Firelight review

Firelight
by Sophie Jordan
Harper Teen
September 2010

First  line: "Gazing out at the quiet lake, I know the risk is worth it."

I love shape-changing dragons, and was pleased to find that this book had them in scores. Sixteen year-old Jacinda Jones is all but promised to Cassian, the alpha male heir-apparent to their isolated mountain community of dragonkin. The draki society contains several different subtypes of draki with different powers. They live mostly as humans, only occasionally taking dragon form. Jacinda is a super-rare fire-breather, and the other draki in their village can't wait for her to start having children, hopefully repopulating their kind with fire-breathers again. Jacinda's a bit of a rebel and a risk-taker and the last thing she wants is to pair off with pushy, demanding Cassian. After a forbidden sunrise flight, and a close call with draki hunters, their tribe wants to clip her wings - all but tying her up to force her to breed. Her hard-edged mother decides the only way to save her is to relocate to the desert - hoping the hot dry weather will kill off Jacinda's draki half and shape-changing abilities altogether.

Once they've made their escape from their cool, foggy mountain home, Jacinda's younger twin sister Tamra is delighted to finally not have to play second-fiddle to her superstar older sister. Tamra loves the opportunity to finally be able to go to a normal high school and quickly makes new friends. While Jacinda has never been attracted to Cassian, and is glad to be free of the pressures and politics of the draki society, she loves flying and doesn't want to give up her dragon form. She's desperately holding on, by sneaking out for a few nighttime practice flights, and winds up meeting sensitive, handsome Will, who, it turns out, is the youngest son in a family of murderous draki hunters, providing a forbidden Romeo and Juliet aspect to their romance.

Compare to:
Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
Tempest Rising - Tracy Deebs
Dragonswood - Janet Lee Carey
Seraphina - Rachel Hartman


I borrowed this book from the library.

Read in January 2017

Last month I read the following:

1. The Unwanted - Lisa McMann
2. Holding on to Zoe - George Ella Lyon
3. The Accidental Abduction - Darcie Wild


picture credit:  Elegante, Frederic Soulacroix

Thinning the herd

It's time, once again, for my overhaul of my To Read List.
I'm trimming a couple titles this go around that I've been on the fence about for quite some time. I've added them... taken them off... added them back. Okay! Time to say goodbye to these:

ALA Midwinter 2017

Wow, it's finally here! The American Library Association is coming to my town for their Midwinter meeting. It's a great opportunity to meet with other librarians and get all the latest ideas for innovative, inspiring programs and hottest upcoming books. I'm looking forward to hearing the Youth Media Awards announced.

New Year's Resolutions 2017

Every year I make some resolutions... and check up to see how I did with last year's resolutions.

• Last year I wanted to blog once a week. I mostly kept up with it, although I did take a break in August, a very busy month!
• I resolved to keep writing reviews immediately after finishing a book. I wrote a few new reviews this year... but not many. I'll keep plugging at it.
• I promised to trim my TBR down to less than 365 books. Success! I currently have 345 books listed as "to read" on my Goodreads page.
• My big goal was to read a book a day with my daughter, and I did! I read 388 board books with her this year! 

In 2017 I'm hoping to:

• Read at least 15 novel-length books.
• Thin out my personal bookshelves. I have a lot of "tsundoko," books I've purchased and let pile up unread. I'll be gifting a lot of these to Little Free Libraries this year.
• Continue blogging once a week.
• And my big, non-book related goal is to lose weight and stay in shape!

2016 Reading Roundup

Last year was an interesting one for me. I tended to read in spurts... lots of books in the spring, and just a sprinkling of titles through the rest of the year. 27 books this year! A lot less than in years past, but that's still more than 2 books a month. I branched out quite a bit and ended up reading a lot of non-fiction and adult fiction. I also read 388 board books this year as part of my project to read at least a book a day to my daughter! Here's my complete list:

1. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry - Jon Ronson
2. The Storybook of Legends - Shannon Hale
3. Pivot Point - Kasie West
4. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
5. Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion - Elizabeth L. Cline
6. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
7. Firefight - Brandon Sanderson
8. Uprooted - Naomi Novik
9. You're Never Weird on the Internet - Felicia Day
10. The Ring and the Crown - Melissa de la Cruz
11. The Autobiography of James T. Kirk - David A. Goodman

12. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail - Cheryl Strayed
13. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life - Henry Cloud
14. Moloka'i - Alan Brennart
15. Becoming Grandma - Lesley Stahl
16. Cruel Beauty - Rosamund Hodge

17. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-up Bubble - Dan Lyons
18. Life Before Death - Abby Frucht
19. Lily and the Octopus - Steven Rowley
20. This Body - Laurel Dowd

21. What to Do With a Houseful of Memories: A Heartfelt Guide to Downsizing - Marni Jameson
22. This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab
23. The Angel and the Highlander - Donna Fletcher
24. The Midnight Queen - Sylvia Izzo Hunter
25. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly - Anthony Bourdain
26. Come What May - A.M. Arthur

27. Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake

Read in December 2016

Last month I read the following:

1. Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake
2. Come What May - A.M. Arthur


picture credit:  Reading, Herman Richir