Shadow on the Mountain by Margi PreusMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'm doing a little pre-Oslo trip research by way of juvenile fiction about Norwegian resistance during WW2, and this book fit the bill perfectly. I passed this one directly on to my 10-year-old daughter - it's WW2 and introduces some difficult concepts about good vs. evil and repercussions for resisting, but with very little actual disturbing content. That's just what my daughter needs at this stage. In a few years, I'll introduce her to Ruta Sepetys' books and then we can have a chat about it all.
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The Raven King by Maggie StiefvaterMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Oh yes I did just give this only three stars! I'm reminded of my initial waffling between zero and five stars for book one of this series: as far as what it IS, it's amazing. But for what it ISN'T...I have some major (spoilery) complaints:
(view spoiler)
My hope is that this book will improve on a second reading. I mean, I loved Mockingjay the first time around, but on every reading since, I've liked it less. Maybe the reverse will happen with this one. I trust Maggie Stiefvater and so I have to believe this book is better than I think it is at this moment. Now that I know the ending, maybe I'll be able to start at the beginning again someday and focus on the "is" of this series, not the "isn't."
(But yeah, for now, three stars.)
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