Maggie Stiefvater

• Rated 5 stars

“It's been weeks since I read this book, and yet I keep forgetting to write a review for it. Why? Well, for starters, I usually have the book around and its presence reminds me to review it. Not so with this novel, which I have bought three times while traveling for my own novel, and given away twice before I could get it home with me. It's just that kind of book, where you want to go "oh man, take this."

To call it a Western is to scare off everyone who finds Clint Eastwood a little bit of a turn off. No, this is an atmospheric novel about a family split by unusual circumstances: Davy, the eldest son, shoots two intruders in the night and goes into hiding from the law. Told from the point of view of Davy's younger brother, Reuben, the story is spiritual, heartbreaking, and joyful. The care that Leif Enger takes with the sibling relationship is stunning; all of the relationships in this book are done with a sort of flawless subtlety. The humor is also subtle and occasionally -- surprisingly -- laugh-out-loud.

The last third of the book meanders more than I would like, but I'm afraid the characters (oh Swede!) are just too fantastic for me to not give this four stars. Because it will be a reread. I promise you that. I highly recommend you go out and buy it (if I haven't managed to give you a copy first). ”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Monday, November 16 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“The audience didn’t understand a word we sang. They came to see our legs. As the posters said TROUSER GIRLS FROM THE LAND OF TASSIM! We were billed just underneath the acrobats and the trained dogs.

So begins Magic Under Glass, a debut novel by Jaclyn Dolamore (Bloomsbury, Dec ‘09). It follows Nimira, a music hall girl, a dark-skinned oddity in light-skinned Lorinar, as she leaves the security of the music hall for employment with the mysterious and dashing Hollins Parry. Mr. Parry wishes to retain her services to sing with a handsome automaton — a man-shaped clockwork machine that plays the piano when wound (sexy, right?). Apparently Mr. Parry has had some problems with retaining girls in the past as they insist the automaton is haunted. They claim it mumbles to them, which is admittedly terrifying, and then they run away.

Nimira, however, is no wimp. So when the clockwork man does his mumbling thing for her, she doesn’t go running to Mr. Parry. Instead, in a completely refreshing sequence where she doesn’t spend pages agonizing over what she really saw (a pet peeve of mine in fantasy), she gets over her shock and disbelief and settles down to business: finding out what . . . or who . . . the automaton is. And what he is a angst-puppy trapped in cogs and springs. In other words, my brand of fun.

The result is a whimsical, smart novel that is sort of like a cross between Howl’s Moving Castle and Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell. The details are lovely, the voice consistent, the characters complex. And Nimira is refreshingly clever throughout. The ending is a bit muddled and weirdly paced, but it wasn’t enough to put me off my game. My biggest complaint was how short the book was — I could’ve been happily entertained for twice as long.

My verdict? I really enjoyed this novel now, but I have to tell you that, as a teen, I would’ve married this thing and had little clockwork babies. Highly recommended”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Sunday, November 8 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“review to come.”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Monday, August 31 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“The best favor I can do to everyone considering reading this book is to tell them that it's not a YA romance. Once you get that out of the way, you can enjoy this book for what it is: a quirky, intelligent YA novel about two lost teens finding their way back to normalcy -- or not.

While the two main characters in this book are earnestly 3D, the real star of this novel is the late night radio program that both of them listen to. The quirky and sincere and bizarre and fascinating callers enchant both the narrator and the reader, and ultimately, this book ended up on my five star list because the show and the ending remained in my head for longer than it took me to read the book.

I think this one also goes on my top five YAs that ought to be movies list -- I can see it perfectly in my head.

***wondering why all my reviews are five stars? Because I'm only reviewing my favorite books -- not every book I read. Consider a novel's presence on my Goodreads bookshelf as a hearty endorsement. I can't believe I just said "hearty." It sounds like a stew.***”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Sunday, July 19 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“I am not going to tell you anything about this book.

I'm sure you're thinking that's an odd way to begin a review, but that's how I went into this book, and it worked for me. I was doing an interview with Booklist last weekend and I asked the interviewer what he thought was the graphic novel of the year so far. Without even having to consider, he said, "STITCHES." My publicist picked an advanced review copy up for me at ALA and I am thrilled that she did. I didn't know anything about it except that it was a memoir written as a graphic novel, and that it was supposed to be fabulous (which makes me naturally mistrustful, of course). I didn't even read the back -- just opened it up in the airport and fell in.

So I won't tell you what this book is about. I will tell you this: David Small shines in illustrating the small details that make people real. This is a fairly dark book, but there were parts were I laughed out loud at Small's cunning characterizations. If you read other reviews, you'll see they call the style "cinematic" and "stunning" and it's both of those things. It's all whimsical, sad, and ultimately uplifting. It has possibly the best final line of any book I've read. Definitely one I'll be buying in hardcover and my favorite graphic novel for the past several years. Stunningly done and a good pick for adults who haven't stuck their toe in the graphic novel pool. The water's fine.

***wondering why all my reviews are five stars? Because I'm only reviewing my favorite books -- not every book I read. Consider a novel's presence on my Goodreads bookshelf as a hearty endorsement. I can't believe I just said "hearty." It sounds like a stew.***”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Sunday, July 19 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“Though I read this book two weeks ago and have been meaning to write a review ever since, I haven't managed to really rally my thoughts about it until now. BONES OF FAERIE is a fascinating and welcome addition to the YA faerie world by virtue of combining faerie lore with a post-apocalyptic world for a haunting and eerie effect.

I should preface this entire review by saying that this book is for young adults. I know that will sound weird as most of the books on my Goodreads page are for YA, but most of my five-star YAs tend to have a lot of crossover appeal. If I were rating BONES OF FAERIE purely from my adult eyes, I would have given it four stars. My adult eyes loved the world and would've loved to see deeper consequences explored -- but this book didn't need it for the intended audience. Because let me tell you, 16 year old faerie-crazy Maggie would've died of happiness reading this book. I think Jannie Lee Simmer absolutely nailed her readership with this YA, and it's been a long time since I've read a YA and felt that.

The details of this book really shine: the dangerous plants, the loss of black-and-white, good-and-evil that comes with growing up, and the subtle differences that resulted from the war with Faerie. I was frustrated by some of the plot choices -- a particular pet peeve of mine is when conflict is created by a character NOT acting, rather than by a character acting -- but all in all, this was a wholly satisfying read that took me four happy hours to cruise through.

Highly recommended for teens who love paranormals, especially those who are a fan of beautiful writing and subtle twists in lore. ”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Sunday, April 12 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“In the spirit of honesty, I have to admit that I was already biased to like this book because of my intense love for [author:Shaun Tan]'s [book:The Arrival]. I was hoping this book, which unlike the wordless THE ARRIVAL pairs words and art, would live up to his previous work.

The answer is an unabashed yes. Inside TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA is a collection of related short stories that explore the absurdity, sadness, and joy of suburban life (in this case, Australian suburban life). As always, Tan's art is filled with a kind of bizarre wonder punctuated with extraordinary subtle oddities to reward the careful reader.

From a short story which remarks on the taciturn, wise water buffalo who lives down the street (who is really a water buffalo) to a story about beautiful ancient worlds hidden inside suburban homes, the collection explores the idea of what we give up in a modern world. My favorite story, the bittersweet "Stick Figures," embodies the entire book: stick figures with tumbleweed heads stand in for the bits of wildness that still manage to creep into our sterile suburbs.

As a writer, I love finding books that humble me, and Shaun Tan's books always seem to manage that. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages.
”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Sunday, April 12 2009. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 5 stars

“I actually finished this book a few days ago, and aside from a general glow of well-being and happiness, I wasn't sure what I thought of it. Was it really a five star book to go on my goodreads page? But then, after recommending it once every single day since then, I've realized . . . yep, it is. It's a quiet book, thanks to the subdued narration style on Marcelo's part, but it's a good one.

Marcelo is a very high-functioning autistic -- so high-functioning that even the label Asperger's doesn't quite fit him. He has been "coddled", to a certain extent, all his life, by being allowed to go to a school for autistic children. His father, a high-powered lawyer, thinks it's well past time for Marcelo to join the real world, as he could've years before. In preparation, he has Marcelo get a summer job at his law office -- a crash course in the real world.

As someone who knows a handful of people very like Marcelo -- people with autistic tendencies more than anything else -- I found this book very true and earnest and sweet. Some reviewers have complained that the narration is inconsistent for an autistic narrator, and yes, it would be if Marcelo was truly autistic. But as is mentioned several times in the novel, he really could be out in the world functioning if he hadn't gone to his specialized school. I found the inconsistencies to be intentional, showing how Marcelo is making strides towards becoming normal and then sliding back, and then stepping out again.

I found Marcelo a perfectly wonderful narrator -- kind, principled, and very, very honest with both the reader and with others. Watching him "grow up" in the cutthroat atmosphere of the law office was at once heart breaking and satisfying.

I definitely have been recommending this quiet book to all the introverts in my life. ”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Monday, March 9 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“I will preface this review by saying that I love this book. But not every will love this book.

I will also preface this review by saying that you shouldn't decide whether you belong in group A or group B before you get to page 125 or so. The first 125 pages are a confusing, emotional slog that seems to be about territorial "wars" between rival teen sects in Australia. But it's really brilliantly done -- because that is exactly what the main character, Taylor Markham, thinks of things. It's busy and there are plot threads everywhere and all I knew was that I loved SAVING FRANCESCA and Melina Marchetta was doing all of this for a reason.

And she was. It ties up beautifully in the end, and there's a scene which even made me shed a tear -- me, who has not cried since THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (three tears) and while writing my second novel SHIVER (one tear from each eye) -- and I'm left feeling just about cheerful about everything in the book though it was not a Hollywood happy ending by any stretch.

I think quite possibly my absolute favorite thing that Marchetta does is the character reversal. She introduces a character which we view in a terrible light because the main character views them in a terrible light, and then she completely changes our mind about them in a subtle and realistic way throughout the book until finally we and the main character are in love. She did this in SAVING FRANCESCA and she pulled it off again in JELLICOE ROAD even though I was watching for it. By the time we get the first kiss in the novel, I was sort of clapping embarrassingly like a seal.

This is one of those books that I know will be wonderful on the reread, because I'll get to look past the busy beginning to see the groundwork Marchetta was laying.

Happy sigh. I'm very happy this one won the Printz this year.”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Friday, February 13 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“ I can't say much about this book without being spoilery. I do have to say that because the plot relies so much on secrecy, I would've never picked it up based on the cryptic jacket flap -- I didn't touch it until I had heard so many recommendations I couldn't take it.

I can say this: The characterization is wonderful and consistent, the characters are likable, and the plot was surprising. Even as I guessed at the "twists" might be through the book, I was never quite right a...more I can't say much about this book without being spoilery. I do have to say that because the plot relies so much on secrecy, I would've never picked it up based on the cryptic jacket flap -- I didn't touch it until I had heard so many recommendations I couldn't take it.

I can say this: The characterization is wonderful and consistent, the characters are likable, and the plot was surprising. Even as I guessed at the "twists" might be through the book, I was never quite right and even when I was close, the author's telling was so fresh and honest that it read as true surprise.

Highly recommend. ”

Maggie Stiefvater wrote this review Wednesday, February 4 2009. ( reply | permalink )