Seattle Mystery Bookshop Books & Decay

Rachel Hawkins - School Spirits - Book Review

Rachel Hawkins - School Spirits

Amber Recommends:

Izzy Brannick has a very long and impressive lineage. While most people prize, politicians, celebrities and rebels in their family tree, Izzy has more unusual branches on hers.

For centuries, her family has hunted monsters, or, to use the more civilized term, Prodigium, becoming their boogie man in turn. However, thru the centuries of campaigns and fighting, the Brannicks have dwindled down to just Izzy and her Mom.

Finn, her older sister, has gone missing a few months earlier. On a routine hunt, Finn and Izzy were tracking a coven of witches. Finn went in, while Izzy stayed behind, and she hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Finn’s tactical belt is the only evidence that she had ever set foot in the house.

She and her mother searched, ran down every clue and still came up with nothing. However monsters don’t keep convenient hours, and before Izzy is ready, they have to continue on with their duties. In this case Izzy must go undercover in Ideal, Mississippi’s local high school. A ghost is on the loose and causing some serious bodily harm to a faculty member and threatens the rest of the school…..Izzy must now navigate the labyrinth of cliques, fashion, boys and magic. To solve her case, without becoming attached to the people around her, this is a job. Friends are a luxury she cannot afford…..right?

School Spirits is a parallel series to Hawkins’ Hex Hall series. Meaning, it is set in the same world with vampires, ghosts, fae and witches. However, none of the characters from that series pop up in this book. School Spirits is a solid mystery, with promising multi-book plots, such as her missing sister Finn, the prophecy that Izzy will let Torin out of his mirror and what exactly is going to happen with Dex? This book has the potential to start a new urban fantasy-ish YA series, and I cannot wait to see where we go next.

I would recommend this book to any girl 11-16 (sorry guys, I don’t think you are the targeted demographic here) who is looking for a fast paced, Buffy The Vampire Slayer -esque - mystery.

The one critique I have of this book, is it is missing the snarky humor found in the Hex Hall series, and I realize Hawkins cannot make the two series the same. However it would have been entertaining to see more sly humor embedded into this mystery.

FIND THEM HERE. BUY THEM HERE. KEEP BOOKS HERE.

- SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKSHOP

The Sinister Sweetness Of Splendid Academy

Nikki Loftin – The Sinister Sweetness Of Splendid Academy

Amber recommends:

Splendid Academy is a very special school, where candy dishes are on every students’ desk, students are serve scrumptious and nutritionally dubious breakfast/ lunch/snacks. The playground equipment is out of every kid’s fanatsy….however there is something strange about the school, Lorelei notices it right from the beginning….it only took three days for the school to be built, the candy dishes never empty, and the students never stop eating!

Lorelei, and her new friend Andrew, discover the school and its students are in the grip of a magic spell; but every spell can be broken, all poisons have an anitdote; sometimes however the cure is more painful than the disease.

Dr. Who meets Grimm in a middle school!

I cannot tell you enough how much I enjoyed reading this book! It has the quirky Dr. Who mystery, where our heroine knows there is somethig wrong but can’t quite place exactly what the problem is. Plus Grimm’s (as in the Grimm fairy tales) use of dark creatures which are at the heart of the sinister magical spell, but it’s grounded in the social dynamics and antics of a middle school.
  

I really enjoyed the dark and twisty turns the author takes on in her mystery. Where everyone is layered and you never know if someone is exactly how they seem. Over-arching themes of how love is blind, what evil really is and friendship make this a book anyone could enjoy reading over and over again.

I would recommend this book for all kids (it is told exclusively from Lorelei’s point of view, however Andrew is very prominent in the story) 10+. It would make a fantastic Halloween present!

Wrapped By Jennifer Bradbury

Here is Jennifer Bradbury’s behind the scenes look on writing this wonderful book:

“I wrote Wrapped while waiting for my editorial letter for Shift to come as a way to keep myself busy and distracted. I wrote it first because I was fascinated with the notion of mummy unwrapping parties, but soon found myself blending in my devotion to all things Jane Austen, Indiana Jones, and Alias. Along the way, the historical context emerged, and the bits I could lift from the Napoleonic wars and the time period were unbelievably perfect. Its an admittedly unholy combination, but I love the story and the characters, and can’t wait to share Agnes with the world. Atheneum will also publish a sequel to Wrapped eventually. I haven’t settled on a title yet, but I’ve turned in the first draft and am trying to persuade my husband that we need to travel to Egypt to do research.”

Here is Amber’s Review:

Agnes lives in London. In her time, Napoleon has returned for a second time and is threatening all of Europe with his war machine. On principle, the normal social scene of London marches on, with Agnes in tow. This is her year to make her debut and make a smart match, the year when she trades her dreams of adventure, her studies and cleverness for the small world of marriage, children and societal expectations.

Lord Showalter’s is the first party Agnes will attend during her debut season, and during the party an Egyptian mummy is unwrapped. Agnes believes this will be as close as she will ever come to her dreams of travel and adventure, until one small act - her filching of a small dog statue - has her destiny taking an unexpected left turn into parts unknown.

I absolutely loved this book. It deals with London at a time when Egyptian mummies were looked on as curiosities instead of great cultural artifacts. Then spies, intrigue and two kids who are trying to make their own place in the world. You get a fast paced and fun look into 1815 London and how war affected them. Plus Agnes is clever and resourceful, never simpering or filled with teen angst — which makes her a great heroine.

It is set in history versus trying to teach it, which is another great thing about it. I would recommend this book for any girl (there is a strong male lead in it as well, but the story is told exclusively from Agnes’s point of view, sorry guys) from ages 10 - 15. 11 AR points.

-Seattle Mystery Bookshop

(Source: jennifer-bradbury.com)