The title of Susan Dennard’s A Darkness Strange and Lovely essentially sums up my literary experience of this enriching sequel. While I read her first book, Something Strange and Deadly, and thoroughly enjoyed it, I knew at the end that there was much to be explored and I found myself waiting on tenterhooks for Part … Continue reading
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson is a bittersweet tale of adolescence; beautifully but painfully capturing the missed connections, the longing, and the growth that frames this defining period of life. Narrated by Tinker Bell, and populated with twists on the classic characters, pervasive quality of magic, and darkness that is Neverland, Anderson leads the reader … Continue reading
Isabelle Melançon (aka Secondlina) posted this amazing image she created on her blog recently; I would love to read about this character. Such a great idea: One of my favorite fairy tale figures is Baba Yaga, an old witch who lives in an enchanted forest, rides a mortar instead of a broom, lives in a … Continue reading
Once every few weeks, I find myself skipping away from my mailbox with a little gem peeking out from my pile of bills and junk mail: The Horn Book Magazine. It’s a wonderful journal that features independent articles, editorials and reviews about children’s and young adult literature. Sitting down with it, feels like I’m joining … Continue reading
Wowza. We can’t believe it, but it’s been a year since we launched Gathered Nettles! In order to celebrate, we’re feasting on pancakes and have put together a list of the authors we’ve become acquainted with in the past year who have totally rocked our world. This inspirational Top Ten honors the reason we, as … Continue reading
Wow. Laini Taylor has really raised the bar for writing series with her follow up to the original show stopper, Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It was sincerely one of the best sequels I’ve ever read. I was stunned with Daughter of Smoke and Bone, when Taylor blew the hinges off the dynamic world she’d set … Continue reading
Pregnant with Rapunzel by Laurie King I kept my mouth closed as I watched the ramps grow big and bitter. It was my daughter’s appetite that sprung the ferns along my throat, the fiddleheads of hunger that unfurled along my tongue like tongues. The window where we watched became our belfry, she the tongue and … Continue reading
“a Witch is born out of the true hungers of her time (…) I am a child of the poisonous wind that copulated with the River on an oil-slick, garbage infested midnight. I turn about on my own parentage. I inoculate against those very biles that brought me to light. I am a serum born … Continue reading
Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass was an all-encompassing tale of mystery, intrigue, fantasy, romance and action. It was a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading, feeling at once comfortingly familiar (her characters and world building were just so darn likable), new, and enticing. I became acquainted with Maas’ fiery heroine, Celaena Sardothien with the fantastic … Continue reading
