makes you realise that the monsters are hiding inside you all along.

Beautiful, terrible tragedy.

[travellinglibrarian]

Basically.

A summary of A Gathering of Shadows by Victoria Schwab

[travellinglibrarian]

A Darker Shade of Magic

Title: A Darker Shade of Magic Author: VE Schwab Call No.: SCH - [FN]

This was an amazing book with fantastic writing.

I’ve always said that fantasy novels are only as good as the author’s ability in world-building. To convince us that the magic is real, the world must feel real enough to inhabit.

This is what Schwab has done with this book, creating not one, but three separate Londons, each equally believable. There’s a fourth London, but it barely features in this story, though its presence hangs heavy over the plot.

Kell is Antari, a person with magic tied to their blood. Originally from Red London, he is one of only two (known) people able to travel through the separate Londons. As such, he is able to pass messages from one London’s royalty to the next. To do this, he requires the use of tokens, which are items from each London, which grant him passage. 

Kell, however, also as the dangerous habit of bringing other items through with him, which is highly illegal. He sells parts of other Londons to either Collectors or Enthusiasts, which is a peculiar hobby since he doesn’t actually need the money. Kell is considered a prince in Red London, having been raised by the King and Queen themselves, and is regarded as a brother by the crown prince.

The four Londons are described as such: Red London, which respects magic and allows the use of magic freely; Grey London, a London without magic; White London, where barely any magic is left and the ones who possess it are unscrupulous in trying to bend power to their will; and Black London, which is cursed and nobody talks about it anymore.

While passing through Grey London, Kell also meets Delilah Bard (better known as Lila), a thief with secrets of her own. Lila has no qualms about killing people to preserve her own life, and circumstances force them to travel with each other in order to prevent something terrible from happening.

Saying too much about the plot will give it away, and this is one of the books you really need to read because the worlds are so beautiful and the writing is incredibly... I don’t know how to describe it, but for want of a better word, the writing is sexy. It draws you in until you want nothing but to breathe the same air and to be part of that same world. Schwab is amazing in her world-building, creating Londons that are so distinct yet still alike. Her characters feel real, and I actually had to stop reading a few times because I was terrified of what was going to happen next.

Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff that I can’t get enough of. Gonna get my hands on the sequel as soon as I can! Safe to promote, probably to older teens because of the darker themes. 

[travellinglibrarian]

Just finished the book where this is from. New post up in a bit <3

Designed this for thebloggersbookshop. Words by veschwab :)

[travellinglibrarian]

Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice

Title: Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice Author(s): Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Ngyuen Call No.: J FRI THIS BOOK IS HILARIOUS. Not only for kids, but for adults who recognise the references being scattered throughout the entire book.

Told in a sort of multi-modal graphic novel/epistolary format, this book creates a sort of alternate universe where Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent and Diana Prince are invited to join the prestigious Ducard Academy. All of them are excited to be attending the school, because it’s notoriously difficult to enter. The three don’t get off on the most friendly starts, but they soon bond when all of them (Bruce, in particular), realises that something weird is going on with the school.

Bruce immediately suggests they set up a Criminal Investigations Unit (NOT a Junior Detectives’ Club, mind you) and try to figure out what is going on in the school. Not only are students not punished for bad behaviour (like thieving, throwing pies in each others’ faces, bribery), they’re rewarded and encouraged to do evil things. There’s even a club for those interested in world domination! The teachers are equally weird. Just to name a few: There’s a Literature teacher with a penchant for dressing like the Mad Hatter and calling all the girls ‘Alice’, and a Coach Zod who tries to get everyone to kneel before him.

The graphic novel portion moves the story along, showing how the Trinity try to infiltrate these groups to find out what’s happening. Bruce’s idea of trying to blend in is “making friends”, and we can all imagine how that turns out. Clark and Diana are also assigned different tasks, which they fail spectacularly because the three of them are essentially trying to be friends with kids like Joe Kerr, Lex Luthor and Circe. 

Other parts of the book are told in different formats. We see Bruce and Diana writing in their journals, the three of them chatting online while trying to avoid Brainiac spying on their chatroom, and even evaluation forms of the three of them and whether they’d be suitable for the mysterious Nanda Parbat.

Oh Bruce. Breaking into everyone’s stuff again and trying to uncover secrets.

This book is for EVERYONE. From the littlest of nerds to the oldest of geeks, and for the most reluctant of readers who love superheroes but hate having to navigate through word-heavy books. 

[travellinglibrarian]

Guys, the struggle of having a never-ending #ToBeRead list is real. #bookstagram #librarianproblems

A photo posted by Mindy Tan (@librarianmindy) on May 18, 2016 at 9:15am PDT

[travellinglibrarian]

Sadness can be this too, but as established a few posts ago, CHANGE IS GOOD. 

[travellinglibrarian]

Ready Player One

Title: Ready Player One Author: Ernest Cline Call No.: CLI

I had to write this down before I forgot the feeling. You know, the feeling after reading a book,  and you're not sure whether you're back in your world or still in theirs. Upon finishing this book, I just sat in my chair, dazed for a while, trying to process everything that just happened. I haven't read a book so insanely astounding in a while. 

In 2044, the world is a scary dystopia, where people are finding it difficult to earn enough money to feed themselves, or to find proper housing. People live in the Stacks, a name given to an area where trailers are parked one on top of the other, an immensely dangerous housing project by a desperate government that has run out of proper spaces for people to live.

The only way most people remain sane is by escaping into the virtual reality world known as OASIS, created by eccentric video game designer James Halliday. This is a world where anything is possible, and with a lifetime access fee of 25 cents per person, it is where everybody does their transactions. Worlds are built across OASIS to function as schools, shopping centres, hangout locations, as well as epic fantasy dimensions where you can complete quests and slay monsters. 

Our protagonist Wade Watts (avatar name Parzival) is one such beneficiary of the OASIS, and uses it to escape his horrible life where he lives with his abusive aunt. Like many others, Wade has dedicated himself to Halliday’s Easter Egg Hunt, trying to solve the puzzles left behind by James Halliday (avatar name Anorak) to win the ultimate prize. Players have to find three keys to unlock three different gates across the massive OASIS, and the only thing they have to start with is a riddle, which has remained unsolved for the past five years.  

 One thing is for certain: The source of all the answers are found in creator James Halliday’s life and his obsession with the 80′s, the decade when he was a teenager -- from the games and cartoons that inspired him while he was growing up, to the television shows and movies he loved. In their quest to find the Egg, millions of players have pored over Anorak’s Almanac and learnt the lines to the movies he loved by heart (Wade himself has watched WarGames almost three dozen times), and played every classic 80′s game. Players who devote themselves to searching for the Egg are called gunters (a truncated form of ‘egg hunter’), and Wade is one of the few who play solo (and not with any guild, clan or alliances).

The IOI Corporation is a conglomerate that wants to win the Egg in order to gain control and monetize the whole of OASIS, and everyone knows that their goal is to charge a monthly subscription, forcing people who cannot afford it to surrender their access to their precious virtual world.  With massive resources and a giant pool of Halliday experts to tap on, the IOI Corporation looks geared for definite success, but even they remain stumped at the first clue. 

The story truly begins after Wade stumbles across the answer to the riddle, finds the first key, and unlocks the first gate. When Parzival appears in first place on the Scoreboard that has remained unconquered for the past five years, he triggers a renewed frenzy to find Halliday’s Egg. He soon realises that people are definitely willing to do whatever it takes to win the prize, even if it means eliminating the competition in real life.

Cline has done the almost unthinkable, coming up with a believable dystopian real world, as well as a ridiculously amazing virtual reality. The world outlined in 2044 is a frightening depiction of a very possible future as we continue to use up our natural resources and ignore the widening income gap and increasing poverty line. The OASIS is a digital utopia, very much an advanced version of how the Internet has pervaded and become a part of everybody’s life.

This book, I believe, was written specifically for the children of the 80's, of the kids who grew up with Atari, Nintendo, Ultraman, John Hughes’s movies, Back to the Future and everything else awesome. Reading it was like reliving my growing up years and rediscovering that golden time when everything was possible, and we could become heroes. 

I don’t think the current batch of teenagers could ever truly appreciate this book unless they really enjoy 80′s pop culture references, but if you, like me, grew up in the 80′s, make this the one book you read this year. If you don’t have time MAKE TIME and if you can’t read LEARN TO READ because this book will tear your heart out and remind you of everything you left behind when you tried (keyword: TRIED) to become an adult, burdened with responsibilities. 

I’m still gobsmacked. Maybe I need to read it again.

[travellinglibrarian]

The Marvels

Title: The Marvels Author: Brian Selznick Call No.: Y SEL

Whenever I read a Brian Selznick book, I'm always guessing. My mind is never idle, because I'm constantly trying to figure out how his illustrations tie in to the written story. I think that's the magic he has in his books, because he shows you how a story can be told in both pictures and words. Just in case you’re not familiar with Selznick, he’s the one who wrote The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck. This book was no exception, starting with close to 400 pages of back-to-back illustrations, weaving a story about a family born into the career of theatre and drama. The story begins with Billy Marvel, and how he begins his journey as a young actor on a ship, to a father of generations of actors. The story stops abruptly when it reaches his great-great-grandson, who doesn't really want to be an actor. It then switches to a worded narrative, told from the point of view of young Joseph, who is desperately trying to seek his own identity. Joseph finds himself at the house of his uncle, Albert Nightingale, and the visit turns up more questions than answers. Who is Billy Marvel, and how is he related to Joseph? Is Joseph destined for something great too?

I think that the mark of a good book is explainable unpredictability, The story shouldn’t be so predictable that you’ll know where the ending would lead, but it shouldn’t come to such a ridiculous conclusion that it cannot be explained logically. Selznick brings this to his books all the time, partially because the reader is always trying to understand how his pictures relate to the greater story. The book took my breath away.

This book can’t be introduced at schools because of one (or two) of the characters’ sexuality, but it’s a great read for anyone who needs that little bit of magic in their lives. 

[travellinglibrarian]

Gotham Academy, Vol. 1

Title: Gotham Academy, Volume 1: Welcome to Gotham Academy Author: Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher Artist: Karl Kerschl Call No.: 741.5973 CLO-[ART]

I like to think of this book as a Batman comic where Batman is a side character and only appears occasionally. I’ve been wanting to read it since I went to the Best and Worst Comic Books for Kids panel at ALA San Francisco in June, but was never able to get my hands on it until now. This comic book was, of course, on the Best list, and rightly so.

The main character is not Bruce Wayne or any of his wards, but Olive Silverlock. As far as I know, she’s a new character to the Batverse. Not much is known about her at the beginning of the book, though something big has obviously happened between her first and second year at Gotham Academy, causing her to dread coming back. Her life is further complicated when Maps Mizoguchi, her (sort of) ex-boyfriend’s little sister, enrolls in the school, and Olive is chosen to be her chaperone.

What I really enjoyed about this graphic novel was the fact that it ran very independently despite being set in the familiar place of Gotham. There are constant allusions to Batman characters (for instance, the Cobblepot family, and even a small cameo by a McGinnis), but the story doesn’t rely heavily on your knowledge of every Batman storyline ever. Batman plays a semi-big role in Olive’s life, because she really hates him, for some reason, but she’s not a villain he fights or a damsel he saves. This story is about Olive’s journey with her friends, and how they solve mysteries in Gotham Academy.

Maps Mizoguchi, despite being a supporting character, also steals the show constantly. She looks at life like an RPG, and always packs a ton of rope when they go exploring, because “you never know when you’ll run into a wall that needs scaling, or a goblin that needs wrangling.”

Another thing I liked was the drawing style. Karl Kerschl doesn’t draw in the typical hypersexualised way that DC/Marvel graphic novels tend to favour (i.e. the skintight costumes/strange contortionist positions on the women). Gotham Academy looks like it was made for a YA audience, and can even be recommended to tweens. 

I can’t wait to read Volume 2!

[travellinglibrarian]

Need to bookmark this for future reference!

“As librarians, our job is to help young people find the right book for who they are now, without judgment.”  

Serving Conservative Teens | School Library Journal 

[travellinglibrarian]

People who read regularly for pleasure have greater levels of self-esteem, are less stressed, and can cope better with difficult situations than lapsed or non-readers

Reading for pleasure boosts self-esteem | The Bookseller (via freakinglovelibraries)

This is what I believe in and why I do what I do. 

[travellinglibrarian]

Yes.

[travellinglibrarian]

Nightmares!

Title: Nightmares! Author: Jason Segel & Kristen Miller Call No.: J SEG

This book is a great testament to the power of book trailers. I would never have noticed it if not for seeing the trailer at MPH Bookstores a few weeks ago. This is just one of four trailers made for this book, and you can see why it was so riveting:

Charlie Laird desperately tries to keep awake every night, because every time he falls asleep he is plagued by terrifying nightmares. He’s tried doing this in many ways: Taping his eyes open (which didn’t work after a while because Scotch tape is too weak and duct tape pulled out his eyebrows), pacing (but this made him dizzy, so he gave it up), drinking water so that he has a full bladder (which can make things mightily uncomfortable because he barricades the bathroom door with nighteen boxes), and finally cold, leftover coffee (which works best). 

However, Charlie is 12 years old, and growing boys need sleep, so he ends up zoning out and taking naps in school. During these naps, the nightmares come and threaten to take everything he holds dear to him. 

Charlie is convinced this is happening because his father has married a witch. The nightmares began when Charlie and his family moved into Charlotte DeChant’s ancestral home, a creepy purple mansion that sits on the top of a hill in Cypress Creek. Charlotte is the owner of Hazel’s Herbarium, and creates strange concoctions and ointments (which usually smell of dead rodents and dog farts). His father and his little brother Jack adore Charlotte, but Charlie knows that his stepmother has more to her than meets the eye. 

When one of the nightmares come and takes Jack away, Charlie knows that he has no choice but to face his most terrifying fear straight on.

This book starts off pretty slowly, and had me struggling to read the first few chapters. However, as the nightmares start to blend with Charlie’s reality, the book got more exciting and more riveting. What is truly causing his nightmares? Is it really his stepmother, or something more powerful and sinister? 

Plot aside, the book had many interesting themes as well, and talks about insecurities, fears, and how our daily lives contribute to what our subconscious brings to life in the form of dreams and nightmares. The story mainly revolves around Charlie’s family and school life, and how Charlie copes with the death of his mother, his dad remarrying, and the trouble he gets into at school. It’s like realistic fiction blended with horror, which makes it even scarier, and gives the reader more to think about. 

Completely clean and safe to promote at schools!

[travellinglibrarian]

When your book has been due for a week and you couldn’t find it at home after almost tearing your room apart

When you come back to your work desk after travelling around branches the whole of last week and realise it’s been sitting on your desk the whole time:

[travellinglibrarian]

Hook’s Revenge

Title: Hook’s Revenge Author: Heidi Schulz Illustrator: John Hendrix Call No.: J SCH

THIS BOOK WAS SO FUNNY. I actually picked it up because of the lovely cover, but what hooked (yeah, yeah I know) me was the narrator’s voice, snarky and humorous all at once.

Captain Hook is killed (eaten?) by the nefarious Neverland crocodile, leaving behind a daughter who shares her father’s love for adventure. Her grandfather (her late mother’s father) takes care of her, and hopes for her to become a lady (and most definitely not a pirate).

However, Jocelyn is more her father’s daughter than anyone else, and yearns for something more than going to finishing school. She gets sent there against her will anyway and struggles to fit in with girls from rich families. 

Fortunately, this isn’t a book about finishing school. Jocelyn eventually takes off on a high sea adventure chasing after her father’s killer after a letter written by Captain Hook is sent to her, telling her that as his daughter, her inheritance will be to take revenge on the crocodile. Jocelyn ventures into the Neverland, hires a crew of pirates, and sets off on the quest of a lifetime.

The narrator is one of the best parts of this book. 

Some choice quotes: 

“Most things are obvious in hindsight. That mysterious stranger was not attempting to do you harm; he only wanted to return your dropped wallet. Your parents were not plotting your demise; they were planning a surprise party. The surprise party turned out to be a ruse and your parents were planning your demise after all. Without the benefit of hindsight, innocent things seem wicked. Nefarious things seem absolutely ordinary. Illumination comes only after the fact.”

and also:

“The night was unreasonably warm and scented with lilacs. Crickets played their minuscule violins. Up above, those wicked, wicked stars twinkled down on a boy and a girl sitting ever so close together, alone in the dark.

Joceyln leaned towards Roger, parted her lips and --

You know, if they had been a few years older and more interested in that sort of thing, this is the part that they might have kissed. I’m so glad they didn’t. It would have ruined the whole story.”

I spent most of the book snorting, and sent various pictures of the text to my friends because I found it so witty. It’s one of those books that challenges its audience, to make them think a bit more about narrative plot devices and convenient twists. I had such a great time reading it, and I’m quite sure everyone would.

The sequel is already out and I can’t wait to read it!