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(Note:  Although this review will not contain spoilers for 13 Curses, it may inadvertently spoil plot surprises from its predecessor, 13 Treasures.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Rowan "Red" Fox has already lost her parents to a car accident.  She's not going to lose her baby brother, too.  But James hasn't simply wandered off, he's been abducted by fairies.  The creatures have taken the baby to their world—a magical realm where older humans are not welcome.  To get her brother back, Red will have to bargain with the fairies, who are not exactly known for their integrity.  They do, however, enjoy games, which is why the Fairy King gives Red a puzzle to solve.  Her prize for completing it successfully?  James.

Red's task is to find thirteen silver charms, special decorations that belong on an old charm bracelet owned by Red's friend, Tanya.  The charms represent important fairy treasures:  the Platter, the Cauldron, the Sword, the Heart, the Key, the Goblet, the Cup, the Staff, the Light, the Book of Knowledge, the Dagger, the mask of Glamour and the Halter.  As if locating tiny pieces of jewelry isn't hard enough, Red discovers that each charm has been enchanted to have a sinister affect on whoever possesses it.  If Red and her friends, Tanya and Fabian, can't gather the charms in time, everyone they know could be cursed.  And James will be lost to the human world forever.

While I enjoyed 13 Treasures, the first book in Michelle Harrison's middle grade fantasy series, I really liked the second, 13 Curses.  Why?  Because it combines the rich, compelling storytelling that made the first book intriguing with a clever treasure hunt that makes this second installment unique, while keeping it interesting.  The kids collect the charms a little too easily, sure, but I still enjoyed following along on their magical journey.  Since Harrison gave 13 Curses its own, distinct personality, I'm especially interested to see what she does with the next volume.  Michelle Harrison is one of those authors I'm definitely going to be keeping my eye on.         

(Readalikes:  13 Treasures and 13 Wishes by Michelle Harrison; also the series reminds me a little of the Fablehaven books by Brandon Mull)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for intense situations and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I borrowed 13 Curses from the library at my kids' elementary school and read it as part of my volunteer work for the same.        

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

No one believes Tanya when she talks about the fairies.  Why would they?  It's too fantastical to be true.  But Tanya sees their ugly little faces, hears their menacing taunts, fears their potent magic.  As hard as she tries to ignore them, the fairies refuse to leave her alone.  

When Tanya's mum finally has enough of her daughter's wild stories, she sends Tanya to live with her eccentric old grandmother.  Tanya barely knows the woman, since Florence has never made any effort to keep in touch. As if living with a stranger isn't bad enough, Tanya now resides in Elvesden Manor, a creepy old mansion that sits alone in an isolated, overgrown corner of the Essex countryside.  A thick forest known as Hangman's Wood surrounds the house, making it feel even more sinister.  The only part of Tanya's new home that feels at all welcoming is Fabian, the groundskeeper's 12-year-old son.  But even he is just an annoying, bookish boy.

It doesn't take long for Tanya to realize Elvesden Manor is full of secrets.  It's not just the fairies, either—although the house is home to plenty of otherworldly creatures—it's something bigger.  When Tanya learns about a girl who disappeared in Hangman's Wood fifty years ago, she's determined to find out what happened.  But solving the mystery will not be easy.  In fact, following the clues will take Tanya and Fabian on a complicated and dangerous journey—one that will lead them right to the brink of the formidable fairy world.  And beyond.

If you're expecting 13 Treasures, the first book in Michelle Harrison's middle grade fantasy series, to be a nice, calm Fablehaven-ish read, think again.  There are similarities between the two books, for sure, but Harrison's has a sinister bent that's a little ... scary.  Still, although the story's not particularly original, it is rich and absorbing.  I enjoyed it.  I did find the book more chilling than charming, which isn't a bad thing, just not what I expected.  If your child's easily frightened, I would be cautious recommending this one, but my daughter really liked it and so did I.

(Readalikes:  13 Curses and 13 Wishes by Michelle Harrison; also reminded me of the Fablehaven books by Brandon Mull)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for scary situations and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I borrowed 13 Treasures from my kids' elementary school library and read it as part of my volunteer work with the same.                             

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Alex Halprin doesn't mind being left behind when his parents and younger sister go on vacation without him.  In fact, the 15-year-old is thrilled.  He's not planning any wild parties either; he just wants to enjoy a nice, quiet weekend without anyone bugging him.  It looks as if Alex is going to get exactly what he wants.  Then a supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park erupts, covering the Midwest and beyond in a thick, choking layer of ash.  Fires break out, looting begins, and people become frantic to find food, water, shelter, help.  As Alex watches his ordered world crumble into a brutal, post-apocalyptic wasteland, he forgets about video games and alone time—he just wants to survive.

After disaster strikes, Alex realizes he can't just sit around in small town Cedar Falls, Iowa, waiting for the world to go back to normal.  Normal no longer exists.  Alex decides to take action, to hike across 140 miles of ruined terrain in the hopes of reaching Warren, Illinois, the town for which his family was heading before the volcano blew.  What he doesn't realize is just how much the world has changed in such a short amount of time.  Alex thought the biggest challenge he would face on the road would be finding food, water and shelter.  Not so.  While those are certainly issues—vital, life-or-death issues—they're nothing compared to the monsters lurking around every corner.  Only they're not monsters.  Not exactly.  They're good, Midwestern folks turned hungry, desperate and dangerous by their increasingly hopeless situation.  Does a lone, teenage boy have any hope of surviving, let alone making it all the way to Illinois?  Alex is about to find out.

Like most YA dystopians, Ashfall by Mike Mullin paints a pretty bleak picture of humanity's hope of surviving a catastrophic ecological disaster.  It's not just lack of food and water that will destroy us, according to such stories, but our own selfish, savage selves.  In the world Mullin describes, it takes less than a month for humans to turn into wild, cannibalistic beasts.  While that may be far-fetched (let's hope), it does make for an exciting, action-packed story.  While Ashfall's not especially original or brilliant, it's definitely entertaining.  With a fast-paced plot, interesting enough characters and some food-for-thought situations, it's a decent YA dystopian. Not the best and not my favorite, but not bad either.        

(Readalikes: The Road by Cormac McCarthy; The Last Survivors series [Life As We Knew It; The Dead & the Gone; This World We Live In] by Susan Beth Pfeffer; and a little like the Gone series [Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear] by Michael Grant) 

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence and some sexual content (not graphic)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Acceptable Loss, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier books in the William Monk series.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

I normally write my own plot summaries, but sometimes I don't feel like reinventing the wheel—especially when a book's jacket copy does it appropriate justice.  So, I'm going to go ahead and cheat on this one (any typos/mistakes in the following are my own):

"Give her a good murder and a shameful social evil," The New York Times Book Review once declared, "and Anne Perry can write a Victorian mystery that would make Dickens's eyes pop."  And Perry's new William and Hester Monk story, a mesmerizing masterpiece of innocence and evil on London's docks, outshines all her previous novels in this successful and beloved series.

When the body of a small-time crook named Micky Parfitt washes up on the tide, no one grieves; far from it.  But William Monk, commander of the River Police, is puzzled by the expensive silk cravat used to strangle Parfitt.  How did this elegant scarf—whose owner was obviously a man of substance—end up imbedded in the neck of a wharf rat who so richly deserved his sordid end?

Dockside informers lead Monk to what may be a partial answer—a floating palace of corruption on the Thames managed by Parfitt, where a captive band of half-starved boys is forced to perform vile acts for men willing to pay a high price for midnight pleasures.  Althugh Monk and his fearless wife, Hester, would prefer to pin a medal on Parfitt's killer, duty leads them in another direction—to an unresolved crime from the past, to blackmail and more murder, and to a deadly confrontation with some of the empire's most respected men.

To a superlative degree, Acceptable Loss provides colorful characters, a memorable portrait of waterfront life, and a story that achieves its most thrilling moments in a transfixed London courtroom, where Monk faces his old friend Oliver Rathbone in a trial of nearly unbearable tension—in sum, every delectable drop of the rich pleasure that readers expect from an Anne Perry novel."

I know what you're going to say and, for the record, I absolutely agree: the subject of this novel is repugnant.  So much so that, at times, it made me feel physically ill, even though Perry steers away from describing all the lurid details of the so-called "pleasure" boats.  Still, she gives enough of it and implies enough of it for readers to get the whole, sickening picture.  For that reason, Acceptable Loss is not an easy book to read.  There were several times I wanted to put it down for good, but I didn't for two reasons:  because it was nominated for a Whitney Award and because, in spite of its distressing topic, it's an enthralling read.  Why?  Well, the paragraphs above sum it up nicely—Perry creates deep, interesting characters; vivid, carefully-drawn settings; and a plot twists that are unexpected, but masterfully executed (the Epilogue of this book is an especially brilliant example).  So, while Acceptable Loss is disturbing in the extreme, it's also a rich, compelling story that satisfies almost as much as it unsettles.  I'm not going to say I loved it, but it definitely pulled me in and kept me turning pages because I had to know how it ended.  And, let me say, it ended well, my friends.  Very, very well.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the William Monk series; it also reminded me a little bit of Y.S. Lee's The Agency series [A Spy in the House; The Body at the Tower; and The Traitor in the Tunnel])          

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for violence, language (no F-bombs), and very mature content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find