Fantasy Amnesia Tuesday

This fall was difficult for a number of reasons, and I found myself reading (don't laugh) a lot less than usual. Some of this might have been because I just didn't feel up to writing a really than good review-- you know, critical analysis, lists of readalikes, etc. Over Thanksgiving, I gave myself permission to write reviews that are better than my original ones, but not that fantastic. 

Reading books is easy. Thinking and writing critically about them takes more time, especially when the books are fantasy. So, here are a few things I read but didn't completely process. 


Tesler, Monica. The Tundra Trials
December 13th 2016 by Aladdin
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

This sequel to Bounders is quite nice. Space adventure has done well in my library, and I will certainly buy a copy. It will circulate nicely. It had a little too much drama and angst for me on top of the whole "tweens saving the world", and the scavenger hunt across different worlds was hard for me to process, making it a challenge to write a coherent review. 

From Goodreads:
"After a shocking secret was exposed during his first tour with EarthBound Academy, when he and his friends learned that Earth Force needed their help in a secret intergalactic war, Jasper is just about ready to get back into space and learn more about being an aeronaut, and a Bounder.

This time, Earth Force has brought them to the remote planet of Gulaga, where the cadets learn that they will be participating in the Tundra Trials: a special, team-based scavenger hunt that will have Jasper and his friends journeying across Gulaga’s frigid landscape to find enough cache boxes to win the competition.

But the Trials are the last thing on Jasper’s mind when he and Mira are chosen to take part in the next step of Earth Force’s plans, fusing with a new tech that will take their Bounder abilities to the next level. The worst part? Jasper is expected to keep the truth from his new friends.

When an Earth Force plan goes wrong, and suddenly they are under attack, Jasper, Mira, and the others are asked once again to do what they can to assist Earth Force in their goals. But with the events from the last tour fresh on his mind, and the new information he’s learned, Jasper doesn’t know that helping Earth Force is the best idea…or what will happen if he doesn’t."


O'Hearn, Kate. The Runaway (Valkyrie #2)
January 10th 2017 by Aladdin 
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

O'Hearn's Pegasus series is really popular in my library, but it's never been one to resonate with me. Given that Riordan's new series is also Norse based, this should circulate well, but all I could think about was the Rainbow Bridge. Why was that in Barron's Atlantis books? Why was so much Norse mythology that I didn't know was Norse mythology in that series? And by then I was just lost. Will buy if students request the series. 

From Goodreads:

In the world of Asgard, living among Odin, Thor, and Loki are the Valkyries of legend. Norse goddesses, reapers of souls from human battlefields—they have the power to cause death with just one touch.

Freya is a Valkyrie—but she has not followed in the footsteps of the legends before her. She has been to the World of Man to befriend humans—and not to reap their souls.

Now she must return to the human realm on a new quest to track down the runaway Valkyrie of legend. There she will discover a dark secret that leads her to the Land of the Frost Giants where she must take on new enemies. But this time she has friends to rely on, and lots more to gain.