Where the World Ends

Where the World Ends

By Geraldine McCaughrean

Quill lives on a Scottish island in the St. Kilda archipelago in 1727.  Each summer, he and a group of men and boys is rowed out to one of the sea stacs (rocky outcrops surrounded by water) to harvest birds for food.  It’s difficult, exhausting work.  The boys must sleep inside a cave on the bare rock and endure the cold.  But it’s only for a couple of weeks, so they always manage.

But this time is different – this time, no one returns to collect them.  For some of the boys, the only explanation is that the end of the world has come. Others are aware that there must be a good reason that their families have left them in the middle of the ocean, and they wait patiently to be rescued.

But summer turns into fall and then winter.  Most of the birds leave their little island, and the cold becomes unbearable.  Bird feathers are made into warm blankets, rocks are piled in front of the cave to keep out the wind, and a fishing rod is fashioned to keep them all fed.

The conflicts on the island are many, but Quill, to keep people happy, gives each boy an official title.  Niall becomes Keeper of Faces because he’s able to describe the faces of everyone from home.  Calum becomes Keeper of Music because of his beautiful singing voice.  And Quill, admired by all the little boys, becomes Keeper of Stories because he always has a story that makes everyone feel better.  Despite the many hardships, the boys manage to (mostly) keep the peace.  But how long can they really last out there?  Will they ever get rescued?

This is a great survival story filled with raw emotion.  Scottish terminology used throughout really gives the book a sense of place, and there is even a glossary in case you get confused.  Overall, Where the World Ends is highly recommended!

Grave Mercy

 

by Robin LaFevers

Ismae hasn't had the greatest childhood. Abuse has been a constant in her life. As a baby, she was poisoned to expel her from her mother’s body, she received regular beatings from her father and men of her village, then she was forced into marriage with a much older, cruel pig farmer. When she learns that she has been blessed by St. Mortain, the God of Death, she is given a choice: join a convent of assassins and become a handmaiden to Death, or go back to her abusive husband and live out her life powerless and miserable. The choice is simple.

Three years later, Ismae has been trained in the art of poisons, weaponry, espionage, court manners, and seduction. When the God of Death marque’s someone, as a handmaiden to Death, she will receive instruction from the Abbess and assassinate that person without question. At the arrival of a suspicious envoy from the Duchess,  Ismae is sent on a mission into the court of Brittany. What begins as an investigation into the envoy's true loyalty quickly becomes far more complicated. Romance, court intrigue, assassination attempts, and back stabbing from every side put every character’s loyalties into question

As Ismae unravels the mysteries of court life, she begins to suspect that not all is as she first thought. Are sworn allies to the convent truly so loyal? And what of the convent; do they truly answer to St. Mortain or do they have some other agenda? Who can she trust if not those who rose her up in her time of need?

Set in medieval England, this book uses real characters from that time period to flesh out the story.  What makes this book really enjoyable is the whole concept of Handmaiden’s of Death! I absolutely love the idea of having an entire church of powerful women devoted to dealing out justice through their Patron Saint – Death.  Ismae is charming despite having had such a terrible life, the convent is fascinating and kept me wondering at its validity throughout, and the romance between Ismae and Duval is well paced and exciting.  I really enjoyed Grave Mercy and am excited to read the next books in the series. 

If you enjoyed Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, and Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas Grave Mercy will probably be right up your alley.

Newt's Emerald

by Garth Nix

Lady Truthful Newington (aka Newt) will inherit her family's treasure, the Newington Emerald, on her eighteenth birthday.  The emerald is a beautiful gemstone, but more than that, it also bestows its wearer with magical powers.

Unfortunately, the emerald disappears one dark and stormy night, and Newt sets off to recover it.  As no well-bred young lady should be out on the streets on her own, Newt's plan involves using a disguise - a glamour that makes others see her as a man. The disguise definitely helps Newt move freely throughout London, but it also complicates matters as she has to maintain two different identities.  

This is a delightful regency romance that includes fantasy and magic, a case of mistaken identity and adventure. 

Girl in the Blue Coat

Girl in the Blue Coat

By Monica Hesse

Hanneke, a teenage girl trying to make ends meet, delivers black market goods to paying customers in Nazi occupied Amsterdam.  Hanneke has a special knack for finding sought after items. Her boyfriend was killed on the Dutch front lines when the Germans invaded, so Hanneke likes to think of her illegal acts as a small rebellion against the Nazis. 

When delivering to a regular customer, Anneke is asked for help locating something special.  Mrs. Janssen is desperately looking for a highly dangerous person: a Jewish teenager Mrs. Janssen had been hiding in a secret room of her house. The girl had vanished without a trace in a city that was not kind to girls like her. The race against the clock for Hanneke to solve the mystery of the girl in the blue coat is one fraught with danger, intrigue, and grief. 

Along her search, she encounters members of the resistance and is forced to look outside her narrow, grief stricken views of what is happening to her country and accept that a much larger evil is at hand.  The dark secret that is Jewish treatment under Nazi occupation in World War 2 is revealed to her and she must decide whether to face this new truth, or pretend it does not exist.  Weaving into the historic tales of the onderduikers, the hidden Jews of Holland, this mystery novel has a great blend of history and intrigue laced throughout. 

Read with a box of tissues if you’re the type that cries over books, maybe even if you’re not! At times heart wrenching, this book is wonderfully written and insightful. I loved the characters’ growth throughout the novel, and appreciated the historical events recounted in this story.

A good read alike would be Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.