And Then There Were None

Today's post is on And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. It is a stand alone novel. It is 264 pages long. The cover has the island shrouded in mist with the title and author's name. The intended reader is someone who likes mysteries, no winners, and good writing. The story is told from the third person close of the main characters. There is no sex, some mild language, and violence in this novel. Teenagers and older should enjoy this novel with no problem. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Ten people are invited to a lonely mansion on an island, off the coast of Devon, by a host who unfortunately fails to appear... when people of whom it can truthfully be said that each one had something out of the past to hide, something perhaps of which to be ashamed. Even on that glorious summer evening of their arrival there seemed something sinister about the island, but not one could anticipate the adventure in which each and all were to be involved. A odd business... a very odd business.. a diabolically clever business, devised by that incomparable writer of detective stories- Agatha Christie.

Review- This was a very unique story by Christie. The murderer is very clever and like every Christie villain I do not feel sorry for him. I also do not feel very sorry for the victims either. The plot is very interesting. The murderer wants to get those who killed but in a way that law could not get them or even see that they had killed at all. The story is fast paced. The whole novel lasts three days and four nights. The ending was very good. The killer ends the story by writing a letter and tossing it into the sea; if the fates wanted it to be found it would be. The strongest part of the story is the characterization. I believed in this people. I believed that they had killed, some without intent, others with it. I did not discover who the murderer was until the letter. Christie out did herself on this one.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air

Today's Nonfiction post is on Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air by Richard Holmes. It is 404 pages long including notes and index. It is published by Patheon. The cover is a beautiful illustration of a balloon rising. The intended reader is someone who is interested in science, scientific history, and ballooning. There is no sex, mild language, and no violence in this book. The story is told from third person close with first hand documents and the author's own experiences added in for favor. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- In this heart-lifting chronicles, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of out planet is compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell.

His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon revelries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-1871; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelly, Edgar Allen Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work.

Review- Fun, interesting read about something I knew next to nothing about. The history and science behind ballooning was not something that had ever crossed my mind or desk before so I went into this with any open mind. I really enjoyed learning about ballooning, who did what first, and why ballooning is now something to play with, not real serious stuff. The people who first fell upwards were interesting people with dreams of flight. Of course we now know that lighter-than-air travel is not the best but with that science they had it was the best course. Not all stories end in happiness and flight. Many of the people who tried to use balloons for travel ended up dead. But it is the dream of flight that matters. The dream of being carried away with the clouds that pulls both the ballooners and the reader. Holmes is a good writer with passion for his topic. Add in good research and foot notes, you get a very well written and interesting story.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

MARS volume 10

Today's post is on MARS volume 10 by Fuyumi Soryo. As it is the 10^th in the series you need to have read the first 9 to understand the story. It is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Kira and Rei on it looking pretty. The intended reader is young adult, likes teen drama, and more drama. There is sex, some mild language, and violence in this volume. The story is told from Kira's perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of book- Free at Last

Now that Rei and Kira are an 'official' couple, Kira experiences a refreshing taste of freedom for the first time in her life. But soon, she and Rei find themselves at one of life's major crossroads. The two must decide how school and work will play into their future. Kira deiced to take a job in order to secure her independence, while Rei contemplates quitting school so he can support Kira. Just when you think you have your future all mapped out, love enters the picture and changes the scenery.

Review- Kira and Rei have sex in this volume. It is not graphic but it is very clear what they are doing. Kira is forced to interact with the real world. She does get scared but she deals with it. Rei does help but it is Kira who chooses. The character development in this volume is more relationship development. Because they are living together now Kira and Rei have to deal with some things that neither could have guessed was coming. Rei's father is still trying to get in touch with him. Kira of course is worried that Rei is ashamed of her or something like that. That is something that I wish would get dealt with but ten volumes in and Kira still thinks that like. But I still really enjoy in this series. But that said she is much better than she was at the beginning of the series. True love and all that. All the drama is good for your heart.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Copperhead

Today's post is on Copperhead by Tina Connolly. It is the second in her Ironskin trilogy. It is 316 pages long and is published by TOR. The cover has the main character on it with a iron mask in her hand looking at the reader. The intended reader is someone who has read the first book, likes steampunk, fae, and fast plots. Teens and adults would get the most out of this book. There is some mild language, no sex, and little violence. The story is told from the first person perspective of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Helen Huntingdon is beautiful- so beautiful she has to wear an iron mask.

Six months ago, her sister, Jane, uncovered a fey plot to take over the city. Too late for Helen, who opted for fey beauty- and now has to cover her face with iron so she won't be taken over, her personality erased by the bodiless fey.
Not that Helen would mind that some days. Stuck in a marriage with the wealthy and controlling Alistair, she lives at the edges of her life, secretly helping Jane remove the dangerous fey beauty from the wealthy society women who paid for it. But when the chancy procedure turns deadly, Jane goes missing- and is implicated in a murder.
Meanwhile, Alistair's influential clique Copperhead- whose emblem is the poisonous copperhead hydra- is out to restore humans to their 'rightful' place, even to the point of destroying the dwarvven who have always been allies.
Helen is determined to find her missing sister, as well as continue the good fight against the fey. But when that pits her against her own husband- and when she meets an enigmatic young revolutionary- she's pushed to discover how far she'll bend society's rules to do what's right. It may be more than her beauty at stake. It may her honor... and her heart.

Review- This is a fast-paced sequel to Ironskin. Helen was seen as only a silly and thoughtless woman gets to redeem herself. Helen has to do more character growth than Jane did. Helen has to learn that she has power, a voice, and a will to use them. There is some tense moments when Alistair is drunk and angry but Connolly uses them to make Helen grow. Helen wants to please but learns that she has to take care of herself and those in need. There is not much more world building in this one. We see more of the dwarvven world, more of the fey plots, and that is about it. Connolly gets into the darker human world where people might make their wives get new faces. And she dives into how that would make someone feel. The women in this novel are not taken seriously and they are mad about it. I like that Connolly is not afraid to talk about that. The dailog is not bad but it really is the world and the mystery that makes you keep reading.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.

Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that changed the World

Today's post is on Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color that Changed the World by Simon Garfield. It is 222 pages including an index and it is published by W. W. Norton & Company. The cover is an oil painting of Sir William Perkins. The intended reader is someone who likes science, history, and surprising inventions. There is no language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The story is told in two ways; the past is from the third person perspective with letters and other first hand documents added in for development, and the present Garfield writes from first person as he interviews people. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Born of an experimental slip, this odd shade of purple revolutionized the worlds of fashion, industry, and chemical research.

Mauve is the story of a man who accidentally invented a color, and in the process transformed the world around him. Before 1856, the color in our lives- the reds, blues, and blacks of clothing, paint, print- came from insects or mollusks, roots or leaves, and dyeing was painstaking and expensive. But in 1856 eighteen-year-old English chemist William Perkin accidentally discovered a way to mass-produce color in a factory.
Working on a treatment for malaria in his London home laboratory, Perkin found mauve by chance. His experiments failed to result in artificial quinine as he had hoped, but produced instead a dark oily sludge that happened to turn silk a beautiful light purple. Mauve became the most desirable shade in the fashion houses of Paris and London, and quickly led to crimsons, violets, blues, and greens, earning its inventor a fortune. But its importance extends far beyond ballgowns.
Before mauve, chemistry was largely a theoretical science. Perkin's discovery sparked new interest in industrial applications of chemistry research, which later bought about the development of explosives, perfume, photography, modern medicine, and today's plastics industry.
Perkin is honored with the odd plaque and bust in colleges and chemistry clubs, but is otherwise forgotten man. With great wit, savvy, and historical scope, Simon Garfield delivers a fascinating tale of how this accidental genius set in motion and extraordinary scientific leap.

Review- This is why I love Garfield so much. This book is interesting, funny, moving, and very well written. Garfield takes something that I knew next to nothing about and does all that with it. Garfield is a wonderful writer. He makes the very technical world of chemistry and makes it readable. In addition to uncovering Perkin and his discoveries, he interviews people in the different industries that were affected by his work. Going from birth to his death Garfield then goes beyond Perkin into the future that he helped create. The way that Garfield blends the past and the present to make one story is brilliant and just like him. I love the way that he makes the subjects of his books so normal by showing how it intercedes with our own lives.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

MARS volume 9

Today's post is on MARS volume 9 by Fuyumi Soryo. It is published by Tokyopop. As it is the ninth in the series you need to have read the first eight to understand the story. The cover has Rei on looking at the reader. The intended reader is someone who likes teen drama, real life stories, and more drama. There is some mild language, some violence, and implied sex in this volume. Older teens and adults are best suited for this series. The story is told from the perspective of Kira. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Flying Solo

The unthinkable has happened: Rei and Kira have finally broken up, and it's the talk of the town. Kira can only stand by helplessly as Rei walks out of her life. Though Rei feigns indifference as he walks into the arms of waiting suitors, he begins to realize that he may have made a big mistake. When Kira decides to make up with Rei before it's too late, he's nowhere to be found. With her family life also suffering, Kira has no idea where to turn...

Review- Lots of drama in this volume. Rei breaks up with Kira because she and her mother are living the man who raped her again. Rie cannot stand the thought that something might happen to Kira so he takes the easy way out. In the end Kira has to leave home because her stepfather is too controlling. This volume ends with Kira and Rei kissing. This series does have a lot of drama but it does not make light of the more serious issues. Rei makes a good point about repeat rapists and that is they will not stop. Kira's stepfather is one. He swears that he will never do it again but when he sees Kira with Rei he loses it. Kira does stand up for herself but in the end she has to leave home. Kira's mother wants things to be easy but the price is Kira's safety. So Kira chooses herself and Rei. Another thing that Soryo talks about with this is how being devalued like Kira has been does to a person. She does not really care about anything. Because she feels that she is not important or has any value as a person. Heavy stuff for a shojo manga. More drama coming next week.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

MARS volume 12

Today post is on MARS volume 12 by Fuyumi Soryo. As it is the 12th in the series you need to have read the first 11 to understand the story. It is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Kira on it looking at the reader with a very intense gaze. The intended reader is young adult but this has enough teen drama that adults can enjoy it too. There is no sex, no language, and no violence in this volume. The story is told from Kira's perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Secret Lives
Kira has finally left home and is one her own, but she feels safe with Rei by her side. When Kira finally meets Rei's father for the first time, she is surprised to find he is a familiar face from her past. As Kira and Rei explore his mammoth mansion, shocking family secrets are revealed. As Rei grapples to cope with the unearthed memories of his past, Rei leans on Kira for some much-needed support.

Review- This volume is all about character. Rei and Kira get a lot of growth time. Kira's mother lets her leave home to be safe. Rei's father wants to help them so they move into his house. Then Rei starts to deal with unhappy memories about his mother and Kira learns something terrible about Sei. The drama is there but it is quieter than in previous volumes. Kira and Rei have to make some adult choices and deal with what that means. Rei remembering things about his mother is going to change the way he sees things. What he remembers is not good. In addition Kira now knows more about Sei's death and what she is going to do with this knowledge. Good pacing for this volume. With the volume ending as this bombshells drop more drama is coming up next!

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.

A Fistful of Charms

Today's post is on A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison. It is the fourth in her The Hallows series. It is 510 pages long and is published by Harper Voyager. The cover has Rachel in a black dress with a charm in her hand. The intended reader is someone who likes urban fantasy, action, and thick books. Adults only is for the best. There is sexuality, lots of violence, and some mild language in this book. The story is told from the first person perspective of Rachel. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The evil night things that prowl Cincinnati despise witch and bounty hunter Rachel Morgan. Her new reputation for the dark arts is turning human and undead heads alike with the intent to possess, bed, and kill her- not necessarily in that order.

Now a mortal lover who abandoned Rachel has returned, haunted by his secret past. And there are those who cover what Nick possesses- savage beasts willing to destroy the Hollows and everyone in it if necessary.
Forced to keep a low profile or eternally suffer the wrath of a vengeful demon, Rachel must nevertheless act quickly. For the pack is gathering for the first time in millennia to ravage and to rule. And suddenly more than Rachel's soul id at stake.

Review- I have enjoyed the Hallows books but Rachel was just all kinds of stupid in this one. She gets jumped by lots of wolves, chooses to save Nick when she should have let him die, and she gets more black on her soul. Rachel does so much stupid in this novel that she is become To Stupid To Live. I rarely think that about character's because in the end it is just fiction but Rachel was really just pushed my buttons with this one. I think that her lack of foresight about anything is what was doing it. She just reacted from one moment to the next then wondered why things went wrong. Lots of people wanted to slap her in this volume and I was one of them. The good things about this volume: Jenks is back, Nick is gone (and I hope for good), and Rachel says that she learned something about herself. I hope so. Because I am not sure that I could stand another book with her being this stupid.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.

The Disappearing Spoon: And other true tales of Madness, love, and the history of the world from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Today's nonfiction post is on The Disappearing Spoon: And other true tales of Madness, love, and the history of the world from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean. It is 376 pages long including notes. It is published by Back Bay Books. The cover is green with a spoon in a test tube. The intended reader is someone interested in history, science, and amusing stories. There is no sex, no language, and no violence in this book. The story is told in first and third person; first person by the author with his own experiences and third person stories about the original people who discovered the elements. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Why did Gandhi hate iodine (I, 53)? How did radium (Ra, 88) nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? And why is gallium (Ga, 31) the go-to element for laboratory pranksters?

The periodic table is a crowning scientific achievement, but its also a treasure trove of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. These fascinating tales follow all the elements on the table as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, conflict, the arts, medicine, and the loves of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them. The Disappearing Spoon masterfully fuses science with the classic lore of invention, investigation, discovery, and alchemy, from the big bang through the end of time.

Review- I knew very little about the periodic table other than what I can remember from high school but I wish that high school had talked about this stuff. The reader gets to know the brilliant minds behind the periodic table and how it was formed. Kean has excellent notes that add to the individual stories but if you just want to follow the table you do not need them. Kean also explains some very important scientific theories and data. He does not talk down to the reader, in fact he includes in the reader in some of the jokes that happen. Kean helps bring the scientists back from the dead and makes them human. He gives their mistakes, their passions, and their brilliance. If you want to learn more about the sciences this a good place to start.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

MARS volume 8

Today's post is on MARS volume 8 by Fuyumi Soryo. It is the eighth volume in the MARS series and is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Kira on it looking pale and pretty. The intended reader is young adult, enjoys teen drama, and hard issues. There is some mild language, talk of rape, and some violence in this volume. Because of content older teens and adults only. The story is told from Kira's perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book On The Move

Is Kira and Rei's love built to last? Mixed signals abound in this on-again, off-again relationship. Every time Rei tries to make a move on Kira, she freaks out and pushes him away. Finally, Rei guesses she's hiding a horrible secret from her past. What could it be?! Meanwhile, Kira's mother gets out of the hospital and tells Kira they're moving. When Rei finds out, he tell Kira to come live with him, but she doesn't want to leave her mom's side. Could this be the end of Rei and Kira's love?

Review- We finally get what is going on with Kira. There is a lot of heavy stuff going on in this volume. Kira talks about being raped repeatedly by her stepfather, her mother leaving him over it, but now he is back and says he is sorry. That makes Rei lose it. He does not believe that her stepfather is really sorry or would never do it again. I think that the subject of rape is handled well. Kira is shown to still have pain over it but she is also shown that there is life after. I wish that Soryo would put Kira in therapy like she did Rei over his brother's death but I think being willing to talk about rape at all is a big step. Of course the drama is high with all that happens over the course of this volume. It end with them breaking up but that's just the cliffhanger for this volume. Rei does make one very good point, that Kira's mother is choosing her own personal comfort over her daughter's safety. Again a big issue and I am just going to have to see how it is handled. More drama next week.

I give this volume a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money so long ago.

Winterspell

Today's post is on Winterspell by Claire Legrand. It is first in her Winterspell series. It is 454 pages long and is published by Simon & Schuster. The cover has the main character on it looking at the reader with a knife drawn. The intended reader is young adult but if you like retelling of the Nutcracker then you should give this one a try. There is some mild language, violence, and implied sex in this novel. Teens and adults only is for the best. The story is told from the first person perspective of the main character. There Be Spoilers Ahead,

From the dust jacket- The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets prince but when follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums. New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.
Her home is destroyed, and her father is abducted- by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets- and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed- if she leaves at all.

Review- This is and is not a retelling of The Nutcracker. Names are the same and that is about it. But if that does not bother you then you should really enjoys this one. The story is interesting, the writing is pretty solid, and the dialog is good. I like that Clara knows when to play by the rules and when to go it on her own. The hero is a little dumb but he learns quick, so I am willing to forgive him. Clara is not too stupid, just not informed about anything really. She has to figure the world out for herself. So that makes her much stronger when she gets back to her world to deal with the villains there. That is the only weak point of the story is the Clara world villains. They are wooden. They are there to be villains and to be scary but that is it. Now they do that very well but the book could have been written without them in and the plot would have been fine. That said wooden villains did not harm my enjoyment of the book.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

American Ghost:The True Story of a Family's Haunted Past

Today's Nonfiction post is on American Ghost:The True Story of a Family's Haunted Past by Hannah Nordhaus. It is 336 pages long and is published by HarperCollins. The cover has the corner of a room with white window drape fluttering in the wind. There is some mild language, no sex, and talk of violence in this book. The intended reader is adult, someone interested in Jewish American history, ghost stories, or just history in general. The story told in both first person and third; first person by the author as she talks about her travels to uncover her family's history and third person when talking about the history itself. There are first hand journals, newspaper articles, and other first hand sources for added depth. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The dark-eyed woman in the long black gown was first seen in the 1970s, standing near a fireplace. She was sad and translucent, present and absent at once. Strange things began to happen in the Santa Fe hotel where she was seen. Gas fireplaces turned off and on without anyone touching a switch. Vases of flowers appeared in new locations. Glasses tumbled from shelves. And in one second-floor suite with a canopy bed and arched windows looking out to the mountains, guests reported alarming event: blankets ripped off while they slept, the room temperature plummeting, disembodied breathing, dancing balls of light.
La Posada- “place of rest”- had been a grand Santa Fe home before it was converted to a hotel. The room with the canopy bed had belonged to Julia Schuster Staab, the wife of the home's original owner. She died in 1896, nearly a century before the hauntings were first reported. In American Ghost, Hannah Nordhaus traces the life, death, and unsettled afterlife of her great-great-grandmother Julia, from her childhood in Germany to her years in the American West with her Jewish merchant husband.
American Ghost is a story of pioneer women and immigrants, ghost hunters and psychics, frontier fortitude and mental illness, imagination and lore. As she traces the strands of Julia's life, Nordhaus uncovers a larger tale of how a true-life story becomes a ghost story- and how difficult it can sometimes be separate history and myth.

Review- Wonderful and interesting book about a family history, a woman's life, and a ghost story. Nordhaus writes this beautiful and sad tale of her great-great-grandmother with compassion and an eye for truth. She wants and does not want to contact her spirit. Nordhaus wants Julia to have moved on, so to speak, but she wants to know more about the woman who inspired the ghost story. Nordhaus does so much background work to this book. She travels to Germany to see where Julia grew up, she speaks with many different psychics about her, she reads her great-grandmother's dairy to try and understand their daily lives. In the end Nordhaus does learn a lot about her family but Julia is very difficult to find. But that does not ruin the book. It makes it more true to life, I think. In the real world people are very hard to understand, so I can only imagine trying to understand someone who has been dead for over 100 years and left behind no personal documents. A very good book.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I was given a copy of this book by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

MARS volume 7

Today's post is on MARS volume 7 by Fuyumi Soryo. It is the seventh in the series and is published by Tokyopop. The cover has Rei on it looking cool. The intended reader is young adult women but with all the drama and angst adults can get a kick out of it too. There is no sex, some mild language, and some violence in this book. The story is told from Kira's perspective. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- 'Til Death Do Us Part

Kira and Rei knew their love was to die for... but they never dreamed it could be deadly! Masao is the new guy at school with a criminal past- and now he's decided to direct his violent temper towards Kira. When Kira's mother is unexpectedly hospitalized, Rei and Harumi offer their undying support. Masao, who hates seeing Rei's sensitive side, is outraged, and he attempts to put Kira out of the picture forever! As murderous plots are hatched and hidden secrets revealed, Kira and Rei must fight for each other- and for their lives.

Review- So the crazy kid Masao thinks that if Kira was gone then Rei would be more like him. He almost gets himself killed more than once in this volume. But the really interesting thing is what he knows about Kira. We get to see something in flashbacks that happened to Kira but no real idea until the last two pages when she freaks out on Rei. I find the drama very interesting because I think that most teenagers do not know really too much about stalking or the other scary things that can happen but they make good drama. So this is almost a first introduction to this kind of behavior, now I could be wrong, just going off my own teenage years and what little I knew about others then. The art again has some moments of real beauty and they happened when the violence was at the worst. The contrast was good and added more interest to the scene.

I give this volume a Five out of Five. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

Dorothy Must DIE

Today's post is on Dorothy Must DIE by Danielle Paige. It is the first in her Dorothy Must Die series. It is 452 pages long and is published by Harper. The cover is black with Dorothy's blue checked dress and the title in red. The intended reader is young adult but if you like the Oz series by L. Frank Baum then you would enjoy this. There is some language, some violence, and no sex in this novel. The story is told from the first person close of Amy. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be some king of hero.

But when your whole life swept up by a tornado- taking you with it- you have no choice but to go along, you know?
Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road- but even that's crumbling.
What happened?
Dorothy.
They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.
My name is Amy Gumm- and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission.

Review- This was a fun and darker take on Oz and its mythology. I have read most of the Oz books so I could see some of the bigger plot points coming, like about Ozma. But Paige has taken some interesting and fun liberties with the story. The writing is good, the pacing is solid, and the dialog is not bad. The only thing I did not want in this book was the little romance. The original Oz series has no romance in it at all. It is about women and female power. Baum was for women's rights and that is part of the reason he wrote the Oz books with female character's being the ones with all the power. I know that Paige is writing to her market but I would have liked to see that theme in this book too. About the romance it is not bad but it is not really good either. I think that it was there just for the young adult market. I hope that there is not a love triangle coming. But if you like Oz and its mythology then you try this one.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.