Wishlist Wednesday #1

Wishlist Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Pen To Paper featuring books we want to read.

This is my first time joining, and I'm super excited!

Today Hunting Lila is on my wishlist.

goodreads.com

Synopsis: 17-year-old Lila has two secrets she’s prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she’s been in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex, since forever.

After a mugging exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust—her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organization called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they’ve found them.

In a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realizes that she is not alone—there are others out there just like her—people with special powers—and her mother’s killer is one of them… (Goodreads)

Unfortunately, it's very complicated for me to get a copy of this book. There's only a UK edition, and as an American, this makes it very annoying to even try.

According to my library's catalog, Sarah Alderson doesn't exist.

Sorry world, guess you'll never get my review unless I move. Or Simon and Schuster can just publish an American edition...

Hint, hint.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I normally don't review a book until at least two days have past. Time to break that tradition! Today I finished the Goose Girl, and today I will review it! People might wonder why, but all I will say is why not? It's a definite 5 out of 5 stars!

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
5 out of 5 stars
Published in 2005
Summary from Goodreads: She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm.

I don't know how Shannon Hale does it. She conquers that problem that most authors writing in third-person have- the dreaded problem in which the reader can not relate to the main character. However, Shannon Hale totally gets rid of that problem! I felt as if I could totally relate to Ani without being bogged down by the third-person. Also, with third-person tends to come something called flowers. I absolutely loathe flowers, so it's a good thing the Goose Girl was not overflowery! I was so glad that the writing was UNDERSTANDABLE and great!

Ani is a great example of a believable character. In the beginning, she is a plain, boring girl. She follows everyone's directions and orders. She worries constantly about what others think of her. She is weak, and she knows it as well. However, throughout the story, she really develops. She learns to speak her mind (at least a little bit), become a bit braver and trust people. She becomes less shy and more amazing! She gets a bit bolder and more humorous. She's not afraid to be herself.

I thought fairy tales were boring and full of romance and mushiness. I thought wrong. While the Goose Girl has a bit of romance, it's not entirely centered around that. It's also about speaking and talking to animals and loving animals and truly caring for them with all your heart. It's about that special feeling you feel when caring for a pet or looking at the cutest animal ever. It's also full of action and a bit of fantasy! I liked how I could get interested in the fights just as quickly as I got into talking with Falada! I loved it all!
One thing I will say is that this plot, the flow and ease of it all, is totally unexpected. There are characters that aren't your average villains. There are some who you will fall in love with and others you will hate with passion. Everyone is created with a purpose, and it's either to make you hate them or love them. There really is no in between, which is what I love even more.

As for this cover, I will just say to judge the Goose Girl by its cover. The girl on the cover is so pretty! I just love her dress and the geese in the background. If possible, the cover is just as good as the writing itself! Which is kind of impossible, but it's totally theoretical!

So, just keep in mind that the Goose Girl is not entirely your light, average, fairy tale read! It's that and so much more! Just read it and find out how epic it is for yourself!

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I think I've missed out on ranting about the book by about two years. You see, two years ago, I could have read this book. I actually had it! However, for some reason, I did not. That's where my missing out comes in. Why? It's an all-time-favorite! 5 out of 5 stars!

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
5 out of 5 stars!
Published in 1961
Summary from Goodreads: A Journey to the Lands Beyond...

For Milo, everything's a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he's got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different. Milo visits the island of Conclusions (you get there by jumping), learns about time from a ticking watchdog named Tock, and even embarks on a quest to rescue Rhyme and Reason! Somewhere along the way, Milo realizes something astonishing. Life is far from dull. In fact, it's exciting beyond his wildest dreams...

I absolutely love puns. Puns, if you ask me, are amazing. I obsess over books as well. (Everyone should know that...) So when you combine puns and books, you obviously get a book I should love, such as the Phantom Tollbooth. The Phantom Tollbooth brings puns to a new level! The wordplay is epic! I love how the author played with the words to get some downright hilarious and sometimes silly results!

With great puns come great characters! Well, by great I mean interesting and unique and totally out of this world! For example, you meet a guy named Alec Bings, who is always three feet above the ground. He's a great thinker (maybe...) and all, but still, he's not my favorite! My personal favorite is .58, who is .58 of the total child! .58 can drive the .3 of a car, so I could not stop laughing! You also meet Rhyme and Reason, the two sisters who also happen to be majestic princesses in a land far, far away...
Speaking of Rhyme and Reason, I love their advice. They give phenomenal advice that can help everyone of all ages. It's easy enough to read for a five year old, but it's still helpful for everyone older!

It's a journey, it's a mega fantasy land, it's a totally travel-packed plot with some action! I liked everything about the plot; the totally unexpected characters and surprises, the way the setting interacted with the plot, and the fast-paced rhythm to it all! (Not only that, but my mouth literally dropped when I got to the demons... I so did not expect them to be like THAT... in other words totally true and odd!)

At first I thought Milo was boring, but throughout the novel, he really develops. He gets a new view on the world. At first he was incredibly bored with the world, but now he is excited for whatever life is bringing him! He can't wait to try things out and overcome whatever life's obstacles come. In other words, amazing character development.

I just wish The Phantom Tollbooth had a sequel; now I'm in search of an equally imaginative novel.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

When people who normally don't read books start gushing over one, you know you've got to read the book. Either that or somehow the friend got zapped by a book-loving pixie...
Anyways, The Name of the Wind was suggested to me by a non-reading friend. 4.5 out of 5 stars!

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
4.5 out of 5 stars
Published in 2007
Summary from Goodreads: Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

I'm surprised. I read through more than 700 pages of a really long novel. Not to mention that I finished it. That's what I love about The Name of the Wind. Even though it's super long, it went pretty quickly. I read the book in about two days, even though I did have to read through two classes...
But that's not the point! The point is that The Name of the Wind is addicting! I could not put this book down!

This plot is possibly the most interesting plot in the fantasy field ever! What happens when you add a really smart boy, some magic, a girl, a school and huge spiders/demons? You get the wickedly awesome plot of The Name of the Wind! I loved how the author hints at some plots so the pressure keeps on building up. Eventually everything happens, but you're still breathless for more. While the first few chapters were incredibly slow, the rest of the story is a snap to read. Filled with tons of interesting tidbits and a bit of humor, I could not stop reading this book.

Kvothe, pronounced Quothe, was a very interesting character. Cocky, smart, arrogant and young, I was awed by him. He was incredibly smart, but he had a really rough life. When tragedy struck, I honestly felt like crying. He was actually quite easy to relate to, considering his arrogance and situation. I didn't feel like I was reading Kvothe's story; I actually felt like I was Kvothe. Considering I don't feel that too often, I was quite surprised by how great of a character he was.

One thing that I noticed was that the title didn't exactly fit the book as well as it should have. I think it should have been along the lines of "A Story of the Past" or "Who I Used to Be" or something around there. Of course, it would definitely have to be a lot less cheesier, but still. I thought The Name of the Wind just didn't make that much sense, although it did make the book seem mysterious and elegant...

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Anyone who at least half knows me knows that I like experimenting with different genres of books. And they also know that I happen to love all the books I experiment with. So I just happened to experiment with fantasy and The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and I fell in love with it! 4 out of 5 stars!

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
4 out of 5 stars
Out! Yay!
Summary from Goodreads: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who needs her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

I desperately need to start off with Elisa. She is seriously the best example of character development I have ever seen. To begin, she is lazy and fat and spoiled and pampered. I'm serious! To quote Elisa, she is a "sausage bride." Anyways, throughout the book, she slims down, gets a backbone and becomes one of the strongest and smartest protagonists in the history of protagonists. So basically, even if you hate Elisa in the beginning (I did), you'll learn to like her by the end of the book.

Also, I have to say I was really intrigued by the setting. Or the settings. The settings in which the book take place in aren't always the nicest, but they are the most interesting. I loved how Rae didn't back down from scary and creepy settings. She wasn't afraid to make Elisa's world dangerous and ugly and certainly uninviting. I really admire that aspect in her writing. It makes the book believable.

Then there was the plot. I have to admit I was a little wary of the whole religion thing. I'm a Christian, so I thought I was going to be offended. But it wasn't that bad! I was not offended at all, so I guess all I have to say is keep an open mind.
Besides that, there were quite a few surprises and twists. I really enjoyed this plot. It was well-crafted and well-planned. Quite simply, it's worthy of my praise. Yes, it's that awesome!

I also love the author's ability to weave in lessons throughout the story. A lot of YA novels don't have a lesson or a theme. It's just a story. But this book has tons of lessons and things that really make you think. It's also really inspiring. I really, really like that. Not only is it a good story, but it also has good morals.

So here's to Rae Carson, her heartstopping novel, Goodreads and you adding it to your to-read list! Wait, you will add it right? You better! Or better yet, just read it now and you won't risk the wrath of me! Bwahahahahahaha! Hmmmmmmmm....... I think these evil cackles work better in the comfort of my own head.