Runemarks is an amazing tribute to Norse Mythology!

Runemarks by Joanne Harris Reading Level: Ages 12 and up Genre: Fantasy 

In Maddy Smith’s world, the Order rules. Chaos, old gods, fairies, goblins, magic, glamours–all of these were supposedly vanquished centuries ago. But Maddy knows that a small bit of magic has survived. 

When the book begins it’s been five hundred year since the gods fought at Ragnarok which was an epic war between the Norse gods. A new group called the Order took over and has put everything back into place, but only it’s their view of what is wrong and what is right. To her dismay, Maddy was born with a copper mark on her hand which makes her an outcast or a witch you might say. When she meets a friend whom she calls One Eye, she asks him to teach her about the gods and her mark which is called a runemark. After several years of teachings and conversations Maddy is faced with a dilemma. One Eye wants Maddy to open Red Horse Hill and descend into underworld to retrieve something called the Whisperer. He tells her if she fails there is going to be another Ragnarok a war of all wars. Hesitantly she decides to go on her quest. 

Will Maddy have what it takes to complete her quest? Runemarks is an epic tale that delves into the heart of Norse mythology with excellent characters. A true believer of mythology will really wrap their minds around this one. 

This book is a good source of fantasy mixed with Norse mythology. The heroes are not always who you think they are, a little dual personalities going on here, but they end up winning their battle for good. It's been noted that Harris over did it a bit trying to include just about every Norse god or goddess she could think of. Tweens may be inspired after reading this book to learn more about Norse mythology. I know I was!

Booktalking Bonus: It would be fun to booktalk this book by using the Norse gods that are featured in the story. I would recommend acting out how some of the gods act because some are very entertaining such as Loki and Odin. I also think it would be interesting to talk about Ragnarok and what it must have been like for the gods to fight each other. You could also talk about the different beliefs of Norse mythology and explore the idea of runes and what they mean.

 I love this book because it is a real page turner. With so many great inferences to the Norse mythology and super strong character you just can't go wrong. The main character Maddy is a force to reckoned with. She is strong and has a very well-rounded personality that really balances out the story. There is a lot going on in this book with the coming of the next Ragnarok and Maddy having to go to the underworld to save the day. I highly recommend this book to fantasy and mythology lovers and tweens who loves a good epic saga.

Happy reading,

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Look Out All You Fairy Tale Drop Outs!

This week Mrs. Librarian Lady is featuring the new release of Flunked: Fairy Tale Reform School by Jen Calonita!


WOULD YOU SEND A VILLAIN TO DO A HERO'S JOB?

Gilly wouldn't call herself wicked, exactly... but when you have five little brothers and sisters and live in a run-down boot, you have to get creative to make ends meet. Gilly's a pretty good thief(if she does say so herself).

Until she gets caught.

Gilly is sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School - where all of the teachers are former (super-scary) villains like the Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother. Harsh. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there's more to this school than its heroic mission.

There's a battle brewing and Gilly has to wonder just how good these bad guys are.

Ok, so I bet you are pumped up now to find out about how this awesome twisted mash up of fairy tales plays out. I can tell you that Flunked is clever, cute and adventurous all in one! When Gilly gets busted for stealing a fancy hair clip her whole life goes haywire. She is sent to the Fairy Tale Reform School(FTRS, which seems to have a good mission, but as we get further into the story we find that maybe this reform school might have some major flaws. "Our mission: To turn wicked delinquents and former villains into future heroes." And then we meet Flora, the infamous and so called "formerly wicked stepmother" of Cinderella. Calonita's description of Flora is hilarious. She calls her "stepmonster" which sounds pretty scary to me! Although she does admit that she doesn't have "devil's horns poking out of her head," but rather that she is thin, pointy nosed, with two-tone colored hair.

You'll also love the Happily Ever After Scrolls that frequent the pages of this book. One of my favorites is "Why We Fear Apples: Meet FRTRS's Psychologist, Professor Harlow" which features Harlow the (formerly) evil queen from Snow White and how she has changed and oh yes how she loves fashion and "doesn't terrorize people" anymore. You might also like to know that she like being pretty and extremely dislikes rudeness. And LOL she doesn't have a love life because she is too busy looking at herself in the mirror. Seriously, this is some funny stuff!

I love Gilly because she is such a spirited character and it's so much fun to follow her on her journey in a school of fairy tale misfits. FTRS shows how strong bonds can become when friendships are made, and how sometimes a band of misfits can result in a team working together for the greater good. Enough said, I don't want to give away the ending, which you will never guess who ends up being the most notorious delinquent of all.

Happy reading! I hope you enjoy Flunked by Jen Calonita!

TMI is in the House!!

I've been reading a lot over the last month and I am very excited to say that I have now read all four books in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Sadly, I will now have to wait until May 2012 for the next book to come out. The first book in the series, The City of Bones was actually recommended to me by one of my teens in the library that reads about as much YA as I do. I really like this series because it offers several different elements from supernatural, magic, mysticism, and the immortal realm. I would recommend this series to guys and girls because there are strong male and female characters in the books. One of my favorite characters is Jace Wayland who is one of the most dynamic male characters I have seen in a long time. Jace makes me want to keep reading because I want to know what he is going to do next. He is so enchanting and he just doesn't care what happens so he takes chances and goes in fighting like a dynamo. I love that about him.

Here is a review of City of Bones (2007)

In this book Clary Fray stumbles upon a dark secret from her past. She finds out that she is no ordinary girl, but rather that she is a shadow hunter a person who is half human and half angel. Shadow hunters are a special race of beings that hunt and kill demons to keep the world a safer place. Clary finds that everything she thought was normal, was actually made up by her mother in order to keep her safe from the world of shadow hunters. Then one night Clary's world changes when she meets Jace, Isabelle, Alec at a club called Pandemonium and her world will never be the same again. With her best friend Simon by her side Clary is about to find out the truth and the more she finds out, the less she is sure of who she really is at all.

The series four books until the moment; City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and the fifth book City of Lost Souls is slated to be released in May 2012. And if you fall in love with The Mortal Instruments like I did, then you will be happy to know that a movie is being made right now that will feature Lily Collins as Clary Fray and Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace Wayland.