Rebecca's Top 10 of 2012

These were my 10 favorite
YA Fantasy & Speculative Fiction reads in 2012,
in no particular order. 

Review: 'The Princess & The Hound' by Mette Ivie Harrison

A prince who possesses forbidden animal magic is set to marry a princess from a rival kingdom to cement peace between the nations. But the princess in question is more than what she seems and the prince must uncover her secret and challenge decades of discrimination in order to win her heart and rule the kingdom.

The Princess and the Hound is well-written, stays true to it's fairytale roots and should please readers who are looking for such a novel.   However, because of the narration and very traditional format of the story the reader never intimately knows either of the main characters.  The author does not allow the reader to really get inside the characters and so the reader is not emotionally invested in the story.   The tale itself is interesting but the narrative format makes the story drag in places.  This novel is interesting, but will not hold much appeal for readers from the broader spectrum - expect only hardcore fairytale buffs to pursue this novel.

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: 12+

Recommended for Readers of:

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George	Enchantment by Orson Scott Card	Entwined by Heather Dixon	The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Imperial Russia meets the paranormal in this enthralling debut from Robin Bridges. 

Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, has a dark secret that she has kept hidden since she was a child - she can raise the dead.  As part of the inner circle of Russia's imperial court Katerina has grown up surrounded by nobles and political intrigue but nothing has prepared her for the plot she discovers which may bring down the tsar himself.  Now Katerina must uncover the players and put all the pieces together while maintaining her secret in order to protect the people and country she loves.


Bridges's familiarity with Russia and Eastern European folklore is very apparent as she uses elements of both to weave an exciting, glittering world with a dark paranormal underbelly.  Like the characters of this novel, the reader is placed on a strange tightrope balancing between elements of science and paranormal.  Katerina struggles to find an equilibrium that allows her to pursue her desire to be a doctor as well as embrace the shadow of her very unnatural gift.  Readers will relate to Katerina as she endeavors to make hard choices between what she wants and what must be done.  Duty, desire, romance and mystery come together beautifully in this novel to bring to life a character that is as flawed and real as the person sitting next to you on the train.  The Gathering Storm has everything a reader could ask for including an ending that somehow leaves the reader with both a sense closure and commencement.  I am impatiently awaiting the next book in the trilogy due out in October 2012.

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Teen Gauge: 14+

Recommended for Readers of:
Maggie Stiefvater, Melissa Marr, Jessica Spotswood, Heather Dixon