What's On My Hold List?

 

Welcome to the February 2013 edition

 

of

 

"What's on My Hold List?"

 

One of the most beautiful things about working in a Library is that I have the ability to put lots of things on hold and read them *before* I buy!! These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for, though I may buy one or two of them after reading, as well.

 

The Egypt Game

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

 

 

Scarlet

by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles, book two

 

 

Under the Never Sky

by Veronica Rossi

 

 

You can click on each title to go to their Amazon page for a description...

 

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...what are you waiting for??



Wrapped

Wrapped
by Jennifer Bradbury

Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.

This is the start of it all, Agnes’s debut season, the pretty girl parade that offers only ever-shrinking options: home, husband, and high society. It’s also the start of something else, because the mummy Agnes unwraps isn’t just a mummy. It’s a host for a secret that could unravel a new destiny—unleashing mystery, an international intrigue, and possibly a curse in the bargain. (description from Amazon.com)

I LOVED this book. I had seen this book in our collection at the Library and thought, oh yeah...it looks okay, I kinda like the cover...then I received the audio book to review. I am SO glad that I "read" this book! Jennifer Bradbury did a fantastic job on this historical novel.

Now, the author's note reminds readers that she did take some liberties in the timeline - mummy unwrapping parties did NOT occur at the same time as the war with Napolean. The intriguing idea of having a coded spy message smuggled into the country through a mummy's wrapping was just too cool to pass up...and I agree! If you like The Secret History of the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig, you will LOVE this book. It has a very similar spy theme.

Another reason that I really loved this series was Agnes herself. This is no average debutante. This is a girl who has taught herself 10 languages...10! She longs to actually go out and explore the world. Unfortunately, due to the rank she is born into, this is not in the cards for Agnes. She will be expected to marry well and produce heirs. She longs for adventure, though, and after finding a secret message in the mummy, she definitely gets it!

For a great spy adventure with romance, fun languages, historical facts, sprinklings of Jane Austen, and a girl who I want to be... you should definitely check out Wrapped! I'm only hoping that Jennifer Bradbury hopes to write a follow-up book (please, pretty, pretty please???).

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid
by Rick Riordan
The Kane Chronicles, book 1

Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them -- Set -- has his sights set on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe -- a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharoahs.

I really enjoyed delving into the Egyptian mythology that has fascinated me since I was a kid with Carter and Sadie! Riordan again manages to incorporate so much about the gods into the storyline without taking away from the action. It's such a seamless process.

I love the new main characters and Bast, the cat goddess, is now one of my favorite woman's power characters ever! I will say, though, that there were times that I felt like Sadie's and Carter's sibling roles would reverse for me. I would catch myself thinking that Sadie was at least fourteen and the older twin. (especially when she was eyeballing the hot, young-ish god...)

That was also an issue for me when the narration would switch from one twin to the other. Since I didn't always get a clear picture of each twin's voice I would have to keep an eye on the twin label at the top of the page to know whose first person narration I had dropped into.

Once I get past that, though, I really did enjoy the storyline and am anxious to read book 2! Can't wait to see what the godlings get up to next!

*It was brought to my attention today that I accidentally referred to Sadie and Carter several times as twins in my review...when I checked I realized it was totally true! Whoops. This just reinforces for me the fact that I could not keep straight in my head what ages Carter and Sadie were supposed to be...they sounded the same age so often that I must have gotten that stuck in the back of my mind. I apologize. For the record - Carter is fourteen, Sadie is twelve.

Head's Up: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Alrighty! My first head's up!!

In case you haven't already caught wind of this...



The Kane Chronicles: Book One
Due out on May 4, 2010.

Product Description (courtesy of Amazon)
Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.