"The Diviners" by Libba Bray

When looking for a good book to kick off my summer reading, I searched through my "Books to Read" list (an Excel spreadsheet on my laptop complete with the title, author, date I heard about it, and whether or not I already own it, I kid you not) and decided it was time to give The Diviners a try.  I'd read several of Bray's other books before and loved them, so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed the book.  I was shocked however by how quickly I was hooked and deeply I was engaged by the end of the first chapter.

It's 1926 and Evie O'Neill, the very definition of a flapper girl, has been exiled from her hometown in Ohio to the bustling streets of New York City (poor thing!) after making an enemy of the town's golden boy while drunk at a party.  She is sent to live with her Uncle Will, a curator for the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, who has been asked to give the police an assist in solving a string of grisly murders.  Evie convinces her uncle to let her use her ability to read people's pasts while holding an object of their possession to help him in the investigations.  Bray creates a fantastic company of characters to support Evie in her quest for answers, including a mysterious assistant at the museum, a numbers runner in Harlem who dreams of becoming famous through his poetry, a Ziegfield Follies girl on the run from her past, a rakish pickpocket, and Evie's more traditional best friend, Mabel. Now Evie and the rest of the cast must solve the mystery behind the murders before the killer has a chance to unleash some real evil into this world.

What impressed me the most about this book is the way Bray is able to seamlessly weave together multiple points of view from the different characters to create a narrative that is both snappy with that Roaring 20s vibe and hauntingly suspenseful.  There were times where I was compelled to read far later than originally intended because I had  to know what happened next.  Bray also does a fantastic job of bringing her diverse cast of characters to life.  There are only a few books that I have read where I have felt as though I truly know a character from their motivations to their mannerisms, and this is one of those books.  While this book is not for the faint of heart, I would recommend The Diviners to teen readers and those who enjoy being completely engrossed in a fantastic story.

Grace gives this book five out of five carrots!

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"The Legend of L'Esprit" by Doris Greenberg and Pandré Shandley

As the resident dancer here at The Velveteen Rabbit, I was so excited to have The Legend of L'Esprit fall into my lap this summer.  It was the perfect summer read for someone who spent 14 years of her life in a dance studio, but I think the plot line will appeal to those who have never stepped foot in a dance class as well.

Libby Nobleton and her family have recently moved to Chicago and she is looking for a new dance studio to call home.  When she auditions for the premier studio, L'Esprit, she knows she's found her place.  But there's more to this dance studio than ballet barres and full-length mirrors; rumor has it that L'Esprit is haunted by the spirit of the prima ballerina who originally founded the school.  Now Libby and her new friends have to uncover the truth about what happened on the most tragic night of L'Esprit's history to help more than one soul find its peace.

What I found so refreshing about this first novel in the Dance Legacy series was its spot-on blend of the day-to-day life of a young dancer along with the mystery and intrigue of the paranormal phenomena at the dance studio.  I also appreciated the fact that Libby was not involved in a torrid love triangle; she's got a straight head on her shoulders and is an excellent role model both for young dancers, as well as young women in general.  That's not to say that this book is not without its romance!  There's just enough of it to keep the reader satisfied and it's handled in a way that makes it seem realistic, rather than totally unattainable. 

One of the unique features of this book was the dance glossary located in the back.  After having been taught dance by hearing the terms rather than reading them, it was fun to see them actually spelled out and say, "So that's how that's written!"  Each chapter features a different dance term as well, so you don't have to keep paging to the back of the book to look them up.  This is a must-read for those reading dancers out there, as well as those readers just looking for a good book.

Grace gives it 5 out of 5 carrots!

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"The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" by Lauren Willig

This book is not technically a recent read for me as I finished it this past spring, but we've been pretty busy at The Velveteen Rabbit and haven't had much of a chance to blog about what we're reading.  Now that I finally have a chance to sit down and type out my thoughts, I'd like to first give credit to Beth for recommending this fantastic series to me.  It'd been one of her staff picks for awhile and now I can see why!  My only disappointment in this series is that it isn't a true story, which just goes to show how wonderful Willig's narrative really is!

The novel is a story within a story.  The reader follows Eloise Kelly, a smart but slightly fumbling American grad student as she works to uncover the secret identity of the Pink Carnation, the most elusive English spy during the Napoleonic wars for her dissertation.  Her search leads her to some of the descendents of the Purple Gentian, another famous spy whose identity was revealed and therefore was forced to retire.  One such descendent, a Mr. Colin Selwick, is a little more than irate to find that his great-aunt has let a perfect stranger look at their family papers and it's hate at first sight.  Of course, hate has always been rumored to be far closer to love than most would think.....

As I've already mentioned, I was more than a little disappointed that the majority of the espionage and intrigue in this novel was all fiction.  I so desperately wanted there to really be a Pink Carnation and a Purple Gentian, but that just shows how totally engrossing Willig's novel is.  It sucked me right in and didn't even let me go when I finished the book.  I had to immediately purchase the next book in the series (and the next after that and the next after that.........you get the idea).  Now, at the halfway point in the series, I'm taking a small moment to recommend this novel to readers in search of a great escape from reality.  Then I'm heading back to England with Eloise and the Pink Carnation!

Grace gives this book 5 out of 5 carrots!

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"All These Things I've Done" by Gabrielle Zevin

Author of Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Elsewhere, Gabrielle Zevin totally and completely ensnares the reader in her latest teen novel. All These Things I've Done is the first book in the Birthright series which promises to be an exciting dystopian thrill-ride!
The year is 2083. Chocolate and caffeine are controlled substances, water is carefully rationed, and books are scarce. Anya Balanchine is the daughter of New York City's most notorious (and dead) crime boss and a member of one of the great chocolate families in the world, though she distances herself from them as much as possible. With a dying grandmother, a brain-damaged older brother, and a genius little sister to look after, Anya becomes the head of her immediate family. And when she falls for Win Delacroix, the new assistant DA's son, she knows the match is doomed from the start. Things become even more complicated when her bully of an ex-boyfriend is almost fatally poisoned by a bar of Balanchine chocolate and Anya is briefly thrown into prison.

I was completely caught up in the paranoia that surrounds Anya's everyday life through her association with her mafiya-esque extended family. Just when I though I had the whole thing figured out, another twist in the plot completely threw me for a loop. Anya is a strong character who will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if it means the ultimate self-sacrifice. Plus, the love story is as sweet as it is forbidden. I think the Publisher's Weekly review says it best about this story: "Offering the excitement of a crime drama and the allure of forbidden romance, this introduction to a reluctant Godfather-in-the-making will pique the interest of dystopia-hungry readers."

Grace gives this book five out of five carrots!

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