"If-You-Liked": Even More Book Recommendations

Hiya from Citali!

While Willow and I are doing book recommendations I wanted to spotlight some books you might not know as well by comparing them to books you probably know and love! All of these are amazing books and series and I recommend them all!

1. If you liked the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, try the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger! Both are amazing fantasy worlds beautifully thought out by their author. Both have interesting and diverse female and male characters. Harry Potter is a modern classic, but Keeper deserves to be right up alongside it.

2. If you liked the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, try The Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda! While Riordan's series focuses on Greek mythology (and later, Roman and Norse in other series), The Savage Fortress showcases ancient stories from the other side of the globe: India. Just as interesting as more mainstream mythology remixes and with much more reality, drama, and learning, this book also deserves more recognition.

3. If you liked the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, try Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card! Both Isaac Asimov and Orson Scott Card are pioneer authors in the field of sci-fi. Both books deal with a vigilante-like scientific society--Terminus' Foundation or Earth's Pastwatch--seeking to rebuild a better world. However, Pastwatch is relatively unknown compared to Orson Scott Card's other sci-fi books, namely Ender's Game. Pastwatch delves into time travel, history, family, sacrifice, and thought-provoking ideas and should definitely be read! (for younger readers, be warned that Pastwatch gets teen-y at the end.)

4. If you liked the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, try The Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann! Both are dystopian series about societies that categorize "to stay alive." Both have been compared to The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. But The Unwanteds mixes fantasy and artistry into the dystopian world to create the world of Artimé. Personally, I'd say The Unwanteds more deserves a movie than Divergent!

5. If you liked Smile, Drama, or Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, try Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge! These are both fun coming-of-age graphic novels. Both feature siblings and slight romance as well as art (in Callie's case, theater; in Paige's, sketching). With a newfound group of friends, these strong female characters deal with family and school in inspiring ways. If you want deeply thoughtful themes and beautiful, bordering-on-surreal artwork, try Page by Paige!

Happy holidays! Happy reading,
~Citali

Books for Fantasy Fanatics: More Recommendations

Hello, hello, hello! Yes, it is I, Willow! No, I have not been swallowed by the abyss that is winter break!

Citali posted a list of books for sci-fi lovers already, so it's my turn to write recommendations, this time for the would-be witch or wizard in your life. I'm not that good at writing little descriptions of books, so... yeah.

1. The Menagerie by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland. This is a book that fans of Rick Riordan will absolutely love. It's got a similar mix of mythology, pop culture, and humor. The main characters, Zoe and Logan, are three-dimensional and relatable. The authors skillfully create a plot that's fast-paced, original, and will keep you on the edge of your seat. First in a trilogy.
2. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. The world-building in this quartet is absolutely stunning. The universe this is set in could almost be ancient Greece. Turner's books are intricate, dramatic, and funny all at once. If you have read Jennifer A. Nielsen's Ascendance trilogy, these books are for you. I personally love these because they've got so much depth to them. The characters are beautifully layered, and you'll never see the plot twists coming. First in a quartet.
3. Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. I don't usually read too many graphic novels, but holy bagumba, you guys, is this a good book! Ridiculous, charming, hilarious, and dramatic all at once, Nimona is probably the best book I've read all year. The first page draws you in, and you can't finish it fast enough. This is definitely a must-read.
4. The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien. No explanation needed... right? Right? ...ugh, fine. If you've been wanting to read Tolkien but are intimidated by the density of LOTR, try reading this. Less lyrical and more down-to-earth, The Hobbit is adventurous, well-written, and surprisingly funny. Three kind-of sequels.
5. The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton. This series is set in the United States of Asgard-- an alternate reality that meshes Norse mythology with the modern world. Now, you may be thinking, "Didn't Rick Riordan just do that?" Don't be fooled by the similar-sounding setting. Gratton's book is, in my opinion, more gripping and perhaps even better written than Riordan's newest release. The style of writing and world-building are unique. First in a trilogy.

That's all for now.

Happy holidays!

~Willow

Books for Sci-Fi Fans: Recommendations Week

Happy holidays from Citali!

Though we've mainly focused on fantasy and fandoms here on The Fangirl Archives, I, for one, consider myself a fan of sci-fi too! So begins my first Recommendations Week post, a list of five great books for sci-fi fans! Some are classics in the genre, some aren't, and they're in no particular order. I know I'm stealing Willow's specialty of booklists a bit, so I'll keep to my own specialty of offering small tidbits of summary or blurb.

1. The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke. I don't think I'd ever heard the name of this book before I plucked it off the library shelf, but I think it should definitely be better known! Nere, the main character, has always felt like an outcast with bad vision and breathing. But then her mother tells her she's part of a group of teens who have been genetically engineered... to be able to survive underwater, to escape.
2. Foundation by Isaac Asimov. This is probably one of the best-known cornerstones of the sci-fi world, but it is definitely a good book! It follows a man and his followers, Hari Seldon and the Foundationers, as they use math, science, and maybe a bit of realpolitik to bring their galaxy out of the falling age of the Galactic Empire and into a newer and brighter dawn.
3. Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund. While also not well-known, this takes place after a eugenics war in which the nobility genetically engineered their children and the poor weren't able to. However, after this "genengineering" led to Reduction, a disease, the formerly poor took revenge on the Reduced nobility and set off a chain of events leading to this sci-fi retelling of Baroness Orczy's classic The Scarlet Pimpernel. 
4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I've sung this book's praises forever and can't recommend it enough -- come on, it's Citali, you knew this would be on the list. Cinderella retelling meets crazy queen from the moon, New Beijing, cyborg, bioelectricity-manipulating Lunars, and a sweet, real romance.
5. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. When all on Earth came out to watch the beautiful astronomical event of an asteroid impacting with the moon, they didn't know it would lead to dystopian disaster. Nudged closer to the Earth, the moon throws off weather, sunlight, communications, and agriculture, sending the formerly tame, suburban life of Miranda into a struggle to survive through resourcefulness, isolation, and closeness with her family.

Happy holidays as you rocket off to the future!

~Citali

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige: Villains Week

Dorothy Must Die is an amazing book by Danielle Paige and is my first post for Villains Week!

This book is one of the weirder classics remixes that I've read: the concept is that Dorothy, instead of going happily home to Kansas, returned to Oz, hungry for power. Becoming princess, she's changed Oz for the worse... the Good are now wicked, and the Wicked are good. Or are they?

Amy Gumm is the Other Girl from Kansas, arriving in Oz also via tornado. As she moves towards the Emerald City, she learns terrifying things about Dorothy's new regime and is recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked on a mission: kill Dorothy. But who's really Good? Who's really Wicked? Where should Amy stand?

Definitely a teen book with some unpleasantly graphic descriptions of the violence, magical and otherwise, of the evils of Dorothy and her sidekicks, plus some unnecessarily inappropriate references.

However, I do kind of like the plot twists and worldbuilding here. I've read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and while I can't say I think L. Frank Baum would agree with this book, he might chuckle at it or at least be interested. With the total reversal of Good and Wicked, you never know who the villains are. The characters, too, are interesting, definitely dynamic. Indigo with her tattoos, Jellia, Maude and Ollie, and the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked too, they all are people I want to know better, to find out what happens to them.

I'd say three stars for the excellence with characters and plot, although the theme is definitely not my style. It's certainly memorable in that I will never see Dorothy or Oz the same way again!

Three stars

Happy reading!

~Citali

Villains Week!

Welcome, dear readers, to the last week of October: Villains Week!

Villains Week is going to be absolutely amazing! It's the end of October, the perfect month to showcase the villains who stalk the shadows, haunt the houses, and creep and crawl... but also the human ones, the ones who cry in the corners, scream their pain to the world, beg for mercy, or never, ever take off their shoes.

We'll have posts almost every day to celebrate the best (or worst?) villains in the books we've read!

Hist whist,
~Citali

Guess Who? (Or, I Suppose, "Guess What", but "Guess Who" Sounds Cooler)

It's Willow!

Hopefully you guys all saw Citali's awesome Classics Week post about L. M. Montgomery's Emily trilogy, and if you haven't check it out.

We're going to be doing another theme week this month, and instead of spoiling what it's going to be about, we decided to let you guess. Every once in a while, we'll drop a little hint about what our theme's going to be.

(On a related but tangential note, anyone have an idea about what we're going to call these? "Theme Weeks" is just kind of... bland. Leave suggestions in the comments!)

The first hint is going to be two quotes and a picture. Well, not really two quotes. No, no, no, that would be too easy. We'll give you about half of each quote, leaving you to figure out the rest. :-)

1. "By the pricking of my thumbs..."
2. "Every fairy tale needs a..."

Enjoy! Leave your guesses in the comments!

~Willow

Emily of New Moon: Classics Week

Less ardent fans might not recognize Emily of New Moon, but many probably recognize Anne of Green Gables. Emily is the raven-haired, authoress, proud, calm and cool, and striking L. M. Montgomery heroine: almost diametrically opposite to blazing redhead, mischievous, caring Anne.

Emily Byrd Starr belongs to the clan of the Murrays of New Moon, a clan known for their pride, "clannishness", and old-fashioned ways. When her loving father dies, the proud Murrays draw lots to take in the child of whom they disapprove, fearing she has the rebellious nature of her Murray mother, Juliet, who eloped. Growing up at New Moon, the most ancestral of all the Murray homes, Emily continues her imagination of sprites like the Wind Woman, writes letters to her father in heaven, and writes poems and stories. But she also develops a small part of that Murray pride as well as friends with whom she will go far and wide.

Emily (the books as well as the character) is a little more dark (no hair-color pun intended) and, romantically, less "fairy-tale perfect" and more agonized than perfectly domestic Anne. However, Emily resounds with me more because of her thoughfulness, imagination, maturity, and love life: love for books and writing and nature.

Emily of New Moon is followed by Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest. Similar to Anne, most of the actual plot happens in the sequels, but they refer to many incidents from Emily of New Moon. Personally, I think the sequels are better, with more character development and more interesting events (although the first is amazing!) so you should definitely read those. Also better cover art, haha.

Five stars!

Happy reading,

~Citali

Thirty Days Hath September... Fourteen Until Classics Week!

Belated happy September! Willow and I have had this blog for two months now, can you imagine? This month, we're kicking off a new soon-to-be tradition for the Archives: the last week of every month will be a themed week, with lots of posts (even if we haven't posted in a while), all about a special theme!

This month, our Theme Week will be Classics Week! I'm super excited about our new content: Willow and I are planning themes all the way until February! I'll be rereading and reviewing some of my favorite books and series: Little House Books, Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, and Little Women. In addition, my all-time favorite series (Harry Potter, of course) will get some news and fangirling. I've also recently acquired.

In other news, I sincerely apologize for my absence from the Archives for the last three weeks or so, I've got lots of work but will definitely be trying to get back to the blog more, especially with Classics Week coming up! Plus I might be writing some essays, stories, or NaNo projects soon....

Anyone have suggestions for more things for classics week? Any classics I should read? Comment! Our quote contest is also still open, tell us who should win (coughcoughmecoughcough)! :-) 

Happy reading,

~Citali