Brandon Sanderson (By Teens/For Teens)

I fell down the Brandon Sanderson rabbit hole last year after a friend recommended I read Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians. Let’s just say I’ve never been able to recover.

Now, some of you might be asking, “Who the heck is Brandon Sanderson?”

I’ll give you the brief run-down:

Brandon Sanderson is the author of over twenty novels in the SFF genre. He is most well-known for his Cosmere universe (Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, Elantris, etc.) and finishing Robert Jordan’s high fantasy series The Wheel of Time. His first published novel was Elantris in 2005. He is a fifteen time New York Times best-selling author. He also lives in Utah.

If you’re interested in joining me in the hole but don’t know where to start, I have a few recommendations to make.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

“So there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil Librarians.”

If that opening line above doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.

The concept of this book is so fun. It takes superhero fiction and turns it on its head by asking, “What if the superheroes had everyday powers like being late, tripping, or breaking things?”

This series is what got me hooked on Sanderson. It’s fast-paced, witty, and really wacky. If you enjoy writing from authors like Brandon Mull, Rick Riordan, or Lemony Snicket, I think you’ll be right at home with this series. It’s a great place to start.

Skyward

“You get to choose who you are. Legacy, memories of the past, can serve us well. But we cannot let them define us. When heritage becomes a box instead of an inspiration, it has gone too far.”

This series is a little more standard YA SFF fare. In describing the series, I think the author puts it best:

“How to Train Your Dragon but instead it's a girl who finds a spaceship and goes to Top Gun school. It's like a mashup between Top Gun and Ender's Game and How to Train Your Dragon with an old broken-down spaceship with a really weird personality.”

It’s got aliens, aviation, robots, space—the whole bit. If you enjoy books like Ender’s Game or The City of Ember, this series will be right up your alley. Books 1-2 are currently out with at least two more planned.

The Stormlight Archive

“Life before Death. Strength before Weakness. Journey before Destination.”

I get chills just thinking about this series. To me, it’s Brandon Sanderson’s magnum opus: a truly epic fantasy with outstanding characterization, world-building, and plotting. I’ve never been a big fan of fantasy, but I think this series has converted me.

Because the series is so big (and it’s only going to get bigger: book 4 is coming out in November, with 10 books planned in total) it’s honestly kind of hard to describe.

It’s set on the planet of Roshar, a world ravaged by storm and war. Honor is dead. A slave fights a war, struggling to survive. A general leads his armies, trying to uncover the meaning behind the visions he receives. A young woman seeks training under the hands of a scholar, but only to eventually rob her in order to save her family. Ancient magic that was once lost appears to be returning along with an order of knights who betrayed humanity centuries ago.

So if you’re into that kind of stuff (and why wouldn’t you be? It’s way cool sounding), I wholeheartedly recommend this series.

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If you are a teen and would like to contribute a book or author review, email librarydirector@highlandcity.org.

Lost and Found

 

Lost and Found
by Orson Scott Card
Blackstone Publishing, 2019, Young Adult Fiction, 288p
Ezekiel Bliss is a loner and likes it that way, or he did, until he meets Beth and she wants to walk with him to school.  She is a proportional dwarf, so she looks like she is about seven years old, even though she is 14.  Zeke and Beth find in each other the friend neither knew they needed and Beth and one of the counselors at school help Zeke embrace a talent, or "mico-power" he has.  He can sense lost things and instinctively knows how to return them to their owners. Although his talent has gotten him into trouble before, it now might help save someone's life.

I always associate Card with Ender's Game and the Alvin Maker series.  I was a bit surprised that this new offering from the award winning author isn't more "high fantasy." There is a fantasy element, but mostly this is a mystery and a teen relationship story.  That said, I really liked it. I don't know how a 68-year-old author channels at teen boy's mind so well.  The character of Ezekiel is spot on and his relationship with his dad is both sweet and authentic.  I also like his relationship with Beth. It is a true friendship, unfettered by romantic interest.  Although there is no romance, this is squarely a teen book because Card mentions some tough stuff related with child pornography and there is some "off stage" violence that is pretty gruesome.  Still, I think both teen boys and girls will like this one. (2019, 288 p)

The Traitor's Game

The Traitor's Game
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Scholastic Press, 2018, YA Fiction, 2018
Kestra has been banished from her father's home until she agrees to an arranged marriage.  Her father is a top official of the corrupt regime of the evil Lord Endrick.  Banishment, away from the expectations and restrictions of the court, suits Kestra, so it is with reluctance that she finds that she has been called home.  On the way her carriage is attacked by rebels who want to overthrow Endrick.  Holding her beloved mentor captive, they force her to join their quest to find the magical blade that has the power to kill the evil king.  As their plan to find the knife proceeds, and Kestra gets to know her captors, especially one named Simon, better, her eyes are opened to how her own family has participated in crushing the citizens of the kingdom.  She ultimately must decide whose side she is on and where her loyalties lie.

Nielsen has created a very complicated plot with many twists and turns.  There is intrigue and counter intrigue and you never know who is going to betray whom. The characters are also complicated, each with their secret motives and personality flaws. I appreciated that Neilsen keeps it quite clean; although there was some violence, there was no sex, and very little bad language. Fans of Nielsen's other teen books will certainly enjoy this one. 

The Last Magician

The Last Magician
by Lisa Maxwell
Simon Pulse, 2017, YA Fiction, 512 p

Esta was born with a magical ability to manipulate time.  She was discovered and raised by a man, Professor Lockwood, to be a super-thief of magical objects.  With the help of a powerful artifact, she goes back in time to try to steal the Ars Arcanum, an ancient book that is said to hold the key to destroying the Brink, a barrier that keeps all magicians imprisoned in New York City.  Once back in 1902, Esta discovers that her mission, and everything she was raised to believe about magic and magicians is much more complicated than she ever dreamed. 

This is a high energy fantasy/sci-fi time travel novel for teens.  At 512 pages, the book is a serious time commitment, but it is not hard to finish.  Instead, it is hard to put down. Esta and the other main characters are complex and their fantasy/steampunk world is intense.  Maxwell's plotting is brilliant, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. This is a great choice for people who liked Hunger Games.

Cinder

 

Cinder
by Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends, 2012, YA Fiction, 390 p.

Cinder is a teenage cyborg  and some say she is the best mechanic in New Beijing.  She lives with a guardian who basically owns her, and that woman's two daughters.  One of the daughters is Cinder's friend, but the other is as hardhearted as her mother.  One day Prince Kai comes to Cinder's stall at the bazaar and asks if she can fix his droid.  Soon Cinder is sucked into castle intrigue involving a devastating plague, an evil lunar queen, and the mystery of Cinder's own origins.

This is a fast-paced teen sci-fi retelling of the Cinderella story.  Meyer's world building in brilliant and her characters are endearing.  Situations can get intense at times, but Meyer balances out the gritty parts with Cinder's sweet crush on the prince.  This is not a good one to pick up on a day you should be studying for a test at school.  You might have a hard time putting it down.

Newt's Emerald

Newt's Emerald
by Garth Nix
Katherine Teagan's Books, 2015. Young Adult Fiction. 291 p.

Truthful Newington is a young heiress looking forward to her first season in London in an alternative Regency period England. At her 18th birthday party, her grandfather shows her part of her inheritance, a large emerald rumored to have great magical powers. During the party the lights go out and someone steals the emerald. Truthful decides to go to London, dressed as a man, to search for possible leads to its whereabouts, but the deception brings more trouble and excitement than she could have ever imagined. 

This crazy historical fantasy/mystery is like Georgette Heyer meets... well... Garth Nix. Nix shows that he has a least a little familiarity of the time period, talking about dresses, and balls, and the "ton".  But he adds in an evil sorceress, necromancers (a Nix mainstay), and pirates to make it a little more interesting.  It is a delightful and clean teen/adult read.