Almost Home

Almost Home 
by Joan Bauer

When twelve-year-old Sugar's grandfather dies and her gambling father takes off yet again, Sugar and her mother lose their home in Missouri. They head to Chicago for a fresh start, only to discover that fresh starts aren't so easy to come by for the homeless. Nevertheless, Sugar's mother has taught her to be grateful no matter what, so Sugar does her best. With the help of a rescue dog, Shush; a foster family; a supportive teacher; a love of poetry; and her own grace and good humor, Sugar comes to understand that while she can't control the hand life deals her, she can control how she responds. (Description from Amazon.com) 

This was a sweet, heart-string plucking book. It reminded me a lot of One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt.  Sugar is a girl who strives to be sweet...to take on the world with a positive attitude. Even after she gets stuck in foster care and she doesn't quite trust her new situation, she vows to be kind.  What a fabulous and strong character!  A girl who is forced to take on a grown-up role too young, Sugar's street smarts, compassion, and independent character carry this story through to a satisfying conclusion. 

I very much enjoyed as well, how almost all of the adults in the book were portrayed as being fleshed out, multi-faceted characters. Yes, there were those that skewed towards being inherently good and those that were too flawed to be redeemable, but they each had their moments that made them feel like real people.  It was refreshing and made the book a much richer reading experience.    

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library 

Innocent Darkness

Innocent Darkness
by Suzanne Lazear
The Aether Chronicles, book one

Noli Braddock and her best friend V’s incident with a flying auto have landed them in a heap of trouble. And when Noli is sent to a spirit-squelching reform school in San Francisco, she’s sure that her rebellious adventures are over.

Meanwhile, Kevighn Silver has been ordered by the Faerie Queen to bring a mortal girl back to the Otherworld. The magic requires a blood sacrifice every seven years, and only a mortal girl who shines with the Spark—a girl like Noli—will keep the Otherworld from complete destruction.

When an ill-timed wish sends Noli tumbling into the Otherworld, she’s more homesick than ever . . . until V arrives to save her from an untimely demise. But who exactly is V? And if he helps Noli escape, who will save the realm of Faerie from utter annihilation?  (description from Amazon.com)

I LOVED this book.  Seriously.  I love steampunk. I love faeries.  To find an author that had the vision to combine the two?? I'm in serious fan-girl mode, people! SERIOUSLY.

Okay, let me try to talk myself down a little bit here...become a little more coherent. LOL.  Let's see.  Why did I LOVE this book? Well it starts out with a girl who refuses to become the perfect little society Lady taking a flying car for an illegal joyride...awesome.   Then she gets sent to a reform school (read punishments and pretty much prison with tea time, here) and  finds a faery garden in the backyard. 

When the High Queen's faerie Huntsman, (who is the perfect version of a Huntsman, BTW, relying on charm  and good looks to lure the ultimate prey, humans) finds Noli there, he ends up sweeping her off to the Otherworld to turn her into the sacrifice that can save all Fae. Unbeknownst to Noli,  her best friend and next-door  neighbor, Steven...aka V, has a few secrets of his own and when Noli disappears, he sets  out  to find her.

So, without giving *everything* away, here are things that kept me smiling all the way through the book:

*Romance
*Faeries 
*Amazing Gardens
*Silly garden games reminiscent of the croquet in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
*Danger
*Sacrifice
*Swordplay
*Mechanical Hair Accessories
*Fantastic and Impractical Clothing

...and much more! I cannot wait to see what Lazear gives us in book two. So far, she's hinted that there will be air pirates. AIR PIRATES, people!! *fans self*  Sorry, got  a little overexcited there, again. :D

Full disclosure: ARC received from NetGalley

Don't forget to stop back here on August 12th for my stop on the official INNOCENT DARKNESS BLOG TOUR!  I'm super excited to have a guest post from the author, Suzanne Lazear. :)