Gold Star Review - The Elite

The Elite 
by Kiera Cass
The Selection, book two

In America Singer’s world, a bride is chosen for the prince through an elaborate televised competition. In the second book of the Selection series, America is one of only six girls left in the running. But is it Prince Maxon—and life as the queen—she wants? Or is it Aspen, her first love? (Description from Amazon.com)

I have to admit that I was equal parts extremely excited and extremely nervous for this book. I really loved The Selection, a lot more than I had anticipated I would...it was a fast, easy read that drew me right in... (You can read my review here) I could not wait for the sequel, but I was terrified of "middle book syndrome, " you know, the middle book in a trilogy that really serves no purpose...the one that should just have never existed because the "trilogy" would have been better as a duet?  I was especially scared about this one because I knew it was going to focus so heavily on the romantic triangle in America's life.

I was so HAPPY when I read this book.  Yes, it focuses on the romantic issues, but it does so openly, honestly, without pretending to do anything else...AND, though I'm still a HUGE fan of Prince Maxon, I found myself wavering into Aspen's camp from time to time.  That *never* happens to me.  That means that Kiera Cass has basically written the MOST CONVINCING ROMANTIC TRIANGLE I think I've read to this point.  Super KUDOS to that... and a GOLD STAR!

Besides the romance and the interactions between the girls, which I continue to find fascinating (it's like watching ANTM, you know at some point there's going to be cat fights...they can't help it!), there was actually a lot more revealed about the politics and origin of America's world.  I loved how Cass revealed things through America's own education and felt that the world was really starting to come into focus around her.  I cannot wait to see how America faces the political prospects that face her in the next book...it should be *very* interesting... 

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my Library 

Into the Gauntlet

Into the Gauntlet
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The 39 Clues, book 10

Throughout the hunt for the 39 Clues, Amy and Dan Cahill have uncovered history's greatest mysteries and their family's deadliest secrets. But are they ready to face the truth about the Cahills and the key to their unmatched power? After a whirlwind race that's taken them across five continents, Amy and Dan face the most the difficult challenge yet- a task no Cahill dared to imagine. When faced with a choice that could change the future of the world, can two kids succeed where 500 years worth of famous ancestors failed? (description from Amazon.com)

What a great "end" to the series! Having waited a little bit to read it, I know that there is a whole secondary series beginning, so this isn't truly the end, (and boy am I glad!) but it came to a really good point in this book.

Without ruining things for anyone, I will just say that I love the adventure, puzzles, fun facts, and family in this series. Yes, I say family, because even as this family is fighting, clawing, and scheming their way around each other for clues, people like Nellie (the au pair) are becoming part of the Cahill family and members from different branches of the family...ones who never mingled before...are drawing alliances and coming together as a larger extended family.

In fact, the end of this book is all about if Dan and Amy can bring the family together or not, essentially to save the world from power hungry Cahills! What happens made me smile. I really loved all of the revelations about the younger Cahills...from all branches...in this final book.

There, no spoilers. I will just finish with - IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN READING THIS SERIES...START NOW! It's sooooo good. (And they are really quick reads!)

Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show

Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show: a Novel
by Frank Delaney

"She sprang from the womb and waved to the crowd. Then she smiled and took a bow." And so we first meet Venetia Kelly, the beguiling actress at the center of this new, spellbinding, and epic novel by Frank Delaney, the bestselling author of Ireland and Shannon.

January 1932: While Ireland roils in the run-up to the most important national election in the Republic's short history, Ben MacCarthy and his father watch a vagabond variety revue making a stop in the Irish countryside. After a two-hour kaleidoscope of low comedy, Shakespearean recitations, juggling, tumbling, and other entertainments, Ben's father, mesmerized by Venetia Kelly, the troupe's magnetic headliner, makes a fateful decision: to abandon his family and set off on the road with Miss Kelly and her caravan. Ben's mother, shattered by the desertion, exhorts, "Find him and bring him back," thereby sending the boy on a Homeric voyage into manhood, a quest that traverses the churning currents of Ireland's fractious society and splinters the MacCarthy family.

(copy taken from inside jacket)

Delaney does a marvelous job in this lyrical and interesting book. Deftly interweaving the political roil of the early 1930's in Ireland, into the story of one family, Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show both captivates and educates.

The main character, Ben, becomes embroiled in a web of scheming and incestous relationships, unable to fully entangle himself, even as he writes his story as an old man. As I read, I marveled at the way that he reacted to the others around him, at their expectations of him, and the way that many of them depended upon him - he, the youngest character in the entire book.

Venetia Kelly and her mother, Sarah, both seemed entrancing and undeniable. I felt myself drawn into the circle of their world with ease, following Ben blindly as he wanted to learn more. Nuances of their relationships with each other and the other people that surrounded them (i.e. - King Kelly, Mrs. Haas, Cody, etc.) were compelling and drew me deeper into the novel with every chapter.

At first, I attempted to skip over some of the political pieces mentioned in this novel, but soon realized how intregal they became to the story so I started really paying attention. Once I picked up on some of the smaller details, I found that I learned a lot about Ireland's political history in this time and that was very interesting.

This 400+ page novel is definitely an adult, not YA book, but it is beautifully written and worth the read. Eventually, I plan to go and check out some of Delaney's other novels. (I think I will miss Blarney - the ventriloquist doll that was almost elected to office - in the next one that I read, though!)

Full disclosure: Hardcover provided by publisher/author for review

If you would like more information, you can check out Frank Delaney's website at www.frankdelaney.com or his Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frank-Delaney/400446510051?ref=ts