The Captive Kingdom by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2020

WARNING: This is the fourth book in the Ascendance Trilogy, and has major spoilers even in the description. If you haven't read at least The False Prince (one of the first books I ever reviewed), go away!

Click to view 
on Goodreads 

In a peaceful Carthya, Jaron leads as the Ascendant King with Imogen beside him -- but the peace he fought so long for is not destined to last.

On a routine sea voyage, Jaron's ship is brutally attacked, and he is taken hostage. The mysterious captors and their leader, Jane Strick, accuse Jaron of unthinkable acts. They are also in possession of some shocking items -- including the crown and sword that belonged to Jaron's older brother, Darius. The items unearth a past Jaron thought he had put behind him.

Though it seems impossible, Jaron must consider: Could Darius be alive? And what does Strick want from Jaron? Against his will, Jaron will be pulled back into a fight for the throne -- and a battle to save his kingdom.

(384 pages)

    Let's start by getting the fangirling out of the way: I can't believe Nielsen brought this series back!! I was a massive fan of the original trilogy (especially, if not mostly, of The False Prince) and I have always missed reading about Jaron's escapades. Nielsen is great at putting her characters into seemingly impossible situations and then having them think their way out, but no one - no one - can top Jaron's sheer genius. Especially not anyone as charismatic and fun to read about. Also, on a lesser but still important note, I am yet again in love with a cover. The Ascendance series has such gorgeous covers that I often find myself staring at them, and I'm pleased to say that the rich purples of The Captive Kingdom joins the blue, green and red of the other books in being absolutely stunning. 

    Okay, now let's talk review. I thought the characters were well done here. Imogen isn't on-screen a lot, but she feels like a more fleshed-out person than she did in many of the earlier books. My main issue with her was, honestly, we already know how her piece of the story will end (they literally tell us before the book begins) so it is hard to get too invested in any drama involving her. Also, I didn't really agree with her (and everyone else's, to some extent) criticisms of Jaron's tendency to keep things close to his chest. Trust issues are understandable with his background, and also it makes sense not to give people information that they could be tortured for later! But anyway, Tobias is still a good side-kick, Amarinda is barely in it at all, and Fink (who I'm ashamed to admit I'd forgotten about until Jaron reminded me who he was) is super cute and very much a scene-stealer. I had a bone to pick with Roden's plotline, which seemed to echo a lot of stuff from the earlier books as he once more is pitted against Jaron, but Nielsen kept things fresh enough that I stopped grumbling about it by the end.

    As for the new characters, they're all pretty interesting and well-done. The women they meet - both allies and villains - are relatively complex and interesting characters, and I enjoyed trying to understand them. As for the "Darius" character (no spoilers on whether he's really Jaron's older brother!), that was such an interesting premise for Nielsen to go with. He doesn't enter until about halfway through the book, but the idea of him is already messing with Jaron's head much sooner than that. It's heartbreaking to see Jaron try to wrestle with the idea that his brother could be alive, and to face hard questions about what sort of king he is and whether he might need to hand over his crown to someone else and relinquish all of that power. To be honest, though, this plotline also was the one that frustrated me the most. Besides some rather blatant attempts at retconning, I also just found most of "Darius'" words and actions to be frustrating and, honestly, a bit unrealistic. The way he acts toward Jaron is just a bit strange. That's all I can say without spoilers. I thought that Jaron's actions were very true to his character, though, and just reaffirmed my love for him.

    I also remembered how much I love Jaron in the last few chapters of the book, when plot twist after plot twist went flying and they were all completely plausible and also took me completely by surprise. It's been a long time since a book really shook my expectations that much, and I had such a blast flipping through pages with literally no idea what would happen next. It's a real roller-coaster of a book, and I am 100% here for Jaron's unreliable narration keeping me on my toes.

The Captive Kingdom doesn't beat out The False Prince, but I'd say it's at least as good as the other two books in the series. It's still settling into my head at the moment, but I'm currently ranking it tied with The Runaway King (my second favourite in the series) and it may very well steal that second-place spot. The action is well-paced, never becoming boring or dizzyingly fast. The premise is a good - and very interesting! - one, and the execution is pretty good. Overall, a very solid book and several hours very pleasantly spent. Now if only I could get my hands on The Shattered Castle (expected publication 2021)!

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2018

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. After her little sister is taken away, her younger brother disappears, and her parents all but give up hope, Chaya is determined to make a difference. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people.

Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis' supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya's network shatters. She is alone and unsure of where to go, until Esther, a member of her cell, finds her and delivers a message that chills Chaya to her core, and sends her on a journey toward an even larger uprising in the works -- in the Warsaw Ghetto.

Though the Jewish resistance never had much of a chance against the Nazis, they were determined to save as many lives as possible, and to live -- or die -- with honor.

(400 pages)

Wow.

Just, wow. I mean, I've been a fan of Nielsen's for ages, and I adored her East Berlin book A Night Divided, so I knew going in that I was going to love Resistance. But I had no idea how blown away by it I was going to be.

World War II is pretty well-trodden ground by this point, but Nielsen still managed to find an aspect–the Jewish resistance movement–that I didn't know anything about. I never knew that the Jews worked so hard to organize themselves and fight against the Nazis, but they did. They were incredibly brave, risking their lives every day to undermine the war effort, warn the people imprisoned in ghettos about the death camps, and smuggle some out into safe houses.

Chava and her fellow fighters know from day one that they will most likely die for their cause, but they know that they will face death no matter what they do–they want to use their lives to do the most good before they are killed, either for fighting or for being Jewish. It's a horrible situation, the ultimate "rock and a hard place" dilemma, and they are beyond brave for choosing to do what they can to help.

I love how Nielsen doesn't just leave it at that, though. Over the course of Chaya and Esther's journey, they meet lots of different people from all walks of life and religion. They meet some Poles who ignore them, others who attack them for being Jewish, and still others who risk life and limb to help them. They meet some Jews who refuse to fight back out of fear, and some who don't fight out of disbelief, but also some who won't fight because their faith forbids murder–so they fight for the Jewish religion by not taking up arms. Nielsen's focus on these moral nuances, on portraying the various ways people responded to the Nazis without judging them, is a great strength throughout the book.

I realize I haven't really discussed the main characters much yet. It's hard to focus on them when there are so many incredible details about history to pull from Resistance's pages, but Chava is the perfect core to the book. She doesn't see herself as a hero, and she doesn't romanticize anything. She is a very pragmatic person, treating herself almost like an object and calculating how best to use herself for the good of the Jews and downfall of the Nazis. Her initial impatience with/distaste for Esther is completely reasonable, since the younger girl really is pretty useless, but I loved watching them come to understand and respect each other as the story went on. I rooted for both of them, as well as for their cause, though I knew the story couldn't possibly have a picture-perfect happy ending.

I wouldn't recommend Resistance for very young readers, just because the vast majority of the characters in this book either die or expect themselves to die at any moment (and the climax, which is masterfully done by the way, is set in the Warsaw Ghetto during a doomed revolt). There's no bad language or graphic descriptions of the gruesome scenes Chava encounters, though, so as far as books about Polish Jews during WWII goes, this is about as "clean" as it's going to get.

I'm sure it's no surprise when I say that I highly recommend Resistance. I try to always list pros and cons in my reviews, but I literally don't have any cons for this one. It's a wonderfully well-written book, and it gives proper due to the incredible men and women who fought for their people. I hope many children read Resistance and learn the story of these heroes.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Traitor's Game by Jennifer A Nielsen, 2018

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Nothing is as it seems in the kingdom of Antora. Kestra Dallisor has spent three years in exile in the Lava Fields, but that won't stop her from being drawn back into her father's palace politics. He's the right hand man of the cruel king, Lord Endrick, which makes Kestra a valuable bargaining chip. A group of rebels knows this all too well -- and they snatch Kestra from her carriage as she reluctantly travels home.

The kidnappers want her to retrieve the lost Olden Blade, the only object that can destroy the immortal king, but Kestra is not the obedient captive they expected. Simon, one of her kidnappers, will have his hands full as Kestra tries to foil their plot, by force, cunning, or any means necessary. As motives shift and secrets emerge, both will have to decide what -- and who -- it is they're fighting for.

(400 pages)

Any of you who have followed this blog for long know that I am obsessed with Jennifer Nielsen's books. I've been snapping them up since The False Prince first came out, and I've loved all the series and standalones she's produced since then (especially A Night Divided!).

In some ways, The Traitor's Game is fairly similar to Nielsen's earlier works. She is clearly fascinated by royalty/nobility, unwanted arranged marriages, and unfortunate predicaments brought on by circumstances outside the main characters' control. All of these elements have been in at least one of her earlier works, and make appearances again in The Traitor's Game. I can also see personality similarities between Kestra, the main character of The Traitor's Game, and Jaron from the Ascendance trilogy and Nic from the Praetor Wars series, though my understanding (which is, granted, limited by only having the first book so far) is that Kestra has more brute-force cunning and self-control than Nic, but that she doesn't have the sheer genius that made Jaron's plots always seem so perfectly, and effortlessly, planned out months in advance; she does make cunning choices at times, but it's clear that she is struggling to figure out what she should do as she goes along and that her deceptions are thus much more sponatenous than many of Jaron's.

Did I love The Traitor's Game as much as I love Nielsen's earlier works? Absolutely. In fact, I'd rank it right up there: behind The False Prince (because nothing can beat my first love!), tied with The Scourge, and right ahead of the Praetor Wars. That's right, I ranked it higher than the Praetor Wars. Why? Mainly because of the romance. I always thought that writing romance was Nielsen's one weak spot–I could never really believe the romance between the main character and their love interest because it seemed like they would just look at each other a couple times and then suddenly they were supposed to be suppressing deep feelings for each other. In The Traitor's Game, however, that insta-love vibe was much milder. Things do progress pretty quickly between the main characters (which I struggled with at first, when Simon had so many reasons to hate her), but I grew to love both of them and their beautiful mess of a relationship as the book went on; the romance scenes were done very believably. I think having the narration switch between both Kestra and Simon, showing both of their outlooks, helped quite a bit with this.

Before I end on a positive, I do want to address the only real downside to the book (besides the occasionally cringy romantic subplot): it felt, in parts, like I'd read the book before. A large part of this might just be that I'm very familiar with Nielsen's work and writing style, but I think that the book also borrows quite a few tropes and plot twists from other stories in the genre. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, in fact I think the whole series could turn out to be an awesome riff on The Sword in the Stone, but I suppose the whole "medieval-type quasi-magical war-torn kingdom with a princess who doesn't know the truth about herself" storyline has been done so many different times that it can never feel completely fresh.

But that's the beauty of a Jennifer Nielsen book: it can take something that's been done to death, like hidden princes or Roman heroes or life in East Berlin, and craft it so perfectly that it becomes one of the best in the genre. And that's what she has done again.

The Traitor's Game is such a gripping, intense read that I couldn't put it down: I literally stayed up until 2:30 am to finish it the night it arrived. I had to know what happened at the end of the book–and I can't go into details, but I absolutely love it. The plotting was awesome because it went through the usual rising action, climax, denouement . . . and then it just kept going, when I was sad because it felt like it was about to end, through a second climax and into a satisfactory, if frustratingly awesome, ending. The set-up for the sequel is amazing, and I simply can't wait to see where things go from here. I don't know how I'll wait all the time until the next book in the series comes out!

Disclaimer: I received an unsolicited ARC of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[FINISHED!] ARC Giveaway: "Rise of the Wolf" by Jennifer A. Nielsen

One of these copies of Rise
of the Wolf could soon
 be yours!

EDIT: This giveaway has ended. Click here to go to the winner announcement page!

I've never hosted a giveaway before, but then I've never had an opportunity to do one as perfect as the one that just fell into my lap. You see, New York Times-bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen's latest novel Rise of the Wolf  just came out in late January and I've got an extra copy.

That's right, I have two ARCs of the sequel to Mark of the Thief! Yes, I know, it's unfair - there are so many people who are dying to get their hands on Rise of the Wolf, and here I am with two just lying around my bedroom. I decided to even things out by giving away one of my copies, so another Jennifer Nielsen fan can enjoy her latest novel.

This is open to U.S. residents only (I'm so sorry, but international shipping is murder!), and I'll announce the winner in both this post and a new one the day after the giveaway ends. I'll also e-mail the winner, and if they don't respond within 48 hours I'll have to pick a new one. The book will be sent via media mail soon after I get the winner's mailing address. If you have any questions about this giveaway, I'd be happy to answer them in the comments section below. Good luck!

Here's some more info about the book:

Nic may have escaped enslavement in the mines outside of Rome, but his troubles are far from over. The Praetor War--the battle to destroy Rome from within--is in full force, and Nic is caught in the crossfire. The secretive Praetors are determined to unlock a powerful amulet--one sure to bring the empire to its knees. Worse, the Praetors believe Nic holds the key to finding this amulet, and they will stop at nothing to steal it, even if that means harming the people Nic holds most dear.
When the Praetors capture Nic's mother, Nic knows he must do anything to save her. He challenges the Praetors to a chariot race. If he wins, they will release his mother. But if he loses, he must hand over a magic that will certainly destroy Rome and end his own life. Can Nic once again harness his magic and gather the strength to defeat his enemies? Or will he lose his mother and bear witness to Rome's destruction?
(352 pages)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

While you're here, take a minute to check out my blog! Here is a complete list of my book reviews, and here is a list of some of the best Top Ten Tuesday posts I've done. If you're a fellow fan of Jennifer Nielsen's books, you might also be interested in my review of A Night Divided, her historical fiction novel about a girl living behind the Berlin wall in post-WWI East Berlin.

Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2016

Update 2/1/16: Interested in Rise of the Wolf? Click here to enter my giveaway and try to win an ARC!

Warning: This is a review of the second book in the "Mark of the Thief" series, and there may be spoilers for the first book. You can read my review of Mark of the Thief here, or check it out on Goodreads here.

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Nic may have escaped enslavement in the mines outside of Rome, but his troubles are far from over. The Praetor War--the battle to destroy Rome from within--is in full force, and Nic is caught in the crossfire. The secretive Praetors are determined to unlock a powerful amulet--one sure to bring the empire to its knees. Worse, the Praetors believe Nic holds the key to finding this amulet, and they will stop at nothing to steal it, even if that means harming the people Nic holds most dear.
When the Praetors capture Nic's mother, Nic knows he must do anything to save her. He challenges the Praetors to a chariot race. If he wins, they will release his mother. But if he loses, he must hand over a magic that will certainly destroy Rome and end his own life. Can Nic once again harness his magic and gather the strength to defeat his enemies? Or will he lose his mother and bear witness to Rome's destruction?

(352 pages)

First things first: isn't the cover absolutely gorgeous? I swear, Nielsen's books get the best cover artists ever. I used to say the Ascendance trilogy books were the prettiest ones on my shelf, but I don't think that's true anymore - honestly, those turquoise shades are even more breathtaking in person! And the silver armband really pops (Caela looks like she's sticking her snout of the picture at me!), and the spine is the most amazing light blue, and . . . sorry, I think I'm rambling now.

Anyway, I can't say I'm enjoying the Mark of the Thief series as much as I did Nielsen's Ascendance trilogy, but in all fairness that was a pretty insanely high bar to hit again. I think the trouble is that Nic isn't quite as clever as Sage. He's powerful, sure - much more powerful, in a physical sense, than Sage ever was - but Nic doesn't have Sage's powerful intellect or objective way of looking at things. Nic stumbled into this world of treachery and deceit, and he's stumbling around inside it trying to save the people he loves. He doesn't really want any of the power or strength that has been dropped onto his lap, and he is pretty much a sitting duck for any manipulative baddy who comes his way and makes a swipe at him.

On the other hand, what Nic lacks in drive he makes up for in motivation. He genuinely cares about the people who are close to him, and he is doing his very best to protect them. He's not lazy by any stretch of the imagination; he's not purposefully making sloppy choices. It's just that every alley is blocked for him, and he's flailing around as best he can in an attempt to find a safe way out. Do I agree with all of his choices (or the way he makes those decisions)? No, I do not. But I have a hard time being too mad at him when I know how hard he's trying to do the right thing.

My favorite addition to this second novel is one that does at times feel rather forced, but which is just such a fingernail-biting dilemma that I can't hold anything against it. Nielsen seems to be a fan of playing with forced marriages (first in The Shadow Throne with Jaron and Amarinda, and now here in Rise of the Wolf). I think that's pretty dang awesome, because I've always loved those sorts of conundrums. I don't want to say anything else about this part of the story because I'd hate to spoil it for you, but it definitely adds a whole new angle to Nic's internal conflict.

I can't say this is my all-time favorite of Nielsen's books but I did still enjoy it and I'm glad I read it. This is a great series for young fans of Ancient Rome, and I can definitely see it bridging the gap for kids who've finished Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson novels but aren't quite ready for Megan Whalen Turner's "The Queen's Thief" books.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go sit and stare at that gorgeous cover for like an hour.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Teaser Tuesdays: Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Jan 19)

Okay, so for those of you who are new to this meme, here's how it works:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My current read is Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer A. Nielsen, which comes out next Tuesday. It's the second Praetor Wars book, so don't read on unless you're okay with spoilers from the first book, Mark of the Thief.
Nic may have escaped enslavement in the mines outside of Rome, but his troubles are far from over. The Praetor War--the battle to destroy Rome from within--is in full force, and Nic is caught in the crossfire. The secretive Praetors are determined to unlock a powerful amulet--one sure to bring the empire to its knees. Worse, the Praetors believe Nic holds the key to finding this amulet, and they will stop at nothing to steal it, even if that means harming the people Nic holds most dear.
When the Praetors capture Nic's mother, Nic knows he must do anything to save her. He challenges the Praetors to a chariot race. If he wins, they will release his mother. But if he loses, he must hand over a magic that will certainly destroy Rome and end his own life. Can Nic once again harness his magic and gather the strength to defeat his enemies? Or will he lose his mother and bear witness to Rome's destruction?

(352 pages)

Here's this week's teaser, from page 1:

My life no longer made sense. At least, not according to the usual rules of logic. But the absence of logic didn't bother me. A strange feeling of peace had come over me once I accepted that the only person I could trust in this world was also trying to kill me.

Let me know what you think of the book, and check back on Friday for my review!

A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2015

Click to view
on Goodreads

From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west.
With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.
But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

(384 pages; Release date August 25)

Wow. Just wow. I love Historical Fiction, and I'd been meaning to read more about post-WWII Germany, but I still couldn't believe my luck when I found out that one of my favorite authors would be writing a Historical Fiction set in post-WWII Germany.

A Night Divided is a relatively small book for the punch it packs. It's filled with terror and sorrow and agonizing dilemmas, but also love, friendship, and family. Gerta and Fritz are making huge sacrifices in their fight to unite their family and find the freedom they've only ever heard of. Their mother spends most of the book being a millstone around their necks, fighting to keep them safe the only way she knows how: by keeping them away from freedom. The first time I read the book I kind of hated her, because she was always trying to make her kids give up, give in, and let the government rule their lives. The second time through, however, I realized that she made some very valid points. In the real world, the choice between possible death in search of freedom and (probably) guaranteed life in oppression isn't quite as cut-and-dry as people like to make out. I might root for Gerta and Fritz, and cheer them on every step of the way, but that's partly because A Night Divided is just a book and I know Jennifer Nielsen isn't the sort of author to write the next The Book Thief. In real life, any pretenses at valor aside, I would have to think really, really hard about what to do. The fact that both Fritz and Gerta have files (meaning they've been marked by the government as future traitors) that basically ruin their prospects for the rest of their lives would definitely help tilt me towards leaving, but their mother didn't even know about the files. And since they kept her in the dark about that, I don't think they can really blame her reluctance to risk all of their lives to escape.

Speaking of "the dark," I love the imagery of light and dark that Nielsen uses throughout A Night Divided. Gerta reflects on themes of lightness, darkness, and the sun and moon, using them as metaphors for her situation in East Berlin. At the beginning of the book, when the wall first goes up and she feels the warmth of the sun on her back, she narrates: "This early morning light had not ended the long, dark night. No. For us, the dark night had only begun." Later she looks across the wall and reflects, "it somehow seemed brighter across the wall, as if the sun gave more of its light to the west."
Most poignant, though, is the way she tries to explain why people want to escape East Berlin: "You've seen the sun, Anna. Now that you have, could you ever be content with just stars for light? Would that be enough for you?" There are many more instances of this beautiful light vs. dark imagery throughout the book, but I'll leave them for you to discover on your own.

Nielsen's main characters are very different individuals, in unique situations and settings and all the rest. But the one thing they all have in common is a particular stubbornness in their nature, a certain penchant for breaking the rules. I do love this personality trait, and Nielsen has done it very well every time, but I would like to see her write a completely different character one day. It's Gerta's rebelliousness that is probably the only thing that bugs me with A Night Divided, because there's this separation created between her and her family (who bear "Papa's blood," which somehow makes them more resilient against the brainwashing) and everyone else. Later in the book Gerta references her father's training as the reason she and her brother are that way, but I would have liked a little bit more of a realization that it wasn't just "being Papa's children" that made Fritz and Gerta yearn for freedom. Gerta doesn't seem to realize that there's a difference between seeming content and actually being happy with your life. Some of this might just be the natural result of having a twelve-year-old narrator, though, so I didn't let it bother me too much.

But yeah, I am so happy with A Night Divided. It's even better than I'd hoped it would be! I already knew Nielsen was a talented writer from her other books (including Mark of the Thief, which is Historical Fantasy), but I never knew she could write such a beautiful, poignant novel. Historical Fiction is definitely a strength for her, and I really hope she writes some more books in the genre! In the meantime, I will definitely be recommending this one to readers interested in good books about the Berlin Wall - or just good books, period.

Disclaimer: This is an Amazon affiliate link, and I received an ARC of this book from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.

Teaser Tuesdays: A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2015 (August 18)

Okay, so for those of you who are new to this meme, here's how it works:

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My current read is A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west.
With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.
But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

(384 pages)

Here's this week's teaser, from page 1:

It was Sunday, August 13, 1961, a day I would remember for the rest of my life. When a prison had been built around us as we slept.

Let me know what you think of the book, and check back on Friday for my ARC review!

Five Authors I Want to Meet (and Five I Already Have)

Note: Okay, so this week's prompt is actually for upcoming releases we're excited about. I have no idea why I thought it was authors we want to meet - the only excuse I can offer is that I put this post together the evening before I took the SAT. I guess I was a little distracted, huh?

I have met many fabulous authors in my life, and there are many more I am dying to meet. This week's Top Ten prompt asks for ten authors I want to meet, but I've met a lot of the authors I really wanted to, so I'm dividing this into five authors I have already met and five I want to meet sometime in the future. Here we go:

First, here are five authors I am dying to meet:

1. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books
This one is obvious. Who doesn't want to meet JK Rowling?! Maybe if I do decide to go to college in the UK, my chances of meeting her will increase. Hey, I should go add that to my college decision notebook!

2. Angie Sage, author of the Septimus Heap books
She also lives in the UK, so I guess this one goes under "reasons to move to Great Britain" along with potentially meeting JK Rowling. I have talked to her on Twitter a few times, but I would love to meet her and get her to sign my books.

3. Jennifer A. Nielsen, author of the Ascendance trilogy (my review)
I have been trying to get Jennifer Nielsen to visit Maryland for years, and I even contacted her publicist once about it - but I've never been able to meet her. I do have an autographed ARC of Mark of the Thief, and I've talked to her on Twitter a handful of times, but it's not the same as meeting her in person.

4. Wendy Mass, author of the Willow Falls books (and many more!)
I'm not exactly sure where Wendy Mass lives, but I'm pretty sure it's in America. I'd love to meet her and get her to autograph at least some of the half a dozen books I own by her.

5. Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of Olympus books
Any event with Rick Riordan attending sells out in like five minutes flat, so the odds of my ever meeting him face-to-face are extremely small. If I could meet him, though, I would love to have him autograph my copy of The Lightning Thief, which began my journey with Riordan's books almost 5 years ago.

Next, these are some of my favorite authors who I have already met:

1. Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of more books than I can list here (including Double Identity)
Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I am a massive fan of Margaret Peterson Haddix's. My parents also know this. That's why my mother went two hours out of her way to drive me to a middle school where Haddix was doing an author visit. With the school's permission, not only did I get to see Haddix and hear her presentation, but I also got to spend 5 to 10 minutes with her before the presentation, chatting with her about her books as she signed her way through the four I'd brought in. It was awesome!

2. Gordon Korman, author of many wonderful books including No More Dead Dogs
He was actually the first author I ever met. It was at a book fair, and I was one of a long line of people signing up to get books autographed after his presentation. I spent the entire 30 seconds it took him to sign my books grinning like a maniac and bobbing up and down like an excitable puppy.

3. Shannon Hale, author of the Princess Academy trilogy
I met her during her book tour for Palace of Stone, the second Princess Academy book. She was on a panel with Jessica Day George (see #4), and it was very surreal to me to meet the author of the book I've loved since before I understood that there were people who wrote the books I read. I got my childhood copy of Princess Academy autographed, so now it's even more special to me than it was before.

4. Jessica Day George, author of the Dragon trilogy (plus a lot of other great books!)
As I said above, I met her at the same time I met Shannon Hale. There on a panel together at a book Festival, and I was really lucky they're sitting next to each other because I only had to sit through one line to get books by both of them signed. As soon as I saw Jessica Day George during the panel, I knew that she was someone I would love to talk to. Now that I follow her on Twitter, I'm sure of it!

5. Matthew J. Kirby, author of The Clockwork Three (and more)
my family was late to Kirby's session, but we caught him just as he was walking off to get in his car. He was very kind to me even though I was making him go off schedule, and he signed the brochure for the festival (which was all I had with me at the time). He sat and chatted for a moment before going on his way, and I was really struck with how nice he was as a person, on top of being a fantastic author.

Have you met at any of the authors on either of these lists, or any other authors? If you could pick any author in the world, who would you want to meet?

Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who Learn Something About Themselves

This is a fun one, I chose to do "characters who learn something about themselves" for this week's Top Ten Tuesday because it's such an easy prompt I can take the time to do it properly. Here are my top ten. These are all wonderful books, and I highly recommend all of them!

1. The Shadow Children books by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The kids in this series are illegal. They are third children in a society that only allows two children per family, and they will lose their lives if the population police ever find them. The series revolves around a couple of different "shadow children" as they assume fake identities in order to join the outside world and fight the oppressive government that bans their existence. Several characters learn a lot about themselves as they discover not only how to function in the world outside their sheltered existences, but how to dig deep down and find the bravery needed to win the day.

2. Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
I love this book so much, which you may have noticed by how often I use it in these lists! I really can't say anything about what sort of identity crisis Bethany comes to, but it's really a doozy and it's one of my absolutely favorites.

3. The Missing books by Margaret Peterson Haddix
I'm not really sure how much I can say about the Missing books, because the first book would be completely spoiled if I explained the overarching premise of the series. All I'll tell you is that it's not a metaphor when I say that the characters "discover their identities."

4. The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
This is a book about many things, including candy and friendship, but it also deals with the stresses of fulfilling expectations versus pursuing your own dream. One character in particular learns to value his/her own abilities because they are what give him/her joy.

5. Tree Girl by T.A. Barron
This is a little book I read when I was younger, and absolutely adored. Looking back it's a little weird, but it's definitely got that aspect of identity crisis as the main character makes her way through the forest, and winds up discovering her own identity.

6. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
This is a book about completely losing your own identity, and immersing yourself in another's. Sage doesn't learn anything about his "identity," per se - after all, a false name doesn't erase the past - but he does learn about his own strengths as he slowly comes to accept the fact that he is much better at being royal than he had originally believed.

7. The Sisters Grimm books by Michael Buckley
Poor Sabrina Grimm hates her fairytale detective family, and just wants to go back to her normal life. But as the series progresses Sabrina learns to value the work that her family does, and to appreciate her own power as a Grimm and as a detective.

8. The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
All of the main characters in The Girl Who Could Fly have talents that tie in with their personalities, but for the first half of the book they don't really respect themselves or their talent. Over the course of the story they learn not only to trust one another, but to trust themselves and their abilities. They learn that they are strong, especially when they work together.

9. Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
Yeah, this is one of my favorites. Bobby wakes up one morning invisible, and spends the next few weeks trying to figure out how to reverse it, and how to convince DFS that his parents didn't kill him and take his body. He becomes friends with a blind girl named Angela, who helps him to discover things not only about himself, but about the rest of the world as well.

10. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Addie is the shy, clingy sister. It's Meryl who is the fierce one. But when Meryl gets sick with an untreatable and fatal disease known as the Gray Death, Addie sets out on a quest to find the cure. She braves all sorts of dangers and discovers that there are no limits to what she could do, if she was doing it for her sister.

There we go! Have you read any of these, and do you agree that they fit on this list?

My Top Ten Favorite Authors

When I saw this week's Top Ten Tuesday prompt, I couldn't help but smile! Who doesn't like reeling off their favorite authors? This was probably the easiest post I've ever written, and one of the funnest. I hope you pick up a few new books/authors to check out as you read through here. I tried to include a few favorites from each author so you can check them out if you're interested.

1. Margaret Peterson Haddix

Click to check out
my review

If I had to make a list of one, and choose a single favorite author, I wouldn't even blink before choosing her. She has written over 30 books, and I have read every single one of them. I adored some, I loved others, and merely liked others, but I have never actually disliked a book by Margaret Peterson Haddix. And after so many books, I find it extremely unlikely that this trend will ever change.

2. E.D. Baker

She does some great fairytale retellings. Her Frog Princess series is one of the few series that can get away with having eight books all about the same characters, and not get boring. I also love her book Wings, which isn't so much a retelling as it is a modern continuation/reinterpretation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Click to check out
my review

3. Gordon Korman

He is hilarious. Hilarious. I fell in love with his books years ago, and got my next oldest brother hooked as soon as he reached middle school. I am determined to foist his books on my youngest two siblings once they get old enough too, because his books are awesome entertainment. Even the names are charmingly silly: two that come to mind are The Chicken Doesn't Skate and No More Dead Dogs (incidentally, two of my favorites!).

4. Andrew Clements

Most of his books are for elementary and middle school kids, and that's where I was when I fell in love with them. Somehow I never really fell out of love with his books, and I still turn to them when I need a break from my normal fare. He also has a phenomenal YA book called Things Not Seen, which is just amazing.

5. Wendy Mass

Click to check out
my review

She has a few books for older and younger people that I'm not a huge fan of (the older books are too racy for me, and the younger ones too slow), but the rest of her books are amazing. She always comes up with compelling, unique story ideas that keep you on your toes. Some of my favorites of her books include the Willow Falls books, the Twice Upon a Time series, and The Candymakers.

6. Angie Sage

Two words: Septimus Heap. It's one of my all-time favorite fantasy series, and is just all-around amazing. She's writing the spin-off series now, called TodHunter Moon, and it's one of the few spin-offs I've read that actually maintain a significant amount of the charm of the original series.

Click to check out
my review

7. Jennifer A. Nielsen

I fell in love with Jaron from The False Prince back in 2013, and haven't looked back since. I devoured the rest of the Acendance trilogy and moved on to her Underworld Chronicles. It's for younger kids, but I enjoyed it and my middle-school-aged brother liked it even more than I did. Just recently I read and loved Mark of the Thief, the start of her new series, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next. She has a World War II book coming out that's centered around the Berlin wall, which I can't wait to read. It's called A Night Divided.

8. Rick Riordan

Yes, he still goes on this list. I'm not a huge fan of the Heroes of Olympus books, so I may come across as kind of negative toward his books on this blog (in fact, I even did a post listing his most-used cliches!). However, I really do love the Percy Jackson series and that will never change. Those books are hilarious, heartwarming, and altogether charming, and will never lose their space on my bookshelf. And for that, Riordan gets a spot on my "favorite authors" list.

9. Jessica Day George

Click to check out
my review

This is another author whose books I absolutely love. I'm the kind of person who hunts down as many books as I can when I like an author, so after finishing her amazing Dragon trilogy I moved straight into her Princess books and the Castle Glower series. I have never met a Jessica Day George I didn't like, and I don't believe I ever will!

10. James Riley

Riley is a master at fracturing fairytales. His Half Upon a Time books are hilarious, and so heartwarming. On the surface his writing style feels kind of juvenile (read: lots of exclamation marks), but this style of writing becomes part of the overall feel/humor of the books. I love how he takes all of the fairtyales and sets them in an alternate universe to our own.

Those are a few of my all-time favorite authors! What are yours?

Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 2015

When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods -- magic some Romans would kill for. Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within. Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic's newfound powers for their own dark purposes.
In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire's most powerful and savage leaders. 
(352 pages)

I have been reading/loving Nielsen's Ascendance Trilogy books for a couple of years now (click here to read my review of the first book in that series, The False Prince). When the last book, The Shadow Throne, was coming out I participated desperately in every giveaway the author offered but didn't win. Not one to let failure stop me, I ordered it from Amazon instead and read it within twenty-four hours of its release.

This is why I find it particularly cool that I won a giveaway of Mark of the Thief, the first book in a new series by Nielsen. Not only do I now have her autograph (squeal!), I got to read her new book two months before its release date.

And let me just say, how amazing it was to be able to read this wonderful book early! I went into it with a large amount of hope for the new series but not a little fear as well - what if it wasn't any good? What if it was just a cliche rehash of other books I've read? I was worried, because The False Prince borrowed a lot in terms of plot from other books/series. While Nielsen totally pulled it off then, and I adore the book to pieces, I was worried she would wind up pulling from the same bag of tricks for this series. And in the first few chapters, I thought my fears were confirmed: Nic seemed like a rehash of the cocky-but-brilliant Sage  (but where Sage was witty and fantastic, Nic seemed to just have an inflated ego for a slave). I sensed some sort of family secret a long way off, and the insta-hate between Nic and Aurelia just screamed "romance."

However, as I was sucked farther and farther into the complicated world of deceit, treason, and mixed motives that was Ancient Rome, the more I realized what a different story Nielsen had created. While Nic may have shared similarities with Sage on the surface, once the book gets going it's clear to see that he has a different personality than Sage. This is most clear when you compare the ways Sage was always planning three steps ahead and laying out elaborate plots to get people to do what he wanted. Nic is not a plotter and a planner like Sage was; his brainpower is used attempt to figure out who is on his side and how he can manage not to be killed.

As for the family secret and the insta-hate with Aurelia (by the way, love the name!), at the risk of spoilers all I can say is that the "family secret" aspect plays a rather minimal role in the book and isn't really that huge of a shock (especially when compared with The False Prince). It has potential to make the next book pretty interesting, though. And the insta-hate/inevitable-romance thread actually straightens itself out very nicely. Aurelia is probably already more fleshed out than Amarinda ever was, and I'm looking forward to watching what she does next - both with Nic, and on her own. She's a complex, interesting character instead of the cliche "two-dimensional warrior girl with some sort of grudge against the main character" that I thought she was the first time I saw her. I can't wait to see her in the next book!


The setting is phenomenal, the plot complicated (Who are the bad guys here? Who wants Nic dead?) but never convoluted or confusing, and the characterization solid with lots of room for additions later. While I still love The False Prince better (let's be honest, I don't think anything can surpass that book on my favorites list!), I still spent several enjoyable hours reading this book and look forward to reading it again. If you think it looks at all interesting, or are a fan of the author because of the Ascendance trilogy, then by all means read this book! For those of you who are interested in getting it from the library or buying it, it comes out February 24. And if you do read it, please post below to tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I won a copy of this book through a giveaway offered by the author. She did not ask me to review it, and the opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.