Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

     I just recently finished reading Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake, and I loved it!  The setting of the novel is a fictional island called Fennbirn.  Every generation, there are triplet girls born to the reigning queen.  Each of the girls possesses some type of magic.  When the triplet girls are born, they are taken from their mother to be raised in a community of people who posses the same magical powers as they do.  The community helps the girls to develop and strengthen their powers.  When the girls near the age of 16, they are put through a number of tests to demonstrate their powers and show everyone on the island their strengths.  The sisters are then forced to try to kill one another, as only one of them can be the true queen.
     The novel alternates between the newest queens and their communities.  It begins with Katherine, a poisoner, who is supposed to be able to ingest, touch, or consume poisons, as well as create them. The poisoners in her community have become the most powerful people on the island, as the last few queens have been poisoners.  However, Katherine isn't like the past poisoner queens.  She does not have a tolerance for poison.  She possesses no magical gift.  Like Katherine, her sister Arsinoe is also without powers.  She is a naturalist who is supposed to be able to control plants and animals, but she is not able to do any of this.  The only sister who possesses magical qualities is Mirabella, an elemental, who can spark flames and summon vicious storms at will.  As strong as she is, Mirabella refuses to kill her sisters.  She has sweet memories of them as children, and will not be made to cause them harm.
     In spite of the fact that it seems none of the girls are equipped to take over the throne, their community leaders are hungry for the power that comes along with raising the winning queen.  No matter what the sisters try to do, whether it be attempt to escape from the island or refuse to harm each other, they cannot seem to avoid the coming battle.
     This book is full of surprises and exciting scenes!  With two more books planned in the series, it should be a crowd pleaser for some time to come!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

     If you are looking for a beautifully written World War II novel, this book is for you!  All the Light We Cannot See alternates between the story of Marie-Laure, a young French girl who is blind and Werner, a young German orphan.  Marie-Laure's story begins in Paris where she lives with her father, a master of locks at the Museum of Natural History.  To help Marie-Laure learn to be independent and navigate the streets of Paris, her father builds a miniature replica of their neighborhood.  Marie-Laure studies the model and counts her steps to find her way through town.  She and her father are forced to leave their home in Paris when the Nazis invade.  They move to the small sea-side town of Saint Malo to live with Marie-Laure's great uncle.  It is during her time here that Marie-Laure makes the dangerous decision to help the French resistance by transmitting messages to the allies through her great-uncle's hidden, illegal radio.
     Werner's story begins in a mining town in Germany.  Werner, along with his younger sister, lives in an orphanage.  He is an expert at fixing radios and is quickly noticed by Nazi leaders for his exceptional skills.  Werner joins the Hitler Youth and is tasked with tracking the resistance through radio activity.  This assignment eventually brings him to Saint Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's intersect.  Though they are on opposite sides of the battle, they find they have much in common.  Both question themselves and struggle with their actions during the war.
     All the Light We Cannot See is a wonderful account of the people of both Germany and France during World War II.  Marie-Laure and Werner are unforgettable characters whose stories make the reader really think about the extraordinary circumstances people find themselves in during war.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

          The first book students in the high school book club chose to read this year was The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.  This book is set during World War II and is about a young boy named David who is mourning the death of his mother.  Shortly after his mother's death, David's father remarries and together the couple welcome another son.  They move David from the only home he has ever known, and soon he begins to hear voices speaking to him.  The voices seem to be coming from the treasured fairy tale books his mother read to him.  The episodes begin to get worse, and David soon begins having "fits" where he passes out when the voices get too loud.  Over time, all the books in David's room begin to speak to him, and he worries that his father will send him away because of his "problems."
          One day, as David watches out his bedroom window, he sees a military plane falling from the sky.  David runs from the house and seeks refuge in the sunken garden outside his home.  Suddenly, David is swept into another world, where the characters in his books come alive!  The kingdom in this new world is ruled by a king, whose power is fading.  Unusual and dangerous creatures begin to take control of the kingdom.  David, in his quest to return home, decides to try to find the king and ask for his help.  Along the way, there is danger, a little laughter, and new formed friendships. David learns about family, love, sacrifice, bravery, and more.
          In recent years, many authors have taken fairy tales and their characters and have turned them into new plot lines and stories.  However, The Book of Lost Things is much more than that.  This book is not for the faint of heart.  It is dark and often violent, but its message and main character stay with you long after you read the last page!

Defending Jacob by William Landay

         I finally have some time to catch up on my blog!  This summer, I read several great books, but the one that stuck with me the most was the novel Defending Jacob by William Landay.  The topic of the book is one that shook me, but the ending!  Wow.  I didn't see it coming!
         Defending Jacob is a story about a small town lawyer and the murder of a teenage boy. When the body of the murdered teenager is found, Andy Barber, the town's assistant district attorney, goes to the scene to work with investigators.  He quickly discovers that the murdered boy went to school with his son, Jacob.  This revelation spurs Andy to work even more quickly to find the killer and protect the children in his town.
         During his investigation, Andy learns that the murdered boy had bullied his son over the past months.  He also discovers that Jacob made disturbing remarks about the boy's death.  As the weeks go on, the evidence leads police to Andy's door.  Authorities arrest Jacob for the crime.
Determined to prove his son's innocence and find the real killer, Andy enlists the help of his father who is a convicted murderer himself.  While visiting his father in prison, Andy begins to worry about his family history.  Not only was his father convicted of murder, but so was his grandfather.  Could there be a murder gene in his family?  Could it have been passed on to Jacob?  In spite of his family history, Andy refuses to believe Jacob could commit such a crime.  However, his wife isn't so sure.  After learning about Andy's father and grandfather, she starts to doubt her son's innocence.
         The book takes readers from the discovery of the body to events that occur after Jacob's trial is over.  After finishing the book, I couldn't get it out of my mind!  It raises questions about how well we really know our loved ones and to what lengths we would go to protect them.  It makes the reader think about behavior and genetics, as well as mental illness.  This book has so many layers to it.  It is a fast-moving novel that is not for the faint of heart!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

     The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a wonderful piece of historical fiction set in France during World War II.  The novel tells the stories of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, in alternating chapters. When the story begins, Vianne, a married mother of one, is a teacher in the french countryside, while Isabelle is a student at a boarding school.  The two couldn't be more different!  Vianne is quiet and reserved, while Isabelle is bold and daring.  Just before the Nazis invade France, Vianne's husband is called to serve in the French military.  Isabelle is kicked out of yet another boarding school and comes to stay with Vianne and her daughter.  This is where the tension begins.
     Nazi soldiers invade and begin to force their way into the homes of the french citizens.  Vianne is forced to house and feed Nazi Captain Beck.  Isabelle is outraged and finds it difficult to hold her tongue.  She often makes negative comments about the Nazis and ignores Captain Beck's orders. This angers and frightens Vianne, as she believes it is endangering her daughter and teaching her to disobey the dangerous Nazis.  Yet, Isabelle cannot just sit by and do nothing while the Nazis destroy her home and kill innocent people.  She begins working with the French resistance, smuggling information in letters and packages to others throughout France.  Eventually, the tension between the two sisters grows, and Isabelle leaves for Paris, where she can be of more assistance to the resistance.
     After Isabelle leaves, things worsen for Vianne.  Though Captain Beck does not treat her badly, he requires information from her.  She is forced to share the names of Jewish friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and they are forced into labor camps because of this. As a result, Vianne is riddled with guilt and decides she will try to fight back against the Nazis in her own way.  When her best friend is killed by the Nazis, Vianne takes her Jewish son into her home and disguises him as her adopted son in order to save him.  As more and more Jewish people are taken away, Vianne begins to sneak their children to a local catholic church, where, in an effort to hide them from the Nazis, they are given new identities.  Vianne even takes on a role as a teacher for these children. Though she is risking her life and her daughter's life to save the children, she knows it is the only choice.
    While Vianne is helping to save children in the French countryside, Isabelle's role with the resistance grows even more dangerous.  She volunteers to help British and American airmen who have crash landed in France. To do this, she must guide them over the mountains and into Spain.  The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, yet she does it many times.  She becomes well-known in the French resistance and is given the code name "The Nightingale."  Isabelle's actions come to the attention of the Nazis, and they begin to aggressively hunt the "Nightingale".
     This is such a gripping story of love and tragedy.  Each of the women, both Isabelle and Vianne, are forced to do things they never thought they would do.  They are faced with impossible choices, and do what they must to survive.  The Nightingale is a wonderful story for fans of historical fiction and for those looking for a powerful read!  I absolutely loved it!

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

     I put off reading this book for quite a while because I just couldn't see myself getting into a book about cyborgs.  It sounded a little too Star Trekish for me.  However, once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down!
     The story is set in the future and revolves around Cinder, a cyborg who lives in New Beijing.  In this futuristic society, cyborgs are considered to be second class citizens.  They have very few rights and are treated as slaves.  Cinder lives with her stepmother and stepsisters, and, like in the story of Cinderella, she is abused and mistreated by her family. Early on in the novel, Cinder and Prince Kai meet, and their lives become intertwined.
     It isn't long before readers learn that Cinder has a mysterious past.  She was involved in a terrible accident that required much of her body to be replaced with mechanical parts.  This is how she became a cyborg.  In addition to her mysterious past, readers also learn of a dangerous species called Lunars who appear to be human but who have powers that could destroy all humanity and earth as we know it.  The leader of the Lunars,  Queen Levana, plans to force Prince Kai into marrying her.  If he refuses, the Lunars will attack earth and kill millions.
     The twists and revelations that pop up at the end of the novel are great, and the subtle parallels to the story of Cinderella are intriguing.  Cinder is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles series.  The story of Cinder and the Lunars continues in the sequels. The second book in the series is Scarlet (a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood), followed by Cress ( a retelling of Rapunzel), and Winter (a retelling of Snow White).

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

     An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is an amazing book!  It has been on my reading list for quite a while, but it was always one I pushed aside based on the length.  I just thought I wouldn't have time for it.  I was wrong!!!  This book is so fast paced, I read it in a weekend (and a busy weekend, at that).  I couldn't put it down and found myself missing the characters when the book ended.  That is when I know the book was a good one!
     This fictional book is based on two main characters, Elias and Laia, and is told from their alternating points of view. In their society, the Martial Empire controls all aspects of life.  Elias is a high born Mask in training.  Masks help maintain order in the empire with their weapons and brutality.  Laia and her family were once Scholars (independent and intelligent people) who were conquered and enslaved by the Empire.
     When Laia's brother is captured and imprisoned by the Empire for treason, Laia goes undercover to work in the Mask school.  She must gather information for the rebellion in order to receive their help in rescuing her brother.  Elias wants no part in the Mask school or their brutal tactics.  In fact, he plots an escape but is forced to stay and complete his training.  It is in the Mask school where the lives of Laia and Elias become intwined.  Elias saves Laia's life and attempts to protect her from his mother's cruel hand.
      This book is amazing!  It has been a while since I read a book and immediately wanted to share it with others.  If you are looking for a fast-paced, well-developed story to read, this is it!  The sequel comes out this summer, and I will definitely be picking it up!