The Painted Bridge

The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace

Love Will Break Your Heart!
  

Anna Palmer married a man who she thought was honest and kind; he was after all a Reverend. However after being abandoned at Lake House by her new husband, committed to an asylum without either her knowledge or consent, she beings to see things a little differently. She was sure she wasn't crazy, sure that her husband was deceiving her. But it was true that she was seeing things that weren't real, true that it was common for husbands to have mistresses. Was she really losing her mind or was there something more going on?

The Painted Bridge was the only thing at Lake House that seemed real, solid. It was a symbol of freedom, a link to the outside world that would be Anna's escape. Only the bridge was an illusion, a facade, like so many other things at Lake House and if you weren't mad when you entered then you soon would be. A story that questions the sanity of women, the ethics of asylums, the merit of photography, the bonds of friendship and the sanctity of marriage. A suspenseful search for truth and love in a Victorian asylum, a deceptive tale of illusions and heartbreak in Victorian London.

Wendy Wallace Webpage

Wendy Wallace @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9780857209283
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Illusions
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Care and Feeding of Sprites

Care and Feeding of Sprites
by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Pet Owner's Guide!

  

A sprite is not your typical 'pet', and so caring and feeding a sprite is not something a typical pet owner may know about. But the first thing you have to have, the most important thing you must possess, when caring for a sprite is the sight to see your sprite. Otherwise you may as well just hang an empty cage, claim to possess a sprite and be done with the whole thing, because really who would know? But if you do possess the sight and have a sprite flitting about your home that you wish to care for, then this is the book for you.

Care And Feeding Of Sprites delves into enclosures, appetites, habits and the awkward question of asking your sprite what gender they are, a question that should really be avoided because really what business is it of yours anyway. A 'pet' that is growing ever more popular amongst the sighted, and strangely the unsighted, this invaluable book offers all you would need to know about the care and feeding of these delicate and conniving creatures. But be forewarned, caring for sprites is not for the faint hearted, hot tempered or unadvised as sprites have been known to bite.

Tony DiTerlizzi Webpage

Holly Black Webpage

Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black @ Simon & Schuster

(includes Full Size Glow int the Dark Poster)
On sale: 01 November 2006
Price (AU): $24.95
ISBN: 9781416927570
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Sprites
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You

Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide
to the Fantastical World Around You
by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black

Open Your Mind To A World Unseen!
   

These are the beings that exist in dreams and haunt our nightmares. Creatures of myth, unseen and forgotten by humankind for so long. But they have not forgotten us. They hide in shadow, play in darkness, live beside us and all the while we go about our lives ignorant of their existence. But there are those who believe, and a smaller few who have seen. This book is their proof, their warning, these creatures are real, and though not all are to be feared they are all to be respected.

Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You offers detailed descriptions, depictions and dwellings of these unique and extraordinary creatures. A treasured resource that will be appreciated by both believers and non believers of the magical world. This essential tome will bring enlightenment, enchantment and entertainment to those brave enough to open its pages, not to mention opening your eyes to a world rarely seen, often wondered about and greatly misunderstood.

Tony DiTerlizzi Webpage

Holly Black Webpage

Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 March 2008
Price (AU): $39.99
ISBN: 9781416960959
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Fantastical Creatures
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Disaster #1

DISASTER:
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Love Will Break Your Heart!

When Abby met Travis, a smoking, gambling, fighter with a bad reputation, he was exactly the sort of boy she was trying to avoid. Yet somehow he was the exact boy she could not seem to get away from. Despite her best efforts Abby was falling for Travis, but with her stubbornness and his determination this relationship was never going to run smoothly.

Beautiful Disaster is entirely Abby's point of view of her volatile yet passionate relationship with Travis, a relationship that is at times the equivalent of a train wreck. Watching, or reading, this mishap called love is scary crazy and yet you can not turn away from the disaster that is Abby and Travis. A roller coaster of a book that fully lives up to its title.

Jamie McGuire Webpage

Jamie McGuire @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 August 2012
Price (AU): $17.99
ISBN: 9781471115035
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Disaster
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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White Horse

White Horse by Alex Adams

"The Plague That Killed The World's Population"

The jar was the beginning; it appeared out of nowhere, delivered by no one to be found sitting in her living room. No one can say how it arrived, this ancient jar, or where it came from. But all that was secondary, the only thing to matter now was what the jars sudden presence in her home and in her life meant. The jar was a mystery, and the only thing she knew for curtain was that this mysterious jar frightened her.

It started with the weather, then it was the war. But it wasn't just one country against another, if it had been there might have been somewhere safe to run to, but it was the whole world and nowhere was safe. Now there were monsters lurking were before there were only people. With no where safe, she ran in the direction of the one person she loved, because at the end of the world where else would she want to be.

Having lost everyone she ever cared for, somehow she still manages to carry on. Because despite the disease, the death, and the monsters, despite the end of the world, life still goes on. Armed only with hope, she will walk halfway across the world to find a new beginning for the future, or she will die trying, for what else has she to live for.

White Horse is a gripping tale of the end of the world and those who are left behind to survive it. This is the story of one ordinary woman who makes a heroic journey across a wasted and broken earth in search of hope, love and life on the other side of the world. As the story unfolds the truth about the jar, the war and her love is uncovered. This is a survival story that tells of strength and humanity in a world that is no longer what it was. An intelligent, passionate and keenly written story that will hold you captive.

Alex Adams Webpage

Alex Adams @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 May 2012
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9780857209962
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: White Horse
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Birthmarked Trilogy #2

THE BIRTHMARKED TRILOGY:
Prized by Caragh O'Brien

Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire!

After leaving behind everything she knows and everyone she cares for Gaia braves the wasteland with her baby sister in search of the Dead Forest. Thought only a fairytale by most Gaia knew it was real, it had to be, she was staking her life, and that of her sisters, that it existed. Her hope was to find a place she and her sister might live in peace. But when the fairytale becomes a nightmare, Gaia finds it harder and harder to hold on to what she believes in, and harder and harder to hold onto who she is.

From the moment she stepped foot into Sylum her sister was taken from her. She was then offered a choice, leave now alone before it was too late, or stay knowing that if she tried to leave in the future she would die. It was no choice for Gaia, while her sister remained so too would she. But while this backwards society could seem at times to be most cruel and strange, there were also times where she was compelled to admit that her only choice of survival was to submit to the will of others at the price of her true self.

Prized is a raw and intelligent look at a society on the brink of extinction, with no way out and no way to go on. It is a story that is both harsh and complex in its characters as well as their relationships, where even amongst psychological torture and social injustice love can still blossom. When rules are broken and an outsider takes a stand to defend another, change will be instilled, whether it is wanted or not. A brilliant continuation of a story that highly imaginative and very unforgettable, with the anticipated conclusion still to come.

Caragh O'Brien Webpage

Caragh O'Brien @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 November 2011
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9780857074959
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Dead Forest
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Fury Trilogy #1

FURY TRILOGY:

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

An Eye For An Eye!

She never meant for it to happen. It's not like you can choose who you fall in love with, right? And this was true love, they both felt the same. It was just too bad he already had a girlfriend, a girlfriend who also happens to be her best friend. She should have known it could never have ended well, for anybody. She should have fought against her desire to be with him. She should have known there would be a price to pay.

He learnt early on how to fit in, how to play the social game that was so crucial to being popular. He had learnt this lesson the hard way and in turn had given as bad as he got. But there is such a thing as going too far. In the heat of the moment he will make a rash decision that will bring one life to end. He might not have meant for things to go so far, but sometimes there is just no saving others, or yourself.

Fury brings its own brand of twisted justice wielded through three ancient and powerful beings hell bent on punishing those who have done wrong. Everyone knows every choice has a consequence but sometimes those consequences can be deadly. And while not every situation is a matter of life and death, some are a matter of the heart, and others just require your soul. So let this story be a warning, if karma doesn't get you, the furies will.

Elizabeth Miles Webpage
Elizabeth Miles @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 August 2011
Price (AU): $24.99
ISBN: 9780857074867
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Justice
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
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Robopocalypse

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

I Have To Live!

Twenty minutes after the war ended Brightboy squad made a discovery that was as disturbing as it was inspiring. This discovery was literally little more then a black box, but what made it so monumentious, so compelling, was that this was The Black Box of the war. Every human to have an impact on the outcome of the war, no matter how small their part, were monitored and recorded, their actions forever replaying within the black box. These are the heroes of mankind, these are their stories.

Deep underground a scientist is bringing the most sophisticated machine ever built online; this is the beginning of the end for mankind. A solider in Afghanistan is reporting on an event that should never have happened, could not have been possible. A little girl is awoken by a nightmare, only it wasn't a dream. A technician in Japan is watching the one person he loves squeeze the life out of him. A Texas driller and his crew will take a job in remote Alaska, it will be their last.

Robopocalypse is a story of the enduring nature of mankind, but more then just a story of survival it is a story about life. Within these pages are the very best and worst of mankind, for even as adversity brings out he best in some, it brings out the worse in others. But ultimately this is a story of people who have become heroes through their everyday actions of survival. A brilliantly thought-out story that is told in the most engrossing and compelling of ways. A story that is all the more chilling because  it tells of a future that is all too possible.

Daniel H. Wilson Webpage

Daniel H. Wilson @ Simon & Schuster
Robopocalypse

On sale: 01 June 2010
Price (AU): $29.99
ISBN: 9780857204134
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Robot War
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Birthmarked Trilogy #1

THE BIRTHMARKED TRILOGY:
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

'Life First'

At only sixteen Gaia is following in her mothers footsteps as a midwife. There are parts of her job that are secret, such as the freckles and the tea, then there are parts of the job that are necessary, such as the advanced babies that are handed over to the Enclave to which all serve. Gaia has always blindly followed the rules of her society, never once questioning her part. That is until the night she delivers her first baby unassisted, the same night her parents are taken from her.

Inside the walls of the Enclave people live in luxury, a stark contrast to those living outside like Gaia. Only those born within the walls, or those advanced, are permitted among the privileged and for an outsider to enter is suicide. Gaia however is determined to enter the walls to save her parents, but what she finds under the surface of this idealistic society is dark and dangerous and try as she might she cannot escape without leaving someone she loves behind.

Birthmarked is a terrifying look into a future where the individual is insignificant when compared to the needs of society, where even babies are traded for resources and where among the elite love is only allowed to those genetically compatible. An outsider, a girl marked as undesirable, will create chaos in a dystopian society, waking people from their complacencies and getting them thinking about just what it means to serve a 'greater good'. Very excited to discover this is just the first in a series, with a lot more adventure to come.

Caragh O'Brien Webpage

Caragh O'Brien @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 May 2011
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9780857071392
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Gaia
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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The Replacement

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

'Not Murder - Sacrifice'

Mackie has spent his whole life trying to blend into the crowds, escaping the spotlight, doing whatever it takes to go unnoticed. But Mackie is a replacement, a changeling, and one look at him will tell you that he is other, that he doesn't belong. But as long as he pretends that he belongs no one will question him.

The problem is, however, Mackie doesn't feel as though he belongs despite the best efforts from his sister and a few close friends. Mackie has nothing to live for in our world, which may be just as well as our world is slowly killing Mackie and if he wants to survive he will have to enter a new and eerie world of music, death, underground domains, ancient rituals and of course magic.

The Replacement is more then just a story of faeries; it is a story of identity, sacrifice and love. The town Mackie grow up in has always dealt with his kind by feigning ignorance and looking the other way when a child was stolen, for deep down they all new that in the end it kept the town going and helped the town prosper. But when one person begins to question, Mackie must finally face what he is and decide just where he truly belongs. A brilliant urban faerie story.

Brenna Yovanoff Webpage

Brenna Yovanoff @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 December 2010
Price (AU): $24.99
ISBN: 9780857071385
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Changeling
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Bleeding Violet

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Its Normal To Be A Little Crazy!

Hanna ran away from home. To her it wasn't much of a home, being raised by a woman who dislikes you isn't at all where you'd like to live, unless of cause that woman was your mother. Then you might put up with almost anything, and hope she was willing to do the same. But Hanna had never before met her mother and to ask a total stranger for love and acceptance was not going to be easy.

Living with bipolar-disorder and hallucinations, Hanna is long used to standing out. But in the small town of Portero, all the craziness in her head has found form in the real world. In this little town her strangeness is nothing compared to the locals and what she founds is a town crazier then she is and, finally, a place where she can call home.

Bleeding Violet is the story of a maladjusted teen that, after dishing out one too many blows to the head, has to deal with the consequences of her actions, as hurtful as it may be to herself and those around her. Dysfunctional families, acts of redemption, and a whole lot of monsters come together wacky little tale that is somewhat disturbing and just a little freaky.

Dia Reeves Webpage

Dia Reeves @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 January 2010
Price (AU): $24.99
ISBN: 9781416986188
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Purple
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: possibly
Star rating: three out of five
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ICE

ICE by Sarah Beth Durst

How Impossible True Love!

Once upon a time there was a wind, a polar bear, and a promise; and a promise made can not be broken. It all began with a story, a fairytale of a young girl stolen and raised by the north wind. A young maiden who was promised to a polar bear. A young woman who risked all for love breaking her fathers promise.

When Cassie was little her grandmother would tell her the story of the polar bear who had stolen a child for the wind, a girl who was latter lost beyond the ends of the world trapped there never to return. It was the only story her grandmother ever told her, and in her frozen world of youth Cassie whole heartedly believed that her mother was lost there still.

As the years went by and Cassie grew up she came to see that this story was nothing more then a fairytale, a fantasy created to save her from the truth that her mother was dead. Nothing and no one could change the fact that her mother was gone and never coming back. But having her mother back was the only thing Cassie ever wished for.

ICE is an impossible love story that never gives up, never gives in and is never afraid. All the obstacles thrown in the way only prove to strengthen a love that can conquer any impossibility, even dangerous elements and an endless land of ice. A magical fairytale adventure with a modern twist that shows the power of true love and the importance of family, acceptance and following your heart.

Sarah Beth Durst Webpage

Sarah Beth Durst @ Simon & Schuster

On sale: 01 January 2010
Price (AU): $17.99
ISBN: 9781847386571
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Love
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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A Modern Faerie Tale #1

A MODERN FAERIE TALE:
Tithe by Holly Black

An Exchange That Will Turn You Green!

When Kaye was little she had friends that only see could see, everyone knew her as the girl who believed in faeries. Now, Kaye is sixteen and people still remember her as the girl who believed in faeries.

One night while walking home Kaye hears a noise and goes to investigate, and there she finds an injured boy. But he is no ordinary boy, he is a faery; a faery knight. Not long after this her old childhood faery friends, who she had long assumed make-believe, return to her asking for help.

Kaye didn't really want to get involved in faery affairs but she agrees to do all she can to help her past faery friends, even when they ask her to trust them with her life, literally. Kaye is warned also to stay away from the very dangerous faery knight, but she can't seem to keep from thinking about him, and running into him. Things are changing for Kaye, and so is she...

Tithe is a book of faery Queens, and magic, and sacrifice. But it is also a book of smoking and alcohol, and lust, and teen angst. Although there are some good ideas in this book, there is also a lot that seems stale and monotonous. I think my expectations were a little to high.

 

Holly Black Webpage

Holly Black @ Simon & Schuster

 

On sale: 01 June 2005
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9780689860423
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Fairies
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: possibly
Star rating: two out of five
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