Jenn's Book Recommendations (Series)

Once again we're posting favorite and recommended books. This year I'm focusing on series.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire: There's a lot going on here and Maguire takes the reader on a ride in Oz. The larger politics for the arrival and dictatorship by the Wizard. The segregation of so many groups. How Elphaba (the wrongly deemed Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (originally Galinda) became best friends despite their differences. There's a world of love and pain in Wicked that comes full circle in the end, even though you may already know how it ends. It's heavy in terms of world-building and Maguire stuffs a good amount of description in this text, yet it is such a spectacularly recreated world I highly recommend. I enjoyed Wicked immensely and the sequel Son of a Witch. The third and fourth/final books in the series were a bit much for me, but I'd still suggest them if you're interested in every character's full arc. If Elphaba is the one you love the most than you may want to stop at Wicked. 

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy with illustrations by Ian Schoenherr: Maile Meloy is a lauded writer of short fiction and novels (primarily for an adult audience) and The Apothecary is her first foray into writing for children/teens. She wrote The Apothecary with the intention for it to be a standalone, but having received so many letters from her new young fans she decided to expand and make it a trilogy. The Apprentices released earlier this year and the final book is due out next year. I'm excited. I've met Maile a handful of times since she's toured in NYC and she is super friendly, really kind, a fantastic writer, and a fan of cupcakes. So what is there not to like? What pulled me into this series were the great balance of illustrations by Ian and the history that Maile weaves into Janie's coming-of-age tale. Janie is an American in England (post World War II) who gets thrust into a world she's not prepared to be in and realizes some of her potential. The series gets a bit darker in the second book and who knows how dark it may go in the finale but I'd highly suggest that readers check it out if they haven't along with Maile's other work because she has a way with characters and tension and especially dialogue. 

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater: Everyone here at Fiction Femme Fatale is a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan (as you can see from Krystalyn's post last week & Stefanie's the year before). I became aware of her with the Shiver trilogy. I found the first book in my old company's library several years ago when I needed something to read on the ride home. Since then, hooked. Dream Thieves is the sequel to The Raven Boys series (which will be four books total). Maggie has a literary style and digs deep into her characters. I mean DEEP. It's a multiple POV series and in the sequel you get more of the hard-ass character of Ronan. My God you will adore him after reading this book. I couldn't stop thinking about Dream Thieves a couple of weeks after I read it and even went back to the first book to see the clues that Maggie left there. Woman is masterful in her writing and great to her fans. If you haven't read a Maggie book yet I'd advise you to stop reading this post (okay finish reading and then) head to your nearest bookstore/library and read one of her books. ANY of them, now. 

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor: This is also a sequel in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series and man if I said Apprentices was a bit dark than this book is pitch black! Like Maggie, Laini has a literary and fantastical style that is all her own and quite unique in the humor she weaves in with the drama and more action-packed moments. She can write some of the most heartbreaking scenes you've ever read which means you're invested in her characters and books for the long haul. Karou and Akiva are like Romeo & Juliet as seraphim and demons. The sequel sets off a larger story that is set to end next spring and I am psyched. One of Laini's books was on my recommendations last year and I'm more than happy to recommend her again because this series is a standout. 

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey: I heard the hype and was refusing to indulge but hey Rick Yancey was at Book Expo, so was I, so why not get a copy? I have since raved about my love for this book. The main characters of Cassie and Zombie are so refreshing. Angry and prideful and flawed but determined and loyal and fighters down deep. From the first moments with Cassie on her own to Zombie's emergence as a soldier and even a couple 3rd-person POVs thrown in Rick takes you through the waves that slowly took down a world and how the rest of it is coming to an end all the while the climax for this first book is: what is the 5th and (final?) wave? I was into it from page one to the end and this is one of those times when I am anxious because I have to wait a year (or less by now) for the next book and then another year for the one after that. Dang.

Happy reading, writing (aka NaNoWriMo), and holidays!

Jenn's Book Recommendations

Happy post-Turkey day food coma, relaxation or standing on a crazy line Black Friday!

It's hard to narrow down a few books that you enjoy and think others will also, but dagnabbit I accept the challenge.

At year's end I discuss books I enjoyed on my blog and steadily keep a tally on Goodreads. So the ones chosen are plucked from my pile over the years.

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo.

Anyone who knows me knows I sing Laini Taylor's praises every chance I get. Her National Book Award (NBA) nominated book was my introduction to her work. I had the pleasure of meeting Laini and Jim at the NBA reading and they are as pleasant as they are talented.

Laini's prose is lyrical, vivid, illustrative and takes you on a ride. Add in Jim's gorgeous detail for people and emotions of the scenes she wrote and you have a powerhouse in Lips Touch. Lips Touch contains three stories where kisses play a part, good or bad, and they are original and fantastical as well as emotional. I LOVED this book.

If you haven't read Laini's stuff or seen Jim's illos do so now! Laini's latest series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, does not skimp on the darkness but has a wonderful lightness and beauty to it as well.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.

John is another kind and talented author. His book got heaps of praise and deservedly so. Where Things Come Back is a contemporary novel that digs into the heart of a family breaking. There are two separate perspectives in this piece that end up tying together as the novel progresses. But the core story is with Cullen during the summer before senior year of high school when his brother disappears. You're with a family on the brink as they deal with hope and loss and a whole slew of emotions. Cullen deals with it by trying to block it out and imagine alternate scenarios. John delves into such emotion that you are chomping at the bit on every page. I purposely waited on the subway before my stop because I wanted to finish this.

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer. 

I'm a fan of anthologies and collections and multiple points of view in literature (if you couldn't already tell). So I wanted to add a collection I thoroughly enjoyed and ranges in terms of perspectives from young (Brownie troupe getting in all sorts of trouble) to older (a college student at odds with his dad as they try to get to the Million Man March).

Packer's debut was lauded all over the literary landscape and with good reason. It taps into so many things such as race and insecurity and family and passion that it's relatable on many levels no matter your age. There's a particularly poignant story about a young girl who goes out on her own and realizes she knows nothing about the world as she takes up with characters, who on the outside may be horrific, but end up helping her get back to a life she thought was bad.


Other recommendations I'll make are:

• Room by Emma Donoghue: A heartbreaking tale of five-year-old Jack as he and his mother escape from being imprisoned. It's all told from the childlike POV of Jack so while you don't see the bad parts you know what is happening. It's a masterful novel to convey so much with so little.
• Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx: I LOVE Annie Proulx and this is my favorite story collection that I have read, hands-down. Proulx says that short fiction is hard for her to write but she hits it out of the ball park in terms of visuals and people and situations. Brokeback Mountain is in this anthology and the succinct prose is captured in the film painting a painful love story crossing over a few decades.
• The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins: By now everyone and their mom (including mine) has read The Hunger Games. And deservedly so. This is the YA book that got me back into the genre. Collins manages to make an, at first, unlikable and hard-edged character someone we root for consistently. Katniss has heart and wants a life of simplicity but that all goes to pot after the Quarter Quell. The writing is well paced and dynamic putting you into every moment and Collins has a way with chapter endings, each one leaving you wanting more. 

Those are just some books I'd recommend reading in general because they rock and especially to explore alternate writing styles.