Colorless and Fading Away...

Expected Publication:  April 1st, 2013'

A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine # 1)

By: Jaclyn Moriarty

Arthur A. Levine Books

ISBN-13:  9780545397360

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot's dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds -- through an accidental gap that hasn't appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called "color storms;" a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the "Butterfly Child," whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses...

Review

 

     Madeleine and her Mom have moved away from her Dad, to a new life in Cambridge.  Everything is strange and colorless to her, and her Mom is acting sick and lost, sewing for a living when her only job used to living as a rich socialite with no worries.  Elliot has been searching for his Father for almost a year - ever since him, and a female teacher from Elliot's school went missing.  That happened the same day that Elliot's Uncle John died under mysterious circumstances.  Both of the teenagers are dealing with family issues and complicated friendships, but there is one big difference between them - Madeleine is living in the 'real' world and Elliot is living in Cello, a magical kingdom where colors are dangerous and there are hostile, anti-royalists causing major problems.  When Madeleine discovers a letter crammed into a parking meter and responds on a whim (not believing anything Elliot says, of course) they inadvertently become pen pals.  Carrying each other through some of their most difficult times, Madeleine and Elliot learn the true definitions of friends, family, life, and love.  But when each of them are in mortal danger, can the other find a way to come to the rescue from the other side of the barrier?  I felt like this book was a really odd patchwork of things that didn't quite fit together the right way.  Moriarty's Ashbury/Brookfield series is one of the few Australian teen writings that I can read through, let along like - and I love it very much! But this felt like she was trying to merge the wonderfulness of her realistic, contemporary books written in correspondence, with some very innovative magical world building/writing.  It did not work AT ALL for me as a reader.  It took forever for anything to happen to Madeleine, because it seemed like the majority of the action and focus was going on in Cello, where Elliot was living.  Madeleine's bratty and totally unsympathetic attitude didn't help.  The revelations about her Father and her friends came a little too late for me to connect with her sympathetically as a character.  Elliot was the one I connected with most, but I never felt like I had a good grasp on what was going on in his world.  The color attacks still baffle me and make absolutely no sense whatsoever.  By the time I reached the end of this novel (it took me 3 weeks to slog my way through, when my average is a couple of days!) I was completely disgusted, bored and just glad to be done with it.  I think a lot of people will really like it, needless to say it but I wasn't one of them.  I can't in good conscience completely bomb its rating, when the world building for Cello was halfway decent.

 

VERDICT:  1/5 Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is April 1st, 2013.*

The Magical, Mystery Chocolate Pot

Published: May 22nd, 2012 (as eBook, originally published April 15th, 1988)
Sorcery & Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot (Cecelia and Kate #1)
By: Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
Open Road for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9781453254677

A great deal is happening in London and the country this season. For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it--so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is. Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives . . . if only they weren't having so much fun!

Review

   The year is 1817 in an England where magic is a natural part of life.  Kate and Cecelia are cousins that have trouble staying out of mischief when they are together.  That's why their Aunts decide to separate them for the summer - Kate will go to London for her Season with her younger sister Georgina and Cecelia will stay in the country with her brother Oliver.  It turns out that Kate doesn't need Cecelia around to get into trouble and this becomes apparent when she gets in the middle of a feud between an undetermined assasin and the Marquis of Schofield.  On the other hand, Cecy's summer in the country has become just as strange when she discovers neighbor James Tarleton spying on her very shy (and strangely popular) friend Dorothea.  Neither man will explain things to Kate or Cecy, so they decide to investigate the increasingly odd goings-on for themselves.  Meanwhile, they are corresponding everything to one another with surprising dedication and wit.  Someone has set a rather horrible plan into motion that may involve harm to the Queen herself - but it won't happen if Kate and Cecy have anything to say about it.  And what does an enchanted chocolate pot have to do with anything?  This book started off a little bit slowly, but once it got going it was so much fun!  I loved the intrigue surrounding (of all the ridiculous objects) the choclate pot, the strange enchantment of Dorothea and the plots swirling around the whole affair.  The idea of proper and boorish Oliver being turned into a tree was absolutely hilarious, as were most of the things that happend in the country setting.  The London issues were a slight bit more of the alarming sort.  I adored the letters between Cecy and Kate.  You could tell how fond of each other they were and how much they trusted each other. I thought the romances were well-done, if obvious.  My favorite was not Kate and the Marquis (Thomas) though it was wonderful.  I loved Cecy and Thomas because of how truly nonsensically they started out and by the end of things, I couldn't imagine them without each other.  At times things did seem disjointed, considering this book began as a letter game between the authors, with no real direction.  But other than that I loved the plot, characters, and the conclusion fit very well for me.  I loved this book quite a bit and would highly recommend it.  If the fact that it's part of a series is off-putting, be glad to know that this book can stand on its own.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published as an eBook on May 22nd, 2012.*