A Discovery of Witches

 A Discovery of Witches *sigh, and not in a good way* 

Diana is a witch with a lineage that goes back on both sides to Salam, Mass. c 1600. Matthew is a vamp who has been around for a millennia and a half. She is super powerful though doesn't like to use her powers because she considers it cheating and she wants to get her PHD and other studies the "normal way." He is looking for away to save his kind and stop all these murders that scream vamp all over them. Then there is also the big bad "boss guys" who say they can't get together because... I didn't get that far. 

It... *ugh-sigh* The first reason I gave it a 2 was because it was beyond long winded. Setting and descriptions of everything took forever, and I was reading an audiobook where most of the time that doesn't matter. And I'm all about a beautiful setting and wonderful descriptions, but there was so little poetry behind it all and it took For-E-Ver. The 600-ish pages could have been dropped by at least a quarter if she had been more choosy as to what was needed for the reader to know what was going on. It's a brick and feels as heavy as one. Plus, tea and wine. Tea and wine. Tea and wine. And descriptions on every scent and whiff of tea and wine. O.O UGH! 

My second problem is him. If you go for a "Beauty and the Beast" kinda rage problems but miss the whole story of B&B, you just get a very angry guy who hasn't learned to control his temper in 1500 years. That's a long time. Honestly, if he hasn't learned it by now... If she does anything wrong, especially unknowingly (because "forget everything you thought you knew about vampires"), he practically jumps down her throat. "How dare you do this thing which you didn't think was bad! I'm not going to explain how that was actually kinda rude; I'm just going to yell and pretty much throw a tantrum because I'm only mentally 3." Okay, that was probably a bit mean, but it happened. 

Matthew has this over-protective thing (fidgety feeling) almost out of no where and likes to watch her sleep also and other weird stuff that reminds me heavily of another vamp that sparkles. Many of the characteristics that many people disliked about that vamp is the same thing Matthew has. Red flags of all kinds pop up. Then Diana who is supposed to be this warrior-princess of awesome becomes so passive mess every time he's around it seems. Again, possibly an exaggeration, but I got through about half the book. When he's around, almost all of her brain smarts and goes away. And yes, it's cool that suddenly he became friends with every single person of scientific importance over the last 1500 years, but come on. Let some of her awesomeness shine out. It didn't so much. 

And while I didn't finish it, I did look up the rest of the plot on the interwebs and saw that they made a tv series out of the book and it's two sequels. The big baddies are this counsel who won't let inter-species relations happen. But they really want to, but they can't because laws, but they'll probably do it anyway. There is also supposedly time travel in this book toward the end and it gets to the point where it seems like there is just too much going on. Blood science, problems with reproduction, inter-species relations, "I'm too powerful and don't know how to use it," "Yes we should" "No we shouldn't" dilemma, yoga class gets in there too, history class for the ages, and time travel all with an over abundance of description. 

It's too much. 

I don't really want to read a fanfic written by a Twihard mom who, though clean (I will say that, so far as I read though the series trailer will dispute that), wants a Twilight fix. ((Not to blow up on Twilight or hate on Stephenie Meyer, I just don't think her books were written as well as they could have been, and I wish she'd step away from it instead of writing another Twilight novel "but this time from Edward's point of view" (There I said it). Maybe I'm just upset because she didn't choose Jacob in the end? Who knows?)) Twihard mom's might like it, I do not. 

Moving on to the next book. 

Garden Spells

After a need for a good, happy book,  I was recommended Garden Spells and wasn't disappointed.

Claire and Sydney never got along as kids. After high school Sydney left and Claire found solace in the old family home with her Grandmother and the somewhat magical garden with an annoying apple tree.  Ten years later, new neighbor moves in next door who won't leave Claire alone and suddenly Sydney is back with a bag full of mysteries and a sweet little girl named Bay.

Old towns have legends and the people in small towns have ways about them, also known as stereotypes.  Nearly everyone in town has a family stereotype and the Waverley's, Claire and Sydney, carry the weird gene. Claire has this uncanny way with food that can make people feel a certain way. Have an awkward conversation? Have some Lemon Verbena in your muffin. Want to see better? Have some Honeysuckle. Etc. Rather smart move for a caterer. But for Sydney, going back to a small town with old faces you'd rather forget is hard, but far safer than where she had been.

I thought it was a good book. Not something I'd recommend to a teenager whereas there are parts toward the end where there is slight descriptive nudity. All sexy times are curtain closed but there are some moments that lead up to it and lots of talk about sex, but nothing descriptive or erotic--thank goodness.   It's slightly beyond the PG-17 range. I most definitely would be blushing if I was reading this at 17, like I did with the Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

The characters were good, engaging all around and surprisingly the apple tree was one of my favorite characters. Claire and Sydney were fun and well developed as well as the other side characters. All the other characters got their moments and segments of chapters which helped bring the whole story and town community to life. Which makes the story more fun all around.

I enjoyed the book and if I chose to read it again would probably skim past some parts about 3/4 of the way though, but the rest of it was well done and I enjoyed the storyline.

Hero at the Fall

Hero at the Fall is the final installment of the A Rebel of the Sands novels and, boy, was it great.

After finally escaping the Sultan's harem while spying for the Rebel Prince, she finds herself trapped behind a magic wall inside the city with only half of rebellions leaders. The others have been captured and somehow taken out of the city to an unknown location. Amani, being a Djinni's daughter and also somehow injured, she's had trouble grasping onto sands she once controlled. After kidnapping the princess that betrayed them and finding how to get out, they start a long trip to find their Rebel Prince. They end up encountering more Djinni, Shadowalkers, invading armies, and old family, not to mention the golden killing machines that can vaporize people who are being commanded by the Sultan and power by her Djinni father and that's before they even get to Prince Ahmed and the others. She is steps up, feeling very much inadequate to lead the rebellion against the Sultan that always seems three steps ahead and always moving forward.

My favorite thing of this whole series is the voice. Even after a year waiting for this book to come out, I instantly felt at home back on the sands with Amani and Jin. There are some books that it takes a while to get back into the groove of a story. Not here. Alwyn Hamilton's voice that she presents is distinct and memorable  making it easy to step back into Amani's shoes and pick up right where we left off.

What makes this book great too is every moment there is something going on. We don't have a fall interest though the action tempers when people talk and discuss. We see the internal debate that is fighting insider her: the feeling of inadequacy because she's just seventeen and getting people killed, not intentionally of course, as wells as the "gifts" the Sin Maker that would help people live. Then, of course, there are the amazing moments when she sails over the Sea of Sands or faces the Destroyer of the World, and that is even before she reaches the Sultan. There is constantly something happening that kept me engaged and wanting more.

The books is mainly about Amani and there isn't much conversation between her and Jin or her and Shazad. There isn't much dialog in general comparatively to internal thought and storytelling. But that is okay here. It is set up as a storyteller would have told it and it fits well here.

The relationship between her and Jin is rocky here because of the stress Amani is under and does rely heavily on the previous stories. So if the reader comes to this book first, they would probably be disappointed in the building of this relationship because in Hero at the Fall is isn't really there. It is told of, but not given the opportunity to be shown here and, again, I'm okay with it.  There reaches a point toward the end when Jin and Amani become intimate. The moment is descriptive of her feelings more than physical touches. It was modestly done while still getting the point across. So, if that makes you uncomfortable, you can easily skim through and read the dialog or skip to the next chapter. If it doesn't bother you so much, I think it was done well.

I also have nothing bad to say about the characters. They didn't change/flip flop on themselves or do something uncharacteristically them. They grew as people do. They had their virtues and vices. We were given the internal dialog for Amani and her struggles that change throughout the book. I enjoyed getting to know them.

It was great fun and I'd like to read them again. The books before are A Rebel of the Sand and Traitor to the Throne.

Crown of Midnight

Crown of Midnight is the second book in the "Throne of Glass" Series by Sarah J. Maas and I really enjoyed it. It is one, if you are a dedicated reader, you could probably finish in a day. It took me a bit longer than that, but once I sat down I easily busted through about 200 pages today. It's do-able.

After Celaena becomes the King's Champion, AKA personal assassin, she is told to dispatch lords and ladies who stand as threats against the King. Only the King is crazy, power hungry, and  crazy! so in order to fulfill her contract sends them off into hiding and finds cadavers to pose as her victims. Saving innocent lives while not fullying doing what the King says. But things get complicated when she is told to find and kill one of her old friends named Archer. She doesn't believe him to be capable of being a master criminal. Archer, a male prostitute for the noble class and a friend to the Assassins guild Celaena was a part of, quickly folds under her interrogation and believes that there is a movement to put the lost heir to the Terrasen thone back in her rightful place. She gives him a month to giver her information before she'll let him slip out of the country.

Only getting information from Archer isn't the only thing that has started creeping in. The underground passageway in her room holds more secrets than a tomb, and there happens to be more than one passageway in the castle that has been left undisturbed for what seems centuries. Books and strange markings seem to follow her everywhere. Nehemia also has her own treasure trove of secrets that complicate Celaena's life greatly. And finally her relationship with Choal begins to blossom.

But then, tragedy strikes and Celaena goes bazerk. Crazed with vengeance, her friends don't recognize her anymore and she ends up being thrown in the dungeon. Oops. All kinds of poop hits the fan and she dives deeper into the castles shadows and finds creatures that shouldn't exist. Can she trust anyone within this glass prison?

Aside from the vulgarity of its expletives I really enjoyed the book. The world it created was as well done as the previous book. It expanded the realm and explained little questions that had popped up from  the first book, though more questions had arisen (as it should be for a continuing story).

When the major tragedy strikes, I understand why Celaena goes crazy, but I wanted to cry. I didn't cry. It was such a shock to Celaena causing the scene to be hazy (great narration through an unreliable narrator at the moment) and she snapped so quickly that it gave the reader no time to freak out and cry over the tragedy. I wasn't drawn out as much as I wish I had been.

The fight scenes here and turn of events were great. Some things I didn't seen coming. Though the big surprise at the end, I guessed at fairly quickly. I really enjoyed the underlying mysteries that haunted this book and finding out all the intricacies that have happened in the past of this kingdom, the magic, and the Fae. I greatly enjoyed it.

Celaena and one of the boys also become lovers throughout the course of the story. I have been warned by others that things tend to get steamy and explicit as the books go on. But the scenes in this book are veiled with a "draw curtain" breaks. I am very glad for these because I don't want to read it. I prefer class to vulgarity any day. I didn't choose to skip any scene in this book and I feel it still keeps to it's YA category.

I have the next one waiting upstairs for me to pick it up and start reading soon.

A Certain Scientific Railgun

A Certain Scientific Railgun is a manga based in "Academy City," what once was Tokyo but has become the base for all espers--or those who have psychic abilities. The story follows Misaka, a middle school girl who is already one of the top seven espers in the city and is super powerful. She has friends who are in Judgement, an esper focused police force, but somehow she ends up being in the middle of everything.

Over the course of the first ten volumes (70 chapters) *there are actually twelve volumes but two of them aren't in english yet, and I can't read Japanese :/  ), there are three story arcs that for a while seem like they don't correlate, but then somehow kind of do. The first (in volumes 1-3) we get to know the characters and find out that there is something called a "Level Upper" which can make the abilities the espers have go up a "level" and become more powerful. However what the public doesn't know is that after a few days you fall into a coma that is really hard to come out of. When they find the culprit, a major battle ensues, and Misaka finds that there is more to Academy City than she thought.

Arc two (4-the first half of 7) turns dark. Like rather gory dark. So much so that if it didn't lighten up I was going to put it down. Volume 4 is probably the darkest and most gory, but then once the reader understands what is going on, they step back from the gory and  become more investigative and they find that scientists in Academy City are making clones of Misaka. The plan is for 20,000 of them. However, already about 10,000 of them have been killed already. What is going on!? Stay tuned to find out.

Arc three (7.5-10) corresponds with a citywide festival, every good anime/manga needs at least one right? But now that Misaka has the clone thing under control, they are disappearing and people are after her. So many people with unknown agendas and suddenly none of her friends remembers her. It's as if the whole city is out to get her.

It's because they pretty much are. Of course.

Overall, it was okay. There were moments of "yuri" and moments were girls had no clothes on (though nothing drawn that would be porographic, but might make some uncomfortable) and the battle scenes seemed to last novels. Volume 5 consisted of mostly two fights. They happened in different stages, but it was long. She fought. "Yay!" Can we move on now? Some of the fights were pretty cool, but others seemed to drag on. Easy in a manga to skip, I guess.

At the beginning it teased a romance between the only boy mentioned in the series and Misaka, but almost nothing happened. It almost seemed out of character for her to even be talking with the guy at all. But he is needed at the end so I guess he has to stay around because of what he does.

At the last climax, which I was really into and was really cool, we jumped between characters because Misaka is incapacitated... kind of... and the only reason they were able to get out of the mess was odd. While I got how things started to collapse for the bad guy, I felt like it was too easy. I mean the girl who finally took out the bad guy had a heck of a time doing it, but I saw how it was going to be done a volume before it actually happened. But then the bad guy died (is he actually dead?) and things calmed down real quick and it was weird. Maybe the next two volumes, that I can't read, work things out, but this just felt weird. It summed up, but it felt unfulfilling.

This one I probably wouldn't read again, but for those people who really like blowy-uppy books, you'd probably like it. I have a feeling this series was meant for boys. Fight/action scenes, obnoxiously big boobs, sometimes naked girls, a little girl loving girl thing... Yeah. Misaka was a very powerful main character who could take on the world... But there were a bunch of questions I feel were left unanswered or were given a quick <insert answer to major problem here> moment. Eh, yeah. Probably won't read it again or the remaining volumes.

Princess Academy

If you enjoyed the book Ella Enchanted, you'd enjoy Princess Academy. This is a book I've been told to read since I was in junior high but never really got around to. It was supposedly one of the books that every one is supposed to have read.  It just took me a long time go get to it.

It is about this village of girls high up in the mountains who are suddenly told they need to join this Princess Academy so they they can learn to be a lady who would be suitable for the Prince to marry. These girls are quarry girls who know nothing but the stone they help produce. Well, all except Miri, our main character, who has been told by her father not to be in the quarry and he never tells her why. So being forced to go to this Princess Academy gives her a change of pace and a chance to be with the girls that seem to have ostracized her. The headmistress of this academy is a cruel one where if a girl speaks without having been spoken to first she gets her hands whipped and sent into a dark, rat infested closet for hours on end.

Miri slowly gains friends and enemies throughout her time there while she studies. She learns a lot, not only to be able to read or curtsy, but about economics and histories that can help her little village that is isolated from everywhere else. Over the course of the book she finds purpose and a power she didn't know she had.

This book is an award winning book for a reason. It was very well written with good scenery and setting. The characters, side characters and all, had depth to them and improved as the story went on. My only problem is the slowness of the book toward the beginning and early middle. Simply studying and figuring out this new power of her's took a long time where it felt like nothing was actually going on. It very much picked up toward the end as bandits suddenly lay siege on the academy, so far away from their own village and families. That part was most fun. It even had a good bad guy, with good foreshadowing so then it wasn't something completely out of the blue that happened.

I enjoyed the book and agree that young girls (and boys) would enjoy this as they would Ella Enchanted. It would be a book I would offer as an introduction to most fantasy books for young people if they were hesitant toward dragons and sword fights.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs isn't what I expected. I skimmed through the book with all it's creepy photos and thought it wasn't necessarily the kind of book I'd be interested it. But when I saw the trailer, which is actually not really anything like the book though it still looks pretty cool, it caught my interest.

I liked it though it look a while to get going.

The story starts out with Jacob getting stories from his grandfather, stories that Abe says are true but there is no way that that could possibly happen. Floating girls, invisible boys, a boy with bees living inside him. He also spoke about monsters that roamed about. Jacob's father said that these were metaphorical stories of what happened during WWII against the Nazi's. But when Jacob finds his grandfather attacked and told a puzzle that will hold answers to Abe's "insanity."

The trail ends up leading to child's home that Abe went to when after he fled Poland. With the okay of his psychiatrist (he saw Abe die and some kind of creature there that no one else saw), he went to England with his father and actually found the house. But no one has lived there since the 1940's when a bomb went off and blew out the whole inside. But wait, there is something weird there. Was that a girl? But she looked like that girl from one of Grandpa Abe's photo album. Exactly like her. How is that possible?

A time loop. After nearly sinking in the bog he finds his way to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. He finds all of the children his grandpa told him about. But while the children are there, so are the terrible monsters.

Really I thought it was a fresh and rather ingenious. And it was nice that because they were kids they hadn't fully figured out how to use their powers. I mean, it not every twelve year old with abnormal powers would know how to use all of their powers. I do wish that they could have gone more into some of the other characters and their backgrounds. We didn't get too much on any other characters but Jacob and that Emma had a crush. It is the first in a trilogy so hopefully the next bunch of books will have more of the character development that I love in my books.

Calamity

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson is the third and final book in "The Reckoners Series" and it was a good ending.

The story start out after David, Megan, and the rest of their crew leave what used to be known as New York. Prof has gone crazy and they are trying to decide if they can save him or not. They make their way to what was once Atlanta though the city has changed dramatically. Do to the Epics that reside there, Ildithia moves, but not like you think. The city is made of salt and as one end the the town disintegrates the other rebuilds itself.

Prof has come to Ildithia and has quickly become the High Epic that everyone fears. But David and the Reckoners believe they can save Prof like they were able to save Megan in New York. But not only are they facing Prof and his abilities, but also Calamity, the bright star in the sky that appeared when people started gaining powers. Calamity is an Epic. They know Prof's mission in Ildithia is to somehow take down Calamity, but how are they going to take down the Epic of Epics?

I loved this series since the first one came out. The ideas of Super Heroes being the bad guys was interesting and fresh. Who would have thought to have a city move across country by moving salt?

The characters have always been fantastic, both the bad guys and the good. The world has changed so much from our world to theirs and he takes so many things into account that I hadn't until it was mentioned. But I like most of all the themes throughout all of the stories and weaves quietly in the background: "humans are inherently good." There are some bad eggs out there, but we are more good than we are bad. This was uplifting. There is also the more abrupt theme being that we can all face our fears and we can grow from them. Once we face our fears we can conquer whatever darkness that lies in our hearts or souls.

Again, I really love this series. It is clean; there is little gore; there is great fantasy; there are fantastic characters. And it is a marvelous read.

Firefight

Firefight  is the second of Brandon Sanderson's "Reckoners" series.

After defeating Steelheart in Newcago, they travel to Babilar (once New York City) where another Epic is terrorizing people. Obliteration is an epic who, after bathing in the sun for a while and gaining as much radiation as he needs, can obliterate the entire city. Then he'll teleport over to the next largest city he wants to visit where he'll do the same thing.

Not only is Obliteration there, but Regalia, an Epic who can control water currents, is stationed out there. She has raised the water levels of the Hudson up to the third or fourth floors of the high rises. Needless to say, New York City doesn't look like the Big Apple anymore. The city has plants growing all over it for the people to eat, because of some little-known Epic also in the city. People live on the upper floors of the high rises with rope bridges connecting each building. The spray paint that lines all the walls of the city glows in the dark and illuminates the night, much like the neon had done before Calamity found his place in the sky.

But not only are these powerful Epic in Babliar, but Megan is here. After disappearing after Steelheart was killed, she fled and David is seeking her out--though isn't telling anyone around him (though they already know it). He hopes he can save her, but does she want to be saved?

The characters--old and new to this series, bad and good guys--I think are what make this book. We find we want to know more about Obliteration and his odd biblical style speaking and quoting. Megan, whom we thought we knew, is almost a complete mystery. David is his usual odd, charming self. And now there are new things about Prof that we didn't know before.

I love these character based stories and the new scenery that is completely odd and different and wonderful makes it that much better. It is a great follow up to Steelheart and Brandon pushes the characters in fantastic ways that makes us question humanity and ourselves.

Steelheart

Steelheart is the first book in Brandon Sanderson's "Reckoners" series.

The basic concept is that Super Heroes are all bad. After the sudden appearance of Calamity, a bright star orbiting earth, people suddenly starting having superpowers. The people first thought these Epics would save them from their problems with other countries, but were soon proved wrong as the Epics were far worse than any war that the world had ever had.

In Newcago (what once was Chicago), David, after losing his father because of Steelheart, vows to make Steelheart pay. David knows Steelheart, the High Epic who runs Newcago, has a weakness. He saw the Epic bleed. There is a way to destroy all of these Epics. After years of memorizing different Epics and their powers, David finds the Reckoners, a group rebels whose purpose is to take down Epics. They hesitantly allow him into their ranks where he puts his expertise on Steelheart, their current target, to use.

There are many cool things about this book. Many turns that I didn't see that had me enable to stop turning pages. It was constantly engaging and in very few parts where I would actually want to put the book down. The premous where Superheroes are the bad guys is ingenious, where the whole city of Chicago has been completely turned into steel and it is constantly night. Working as regular people or working to take down the "God" who looms over the city can cause come difficulties that are fun to work with and around.

The characters here are individuals. Each one, though there are a few, are easy to tell apart. David, our main character, is funny. His metaphors and similes make no sense and are odd, but he's endearing.  I think the guys in the book are more full and complete as characters than the girls are. Cody has more life than Megan or Tia does. Which is kind of sad, but it is something that I'm willing to look over.

This book is a good one to start new Brandon Sanderson readers on or newbies to Science Fiction/Fantasy books in general. It is a quick read because you get sucked into this world. I'd recommend it to  most anyone. I got my 13 year old nephew to read it when he doesn't like to read anything. It has enough guns, suspense, thrills, and adventure to get almost any young boy into reading. It's a good series for anyone.

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a junior fiction book that was very well written. It is about a young girl who is never seen by anyone. She is a "creature of the night" and hunts rats in Baltmore Mansion in Virginia in the late 1800's. Serafina is a smart girl and has really never been seen in by the household staff or the Mr. and Miss. who own the manor.

It isn't until one night after her father--the houses machinist--goes to sleep behind the boiler down in the basement (no one knows he lives down there after his duties are done), she sees a mysterious cloaked figure chasing down one of the children of a visitor of the manor. The child becomes enveloped by this cloaked man and disappears. She later finds out that more children have gone missing without a trace. Serafina has to help find them even though no one believes her beside her one new friend and his trusted dog. 

Overall, it is a fair book, written well, with believable characters. There are some instances of cheesy-ness, but I think that may have to do with its originally intended audience (approximately ten year olds). Things get wrapped up neatly and everything is made out fine. Even when her cover is blown and the adults of the house find out she has been living in the house for her whole life, the don't seem to mind... That is a bit bothersome. 

I will say though that unlike many of the other junior fiction I've read, this has a lot more adult conversation and presence than most. Though many of the adults are faceless and they are clumped up together, there is a lot more dialog from them that Serafina overhears. 

Like most younger fiction, the few people she does tell about this black cloaked man don't believe her or don't believe her suspicions about the person she believes he is. She is all on her own to save the day. I, personally, don't really care too much for this. She does get a help from an unexpected source, the the reasoning behind this source was more fantastic (full of fantasy elements) than was hinted at. I think there needed to be a little more foreshadowing on the "creature of the night" that she is instead of the quick wrap up that left me hanging more than I wanted to. We believe these characters talk afterward and more of an explanation is given, but we, the reader, don't get that. Foreshadowing or flashes to another POV or some type of mythology about these "creatures of the night" would have been more helpful and more believable to me. 

Serafina as a character I thought was intriguing, though some of the other characters seemed faceless to me (as well as a lack of description in the setting).  There was a lot of third person narrative from her viewpoint and her thought process which was done well and accurately. 

I probably won't pick it up to read it again. I may recommend it to younger kids, but not very many adults even though it has an interesting concept. 

Alcatraz Verses the Evil Librarians

The book Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians was a very fun read. Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite writers and I'm close to reading everything that he has written. This edition of Alcatraz will soon be re-published by Tor (I believe) and will soon be giving out the last book in the series which readers have been waiting years for because of complications with Scholastic Publishing.

Like I said, it is a very funny read that gives us the definition of breaking the fourth wall. This book is the autobiography of Alcatraz Smebry. He is trying to correct some of the wrong information that has been presented about himself in the Hushlands (the US, Europe, and Australia) and the Free Kingdoms (the places of the world that the Evil Librarians haven't taken over). The Evil Librarians have taken control of a vast amount of the Earth and has changed the history of the world. What we of the Hushlands believe to be history is actually a fabrication that the Librarians have employed in order to keep order. Their belief is "Ignorance is Bliss." Most of the ruling governments don't even know they are being manipulated.

Alcatraz is introduced to this world after he sets fire to the kitchen of his 27th foster families house--he has a Talent for breaking things you see. He gets a package in the mail full of sand with a note saying that it is his inheritance. It ends up getting stolen and his quirky and rather ridiculous Grandfather who has a Talent of being late for everything comes to save the day. They end up having to infiltrate a library to keep both worlds--Hushlands and Free Kingdoms--safe. Here we learn many new things about how the world really is, like the dinosaurs are actually not extinct, there are continents we don't know about, etc.

The autobiography of Alcatraz has many of different quirky things that happens that were entertaining, yet sometimes annoying. He breaks into the middle of the action, often, to explain things or to simply be obnoxious--he is a thirteen year old kid so what can you expect. At the end of chapters there is always a cliffhanger that makes you want to read more, but then he goes on dialogues with you, the reader. He also calls you out on little things that readers often do such as reading the very last page first, or skipping a head when you should (at which point in Chapter 15 he calls you a Moron--but not really).

These can be fun if you read it in as few settings as possible, if it takes you too long to read the book it can start to get daunting and somewhat annoying.

I found this very enjoyable probably mostly because I am a Librarian. I hope I'm not evil, but there are moments that are were extremely funny because of my current employment. At one point he mentions, while breaking the fourth wall, that you are probably reading the book in a variety of locations, one of which was the library. At which point I almost burst out laughing because I was at work in a library reading the book. The irony was sweet.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a light hearted read. Brandon Sanderson is an excellent writer who knows what he's doing. Sanderson comes up with the most amazing and different ideas that really haven't been done before--which is extremely refreshing. I can't wait for the next few to come in at my local library so I can continue the series.