The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Year: 2010
Genre: Fantasy
Age: YA 13+

Meghan Chase is a half human/half faery sixteen year old princess who is about to learn the truth about her family, who she is, & what is waiting just on the other side of our world. Her brother Ethan is taken into the world of the fae called the Nevernever & replaced by an evil changling child. In order to get Ethan back,  Meghan's best friend & faery guardian Robbie Goodfellow takes her through the veil on a perilous adventure through the wyldwood filled with dangerous fae creatures, into a deadly faery nightclub in Detroit, & a meeting with a voodoo witch in New Orleans. The pair is accompanied by Ash who is the prince of the Winter Court, his mother is the dangerous Queen Mab of the Unseelie fae. The group is also getting tips from a cat named Grim who has a way of disappearing when things get scary.

They know that Ethan is being help captive by someone called the Iron King, but no one has ever heard of him before now. In order to get to the realm of the Iron King they must escape from Meghan's father King Oberon, the ruler of the Seelie fae & the king of the Summer Court. But trouble is brewing in the Nevernever: their journey is full of danger, a chilling winter landscape, & a few unexpected allies.

The realm of the Iron King is filled with the electronic waste of the human world & thrives upon the technological energy expelled from the other side of the veil. Normal fae can't handle iron, it is deadly to them. So the group must get in & out quickly in order to stay alive. Will they rescue Ethan & save themselves, or will they become a part of the Iron King's collection?

Likes: I have been reading more fantasy lately in the past year or so & because of that I'm starting to see a pattern in the stories of the fae. Names, characters, & places are becoming more recognizable & I am becoming akin to the ways of the fae & their kingdoms.

This particular story has some cool 21st century elements that make the story more relatable.

Grim the cat reminded me of the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland which is one of my favorites.

Dislikes: The story line was a little bit predictable but still enjoyable.

I'm also seeing a Twlight moment happening between Robbie, Ash, & Meghan...

Rating:

   

April 2017 TBR

This month I'm hoping to read 4 books, that's one book a week. NO MORE TV FOR ME (Maybe... LOL) I'd like to try & set a pace like this & maintain it for the rest of the year so we'll see. 

As always click the link below the book title for more info

The Reader by Traci Chee

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25064648-the-reader?from_search=true

The Fairest of them All by Carolyn Turgeon

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16130641-the-fairest-of-them-all?from_search=true

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7747064-the-iron-daughter?from_search=true

Dragon Watch by Brandon Mull

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29563587-dragonwatch?from_search=true

Stay tuned for reviews...

March 2017 Wrap-Up

Ok this month I hit my slump again although I had very high hopes to read like 6 books! I did finish one & I'm so close to finishing the other that I'm including it LOL

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly 

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

I will set my sights lower for April & hopefully accomplish my TBR...

New Items April 2017 & Update

This week we did a big $1000 order at my library! With three months left of this fiscal year we are using up every last cent! I'll include a picture with the items that we got. I'm most excited about Dragon Watch by Brandon Mull & Fantastic Beasts!

We are also gearing up for National Library Week (April 9-15)  & Cowboy Poetry Week (April 16-22) in the month of April. For NLW we are doing an interactive bulletin board display all month long where patrons can tell us how their library transforms their life & be entered to win one of three prizes. The prizes are a NOOK 7 inch ereader, a $20 VISA gift card, & a bag of books from our Friends of the Library book store. 

For Cowboy Poetry we are doing a poetry contest & the winner gets a cowboy poetry CD.

I will include flyers for those events below. To learn more visit these links:

National Library Week 2017

Cowboy Poetry Week 2017

Today we had a very obnoxious group of teenagers throw some little sticky beads onto our VERY tall ceiling...

We acquired a butcher paper rack for my bulletin board paper that had previously been moved from table to table. There was a small challenge in getting it on there that we are hoping to avoid in the future!

And I put up some fun sparkly eggs for Easter up front by the circ desk! I'm hoping to step up my bulletin board game now that my leg injury is healed.

In other news...

On the way home the other night I saw some elk right by the road in a field & they were pretty cool. All the out of town visitors were freaking out.

And we got snow in MARCH!!!!

I'm planning on finishing my book that I have been reading forever The Iron King by Julie Kagawa this weekend so check back for a review of that & my April TBR.

TV Shows I Watch When I'm Not Reading

As of late I haven't been reading as much as I usually do. I have gotten sucked into the abyss that is Netlfix & other internet TV. So I thought since I haven't done a book review in a while (I'm hoping to have one done this weekend) I'd tell you what has been stealing my attention.

Sex & the City (Seen a million & one times but LOVE)

True Blood (This one I'm rewatching for the third time, one of my all time favorite books & shows)

Game of Thrones (OBSESSED!!!)

Grey’s Anatomy

How to Get Away With Murder

Orange is the New Black (I plan on reading the book)

The Vampire Diaries (New found love waiting for season 8 to be on Netflix)

Grace & Frankie (HILARIOUS!)

Vikings

Reign (Only saw first season, going to continue)

The Great British & American Baking Show

Once Upon a Time (Still on season 5, so behind but going to catch up)

Young & Hungry

Lost (Watched the whole series in like 1 month, SO GOOD!)

Mad Men

Bob Ross

Pretty Little Liars (Stopped a few seasons ago, too much drama but still good show)

The Originals (Just started after watching VD)

Escape to the Country (Recently found this one, takes place in England but really good)

Master Chef & Junior

Desperate Housewives (Saw it all the way through through, watch from time to time)

Gilmore Girls (LOVE LOVE LOVE)

Code Black (Reminds me so much of ER which is one of my all time favorite shows)

I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting, but if you're looking for a new show this list will tide you over for a little bit!

Look out for a book review this week for sure!

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

These Shallow Graves

Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
Year: 2015
Genre: Mystery
Age: YA 14+

The story starts in 1890 in New York and we are introduced to a young girl named Jo Montfort. She is beautiful, rich, & is hoping to continue her life married off to a charming man named Bram Aldrich. But the past has a way of catching up to you...

Jo's family is one in five partners in a shipping firm called Van Housten's. The company trades in spices mostly and has done quite well for many decades. But the company is hiding a terrible secret. Jo's father is killed because of the secret and the mystery only continues from there. Jo enlists the help of an up and coming reporter named Eddie Gallagher; his knowledge of the city can help her get to the bottom of the mystery of her father's death. Along the way the pair need the help of some interesting characters including a morgue worker named Oscar Rubin & a pick pocket, call girl named Fay.

While digging up the truth Jo is out doing some unspeakable acts for a girl of her means & the time period. She's meeting strange men in the middle of the night at bars, using street children to break into buildings, going to brothel's, making deals with gang bosses, and even digging up a corpse!

But will Jo's hard work pay off and she'll find the answers, love, & freedom she longs for, or will she end up in a shallow grave of her own digging?

Likes: This book opened a little window into history. I don't read many period books, mostly books that take place in the future, or the present in an alternative universe or world. So the idea of the dress & the rules that had to be followed was very peculiar to read about. I did do a little research about the time & this is what I was able to find out:

The population of New York City in 1890 according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 1,515,301.

The average wage for a manufacturer worker was $1.75 per day in today's $ values & $427 per year.

The average wage for a building trade worker was $2.68 per day in today's $ values & $620 per year.

The average population per household was 4.93 people.

Here is a map of New York in the 1890's & some pictures including Central Park

This book also had several great quotes that I though I'd share below:

"If you're going to bury the past, bury it deep girl. Shallow graves always give up their dead" (Donnelly 187).

"This is the best thing, Jo. The city stretched out before you, glittering like a sack of diamonds. Yours for the taking. A drink and a smoke and no one to please but yourself. Freedom. That's my answer. The freedom to be your own best thing" (Donnelly 290).

One of the central theme's of the book is freedom which is something you would think a very wealthy person like Jo would have but she really doesn't because of the social standards set for that time. She spends a lot of time looking for it while also trying to not ruin her family's name, despite what happens in the end anyway.

Another great thing about this book is it takes some twist & turns along the way that you don't find out about until the very end. One of the things that I dislike about some mystery books is you know who did it right away & this book isn't like that. Just when you think you know who the bad guy is, SURPRISE! it's not him.

I also liked that there was a happy ending. After the way the book starts off I was worried something bad would happen in the end.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story about mystery, love, adventure, & finding ones true self  & what makes you happy, not necessarily what is "right".

Dislikes: -

Rating:

New Books March 2017

My job as a Technical Assistant means that I help order then catalog & process all of the new materials that come into the library. I thought it might be interesting to do updates on items that I add & maybe talk about things I'm looking forward too or find interesting. If you like this please leave a comment below so I know & I will contnue to do it as often as I can. 

So for the month of March these are the items I've added to our library collection so far...

The books I'm most looking forward too are The Gender Game by Bella Forrest, Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo, Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan, King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard, I am Pusheen the Cat by Claire Belton, & Sorry I Sat on Your Face. 

The Gender Game is a new trilogy that is completed & I have been hearing good things about it so it's on my TBR for next month.  

Carve the Mark is also on my upcoming TBR despite being disappointed by her other series Divergent. 

I want to read Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom, maybe next month.

I really like Rick Riordan's books but I never finished Percy Jackson that's on my list to finish, then I can start working my way through his other series. 

King's Cage is the final book in the Red Queen trilogy & those books I am determined to read this month!

I have already read I am Pusheen the Cat & I really enjoyed it so I'm hoping the patrons will too. 

And finally Sorry I Sat on Your Face is SOOOO cute! We have a small little collection of funny cat books that are always good.
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Also while updating our Goodreads account & creating the collage above I ran across another book that looked good but I'll have to ILL it because no one in our county system has it.

I also added a bunch of new movies this week, I'll include those below. Stay tuned for more items soon hopefully.

New Movies