Book Review: Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Goodreads description

Elise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor. 

When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in. Franklin suddenly seems babyish. Then, soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors upstairs in the barn...

Review

Although I've heard great things about  Suzanne LaFleur's debut novel Love Aubrey Eight Keys is the first book of hers that I've read and I was eager to try what sounded like a wonderful story aimed at a young audience of pre and early teens.

The main character, eleven year old Elise, has lived with her aunt and uncle ever since her parents died at a young age and they love her as their own but Elise still has questions about her family. She has also had her best friend Franklin by her side for as long as she can remember and at the beginning of the book she is looking forward to starting at the same middle school as him. However, Elise suddenly finds him babyish but as her twelfth birthday approaches, she has many life lessons and family secrets to discover.

What I love about this book is that  because it's told through the eyes of an eleven year old there is a simple quality of beauty to it, and the story is just allowed to unfold naturally without complications or description that would distract from the cast of characters or the issues of friendship, identity, fitting in and growing up that are sensitively explored.

The relationships that Elsie has built up are the most important element of the book and my favourite was the lifelong friendship between her and Franklin. They share the special bond of sharing their childhood together- playing, exploring, laughing, crying- that not many people are lucky enough to have experienced. The change in the way Elsie feels about their friendship is something that I think many teenagers will be able to understand to but I felt very sorry for Franklin about the way he was treated because he showed an unselfish loyalty that rose above the thoughts of others. It was a lovely reminder of the value of true friendship and how we should appreciate it!

All of the rest of the characters from the bully Amanda and Franklin's overprotective mum to Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hugh were portrayed realistically with differing personalities and authentic scenes and dialogue.  For a reasonably short book with just over 200 pages, the core characters were also surprisingly well developed. It was clear that despite losing her parents, Elsie was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her and the story's events showed that family is life's gift to us and so must be treasured.

Moving to middle school is something that every teenager has to go through and everyone can relate to wanting to change yourself to fit in with other people. Elsie's experience of bullying is horrible but it carries with it the message of learning to be yourself and demonstrates the painful situations that can arise from growing up.

Using the idea of the eight keys to unlock the mysteries behind Elsie's family was a very creative and inventive way of dealing with the theme of growing up and finding yourself. It also bought an element of mystery into the book and try as I might, I was just as clueless as to what was in the eight rooms that her dad has left behind for her as Elsie was. . This part of the book was done really well and I really liked the originality and unpredictability of it.

Verdict: Eight Keys is a brilliantly moving and emotional story that shines in its simplicity and shows the importance of discovering your identity in growing up and loving your friends and family. I would recommend this thought provoking book to other people- particularly pre-teens- and look forward to enjoying more of Suzanne LaFleur's books in the future.

Rating: 4 stars

Coverlicious: Entwined by Heather Dixon (Beautiful Cover Dresses)

Coverlicious is a semi-regular feature on my blog featuring anything to do with covers from covers I love to covers to lookalike covers! This post is part of a series called Beautiful Cover Dresses.

This post's feature:

Entwined by Heather Dixon

I ADORE this cover! I know I say I love a lot of covers but this ones up there with the very best and it was the cover that first attracted my attention when I saw it last September. Seriously, I would have bought it for the cover alone but thankfully, the story is great too because it's a retelling of the fairytale the Twelve Dancing Princesses. How could anyone resist such a pretty cover?

The ball gown

First off, the ball gown the girl (Azalea) screams 'Princess' with it's flowing white netting layers and the cute oversized bow. Though gorgeous, it looks really hard to walk in let alone dance and it has a slight greyish and tattered look, which could represent the financial struggles of the royal family of the story.

Lost and trapped

To me, the girl looks lost as she explores the palace gardens and the twelve sisters did get lost because the gardens were so big but I think it also represents how lost Azalea is emotionally.  The cover has a sort of eerie element too because it's quite dark and the silver leaves look like they are trapping the girl as they entwine around her. This is really clever because I think it's supposed to represent the silver forest the girls disappear in to dance.

Castle

Castles and palaces always remind people of fairy tales so I'm glad that there's one on here in the background. It looks grand with the tall spire but also magical, which it is in the book.

Original photo

I was browsing on the photo website We Heart It and I came across the photo below, which is clearly the image that has been used for the Entwined cover.

I love the way the elements in the photo are laid out and I wish more of the simplicity had been kept because despite it being beautiful, I do think the cover for Entwined is a touch busy with the swirly cover across the middle and all the silver leaves (which are embossed on the actual cover.)

Better in real life

I got this book as a birthday present and it was the last one I opened as it arrived on the day and it's even better in person. The back cover is also lovely because it features the palace image and even inside, each chapter page is decorated with the silver leaf patter.

What do you think of this cover? Does it make you want to read it? Do you think it's too busy?

Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

Goodreads description:

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Review

I love fairy tale retellings and I've been wanting to read Entwined ever since I first heard of it last September so I was happy to finally sink into it. The tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses is familiar to me and I've read another retelling of it called Princess of the Midnight Ball so I was was hoping that I enjoyed this version of the story just as much.

Azalea and her eleven sisters have been plunged into mourning after the death of their mother when giving birth to her youngest daughter Lily. Forced to sport black dresses and banned from, balls, going into the palace gardens except on royal business, seeing suitors and worst of all, dancing, the girls find life dull. That is until they discover a magic staircase in their room leading to a beautiful underworld pavilion where they can dance all night under the watchful eye of the handsome Keeper and wear their dancing shoes to rags to the bewilderment of their servants. However, the Keeper has more to him than meets the eye and the girls realise too late that they have become entangled in something more than they bargained on and danger is hot on their heels.

Entwined is told in the third person through the eyes of Princess Azalea and through the narrative, a beautiful world is spun and the vivid imaginings of the palace and magic captivated me. Heather Dixon has bought a unique spin to the fairy tale and added a fresh and creative dimension that has really made it her own. I loved her descriptions of the kingdom from the grandeur of the palace gardens to the scary silvery shadows of the magic pavilion where the girls go to dance. Oh- and the dancing! I really can't dance myself but I could picture the graceful and elegant movements of the girls gliding and swirling across the ball room. There was also a good balance of old traditions, formal dancing at balls and modern behaviour without it seeming out of place.

The close bond between the sisters was adorable to see and was a joy to read about when so many YA book families are dysfunctional. They comforted each other after the death of their mother and were always looking out for one another. You might think that with twelve girls to contend with, characteristics wouldn't be a strong point but I'm happy to say that each of the girls had a distinct personality and I knew who each one was even though they didn't get equal page time. There was cheeky and fiery. Bramble who's always cracking a joke, responsible and kind Azalea. However the family were not without their problems and Azalea had many worries to deal with from the burden looking after her sisters to the government choosing a suitable husband for her.  The girl's relationship with the King evolved really well throughout the story with him developing a lot as a father and it was lovely to see the family overcome their problems together. One addition I especially loved was that the girl's flower names were arranged in order of their age  so Azalea's name was A as she is the eldest and I was referring to the alphabet constantly to see how old one of the girls were. I would have been lost without that...

Now a fairytale wouldn't be complete without a smidgen of romance, right? There were several romantic interests in Entwined for the eldest of the sisters and each one romantic in their own sweet way! It took nearly the whole book for the relationships to develop but this was part of the beauty of it because there was no love at first sight and made for some very humorous scenes!

One thing to note is that the plot is quite slow moving and although this allowed for the excellent character and relationship development, it did affect my enjoyment slightly.

Verdict: Entwined has everything the perfect fairytale needs- a gorgeous setting, endearing characters, an evil villain, cute romance, humour and a happily-ever-after! It was an enchanting and heart warming break from reality that made me lose myself in the world of princesses, dancing, magic and family love. Not only did I love the story but also Heather Dixon's writing and I'm looking forward to seeing what she writes next. I'd especially recommend Entwined to fairytale and fantasy lovers and wish it would be made into a movie.

Rating: 4.5 stars

In My Mailbox 24/7/11

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme where book bloggers share all the new books that have made it into their house this week whether from the bookstore, for review or from the library. I've lost my camera connecting lead so there are no photos this week!

My New Books

Eight Keys by Suzanne le Fleur (thank you to Puffin UK for sending this ARC for review)

Another blogger's ARC.

I haven't read this author's debut Love Aubrey but I've heard nothing but praise for it so I'm looking forward to reading my first book of hers. This is also the first ARC I've been sent for review (I've won one before), which is very exciting!

Shadows of the Moon by Zoe Marriott  (bought for Kindle)

This one's a loose retelling of Cinderella and I love fairytales and have seen such positive reviews of it that I just couldn't resist buying it in the Kindle Summer Sale for the bargain price of £2.50! It's actually the first Kindle book I've bought as the rest of the books on my Kindle have been free or from NetGalley.

From my school library:

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

I know so many bloggers who are huge Dessen fans and when I was recommended her by Jess from Jess Hearts Books when asking for contemporary book recommendations, I finally decided to try her. Thank you to everyone who has recommended Dessen's books to me!

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

As many of my long term blog readers will know, I love historical fiction but surprisingly I've never read any of Philippa Gregory's books. This is because I've heard there's some inappropriate content for my age but I've decided to try one now.

Arabella by Georgette Heyer

I've read this before and it was my first Heyer so I really want to re-read it this summer. If you're looking to try Heyer's regency romance books, then Arabella would be a great one to start off with.

Have you read any of these books? What did you get in your mailbox?

I don't have much time to visit other's IMM posts this week because I have a friend staying at the moment but I will try my best to get round to as many people as possible.

The summer holidays and summer reading!

Today I finished school for summer- yay! I know in the US schools get a longer summer holidays than the 6 weeks given in the UK so that's why it might seem a bit late. So summer means sun (if I'm lucky!) and lots of reading and I thought I'd share with you the 16 books are on my line up to read this summer:

• Eight Keys by Suzanne Le Fleur

• Daughter of Xandu by Dori Jones Yang 

• Die For Me by Amy Plum

• A Song For Summer by Eva Ibbotson ( I actually thought I'd read this one as it's been on my shelf for a few years but it turns out I haven't!)

• These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (my first Dessen after I was recommended her books)

• Witch Child by Celia Rees

• The Keeper's Daughter by Gill Arbunthnott

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• Troubadour by Mary Hoffman

• The Traitor's Smile by Patricia Elliot

• Emma by Jane Austen

• The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

• River Secrets by Shannon Hale

• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (my first Philippa Gregory)

• Shadows On The Moon by Zoe Marriott

I probably won't get through them all but I want to use all the free time I have in the holidays to get through as many of the unread books that I own as possible and I'd like to read at least 10. There are some favourites I'd like to re-read too such as Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Anne Of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery and Party Shoes by Noel Streatfield.

Also, I might not post as regularly or consistently as usual because I have an Italian friend staying with me for a month who I only get to see once a year so I want to spend time with her. There will also be one week where I won't be updating, which is about three weeks from now.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What are you planning to read this summer?

New favicon feature in blogger and tips on designing a custom favicon

I went onto my design page in Blogger earlier today and saw something unfamiliar... a 'Favicon' (short for favourite icon) edit box at the top left hand corner. For those of you who are unsure of what a Favicon is, it's the small image that accompanies a website name in a tab or the address in the address bar. For example, on most Blogger blogs, you'll see the image below as the favicon: 

More examples of favicons:

Having a custom favicon for your blog makes it more unique and the blogger logo favicon isn't very pretty or eye catching.  At the moment I have an image of a pink crown as my favicon that I installed with a tutorial using html. In fact I didn't realise it has actually worked until I installed Google Chrome a few weeks ago and it showed up. I'm planning on changing to fit more with the design and theme of my blog. Any suggestions for it?

However now, you don't need to work with hmtl in order to install your own favion because with Blogger's new feature, you can upload an image of the right size easily just like you would upload any other sidebar image.

Instructions for getting a custom favicon for your blog

• Decide on an image that you would like as a favicon. This could be anything such as one of your favourite images but it is best if it is an icon that represents and fits in with theme of your blog to create a strong and memorable ' brand' image. You could use programs like Photoshop, Piknic or Paint to help you design or customise an image. 

• The size of the image you will need for a favicon is 16x16 square pixels and you can resize the image you want to use using a free online editing program or some of the helpful websites listed at the bottom will do this for you.

• Make sure it is saved as a file on your computer.

• Once you have completed these steps, go to the 'design' tab on your Blogger dashboard and click 'edit' in the Favicon box at the top left hand side of the page.

• Select the image you resize and upload it.

• Once you have clicked save, your favicon should be visible on your blog!

Helpful websites

Here are some websites that can help you to generate a favicon:


www.favicon.co.uk
www.favicon-generator.org
www.tools.dynamicdrive.com/favicon/
www.favigen.com
www.favicongenerator.org


I hope these instructions and tips help!