Books I read in October
Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac
I'd seen/heard of this book but when I saw that it was on the Mythopoeic list for Children's/YA fiction for this year I was sold!
The world is a bit crap ever since this mysterious grey cloud from outer space thing flew by and fried all computer technology. As we were ALREADY 20 minutes into the future and most people of a certain wealth bracket had cyborg implants in their eyes/ears/brains or nano in their bloodstreams that was a HIGHLY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE for the tech elite. So now everything is a bit crap.
Our protag is rough tough reall stuff, she's Native American (mostly Apache) and her and her family didn't come off so bad in the 'pocolypse until one of the new petty warlord consortia rounded up her family, killed her dad and uncles AND her dog and took the rest of her family hostage. The three twisty-minded warlords now send our protag out to kill stuff because she is really good at killing things. What does she kill in this groddy new wild west? Well mostly the really weirdass genetic constructs from rich people's menageries that escaped after thier cages went offline. Nasty franken-stuff.
SO. She goes out, kills things, plots how to escape and save her family, and also sometimes hears people's thoughts and has a few other magical things happen around her. It's COOL.
2013 2014 American Indians Apache dystopia ESP family fiction genetic engineering hostages hunting kids library Native American Native Americans own POC Pueblo science fiction speculative fiction strong female protagonist survival teen teenage girls to get from library to-read want to read YA young adult young adult fiction
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff
Beautifully illustrated graphic novel, Delilah is a bit Doctorish in how she drags that poor Turkish Lieutenant about on her flying ship and has lots of adventures. Charming but not worldchanging, is my verdict!
19th century 2013 2014 action action/adventure adventure ARC boys comics fantasy female protagonist fiction First Second girls graphic novel Graphic Novels/Comics historical historical fantasy historical fiction humor Middle East read in 2013 read in 2014 teen thieves to-read Turkey tweens YA young adult
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Oh MILES. MIIIILES. You did the thing and now you have to live with it. This is an utterly wonderful Vorkosigan book and a very unwise point for starting the series. It's action, it's adventure, it's mystery and science fiction and political drama and many many feelings all rolled into one. <33333
adventure audiobook Barrayar bujold ebook fantasy favorites fiction hardcover Kindle Miles Miles Vorkosigan military military sf mystery novel own paperback read science fiction series sf sff signed space opera speculative fiction to-read Vorkosigan Vorkosigan Saga vorkosiverse
Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
I remember once reading that LMB said this series was her attempt at writing a series where the driving thing was the romance. It is, and it so very really isn't. It's LOVELY - the only thing that could hold my attention on my drive to&from Orlando for WinCon but omg there is so much going ON!
If you think you'd dig a world so post-apocalypse no one hardly remembers the apocalypse this may be for you! We have the Farmers and the Lakewalkers (the book being set around one of the Great Lakes) - the Lakerwalkers are ever so slightly magic and they remember things they fight the anomalies and mutants that leak through from whatever it was that happened - but the Farmers for the most part have no idea any of this is going on. They're all quite little House in the Big Woods about life. Dag is a Lakewalker, Fawn is a farmer and circumstances throw them together.
The worldbuilding is greaaaaaat. It feels so very frontier-like. The audiobook is also great. I'm trying to hold off on listening to the next book only because I really want to get my Official to-read list thinned down somewhat. But oh I am tempted to just head straight back to the Sharing Knife series.
2007 adventure audiobook bujold ebook fantasy fantasy fiction favorites fiction hardcover Kindle library magic novel own paperback read read in 2007 read in 2010 romance romantic fantasy science fiction series sf sff Sharing Knife signed speculative fiction to-read unread
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
This isn't Nnedi's only YA fantasy book set in Nigeria or the surrounds, but it is the first I've read! It was SPLENDID. Sunny is our protag - she was born in Nigeria, but lived in the US for eight or so years before her parents suddenly decided to move back. She's albino, loves playing soccer, and is just about to find out that she's a Leopard Person - a magic worker. She makes friends with a boy who can puzzle out an undo thing (even magic things) and his friend, a girl called Chichi, who has a very interesting mother. They're thrown together with this boy from Chicago - Sasha who is soooo frustrating for them and they find out the four of them are together for a REASON. A black magic-fighting reason. Also there's this great magical festival with a soccer tournament and a library and a secret island Hogsmeade place. It's COOL. Will def pick up sequels when they happen.
2011 Africa albino children's children's fiction coming of age ebook fantasy fiction goodreads gslis identity juju magic Nigeria nnedi okorafor paranormal read read in 2011 serial killer sff speculative fiction supernatural teen to-read urban fantasy witches YA young adult young adult fiction
Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
Girl in a largest family of boys is starting her first year of high school after being homeschooled! Also she can see ghosts. There's this iron prosthetic hand from a ye olde ghost ship that sailed in to the harbor in yesteryear that's in the local museum. THINGS HAPPEN! It's a delightful comic to read.
2012 2013 brothers bullying Canadian comic comics coming of age family fantasy fiction First Second friends friendship ghost stories ghosts girls graphic graphic novel high school homeschool paranormal read in 2012 school siblings supernatural teen to-read YA young adult
The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud
Second of the Lockwood & co. books- a new series about the plucky three-teen ghostbusting business competing against the bigger corporate organizations. Contains: verrry freaky cursed mirror, titular whispering skull, the Co.'s people troubles, their money troubles, their hella weird ghost troubles, and their secrets. Super great characters, super interesting world, keep an eye out for some rad stuff come yuletide?? :D?
2014 2014read adventure ARC audiobooks ebook England fantasy fiction friendship ghosts haunted house horror investigation kidsread London middle grade mirrors mystery mystery & detective novel paranormal read in 2014 series supernatural swords to-read tweens YA young adult fiction
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman
Book about a boy who is really good at businesslike stuff and the new friend he makes, the Schwa - a boy whose special talent is not being noticed. This included not being noticed while wearing a sombrero and singing God Save America in the boy's bathroom - they did a highly scientific experiment about that. They use the Schwa's talent to take dares and spy on the teachers for the Student Government, until one day they take a dare and they DO get caught and now they have to do ~community service (in the form of walking his fourteen afghan hounds) for the mysterious old man whose house they were dared to confront. Ther's family drama, girl drama, and friend drama. Pretty charming, as middle grade books for boys go.
adventure blindness boys Brooklyn children's children's literature coming of age contemporary dogs family fantasy fiction friends friendship grade 7 humor invisibility invisible middle school mystery New York realistic fiction teen teen fiction to-read Y YA young adult young adult fiction
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
DUUUUUUUDES! THIS BOOK! Best nonfiction book I've read all year - possibly for several years! SO COOL.
The overall arc is following the first forensic pathologists of New York City as they fight corruption, graft, and all the idiocy that surrounds the prohibition to PIONEER THOUGH and GET THEIR JOB DONE. Each chapter is a different poison and every story is faaaascinating. I learned a lot about New York (in a vaguely Steve and Bucky-relevant time period!) and an awful lot about poisoning and poison detection and really hardcore wetworks chemistry. It was RAD.
1920s 2010 2011 20th century American History audio chemistry crime ebook forensic medicine forensic science forensics historical history history of science library medicine murder mystery New York New York City non-fiction poison prohibition read read in 2011 science to-read toxicology true crime
Also at http://isweedan.dreamwidth.org/131857.html -
comment(s) there.
I'd seen/heard of this book but when I saw that it was on the Mythopoeic list for Children's/YA fiction for this year I was sold!
The world is a bit crap ever since this mysterious grey cloud from outer space thing flew by and fried all computer technology. As we were ALREADY 20 minutes into the future and most people of a certain wealth bracket had cyborg implants in their eyes/ears/brains or nano in their bloodstreams that was a HIGHLY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE for the tech elite. So now everything is a bit crap.
Our protag is rough tough reall stuff, she's Native American (mostly Apache) and her and her family didn't come off so bad in the 'pocolypse until one of the new petty warlord consortia rounded up her family, killed her dad and uncles AND her dog and took the rest of her family hostage. The three twisty-minded warlords now send our protag out to kill stuff because she is really good at killing things. What does she kill in this groddy new wild west? Well mostly the really weirdass genetic constructs from rich people's menageries that escaped after thier cages went offline. Nasty franken-stuff.
SO. She goes out, kills things, plots how to escape and save her family, and also sometimes hears people's thoughts and has a few other magical things happen around her. It's COOL.
2013 2014 American Indians Apache dystopia ESP family fiction genetic engineering hostages hunting kids library Native American Native Americans own POC Pueblo science fiction speculative fiction strong female protagonist survival teen teenage girls to get from library to-read want to read YA young adult young adult fiction
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff
Beautifully illustrated graphic novel, Delilah is a bit Doctorish in how she drags that poor Turkish Lieutenant about on her flying ship and has lots of adventures. Charming but not worldchanging, is my verdict!
19th century 2013 2014 action action/adventure adventure ARC boys comics fantasy female protagonist fiction First Second girls graphic novel Graphic Novels/Comics historical historical fantasy historical fiction humor Middle East read in 2013 read in 2014 teen thieves to-read Turkey tweens YA young adult
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Oh MILES. MIIIILES. You did the thing and now you have to live with it. This is an utterly wonderful Vorkosigan book and a very unwise point for starting the series. It's action, it's adventure, it's mystery and science fiction and political drama and many many feelings all rolled into one. <33333
adventure audiobook Barrayar bujold ebook fantasy favorites fiction hardcover Kindle Miles Miles Vorkosigan military military sf mystery novel own paperback read science fiction series sf sff signed space opera speculative fiction to-read Vorkosigan Vorkosigan Saga vorkosiverse
Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
I remember once reading that LMB said this series was her attempt at writing a series where the driving thing was the romance. It is, and it so very really isn't. It's LOVELY - the only thing that could hold my attention on my drive to&from Orlando for WinCon but omg there is so much going ON!
If you think you'd dig a world so post-apocalypse no one hardly remembers the apocalypse this may be for you! We have the Farmers and the Lakewalkers (the book being set around one of the Great Lakes) - the Lakerwalkers are ever so slightly magic and they remember things they fight the anomalies and mutants that leak through from whatever it was that happened - but the Farmers for the most part have no idea any of this is going on. They're all quite little House in the Big Woods about life. Dag is a Lakewalker, Fawn is a farmer and circumstances throw them together.
The worldbuilding is greaaaaaat. It feels so very frontier-like. The audiobook is also great. I'm trying to hold off on listening to the next book only because I really want to get my Official to-read list thinned down somewhat. But oh I am tempted to just head straight back to the Sharing Knife series.
2007 adventure audiobook bujold ebook fantasy fantasy fiction favorites fiction hardcover Kindle library magic novel own paperback read read in 2007 read in 2010 romance romantic fantasy science fiction series sf sff Sharing Knife signed speculative fiction to-read unread
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
This isn't Nnedi's only YA fantasy book set in Nigeria or the surrounds, but it is the first I've read! It was SPLENDID. Sunny is our protag - she was born in Nigeria, but lived in the US for eight or so years before her parents suddenly decided to move back. She's albino, loves playing soccer, and is just about to find out that she's a Leopard Person - a magic worker. She makes friends with a boy who can puzzle out an undo thing (even magic things) and his friend, a girl called Chichi, who has a very interesting mother. They're thrown together with this boy from Chicago - Sasha who is soooo frustrating for them and they find out the four of them are together for a REASON. A black magic-fighting reason. Also there's this great magical festival with a soccer tournament and a library and a secret island Hogsmeade place. It's COOL. Will def pick up sequels when they happen.
2011 Africa albino children's children's fiction coming of age ebook fantasy fiction goodreads gslis identity juju magic Nigeria nnedi okorafor paranormal read read in 2011 serial killer sff speculative fiction supernatural teen to-read urban fantasy witches YA young adult young adult fiction
Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
Girl in a largest family of boys is starting her first year of high school after being homeschooled! Also she can see ghosts. There's this iron prosthetic hand from a ye olde ghost ship that sailed in to the harbor in yesteryear that's in the local museum. THINGS HAPPEN! It's a delightful comic to read.
2012 2013 brothers bullying Canadian comic comics coming of age family fantasy fiction First Second friends friendship ghost stories ghosts girls graphic graphic novel high school homeschool paranormal read in 2012 school siblings supernatural teen to-read YA young adult
The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud
Second of the Lockwood & co. books- a new series about the plucky three-teen ghostbusting business competing against the bigger corporate organizations. Contains: verrry freaky cursed mirror, titular whispering skull, the Co.'s people troubles, their money troubles, their hella weird ghost troubles, and their secrets. Super great characters, super interesting world, keep an eye out for some rad stuff come yuletide?? :D?
2014 2014read adventure ARC audiobooks ebook England fantasy fiction friendship ghosts haunted house horror investigation kidsread London middle grade mirrors mystery mystery & detective novel paranormal read in 2014 series supernatural swords to-read tweens YA young adult fiction
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman
Book about a boy who is really good at businesslike stuff and the new friend he makes, the Schwa - a boy whose special talent is not being noticed. This included not being noticed while wearing a sombrero and singing God Save America in the boy's bathroom - they did a highly scientific experiment about that. They use the Schwa's talent to take dares and spy on the teachers for the Student Government, until one day they take a dare and they DO get caught and now they have to do ~community service (in the form of walking his fourteen afghan hounds) for the mysterious old man whose house they were dared to confront. Ther's family drama, girl drama, and friend drama. Pretty charming, as middle grade books for boys go.
adventure blindness boys Brooklyn children's children's literature coming of age contemporary dogs family fantasy fiction friends friendship grade 7 humor invisibility invisible middle school mystery New York realistic fiction teen teen fiction to-read Y YA young adult young adult fiction
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
DUUUUUUUDES! THIS BOOK! Best nonfiction book I've read all year - possibly for several years! SO COOL.
The overall arc is following the first forensic pathologists of New York City as they fight corruption, graft, and all the idiocy that surrounds the prohibition to PIONEER THOUGH and GET THEIR JOB DONE. Each chapter is a different poison and every story is faaaascinating. I learned a lot about New York (in a vaguely Steve and Bucky-relevant time period!) and an awful lot about poisoning and poison detection and really hardcore wetworks chemistry. It was RAD.
1920s 2010 2011 20th century American History audio chemistry crime ebook forensic medicine forensic science forensics historical history history of science library medicine murder mystery New York New York City non-fiction poison prohibition read read in 2011 science to-read toxicology true crime
Also at http://isweedan.dreamwidth.org/131857.html -
comment(s) there.