Esther's Ever After

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 a...

February Book of the Month! Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer In this delightful companion novel to Off the Page, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jodi Picoult and her daughter and cowriter, Samantha van Leer, present the YA novel that started it all! Filled with romance, adventure, and humor, the magic jumps off the page (literally) in a story you’ll never forget. What happens when happily ever after…isn’t? Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah. And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Deli...

Spell Check by Julie Wright I am so excited I finished this ebook on Halloween and I have to say that I loved it! It starts with a group of cheerleaders and their infamous leader Lisa Snoddy who you find to be an excellent “mean girl” are planning a prank on Allyson on her birthday, which just happens to be a few days before Halloween. Ally has no idea that the prank involves her hanging from a tree, and that Lisa and her clique are going to leave her there high and dry in the middle of the night all alone. She will soon find out though that every time she makes a wish something funny happens. Her wishes are awesome! Her best friend Kristin and Jake the hottest guy in school and the one who has stolen Allyson’s heart since 7th grade show up to rescue her. Later on, her Swedish grandmother shows up at her doorstep and tells her she has a magical family, LOL surprise! Allyson finally figures out what's been going on. After some totally hilarious situations arise she realizes tha...

Black Heart by Holly Black Cassel Sharpe is at his same old game of cons in the third installment of the Curse Worker's series Black Heart . The love of his life Lila hates him, his best friend Sam is on the edge of flipping out, his brother Barron has lies upon lies piling up, and a new issue has arisen with a mysterious and secretive girl named Mina Lang. Cassel is up to his ears and over his head with the federal government acting as an agent in training and he knows he can't trust anyone anymore. And frankly sometimes he can't even trust himself to do the right thing. Black Heart proves to be another excellent addition to this magical mobster series. Holly Black brings magic, mystery, love, and cons together seamlessly in this book. It seems like Black Heart may be the end of this series, but the end may truly just be the beginning for Cassel Sharpe! I recommend reading this entire series. It is truly an exciting and funny adventure of a family that is entrenc...

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident. Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late? If you haven't read this series yet you are definitely missing out! Check out the first book in the series called Hex Hall and you will be as hooked on Sophie Mercer and her adorably sweet witchy charm. Her love interest Archer Cross has a little something special going on too. I recommend this whole series if you are interested i...

I just have to tell you about a book I just finished the other night! It's called White Cat by Holly Black and it is the first book in a series called The Curse Workers . This book is so amazing that I just can't wait to read book #2 called Red Glove . Black is an incredible writer and she can really weave a story together with so much creativity and mystique. I am so excited about this series and am now a huge fan of Cassel Sharp the main character in this story. I hope that White Cat will someday be made into a movie because it would be an awesome movie! White Cat by Holly Black (2010) Seventeen-year-old Cassel Sharpe is the only one in his family who is not a curse worker, so he can't help but feel like he's not quite good enough. Curse work is illegal, which means anyone who can alter a person's emotions, luck, or memories with the touch of a hand is a criminal or scam artist -- just like every member of Cassel's family. He may not be a worker, but h...

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...

Since it's summertime I thought I would focus each week on different types of genres that are near and dear to my heart. The first genre I always seem to be drawn to is fantasy . As far back as I can remember I have loved to dive into fantasy books and immerse myself in made up lands and fairy tale characters. The greatest thing of all about fantasy is that it can be entirely made up and the writer's imagination can create so many twists and turns and there are so many different possibilities. My love for fantasy almost never breaks my heart, except for last week when I watching the HBO series Game of Thrones and one of my beloved favorite characters was executed. Well, that almost never happens in YA fantasy novels and you can usually be sure that your hero or heroine will survive even the most heinous villain or death and eventually make a come back from any horrible devastation. This week I will focus on YA fantasy novels that feature one of my favorite elements and th...

In this third book of Michael Scott’s series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel , Josh, Sophie and Nicholas Flamel are on the run again. This time they are in London and they are ready for a fight. John Dee is up to his same old tricks trying to catch the twins, but this time he doesn’t know what he’s up against. They are picked up and guarded by Palamedes the Saracen Knight who is indeed a true ally. Meanwhile, back on Alcatraz Perenelle is making headway with her ancient and giant spider friend on her side now. Flamel runs into an old adversary who just happens to be the incredibly famous William Shakespeare. The two make amends and Shakespeare turns out to be an outstanding ally. The twins and Flamel are holed up at an old junkyard trying to contact Perenelle on Alcatraz. They finally get through with an old scrying trick that Shakespeare helps with. Perenelle is in grave danger and about to be eaten by some very ugly creatures. So Flamel, Josh and Sophie all send...