Seer and the Sword, City of Masks

I don't get much time to browse in the library anymore. When I take the kids, I spend most of my time trying to keep the kids from pulling the books off the shelves. So when I want new books, I have to look fast. Usually I come up with duds, but sometimes I find some good stuff. Which is what I was lucky to find on my last trip---really good stuff. I was in the mood for more YA lit, so I pulled two from the shelf. Both good. Both well done.

The first is The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley. Fantasy, with a good strong female character---which isn't what you always find so that was a nice suprise. Nice writing. Good plot. Little nuggets about human nature. Good. Perfect for a tween, nice escape if you are an adult and you just want a pleasant YA fantasy. There are more in the series and I'm glad. If I get lonely for the characters, I'll go read the rest.

The second is The City of Masks by Mary Hoffman. Fantasy again, this one with an alternate world much like Venice, Italy. The fun thing about this book is the it delves into 1700 Italy (sort of). Not history heavy, which wouldn't work in a YA novel anyway, but there's enough truth about the past to make it authentic and interesting. Hoffman likes Italy and you can tell. This book also had another delightful heroine with a strong mind and spirit. Yet another book in a series. Yet another series I wouldn't blanch to read.

So there are two books that I would've recommended to the tween crowd who want something clean, well written, interesting, and worth reading.

Bravo, Hanley and Hoffman. Well done.

(End note: If you don't like fantasty, don't understand fantasy, and don't ever want to read fantasy, skip these. It's OK. The authors will never know and I won't be offended.)