Cloaked by Alex Flinn

Cloaked by Alex Flinn
published 2011 by HarperCollins
341 pages (hardcover), MG/YA

Okay, the front flap is too good not to share:

I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.

Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked.

Oh, Johnny. You poor boy. Literally. Johnny's a cobbler (not the yummy kind, though I imagine he might be ruggedly handsome) and a hard, hard-worker. He repairs shoes day and night so that he and his mom can afford to live. One day, Princess Victoriana shows up at Johnny's hotel and his ogling turned accidental meeting changes his life. Victoriana is gorgeous, obviously, and flashy in the spotlight, giving the paparazzi exactly what they want, but she is devastated on the inside. Her brother has been kidnapped and she needs a trustworthy someone to find him. Someone like Johnny. Did I mention that her brother's been turned into a frog? Right. But if Johnny finds him, this frog prince, Victoriana will marry Johnny - not a bad proposition for a boy who has no wealth or any chance at finding love with someone so beautiful. Yes! Of course he'll help! With a magic cloak that can transport him anywhere, Johnny begins his quest to find Victoriana's brother.

This is a fairy tale retelling of sorts, though it doesn't follow one story but rather seven different ones, which are briefly summarized at the end of the book. This is something I wanted to know beforehand, and I should have checked the back to find it. So, I thought I'd list them for you, just so you know:

• The Elves and the Shoemaker
• The Frog Prince
• The Six Swans
• The Golden Bird
• The Valiant Tailor
• The Salad
• The Fisherman and His Wife

That's quite a collection of tales! But Flinn weaves them all together so wonderfully. It's an insane adventure that Johnny has, but it works. I liked the story, and I alternated between reading the book and the e-book (which I've never done before!) so that I could finish it. I was a little disappointed in some parts of the writing - the love story was a little too predictable and could have been left a little more elusive. But overall, I enjoyed the story and look forward to more fairy tale retellings from Alex Flinn. A solid three purple crayons. 

Readathon book reflections

Last weekend, I participated in the 48hr Book Challenge, and I feel like I spent this week recovering. I never quite realized how particular I am about how often I read, how often I prefer to read, and how much I can read at once. I've noticed in the past few months of Reading Recaps that I average about 3,000 pages read each month, and this seems like a good number for me. I am definitely a slave to routine and balance, which keeps me sane most of the time. :)

Anyhow, since I haven't done much reading this week, I thought I'd mull over some of last weekend's reads.

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
published December 2008 (c2006?) by MIRA
448 pages (paperback reprint), YA

This is the second book in Snyder's Study series - I absolutely loved the first, Poison Study. If you haven't read the first, then spoilers are inevitable, but if you're anything like me, you won't remember them by the time you read it anyway, so please continue.

Yelena is en route to her supposed home in Sitia, but she has no memories of her childhood or family. She is exiled from the only home she's known as well as her former mentor and current love, Valek. With Master Magician Irys' help, Yelena adapts to life in Sitia, reluctant but willing to learn to control her magic. She briefly meets her family--mother, father, brother, and a clan filled with cousins, aunts, and uncles--then immediately sets off to reach the Magician's Citadel where she can begin her magic training. At the Citadel, a rogue magician is on the loose, murdering innocent girls in a way that is all too familiar to Yelena. Of course, Yelena leaps in without thinking, providing much-needed assistance but also revealing a little something about herself that she had yet to discover on her own.

What can I say? It's a complicated book. And I'll admit that I was most interested in the parts where Valek made an appearance. I was shocked at how different this book was from the first, and it took me a little while to get into it. I feel like the first book focused very much on Yelena's character, and this one went for the action-packed approach. Yelena doesn't have much time to reflect on all that she's learned about herself and her past because she's chasing a crazy, serial killer magician. I'm almost halfway through the third book, Fire Study, and my interest is waning because it seems that the same is happening in this book - less about the characters (and so many new characters!) and more plot-based, which is a little disappointing. I think Poison Study is great as a stand-alone novel, and the next two can be considered optional companions.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

published March 2010 by Random House

416 pages (hardcover), YA

I won't say much about this one. It is the companion novel (second in a trilogy) to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, in that we are introduced to Mary's daughter, Gabry, who this story follows. I've read tons of criticism that Gabry is weak and annoying, afraid and whining, and I suppose that's fine because, well, she is, but that didn't really affect my enjoyment of the story. Not all main characters are strong. They're not all invincible. And they're not all perfect. I'm okay with the fact that Gabry is terrified of breaking the rules, is paralyzed with fear at encountering a Mudo - in a world where zombies roamed the earth, I'd be constantly afraid too. What I didn't initially enjoy was the ridiculous love triangle, but I did eventually get over it because I could see it happening. You love who you love until you don't (or can't) anymore and someone else comes along. Especially in extreme circumstances, this is common. All in all, I liked this book, and I'll probably read the third, The Dark and Hollow Places, when it comes out next spring.

A Spy in the House (The Agency #1) by Y.S. Lee

published March 2010 by Candlewick

352 pages (hardcover), YA

Goodness, how I loved this book! Think Enola Holmes for YA. This is a new Victorian mystery series, with criminal-turned-lady Mary Quinn as our main character, who has joined the exclusive and elusive Agency, an organization of women spies, after completing her education at its cover, Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. Her first assignment is to be a lady's companion to the daughter of a merchant who seems to be losing a few too many cargo ships at sea. She is merely to acquire useful information about the potential fraudulent claims, but Mary is a take-action kind of girl, so she sets out to do some detective work of her own. She finds herself in some sticky situations, with a love interest in a partner in spy, James Easton, who is also investigating this family for his own reasons. This was a delightful read! Mary is anything but a lady, though she does try. She's clever and headstrong with a blossoming flirtatious side. I'm looking forward to more in this series, with The Body at the Tower coming out in August.

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

published February 2010 by HarperCollins

245 pages (hardcover), MG

You know me, I'm a sucker for retold fairy tales. Can you guess this one? Yep, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. In which there is a thirteenth princess named Zita who grows up as a servant in the castle, unknowing of her true parentage until she's twelve years old. When she finds out that she too is a princess, she's elated and she immediately attempts to get to know her twelve sisters, who embrace her and welcome her into their room at night, when the king won't see. Because the king is furious to have thirteen daughters, not one son to be his heir, and not even willing to acknowledge his thirteenth daughter. After all, she is the one who killed the queen in childbirth. While Zita is discovering her new life, the princesses begin to fall ill. They are exhausted and confined to their room, with worn out slippers each night. It's up to Zita and some new friends to find out what's going on in the palace, where magic has been banned but is clearly at work. 

I've recently read Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, which is also a retelling of this tale, so I thought that I would be bored with this one. Not the case at all. Introducing a thirteenth princess was such a clever idea that really worked with this story. I was happy for all of the background information at the start of the book and still wanted to find out how the princesses would be lifted from their spell.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Beastly by Alex Flinn
published October 2007 by HarperCollins
320 pages (hardcover), YA

Kyle Kingsbury has it all - money, good looks, hot girlfriend - and he knows it. One day, at his NYC prep school, he notices a strange, green-haired girl for the first time in English class as she is attempting to make a point about how superficial outward beauty is. Feeling sorry for her, but really just wanting to make a joke out of her, he asks her to be his date for a school dance (she's not exactly pretty as a picture), for which he has no intention of picking her up let alone being seen with her. A cruel prank. A Kyle thing to do. At the dance, the girl expects Kyle to ditch her, but she also has something planned for him - a curse which will turn him into a beast and which can only be broken by a true love's kiss. And we have a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, from the Beast's perspective.

Beauty and the Beast is one of those stories with endless variants (an Author's Note at the end of the book will point you in the right direction for more) because it is timeless. Both vanity and love will always exist. And what better setting to showcase these characteristics than a modern-day New York? I won't lie - I had the Disney version stuck in my head for comparison because I absolutely loved it as a kid. After Kyle's transformation into Beast (or Adrian, as he prefers to be called), the similarities are actually quite striking but still fresh and unique. There are roses in abundance, a magic mirror, an imprisoned father traded for his fair daughter, and a friendship and later love that blossoms between Beauty and the Beast.

A sixth-grade girl recommended this book to me many months ago - oh, how she gushed about it! Her eyes lit up, and she said repeatedly, "You HAVE to read this!" Well, I finally did! And I'm happy to say that it is completely gush-worthy. I love a fleshed-out fairy tale, especially now that I've read so many of Grimm's, which, to me, just seem like the bare bones of our favorite fairy tales. And fleshed-out, this one is. The transformation from Kyle to Adrian in this book feels genuine and complex, as he learns to accept his fate as a hairy, ugly beast of a man, and slowly finds hope that someone can see past his appearance and maybe even love him. The moments he shares with Lindy, his prisoner and former classmate, are inwardly tense but gentle and precious. They both have much to learn about each other and themselves. Although I wasn't completely thrilled with the way the happy ending played out, I was glad to experience a happily ever after, as it should be.

I have a small confession to make. I moved this one up on the to-read pile because of this:


As much as I loved the book, the sap in me says that I'll like the movie even better. While I'm a little iffy on the casting choices (Mary-Kate as the ugly witch? hmm...), the updated look for the Beast fits better with the NYC landscape, and I'm a fan of the soundtrack already. Do I have to wait for summer?

More reviews:
La Femme Readers; Steph Su Reads; Books and Movies; read what you know; Today's Adventure; T.V. and Book Addict; I Heart Monster; All About {n}; Readingjunky's Reading Roost

Read-alouds in the Library

Because I am now gainfully employed (at least for the next two months), I have a lot less time on my hands, and most of what I've been reading lately is to share with my students. And now I'll share them with you...

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
published  April 2002 by Scholastic

So, I'm doing a David Shannon author study with first grade students. Last week, we read Too Many Toys and The Rain Came Down. Eventually, I'll get to the David books (though I'm not really a fan), but today was definitely a Duck on a Bike day. Sometimes I just want to jump for joy at how a great book can captivate and inspire a group of students.

If you don't know the story, Duck rides a bike around the farm, and on each page he encounters an animal who reacts to Duck's unusual activity (Dog is excited, Mouse is jealous, Sheep is wary, etc.) with an animal sound and an exclamation. In the end, a group of children conveniently leave their bikes outside the house, and all of the animals on the farm get to ride a bike for a short time.

There are many factors which contribute to a great read-aloud - many of which have nothing to do with the reader or the book. Time of day, weather, lunch, recess happenings, etc. Those seemed to all be in my favor today because my students came in quietly, sat down in their neat, little rows, and listened to the story. I asked them to raise their hands every time a new animal was introduced, and they did! With enthusiasm! They asked good questions, gave thoughtful answers, and were just wonderful. We got a little silly at the end of class; I read the book again, but this time I asked them to contribute the animal sounds. Yeah, they love that.

Hansel and Gretel retold and illustrated by Rachel Isadora

published April 2009 by Penguin

Grimm's tales with fifth grade = a lot more fun in theory. I was so excited to share these gruesome, scary versions of everyone's favorite fairy tales - except that kids today don't know the fairy tales at all. Last week, I read Cinderella, but before I did, I asked students to retell it for me, just basic plot points. Yeah, that wasn't happening. I got the Hillary Duff A Cinderella Story version, with a cell phone left behind at a high school dance. Really? Really?! Do I have to suck it up and admit that fairy tales are on their way to being obsolete? Am I supposed to thank Disney for keeping them alive as long as they did? I digress.

This week, I read this AMAZING retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Rachel Isadora stayed true to Grimm's story, but she set it in Africa with bright, bold colors in a collage style - and a green, nasty-looking witch. I immediately fell in love with this book. There's nothing in the text that specifies setting, so I'm thrilled that Isadora just made it up and stuck with it. I hear that she's quite good at this. I hoped that my excitement would be contagious and that students would really get into the story and especially appreciate the illustrations. Not so much. What can I say? Grimm's tales are repetitive (in keeping with the oral tradition) with some interesting morals, and well, a little boring. It takes a lot to entertain these students, and they just weren't having it with this story.

But the point of the lesson was to compare two retellings of the same story to see how time and perspective can introduce many variables to essentially the same text. But I need more than 30 minutes for this. And I need students who care. I don't know how to make them care. They just see it as something they need to get done - another worksheet to fill out (or not, as the case was for many of them). Is it just that it's spring and they're tired of school and perhaps a little jaded and ready to leave elementary school behind? I sure hope so.

What Happened to Marion's Book? by Brook Berg, illustrated by Nathan Alberg
published September 2003 by Highsmith

Kindergarten is absolutely my weakness. With over 20 five year-olds and just one me, I have trouble reading a story and checking out books in just 30 minutes. This book is lengthy but a good review of how to care for a book, especially at this time of year when books are coming back sopping wet ("I left it in the rain") or chewed up ("It was my dog").

Marion the hedgehog loves to read and has lots of books of her own. When she starts school, she gets to borrow two books from her school library, and she decides that she wants to be a librarian when she grows up (yes, it's a little cheesy). One day, while Marion is reading her library book at the breakfast table, a big glob of jam falls on a page. Oops! Marion knows that her librarian will be disappointed if she brings back a dirty book, so she decides to clean it. Her dog licks it, she puts toothpaste on it, takes it in the bath, and puts it in the washer - until the book is completely ruined. Moral of the story - 'Fess up right away and all is forgiven (well, you know, except that fine you'll have to pay).

Students were truly shocked at the choices Marion makes during the course of the book (thank goodness!), and I think they'll remember to keep their books clean and dry. Now if I can get them to bring back their books at all...


That's all for read-alouds this week. Third grade is working on using the online catalog, and fourth grade is using magazines for information. More next week!

Princesses, faeries, and debutantes

I'm in a serious girlie rut right now. I have been steadily gravitating toward the more feminine type of book (I'm not in the mood for this debate - but yes, I do gender stereotype. I am a product of society, what can I say?), and I'm just about sick of it. I haven't seen a male protagonist in who knows how long. ::checks GoodReads:: Okay, I read the graphic novel of Fahrenheit 451 last week, and there were a couple others last month, but it certainly feels like a lot longer. It's all princesses and faeries and debutantes these days.

Be warned - these are not reviews of books but reflections on my reading experiences. Sometimes, that's just more interesting (to me, at least).

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
published January 2009 by Bloomsbury
288 pages (hardcover), YA

Well, I really enjoyed this book. It's a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling, and we all know how much I love my retold fairy tales. Even though I was not all too familiar with this one. I just appreciate Jessica Day George's writing so much. It's the kind that's effortless to read, like it would just flow off your tongue if you read it aloud. It's not too flowery, but it's still beautiful. She has a gift of setting a scene without using too much description. I have quite a few mental images of the castle and the garden and even the town outside the castle, but I never felt like I was trying to get through detailed passages to move on to the action (coughHobbitcoughcough). I can't speak much to the originality of the story because it's a retelling, and I don't know the original tale that well. I liked it well enough and will be happy to read the companion Princess of Glass (a Cinderella retelling!) when it comes out in May.

Darklight by Lesley Livingston
published December 2009  by HarperCollins
312 pages (hardcover), YA

I read the first book Wondrous Strange sometime last year or maybe earlier upon the recommendation of a student. She thrust the book into my hands (an ARC, I believe) and said, "You have to read this!" So, I did. I will always read a student recommendation - a professional courtesy, I think. Anyhow, I liked it okay, but I knew that she loved it, so I let her gush until her heart's content. Why did I read the sequel if I only liked the first so-so? Let me tell you, I have very little self-control when it comes to faeries and series - and this one hit them both! It was action-packed (and mildly confusing - who's whose parent?) for a cover like this (which is also another weakness of mine, ack), which definitely intrigued me. But I found myself sighing in exasperation and putting the book down a few too many times. I needed more character development. I needed to remember better what happened in the first book. And I needed to just plow through it instead of reading it in short spurts. An average read for me, but I'm not a fan of average. I would prefer to be wowed.

Splendor by Anna Godbersen
published October 2009 by HarperCollins
391 pages (hardcover), YA

Am I the only one hooked on these books? And am I the only one wondering if Gossip Girl will ever come back to the television screen? While I wait for a new GG episode, I have a Luxe novel to hold me over - over what, I don't know. I suppose I should explain the connection between the two - high society New York, Luxe set in the early 1900s, GG present day. This is the fourth and final book in the series, where I'm told much is wrapped up nicely. I've only just begun reading it, but I don't anticipate writing a review, so I thought I'd share it now. I can't explain the draw to these books - not much more than "they're pretty." They're the kind of books I imagine Melissa de la Cruz would like reading (among many others, of course). The writing is grand, in tune with the lifestyles of the rich and proper girls it describes. It's a pleasure to read, really, but I think it may be an acquired taste. I need to find a day to spend curled up with this book because I don't like having to break it up.

My goal in the sometime near future is to re-evaluate the books I have currently checked out of the library. Unfortunately, some of them will have to be returned unread. There are only so many hours, so many days. And the real goal - the challenge - is to find books that are out of my comfort zone, that are "boy" books, and that I wouldn't normally pick up or give a second glance at. Because I know that I can read more broadly and enjoy it. I just have to remember to do it more often.

Ash by Malinda Lo + additions to the catch-up pile

Ash by Malinda Lo

I am a sucker for retold fairy tales. Ash is a Cinderella retelling, but it's its own unique story, so much its own that at times I would forget its origins.

Ash is the Cinderella in our story - a girl in love with fairy tales living in a country town filled with old superstitions. As she is orphaned, she must move in with her late father's recent wife, a lady with two daughters of her own, and is reduced to being merely a servant in the house. At the beginning of her new situation, Ash wants nothing more than to have her mother back, so much that she considers striking a deal with a faery, which will more than likely cost her her life. As the story progresses, Ash is wrapped up in dreams and the Wood - and then she meets the King's Huntress, who slowly changes her mind about life and love. It's their blossoming relationship that allows Ash to re-learn how to live her life as her own.

This is a beautiful story that demands to be read with an open heart and mind. More than a tale of a girl falling in love with a prince and living happily ever after (which doesn't exactly happen, by the way), Ash delves deep into our protagonist's soul and exposes her fears and desires. While I was not completely satisfied with a few plot points and scenes (especially the end - when a faery merely succumbs to Ash's will), I was left with a contented sigh of appreciation for this story.


I went to the library to pick up a few more books that I had put on hold many moons ago. These, too, will easily make it to my favorites list of 2009.

Darklight by Lesley Livingston
The sequel to Wondrous Strange, which I enjoyed quite thoroughly. Have I recently mentioned my love for all things faery?

Splendor by Anna Godbersen
The fourth (and final?!) installment of the Luxe series. Early twentieth century New York never seemed so glamorous.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
I'm most excited about this book. Probably because I ate up The Time Traveler's Wife. But this story sounds rather intriguing as well - twin 20 year-old gals from Chicago head to London to live in their late aunt's flat, uncovering secrets and mysteries about her neighbors and her past.


And I'm still waiting for these to show up with my name on them on my library's hold shelf...

Giddy for new books!

I have a small confession to make. I stalk books. There are some books that I, and I'm sure others do this too, find out about months, sometimes a year, before they are published, and I anxiously await the day when they hit the shelves. Unlike others, I do not purchase books. I don't pre-order books. I humbly put myself on my library's hold list, and I wait it out. And the best feeling in the getting new books world is when I receive that little e-mail telling me that one of the books I requested oh-so-long ago has finally become available for me to check out. Oh, it's like Christmas!

But wait! What happens when FOUR of those highly anticipated, oh I just can't wait to read them, books become available?! Yes, this is my current joy and dilemma.

Fire by Kristin Cashore
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Forest Born by Shannon Hale

What to read first?! How am I to decide?! Can I read all four simultaneously? I know I'm being a little silly, but I am giddy! I have been reading rave reviews of these books since before the summer, and I am just ecstatic that I get to experience them too. :D

And on top of all that, I just finished reading two supremely excellent books that I had also been waiting to read:














A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

My Goodreads review of Flygirl:

Generally, I'm not a fan of historical fiction, and I really don't like anything war-related, but this was a fresh perspective, a different side of the war that I had never seen or heard of before. I think this would be a great addition as a choice novel for students studying World War II - especially those who are like me and are not fond of the actual war side of things. There are always people back at home who may not be directly affected by war but are trying to help in any way that they know how. And that's our Ida Mae Jones. A light-skinned African-American young woman who loves to fly and wants to support her brother who has just been sent off to the war - so she becomes a WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots. But in order to do so, she needs to pass as a white woman. It's complicated and emotional, and at times, frightening. Ida Mae is one of those characters you get to know and love, even if you don't always agree with her.