Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I have really enjoyed every Kingsolver book I've read, but Demon Copperhead just didn't do it for me. And to be perfectly honest, I skipped part of it.

From the blurb: Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. 

Kingsolver writes well. Her text is interesting. But this book was such a downer. For the first 1/3, I slogged through and then was so happy that things were looking up for Demon. But there was a lot of book to go, so as I continued, at about 60% I realized things were going to get depressing again. I went to the reviews. There are many stunningly glowing reviews. Maybe because this is supposed to be a modern retelling of David Copperfield. (I've never read it.) But when I looked at the more harsh reviews, I realized many people felt the way I did. People who were Kingsolver fans. But I did see that the book's ending was worth reading. So I skipped ahead and read the last few chapters.

I was able to glean pretty much what had happened in the part that I skipped. And, as I suspected, it was horrifying. The book is TOO LONG. It just goes on and on. Same stuff over and over. Same complaints. Same hardships. Lots of substance-abuse-related deaths.

Demon Copperhead wasn't for me. Maybe if you are prepped and in the right frame of mind, you will love it, as many others did. 

Published by Harper, October 18, 2022
eARC obtained from Edelweiss+
370/560 pages

Rating: 3/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2022 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan @annsulliva

King Midas turned things into gold.  Including his daughter, Kora.  A Touch of Gold is Kora's story.

Midas screwed up, and after he gets his curse reversed, he can no longer turn things to gold.  And although Kora is no longer gold, she still isn't normal and has powers that must be kept secret from the kingdom.

Midas needs to be near the other items he turned to gold in order to live.  So when they are stolen, Kora must hunt them down and return them to save her father and the kingdom. She gets the help of one of her suitors, Aris (who hasn't fled at the sight of her golden skin), and he takes her on his ship.  Her cousin, Hettie, stows away on board which also complicates things. When the sailors find out who Kora is, her life is in danger.  Aris along with the captain, Royce, protect here. Kora can sense where the gold is--she gets visions that help them find it.

The lore is interesting although at times confusing.  There is a complexity, but things sometimes are explained a bit quickly. The bad guys aren't what they seem -- and neither are the good ones.  There are plenty of twists and turns that all surprised me. The romance is a bit overdone, but hey, it added to the enjoyment. It is for teens, after all. The ending ramps up nicely and is very exciting and satisfying.

Teens who enjoy fantasy, mythology, and retellings will certainly enjoy this one. Adults should give A Touch of Gold a chance too.

Published by Blink, August 14, 2018
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
320 pages

Rating: 4/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2018 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Not being a big mythology fan, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Song of Achilles.

The Song of Achilles is sort of a retelling of the Iliad--the Trojan War, Oedipus, and of course, the story of Achilles. The story is told from the unique perspective of Patroclus, who is Achilles lover.

Their relationship is slowly developed which makes The Song of Achilles more of a love story.  But there is plenty of battles and twelve-years of war to keep up the action.

As I said, I'm not much of a mythology scholar, so I enjoyed this story, whether it follows the classic myths or not.  Patroclus' perspective is unique. I still get the characters confused. Their names all sound the same to me. But for the most part, I kept track of what was going on.

We pretty much all know that it ends for both of these characters, but I was waiting for the arrow in the heel (I did know at least that much) but it never happened.

If you are a fan of mythology, then you should definitely put this Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction (2012) on your list. The sequel, Circe, is releasing in April and that was my motivation for reading The Song of Achilles now. I have a copy of Circe that I'm hoping to get to soon.

Published by Ecco, 2012
Copy obtained from the library
416 pages

Rating: 4/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2018 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: The Traitor Prince, by C. J. Redwine @cjredwine

I really enjoyed The Shadow Queen and The Wish Granter, so there was no way I wasn't going to experience The Traitor Prince. The Ravenspire series are companion novels so you can read any of them separately.

The Traitor Prince is a retelling of The False Prince and The Prince and the Pauper. But Redwine's retellings are very loose. This one, like the others, is action-packed and filled with quite a bit of violence.

Javan, the real prince, has been away at school for ten years.  While there, his father, the king, is being slowly poisoned by his uncle.  The uncle has been training his son to take the prince's place.  The plan is to kill the prince before he returns home after his graduation.

But Javan survives, although he is thrown into a brutal, deadly prison.  He must figure out a way to survive, escape, and convince his father that he is the true prince. With the help of a prison slave, Sadja, he works toward this goal.  But the obstacles seem insurmountable, given that Javan must survive the powerful beasts in the annual tournament.  The prize is an audience with the King.  But the beasts are terrifying and nothing like anything Javan has ever faced.

Javan is a good guy.  You can't help but root for him, given that he has been treated so unfairly. Sadja is also a sympathetic character, given that she has been enslaved since she was a child.  She has magical powers that she can't use, but she's tough. The romance is inevitable but doesn't overpower the story.

I did think the middle part of the book, when Javan is in prison, goes on a bit long.  But there is a lot of action, so I guess I just wanted Javan and Sadja to get to the happy ending. Mostly just impatience on my part.

Even if you aren't a fan of retellings, this is an enjoyable fantasy/adventure.  And if you do like retellings, I would highly recommend The Traitor Prince, as well as the entire Ravenspire Series.

Published by Balzer + Bray, February 13, 2018
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
416 pages

Rating: 4/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2018 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: The Wish Granter, by C. J. Redwine

I'm going to be honest. Books about magic and fairies are not, in general, my thing.  But I was very entertained by The Wish Granter. This is the second book in the Ravenspire series.  The first was The Shadow Queen, which I also enjoyed. These are really separate fairy tale stories. I can't remember any of the characters overlapping, but it's been a while so I might be wrong.  You definitely don't need to read The Shadow Queen first, although, why not?

At the beginning of the book, we see Thad making a wish that will cost him dearly.  In order to save the life of his sister, Ari, he vows to become the King of Súndraille and to not meddle in the nefarious affairs of the wish granter, Alistair Teague.

So while Thad is a puppet king and Teague terrorizes and oppresses the townspeople, Ari is trying to figure out how to get Thad out of this horrible contract.  She has ten years because, after that, Thad's soul belongs to Teague.

Many new people are being hired to work for the king, and Sebastian is the new weapons master. He comes from a poor background, and his dad has terrorized Sebastian since he was a small boy.  His father works for Teague.  His mother is a drug addict because of Teague.  Sebastian is hoping to make enough money to build himself a cabin away from everyone.  Ari elicits his help to make her some weapons made of iron and to teach her how to use them.  Iron is supposedly one of the things that can kill the fae.

Sebastian and Ari begin to become friends and then much more.  They are together in the fight to figure out how to stop Teague.  It isn't easy.  Teague is strong and has eyes and ears everywhere. No one is safe. But Ari is one of the toughest female characters I've read in a while.  And she isn't going to stop until she succeeds.  It makes for an interesting matchup.

While there are fairytale elements, The Wish Granter is exciting and feels very serious.  This is not for the faint of heart and includes quite a bit of brutality and murders. The closer I got to the end, the more worried I got that this book wasn't going to end well. I never believed Ari was going to be able to overpower Teague. My worries were unfounded, and I ended up loving the way The Wish Granter ended.

The only niggle I had with The Wish Granter is the way the romance unfolds. It's obvious from the minute we meet Sebastian that he will provide the romantic element.  The reader doesn't need to be hit over the head with it.  I laughed when Ari referred over and over to Sebastian's "very intriguing shoulders."  What does that mean? Those strange observations were unnecessary. We get it.

The tension mounts perfectly, and as I got closer and closer to the end, I wanted to read faster and faster!  There is no better recommendation than that. Can't wait to give The Wish Granter to my teens.  It's a lot of fun.

Published by Balzer + Bray, February 14, 2017
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
432 pages

Rating: 4/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2017 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan

Tell the Wind and Fire takes a while to get going, but the ending made my heart pound.

Tell the Wind and Fire is a loose retelling of A Tale of Two Cities, and I have not read that book, so I'll not be doing a comparison. There are two halves of the city -- the Dark and the Light. Lucie, our main character, was born in the Dark, but has made her way to the Light and is the girlfriend of Ethan, a member of the Light's most powerful family. Lucie has Light magic; she has rings and can influence the environment by using them.  She does run out of magic, and needs to be drained by someone with Dark magic to get her's back. That's why the Lights keep the Darks around--to drain off their magic. Or something.  This part was a little vague to me. Lucie only uses her magic a couple of times, and I really forgot about it other than those times.

The people in the Dark are oppressed. They are poor and hungry. Another important character is Ethan's doppelganger, a person who was "born" when Ethan was a baby and he was about to die. Some magic allowed this twin to appear and it saved Ethan. This is highly illegal, and Ethan's family needs to keep this secret. The doppelganger, who has been living in the Dark, shows up. Lucie makes some bad decisions, and everyone's safety is at risk.

Eventually the Dark revolts, executing a well-organized scheme to take over the Light half. This is when the plot actually grabbed my attention. I didn't really connect with Lucie, given that she made huge mistakes and then kept it all a secret while risking Ethan and several other people's lives.

The world and magic is a bit murky. There is no background information to explain how this situation started. It is obvious that there is a big inequality, and the fight for freedom is compelling. So, I have mixed feelings about Tell the Wind and Fire.

Published by Clarion, April 5, 2016
eARC obtained from NetGalley
368 pages

Rating: 3/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2016 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters @catwinters

Cat Winters has solidified her place on my "must read" list with The Steep and Thorny Way. Billed as a reimagining of Hamlet, the story kept me enthralled.

It's the1920s and Hanalee is out to avenge the death of her father. When the kid who went to prison for hitting Hanalee's father with his car is released, Hanalee comes after him with a pistol. He convinces Hanalee that he's not the murderer. That he was framed. That Hanalee's new stepfather, the doctor, is the real killer.

Hanalee begins to investigate, including a couple of visits with the ghost of her father. Turns out, the story is much more complicated. Hanalee's father is black and her mother is white. The Ku Klux Klan has a strong presence in 1920s Oregon and they do not accept Hanalee or any other person of color.

I don't want to say too much about what happens. The tension mounts, as Hanalee begins to understand the truth about her father's death, and she finds herself in great danger because of it.

Winters writes characters that you can't help but sympathize with. It's easy to think the worst of people, but in some cases that's not the truth. And, of course, sometimes those we trust turn out to be the worst! The Steep and Thorny Way is a multilayered story that I couldn't put down. I wasn't really sure about what happened until it was revealed.

I will recommend this to my students along with Winters' other novels, In the Shadow of Blackbirds, The Cure for Dreaming, and The Uninvited. I gave them all 5/5 ratings.

Published by Amulet, March 8, 2016
eARC obtained from NetGalley
352 pages

Rating: 5/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2016 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: The Shadow Queen by C. J. Redwine @cjredwine

The Shadow Queen gets top ratings for non-stop action and adventure. This is Snow White on steroids.

Lorelai watched her father get killed by her stepmother, Irina. Lorelai, her brother, and one of her father's guards have been on the run ever since. Irina has taken the throne of Ravenspire and has used her magic to totally cripple the entire society and execute her subjects at will. She thinks Lorelai and her brother were killed the same time as her father.

Lorelai has been practicing her magic -- but very carefully. She has to be sure Irina doesn't detect her and discover that Lorelai is still alive. Lorelai has vowed to avenge her father's death and take back her kingdom.

Meanwhile in the kingdom of Eldr, the king, queen and crown prince have been murdered by ogres. This means that Prince Kol is now the king. He vows to visit Ravenspire and ask for help from the queen, Irina. Kol thinks his offer of food and aid to the people will convince her to use her magic to help him rid Eldr of the ogres that are sure to defeat his people and take over soon. Ha! Irina has other plans. She tells Kol that if he hunts down and brings her the heart of Lorelai, she will save his country. Kol is a dragon, but dragons don't kill people. Irina uses powerful magic to take over Kol. But when Kol tries to kill Lorelai, she fights back with her magic and the game is on.

I don't really want to say too much more about the story, but it is action packed and exciting and yes, a bit romantic. The dragon lore combined with the unique magic of both Lorelai and Irina causes some very intriguing battles. Personally, I have trouble with magical stories when the magic seems to be the reason that the hero is able to prevail. This happens over and over in The Shadow Queen. But I knew this was a story about magic going in, so it was to be expected and while not my favorite trope, I still really enjoyed the execution of the story.

The Shadow Queen is a worthy addition to the plethora of fairy tale retellings. It's compelling and I'm sure fans of this genre will enjoy every minute.

Published by Balzer + Bray, February 16, 2016
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
400 pages

Rating: 4/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2016 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer @marissa_meyer

Winter is everything one could hope for in the conclusion to the Lunar Chronicles Series.

The characters all come together (and apart, and back together) to help Cinder kill Levana and take the crown that is rightfully hers. The path isn't easy --it takes over 800 pages! But there isn't any extra padding to lengthen the book. There is just one obstacle after another.

And usually in books like that, I feel like sometimes there is too much luck involved when the characters escape from certain death. I didn't get that feeling in Winter. They all worked hard and put their lives on the line time after time.

The new setting, Luna, adds a lot to the challenges. The romances continue and you can't help rooting for love. The new characters fit right in and I know we're all hoping for a "happily ever after" for all of them. Well....I'm not going to tell you about that.

I don't think I need to say much more. I don't think I've read a bad review for Winter yet, and there are plenty of them. If you've read the other books in the series (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Fairest), run, don't walk, and get Winter as soon as you can. If you haven't read the Lunar Chronicles yet, then I highly recommend it.

Published by Feiwel & Friends, November 10 2015
Copy obtained from the library
824 pages

Rating: 5/5

---

Back to Annette's Book Spot Homepage Copyright © 2015 Annette's Book Spot. All Rights Reserved