Realms Review: 'A Great and Terrible Beauty'

Many of us are used to stories where magic is defined by rules. In fact, most, if not all, magic has rules, but what if you didn't know them? What if you had to figure them out on your own? Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty does just that. Gemma, the protagonist, stumbles across a magical world she has discovered through visions. She, and three other girls, unravel their powers there, and discover when they return to their world that the magic lasts for a little bit outside the strange world, but doesn't last forever. It wears off, leaving them wanting to return, but an evil also lurks in that world.
          Bray's elaborate and beautiful settings hook you in and make the reader lust after the magical world and Victorian England, where most of the story takes place. The characters are all well-developed and exceed your expectations as you read on and learn they are more than their stereotypes. Felicity is not just the snobby leader, but a girl who dreams of being more than she's allowed to be. Pippa may be beautiful and seemingly stuck up, but she hides a terrible illness she's afraid of. Ann seems to be a weak sidekick, but she also has a quiet strength. Gemma, the protagonist, is not easily manipulated, and finds her own sense of leadership along with her sense of self; she changes immensely throughout the whole trilogy.
          For a novel with well-written and strong female characters, as well as a dangerous plot full of unexpected twists and turns, A Great and Terrible Beauty might be the right story for you. The beginning, we found, was a little slow, but if you can plough through it, we promise it picks up, and we promise you won't be disappointed. We give this book four out of five stars.

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Realms Review: 'Book of a Thousand Days'

What's more terrifying than death? Being locked away in a tower for seven years. Dashti, a maid to Lady Saren, is locked away with her mistress in a tower after Lady Saren refuses to marry a man she despises. Dashti is the protagonist in Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, which is written in the form of a journal entry. Food begins to run low and they both suffer from extreme heat and cold. Lady Saren's two suitors come to them from time to time: one who is welcome and brings hope, and one who is downright terrifying.
          In the days to come, they will need to figure out why the guards of Lady Saren's kingdom have stopped coming, how they can escape, and if the hopeful suitor will help them. Hale's beautiful writing weaves this re-told fairy tale on the Asian Steppes with intrigue, suspense, love, and surprise. There is murder, distrust, disguise, and hope, but who can Dashti and Lady Saren trust?
          At Realms, we give this story five out of five stars for its ability to take an old story and transform it into something original, its strong protagonist (and characters, overall), lovely world-building, and the thrills of the built-up suspense. You will not be able to put it down. Your opinions of characters will change in between the beginning and the end. You will want Dashti to have her happy ending, but will she obtain it? Read the highly recommended Book of a Thousand Days by master storyteller Shannon Hale to find out.

Realms Review: 'Angel Burn'

We were more than hesitant when we first picked up Angel Burn by l. a. weatherly. We'd heard of "all those fallen angel stories" from hush hush to Fallen to Halo. When we opened the first page tentatively, we thought, why are we putting ourselves through another angel story with, undoubtedly, a similar plot to the others? Well, that's where we were wrong. Weatherly crafts an angel story like nothing we've ever read before. Because angels aren't servants of God in Angel Burn; they're creatures that feed on human souls for sustenance, and our protagonist, Willow, is something impossible. She's the daughter of one.
          Willow is one of the most developed female protagonists we had read about in a while. After a reading slump, we found someone that brought the excitement back, our half-angel. She only wants to protect her family, but when an angel hunter realizes she's not quite what he was told, he winds up rescuing her and she has no choice but to go with him, or she will be killed. Angel Burn is the first book in an intense and engaging trilogy where angels are the bad guys. Willow's personal interests and well-rounded personality help her solve problems on her own and work with the hunter, Alex, to figure out why the angels have been brainwashing everyone and why they're after her. The romance that slowly blossoms between them is realistic and enticing, leaving you dying to know their fate.
          Weatherly's writing and plot twists will keep you turning pages. We give her book 4 out of 5 stars for its stunning originality, full characters, and quick pace. Angel Burn is a book that you will finish within a few days because you can't put it down.

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Realms Review: 'Love in the Time of Global Warming'

When you think of global warming and other aspects of climate change, you probably don't think of Homer's The Odyssey. We at Realms have just finished reading Love in the Time of Global Warming, written by Francesca Lia Block. For those of you who don't know, it's a story about a girl who's been separated from her family after a catastrophic earthquake wrecks all of California, and perhaps even the world. The story is about her journey to reunite with them, though she fights the giants that caused the apocalypse and makes new friends along the way. Ultimately, it's a book about transformation, something we all can relate to.

Francesca Lia Block's prose is phenomenal. She carefully weaves in Penelope's (the main character) narration with stunning visuals and relevant bits of The Odyssey. From the beginning, we were hooked, and for a while it was unclear how to distinguish reality from fantasy, an aspect of this book we loved. Was everything that was happening actually happening or the result of an overwhelmed, anxious, and unreliable narrator? The book constantly had the reader guessing until the last page. Hope and longing dripped from every page. Despite how heart-wrenching it is, when Pen (Penelope) encounters new characters who've survived the earthquake, the witty dialogue that follows will make you laugh out loud.

Even after the apocalypse, people are capable of smiling, forming new relationships, and celebrating love in a time of terror. If you love fantasy and the classics, we highly recommend this YA Fantasy novel, which we've decided to give 5 stars. It will leave you in tears, though you'll have to figure out the "why."

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A Simple Breakdown of the Types of Young Adult Fantasy

Young Adult Fantasy is a broad genre like any other and has multiple subgenres. As a YA Fantasy magazine, we wanted to be able to break it down so that they’re all understood. We may have left out a couple, but we chose some of the most popular ones. Though Sci-Fi and Fantasy are often lumped together, we left out the subgenres of Sci-Fi in this list. If you feel we left out anything important, comment below and we’ll add it to our list of subgenres!

            Before we detail each subgenre, here’s a sneak peek at our list:

·      Dark Fantasy

·      Urban Fantasy

·      High/Epic Fantasy

·      Paranormal Romance

·      Historical Fantasy

·      Retold Fairy Tales

 

Dark Fantasy 

Dark fantasy is the type of story that mixes strange creatures with elements of horror. They’re both disturbing and alluring. You know that some of the characters should be feared, but you feel drawn to them anyway. An example of a dark fantasy story is The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, which we reviewed in a previous post. In this story, which could also be classified as a dystopian novel, the U.S. has been plagued with a sudden outbreak of dangerous vampires. These aren’t the vampires we’re used to in paranormal romances, but monstrous beasts that are out to kill you.

Urban Fantasy

           

Urban fantasy is a favorite. The goal of fantasy is to make it believable, and what’s more believable than placing unnatural creatures in a setting you already know? Don’t be fooled by the title of “urban.” Urban fantasy can happen just about anywhere in our world, in any recognizable setting, be it city or countryside. The trick, then, to make urban fantasy stories relatable is to weave in supernatural characters and creatures in a way that makes sense. Take Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr for example. The main character goes to Catholic school and lives with her grandmother, but she can see faeries that no other people, except her grandmother, can see. It works because most people can’t see the faeries, and they use that to their advantage to also disguise buildings that they use for themselves in their respective territories.

High/Epic Fantasy

High fantasy, also known as epic fantasy, is a term most people know because the famous The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. That’s right, high fantasy is the classic other world, and usually medieval-like, setting that is inhabited by men, elves, dwarves, wizards, dragons, and a plethora of other creatures. This subgenre is represented in YA with books like Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon has been out for a long time now, but it’s a perfect example of high fantasy since the main character rides a dragon, teams up with various creatures, and realizes he must save the land from a cruel dictator.

Paranormal Romance

Regarde! Mon amour…. Who doesn’t love a good paranormal romance? It has all the electric feelings of falling in love, but with the dangerous, forbidden edge of being with someone who’s not quite human. And let’s face it, the love interest is usually drop-dead-gorgeous. Realistic? No, but it sells because we want to read about hot, steamy romances! If we wanted realistic love, we’d go to contemporary fiction section of the store. An interesting example of a paranormal romance flipped on its head is Claudia Gray’s Evernight. In this story, the main character attends a private academy and appears to be falling in love with a vampire, but everything turns upside down. We won’t spoil it!

Historical Fantasy 

Historical fantasy is a lot like urban fantasy, but it takes place in the past! A lot of research goes into these stories, which is why they tend to be so good. First the author has to research several aspects about the time period, from social norms to the way people dressed, and it all depends on the region of the world. Then the fantasy bit comes in, and for those who are truly talented, they slip their fantasy characters in there as if they belonged in history all along. Cassandra Clare mastered this subgenre with ClockworkAngel. The main character travels to London to meet her brother, but is captured by two warlocks who torture her into using her hidden powers she never knew about. Then the Shadowhunters, a group of people dedicated to hunting demons, bust her out. The fantasy story and historical setting blend so well that you can’t imagine a London without them!

Retold Fairy Tales

Lastly, we want to talk about fairy tale retellings! There’s a reason fairy tales are told and retold again and again: everyone loves them. The formula is already there, guaranteeing a loveable story, but what’s amazing about retold fairy tales is how they are told. Some of them are spun in such a different light that you might not have guessed it was based off of a fairy tale, like Rosamund Hodge’s Cruel Beauty, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Others are more obvious by their title, like Cinder by Marissa Meyer, but she completely makes the story her own by turning Cinderella into a cyborg and a mechanic in a futuristic world.

So tell us, what's your favorite subgenre of YA Fantasy? It's hard to pick just one!

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Realms Review: "Cruel Beauty"

Cruel Beauty cover

In a retelling of the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast, set in a world based on Greek mythology, what isn’t there to love about Rosamund Hodge’s debut novel, Cruel Beauty? Nyx, the protagonist, is being forced to marry the cruel ruler of their land, Ignifex. Even though she’s been forced to marry him, Nyx has also been training to kill him and unravel the spell that has separated their kingdom from the real world.

            Without giving anything else away, we would like to rate this tale with four stars. For a debut novel, it’s absolutely mesmerizing. The writing is beautiful, the world-building in incredible, and for a tale that’s been retold in so many ways, Hodge still makes it original and spins it on its head. Nyx is our strong female protagonist who represents the dark side within all of us. We’re all bound by responsibility, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hate those responsibilities. And, sometimes, what we want the most is what everyone else disapproves of.

            Rarely have I seen such a well-developed character with a strong voice. Even when she’s “helpless,” she’s independent and strong. Whether dealing with her father, her sister, or Ignifex, she bends the rules to achieve her goals. Ignifex is a great foil to her character. He represents pure evil, but, ultimately, reveals that no one can be categorized in such a black-and-white fashion. The well-rounded characters have you constantly guessing who the real villain is, and in the end, you have decide for yourself.
          Cruel Beauty is a magnificent tale that will have you dying to know what happens next. We couldn’t put the book down. You can buy the book here on Amazon! And, if you like this book, you need to check out Hodge’s new novel, Crimson Bound, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl with No Hands, set to release May 5, 2015.

Crimson Bound cover

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Why Do You Love YA?

As many of you know from our previous article early on this week, we decided to ask people why they love YA fantasy in response to an unnamed speaker who essentially said fantasy is for bums. Yesterday, we were tabling in Champlain College's student center, and many students asked about the magazine and took some of the wonderful bookmarks that were made for us. We asked those who weren't in a hurry to get to class, why the love YA fantasy, and here is what they said:

"YA has first loves, not love affairs!"

"Because YA is cool."

"It has all the teen angst, but with magic, instead of trips to Hot Topic."

"'Cause adult life is all about taxes and mortgages and mean bosses. YA has DRAGONS!"

"Because the adventures have the possibilities of being interesting, and adult fiction is boring."

All of these students bring up some valid points, and we'd like to throw in our two cents, "We love YA fantasy because it sparks imagination and leads people to do brilliant and crazy things. YA fantasy gives us the hope that if there's greatness and beauty in this fictitious world, then there must be some in ours, too."

As we've heard before, but not quite in these words, YA fantasy isn't just about dragons, it's about being able to tame or slay the dragon. If your favorite character can tame the dragon, you can succeed in the projects you work on.

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