Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

This sequel to The Diviners proved to be well worth the wait. Evie O’Neill, a girl with the ability to read peoples’ secrets, has outed herself as a Diviner, kickstarting her very own radio show as “America’s Sweetheart Seer”. Now all of 1920’s New York City knows about people with Diviner powers. Not so surprisingly, those with the power aren’t too happy to be out in the open.

The daughter of a restaurant in Chinatown, Ling Chan, is one such person. Ling is a dream walker who can talk to the dead in her dreams; she uses this power to talk to family members and loved ones who have passed on, for a small fee.  She wants to earn enough money to leave the restaurant business and study to become a scientist. Unfortunately, New York has other plans for her.

A mysterious (seriously creepy) sleeping sickness begins to spread through New York: people go to sleep and never wake up. With the help of Henry DuBois, another dream walker, the two Diviners need to find the cure to this sickness before all of NYC is infected.

The New York setting with a strong emphasis on immigrant life in the 1920s provides a fantastic backdrop for this suspenseful thriller. I could not put this book down.  If you like suspenseful, moderately horrifying books, this would be a good choice!

 

Book of the Month: Ms. Marvel, Volume 1, No Normal

By G. Willow Wilson

Kamala Khan is your average, typical teenage girl. She wants to fit in, she wants to be liked, and she wants her parents to just trust her when she asks to go to a party. But Kamala isn’t an ordinary teenager, and her school chums won’t let her forget it. Now, if Kamala had super powers like the Avengers with whom she is so fascinated that she writes online fan-fiction, she could no doubt accept her outcast status. But what makes her different from her classmates is her ethnicity and her faith and all the rules that come with it. Kamala is Pakistani-American living in Jersey, and she is also a Muslim.

Like all teenagers, Kamala wants to go to a party where there will be alcohol. Her father forbids it, so Kamala climbs out her window and sneaks away. While at the party she’s offered a drink and although she asks if it has alcohol a group of boys trick her as a joke. When Kamala tastes the liquor she spits it out and storms away. Just then a fog engulfs Jersey, and Kamala is endowed with super powers just like her hero--Carol Danvers, the original Ms. Marvel.

Like many before her who suddenly found themselves with super abilities, Kamala is at a loss first with how it happened and next with why it happened. Not only is she an ordinary girl, but she`s already different and set apart from her peers. Becoming Ms. Marvel certainly isn`t helpful to her—and so she begins her journey of balancing a secret life with family and school obligations.

G. Willow Wilson`s book is not just “another comic,” nor is it just another incarnation of a Marvel character that has been done three times before. Kamala Khan is the first Muslim character to headline her own comic for Marvel, and she does it with a compelling storyline and relatable characters. Regardless of your background, readers will be swept along with Kamala as she fulfills her destiny and dream of becoming an Avenger.

I’m a big fan of the comic book genre, and an equally big fan of the spin off TV and movies series that often results from these engaging tales. Ms. Marvel, Volume 1, No Normal was the winner of the 2015 HUGO award, which is a big deal for sci-fi publishing. Comics aren’t just a bunch of pictures, nor are they an “easy read.” As G. Willow Wilson has done, comics can be used as a way to show that everyone is connected, regardless of background, ethnicity, or religion. Ms. Marvel is more than just a comic book superhero story; it’s a means of creating a conversation towards a more compassionate world.

Looking for other great comics? Here are a few of my favourites:

Dark Knight Returns

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Honor Girl

The Undertaking of Lily Chen

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

11 years ago six kids from the same kindergarten class went missing without a trace. Then one day out of the blue, five of the six returned. Now 16 years old, Lucas, Scarlett, Kristen, Sarah and Adam are home only they do not remember anything about their past lives nor where they have been for the last 11 years. All each of them remembers are strange images like hot air balloons and carousals. Not one of them remembers Max, the one child who still remains missing. 

The teens become famous overnight and experience a lot of unwanted attention. A lot of unanswered questions remain and many people including the police are skeptical that the teens truly do not remember anything.  As each of them tries to piece together memories of the past, they slowly start to discover clues that will help them determine who kidnapped them and why.

The Leaving is a fast-paced interesting read that is different from any other teen book I have read in a long time. If you like mysteries and or realistic fiction books, you are sure to enjoy The Leaving by TaraAltebrando.

Other books similar to The Leaving are Room, Panic, Bone Gap