Tag: Putnam Juvenile

Guest Review: Pegasus by Robin McKinley

Posted January 11, 2011 by Ames in Reviews | 9 Comments


Main Character
: Princess Sylviianel & Ebon
Love Interest: n/a
Series: Pegasus #1
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Good Reads

Because she was a princess, she had a pegasus…
Princess Sylviianel has always known that on her twelfth birthday she too would be bound to her own pegasus. All members of the royal family have been thus bound since the Alliance was made almost a thousand years ago; the binding system was created to strengthen the Alliance, because humans and pegasi can only communicate formally, through specially trained Speaker magicians.

But everything is different for Sylvi and Ebon from the moment they meet at her binding – when they discover they can talk to each other. They form so close a bond that it becomes a threat to the status quo – and possibly to the future safety of their two nations. For some of the magicians believe there is a reason humans and pegasi should not fully understand each other…

I had been looking forward to reading Pegasus since I first heard about it and it finally came in from the library. I had a bit of hesitation about Sylvi’s age (Pegasus starts when she’s 12) but that didn’t really stop me from jumping into the story.

And what a story it is! Despite a bit of a slow beginning, Pegasus quickly picks up and we’re thrust into Sylvi and Ebon’s world.

A thousand years ago, a cadre of warriors stumbled into a new land, a land ruled by Pegasi. An Alliance was struck between the two races to both their benefits. The men would defend the land and the Pegasi had their own magic that would aid the men, their crops, spells, etc. Pegasi are not quite just horses with wings. Their bones are hollow to enable their flying and this makes them fragile. They also have little fingers on the middle of their wings. These are also very fragile. And men and pegasi cannot talk. The communicate via Speaker magicians, magicians who have trained to understand the pegasi language of speaking and signing. The royal family, as part of the treaty, are bound to a royal pegasus when they turn 12 years old. There are stipulations on the human side – they don’t know who their pegasus will be until it’s unveiled at the birthday celebration. They also don’t know who their Speaker will be.

Sylvi is kind of dreading having a Speaker. The magic that her people use puts her on edge. It doesn’t feel right. So to have one follow her around whenever her pegasus is near does not sound appealing. Sylvi is kind of uncomfortable being a princess. She’s the 4th child and the only girl. She doesn’t like state events, rituals, she’d rather hang out with her pony, hawk and dogs outside.

Everything is turned upside down when she realizes her and her pegasus can talk to each other. And this ability threatens a very powerful man, the head of the Magicians Guild. And he’s out to prove that what her and Ebon are capable of is not a good thing, especially in their fight against an old enemy.

Ok, I admit that Sylvi’s age, only 12, gave me a bit of pause. But it actually turned out to be a good thing because there are things Sylvi is being taught that makes the world-building delivery to the reader easier to bear. I find world-building can be tedious but in McKinley’s hands it’s not. We understand Sylvi’s impatience with what she’s learning and her yearning to get to the good stuff. And then, after her and Ebon meet and find out they can speak directly to each other (and a few other prohibited things – like flying!) the book moves forward three years, to the eve of Sylvi’s 16th birthday. Her and Ebon are closer than ever and a few old enemies are beginning to make themselves known.

Pegasus was a very interesting story. At the center is the friendship between Ebon and Sylvi. I thought these two characters were amazing and they really were the sister/brother of the other’s heart. I really enjoyed the shenanigans they got up to and the things they learned from the other. Pegasus culture is vastly different from humans’ and Sylvi was a better person for her closeness to Ebon.

In the background of this unfolding friendship, there is a threat looming. Fthoom, the head of the Magician’s Guild, hates Sylvi and all that she represents. If she can speak directly to her Pegasus, Speaker magicians will eventually become useless. When he attempts to attack her after her 12th birthday, Sylvi’s father, the king, removes Fthoom from his position but sets him on a task, a task that will take 4 years to complete. The other threat is more against the Pegasi. The Alliance was originally struck to protect the Pegasi from their enemies, creatures called wyverns, norindours, taralians and rocs. After the humans chased them out of the Pegasi lands, there have only been rare sightings of these creatures. But lately the number of sightings are increasing all over the land and for myself personally, these creatures are tied into Fthoom and his magic. These two threats create a tension that offsets the tranquility of Ebon and Sylvi’s friendship. It was a good balance.

I really enjoyed reading Pegasus and I can’t believe I have to wait until 2012 for the sequel. I don’t know why, but I thought this was a stand-alone book. LOL I quickly realized that it couldn’t be. But I hate having to wait. Grrrr! I’m giving Pegasus an A-, I definitely recommend reading it.

Buy the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon|Book Depository
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com

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Review: The Julian Game by Adele Griffin.

Posted August 25, 2010 by Rowena in Reviews | 3 Comments


Main Characters: Raye Archer, Ella Parker, Julian Kilgarry, Henry Henry
Series: None

All new girl Raye Archer wants is a way into the in crowd, so when ice-queen Ella Parker picks her to get back at her ex, the gorgeous Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than game. Even if it means creating a fake Facebook identity so she can learn enough about Julian to sabotage him. It’s a fun and dangerous thrill at first, but Raye hadn’t counted on falling for Julian herself and igniting Ella’s rage.

As Raye works to reconcile the temptress Elizabeth with her real-life self, Ella serves up her own revenge, creating an online smear campaign of nasty rumors and trashy photographs. Suddenly notorious, Raye has to find a way out of the web of deceit that she’s helped to build, and back to the relationships that matter.

Adele Griffins riveting novel explores the issues of generation Facebook: the desire to be someone else, real versus online friends, and the pitfalls and fall outs of posting your personal life online for all the world to judge.

This book was on my monthly wish list from this month and I was lucky enough to nab one from the author (thanks Adele!) and I was so excited to read it. It took me no time at all to read this book because it was one of those fast reads.

I’m all about the happy ending and I was happy that in this case, the book ended the way it was supposed to end. I’m really glad to have grown up in the town that I grew up and for having gone to the high school that I went to because the people in my town were nice and the people that I went to high school with were also very nice. Of course we had our problems with fighting and what not but there weren’t any bullies. Ella Parker was a bully and to make matters worse, she was an unhinged bully and that mixture just does not mix well at all.

This story follows Rae Archer as she maneuvers her way through a new school where all she wants is to get into the IT crowd, with the popular folks. She finally gets her in when the most popular girl in school, Ella Parker, asks her for help with Chinese. One crazy study session puts into place a revenge plot that has Rae squirming in her seat at the same time that she’s totally curious about how everything will play out. The revenge is on Ella’s ex boyfriend, Julian Kilgarry.

The games begin and as Rae starts to get to know Julian, she starts to realize that maybe the whole revenge thing is going too far. Lots of things pop off and well, let’s just say that you have to read it to believe it. LOL.

Griffin did a great job of delving into Rae’s story. The world she created for these characters felt real and even if I’ve never come across anything like the bullying going on in this book, everything was still believable.

Let me start off by saying that Rae reminded me of all of the girls that I knew growing up (heck, even me) with their “I want to be popular” attitude. They would do and say anything to get in with the IN crowd and while that sounds totally normal, it still got on my freaking nerves. The one character in this book that I absolutely adored was Natalya. The girl was 100% real from the beginning of this book to the end. What’s even better is she was a true friend to Rae from the beginning to the end, even when Rae was being a doo doo head and ditching her. I adore characters like that.

The one character in this book that I wanted to run over in my car and then back up over was Julian. What a d-bag! I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be too mad at him since he’s a teenager but goodness, I hated how two faced he was.

I totally adored Henry Henry and thought he was a great addition to the story and my only complaint where he was concerned was that there wasn’t enough of him in the story. The whole story revolves around the revenge that Ella and Rae started on Julian and the drama that unfolded from there so that explains why Henry wasn’t around for it all but still, I adored him from the first time he came into the story.

What got me was that Griffin tricked me because like Rae, I fell for Julian’s little nice boy act and I couldn’t stop kicking myself afterward. So good on you Griffin for that bit of trickery, it added some flair to my reading.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought Griffin did a fantastic job of sucking me into her world and making me care for her characters, the only drawback was that I didn’t end up caring for the main characters but the secondary characters. There were more than a couple of times that I wished Natalya played a bigger role or that Henry would hurry up and make another appearance.

It was the secondary characters that pulled me through this book. I ended up liking Rae at the end but it was Natalya and Henry that I LOVED! Would I recommend this book? Yep, I think YA lovers will enjoy it.

Buy the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon
Book cover and blurb credit: http://barnesandnoble.com


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