Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1)

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers
who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I picked this book up from the sidewalk because I judged it by it's cover. I'm nearly done with the book and I love it. Taylor developed strong female characters and a great narrative in Prague. I would recommend this book to everyone.

The Book of Lost Things

by John Connolly

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

This was the first book by John Connolly that I randomly picked up. the second--and third--were his Samuel Johnson series. I will definitely include them soon, they were great... and a little more fresh in my memory.
I think I saw it at The Strand on one of their tempting rotating islands of books and judged the heck out of it by its cover. What a thoroughly novel novel. This is one of the few books I could see myself easily rereading.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland #1)

by Catherynne M. Valente (Goodreads Author), Ana Juan (Illustrator)

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I'd actually stumbled across this book by accident after I heard the author talk at my local bookstore. She was equally down to Earth, bright, charming, and extremely intelligent. This series--the only one I've read of hers so far--reflects that perfectly. She's not afraid to use big words to challenge younger readers to broaden their vocabulary and it's also enjoyable to "adults" who may need a refresher too. A very fun and thrilling story.

The Good Fairies of New York

by Martin Millar, Neil Gaiman (Introduction)

Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet. . .

When a pair of fugitive Scottish thistle fairies end up transplanted to Manhattan by mistake, both the Big Apple and the Little People have a lot of adjusting to do. Heather and Morag just want to start the first radical fairy punk rock band, but first they’ll have make a match between two highly unlikely sweethearts, start a street brawl between rival gangs of Italian, Chinese, and African fairies, help the ghost of a dead rocker track down his lost guitar, reclaim a rare triple-bloomed Welsh poppy from a bag lady with delusions of grandeur, disrupt a local community performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and somehow manage to stay sober enough to save all of New York from an invasion of evil Cornish fairies.

If they can stop feuding with each other, that is.
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I found this book on one of my stumblings through The Strand bookstore and snatched it up. I like a good fairy story--traditional or not--and this definitely falls into the not category. I had so much fun with this book and enjoyed it on so many levels.

Fire and Hemlock

by Diana Wynne Jones, Garth Nix (introduction)

Polly has two sets of memories...

One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was ten and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.

But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love -- and perhaps Polly herself -- will be lost.

(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

Easily one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. This was a great modern take on the old Scottish ballad Tam Lin. Instead of a book from two different perspectives, this is a book where a character has two sets of memories. It's important to keep them straight. Otherwise you can just sit back (or hover on the edge of your seat like I did) and enjoy the ride. Wonderful wonderful tale.

The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain #1)

by Lloyd Alexander

Taran dreams of adventure, but nothing exciting ever happens to an Assistant Pig-Keeper--until his pig runs away. A chase through the woods leads Taran far from home and into great danger, for evil prowls the land of Prydain. With a collection of strange and wonderful friends whom he meets on his journey, Taran finds himself fighting so that good may triumph over evil--and so that his beloved home will not fall to a diabolical fiend.

 (Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

This was a great series inspired by Welsh mythology and folklore. I really enjoyed seeing the main character, Taran, develop as the story progressed. It is very dark and intense during some parts, so I might not recommend this to a young audience, but it was quite captivating. If you have a youth interested in this series, suggest not reading it before bed and he or she will be fine.