In My Mailbox - 12/5/09

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Here are the new books I bought or received this week. A lot of these are books I am really eager to read, so I will have some great books to read this holiday season!

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

Zita’s not just any servant girl: She's a princess—the thirteenth daughter of a king who wanted only sons and banished her to the servants' quarters to work in the castle's kitchen. Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, her royal sisters all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely worn and tattered shoes. With the help of her friends—Breckin the stable boy, Babette the witch, and Milek the soldier—Zita follows her bewitched sisters into a magical world of endless dancing and dreams. Something sinister is afoot—and Zita must find the source of the enchantment and break the curse or the twelve princesses will surely dance to their deaths.
With a mesmerizing voice and delightful imagination, Diane Zahler delivers a dazzling retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Zita is the spunky and unforgettable heroine that young girls will love.


Hawksmaid: The Untold Story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian by Kathryn Lasky

She’s the headstrong daughter of Nottingham’s most famous falconer. But for Matty, hawks are more than family—they are her destiny. She can hear their thoughts, speak their language, and sense their every wingbeat. When Matty finds Marigold, a golden-eyed merlin abandoned in the wild, their connection is instant and magical. Marigold becomes Matty’s closest winged companion and her fiercest ally under the tyranny of Prince John and the sheriff of Nottingham. It’s up to Matty, Marigold, and their old friend Robin to save England.
A fantastical twist makes this a legendary world of royalty, daring adventure, and deadly peril that will appeal to fans of Gail Carson Levine and Shannon Hale. Newbery Honor author Kathryn Lasky soars to magnificent heights in this bold tale of bravery, romance, and the untold legend of Maid Marian and Robin Hood.


The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen

Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret. She never intended to overhear his.
But now that she has, what is Lord Bradley to do with her? He cannot let her go, for were the truth to get out, he would lose everything--his reputation, his inheritance, his very home.
He gives Miss Keene little choice but to accept a post at Brightwell Court, where he can make certain she does not spread what she heard. Keeping an eye on the young woman as she cares for the children, he finds himself drawn to her, even as he struggles against the growing attraction. The clever Miss Keene is definitely hiding something.
Moving, mysterious, and romantic, The Silent Governess takes readers inside the intriguing life of a nineteenth-century governess in an English manor house where all is not as it appears.


This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

It's been a year since a meteor collided with the moon, catastrophically altering the earth's climate. For Miranda Evans life as she knew it no longer exists. Her friends and neighbors are dead, the landscape is frozen, and food is increasingly scarce.
The struggle to survive intensifies when Miranda's father and stepmother arrive with a baby and three strangers in tow. One of the newcomers is Alex Morales, and as Miranda's complicated feelings for him turn to love, his plans for his future thwart their relationship. Then a devastating tornado hits the town of Howell, and Miranda makes a decision that will change their lives forever.


Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents' rules - especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.
To better her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything - even Tristen's love - just for the thrill of being... bad.


Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s revengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two– the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander–survive the journey. Delivered to the household of Octavian’s sister, the siblings cling to each other and to the hope that they will return one day to their rightful place on the throne of Egypt. As they come of age, they are buffeted by the personal ambitions of Octavian’s family and court, by the ever-present threat of slave rebellion, and by the longings and desires deep within their own hearts.
The fateful tale of Selene and Alexander is brought brilliantly to life in Cleopatra’s Daughter. Recounted in Selene’s youthful and engaging voice, it introduces a compelling cast of historical characters: Octavia, the emperor Octavian’s kind and compassionate sister, abandoned by Marc Antony for Cleopatra; Livia, Octavian's bitter and jealous wife; Marcellus, Octavian’s handsome, flirtatious nephew and heir apparent; Tiberius, Livia’s sardonic son and Marcellus’s great rival for power; and Juba, Octavian’s watchful aide, whose honored position at court has far-reaching effects on the lives of the young Egyptian royals.


The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz

Summer is here, and 16-year-old Allie, a self-professed music geek, is exactly where she wants to be: working full-time at Berkeley’s ultra-cool Bob and Bob Records. There, Allie can spend her days bantering with the street people, talking the talk with the staff, shepherding the uncool bridge-and-tunnel shoppers, all the while blissfully surrounded by music, music, music. It’s the perfect setup for her to develop her secret identity as The Vinyl Princess, author of both a brand-new zine and blog. From the safety of her favourite place on earth, Allie is poised to have it all: love, music and blogging.
Her mother, though, is actually the one getting the dates, and business at Allie’s beloved record store is becoming dangerously slow—not to mention that there have been a string of robberies in the neighbourhood. At least her blog seems to be gaining interest, one vinyl junkie at a time…