June 2013 reading list

Books I’ve already talked about
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
In Pursuit of the Green Lion by Judith Merkle Riley
The Human Division
The Chocolate Rose
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta
Picture Book Monday
Escape from the Pipe Men by Mary G. Thompson
Angel with the Sword by C.J. Cherryh
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Demon’s Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan

Other books
Keeping Safe the Stars by Sheila O’Connor: I have a weakness for books like Homecoming and Where the Lilies Bloom, where resourceful kids have to take care of themselves when adults have left them. Keeping Safe the Stars is in that vein, and quite charming. While I think enjoyment of it may depend on your tolerance for whimsey, I did like it a lot.

The Queen’s Agent by John Cooper: A biography of Francis Walsingham, which ought to have been fascinating, because WALSINGHAM. Unfortunately, Cooper’s style jumped all over the place chronologically, making it very difficult to figure out what was happening when. Has anyone read other biographies of Walsingham? If so, any suggestions for good ones?

I Start Counting by Audrey Erskine Lindop: Coworker M, who is being forced to read all the books I love because I know she’ll love them too, returned the favor with this one. Since unreliable narrators are the BEST THING EVER, I did love this one. It is really weird, and uncomfortable, and atmospheric. Highly recommended for fans of Gothic mysteries, or teen mysteries, or odd romances.

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt: This is a fun, lightish contemporary YA. I enjoyed it, but I did feel a little distant from the main character. I think this had something to do with her upper-middle-class sensibilities, even though a lot of the book revolves around her family’s loss of income. This is such a small thing in a certain way, but it threw me out of the story because I’ve never been part of that class and it’s a bit alien to me.

The Chocolate Touch by Laura Florand: I will totally be a tease and tell you that this book is awesome, and Laura Florand’s best yet. It’s out in July (I’m 98% sure) and I’ll have a longer review then.

The Gate of Gods by Martha Wells: The last book in the Fall of Ile-Rien series and AAAGHHHH, so good. I love the mixture of cultures, and the way it almost echoes WWII, and the romance, and Tremaine, and everything. Okay, Nicholas is frustratingly distant if you’ve read Death of the Necromancer, but it is Tremaine’s story and not his.

Mort by Terry Pratchett: I tried Pratchett a few years ago and bounced off his wit. Then I read and completely loved the Tiffany Aching books, so I thought I would try the earlier ones again. Nope. Still bouncing. (I will give the guards books a try, though.)

Kiki Strike: Darkness Dwellers by Kirsten Miller: The last in the Kiki Strike books. I liked it, but I found it a bit hard to get into. What was fresh and enchanting in the first book, and even the second, seemed a bit forced here, I thought. I think a lot of other people loved it, so it’s ENTIRELY possible that it just wasn’t the book for me.

The Watcher in the Shadows by Chris Moriarty: If I had to pitch this to a classic kid lit lover, I would say that this series is All of a Kind Family with magic. It just keeps getting better. I love how developed all the characters are. And I kind of want Inspector Wolf to have his own series, except that I love the MG aspect of it too. Basically, this is just all kinds of awesome.

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George: This is one of those books that makes me wish I had a teleport to deliver it to younger Maureen. I would have LOVED it at a certain age. As an adult reader, I found it a bit unsatisfying, although I appreciated the sibling relationships and loved the way the castle was a character in its own right.