Book: Fairest

Fairest

by Marissa Meyer

Length: 272 pages

Format: Hardback
Price: Borrowed from a student

How I heard about it: A student

 

Basic Premise: Lunar Princess Levana's royal past is full of heartache, jealousy, and betrayal. After the death of her sister, the only thing that stands in the way of Levana's path to the crown is her neice, Selene.

My Take: 7 out of 10 (scale here) 
I read Cinder last year and kind of loved it. I picked this prequel up because of a kid at school who said it was Levana's story. This intrigued me because, as the antagonist in Cinder, I knew a bit about her. The book was one of those I-can't-put-it-downs once I got into it. I recall Cinder being the same way - a little slow to start, but once it got going, it really got going. I felt bad for Levana. She got the short end of the stick. She reminded me a bit of Merope Gaunt in the Harry Potter books - she had a rotten upbringing, had a way dysfunctional family, and never experienced love. I'm not sure what else you can expect - she was at such a disadvantage from the beginning that it was completely unreasonable to expect her to turn out well. I felt really bad for Evret, the palace guard she seduced and manipulated into "loving" her. He was a prisoner for sure.

If I had limitless time, I think I would pick up the rest of the books in the series. But I definitely don't, so I probably won't. BUT! I will keep recommending them to kids!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Fire Man

Charlie loves things that drive. He is especially fond of utility vehicles, construction vehicles, and emergency vehicles. Today, while we were on our way home,we took a detour. (Sometimes, when we are in the car driving home, I just keep driving because the kids are happy and contained and I don't want it to end just yet. Please tell me I'm not the only one.) this particular detour took us by the neighborhood fire station where the fire truck was getting a bath. 

We drove by slowly and the Friendly Neighborhood Fire Man waved. We drove by again, and this time he waved us over. We parked and he invited the kids to climb into the fire truck! He showed them the garage, let them sit in the 1930s fire engine that they drive in the parade, and even let them turn on the sirens! We toured the inside of the station and met a total of 3 firefighters, each of whom greeted my children like they were the royalty and acted like they were the bright spot of their Friday. The kids left with hats, pencils, stickers, and fire safety coloring books. As we were leaving and thanking them, they told us to come back ANY time. They love to have visitors and we were welcome at their station and any other station in the city.

When we got home, Charlie of course wanted to draw them a picture. So we drew a picture and he dictated a thank you note:

What a neat thing they did for our kids!