Review: Bliss, Kathryn Littlewood

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 374 (Hardback)
Release: February 2012
Source: Bought
Genre: Middle - grade readers
Good to know: Bliss is Littlewoods debutnovel, and it is the first book in a planned trilogy.You can read an excerpt here.

Rosemary Bliss’s family has a secret. It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, nonmagical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun. So Rose and her siblings experi-ment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke.A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn’t cause too much trouble . . . could they?

Sweet magic

Kathryn Littlewood have written an incredibly cute story about believing in oneself, family ties, loyalty and magic.

Rose' parents, or Rosemary as is her full name,own the Bliss Bakery. Here they make cookies, cakes, breads etc after recepies that have been in the family for generations. Their pastries is very sought after, and there are always a lot to do on the bakery. Rose is ten years old when she discovers that an important ingredient in the pastries is magic.

It was the summer Rosemary Bliss turned ten that she saw her mother fold a lightning bolt into a bowl of batter and learned - beyond the shadow of a doubt - that her parents made magic in the Bliss bakery.

The family lives in the little town Calamity Falls, where their pastries means alot to the other residents. They use food to sove small and big problems for the residents, literally speaking. Old Mr Rook was having trouble with sleepwalking, but after eating Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles, the sleepwalking stopped. The Bliss - family also helps out when a singer has a sore throat, or people get ill.

When the flu hits Humbleton, Rose' parents are asked to travel there to help the people get well. Their almond - croissant are perfect for that. Rose and her brother Ty are left to take care of the bakery, and they are told not to look in the book with all the recipies in it, and mot important of all: not use magic. But Rose and Ty does not do as they were told. They look in the famous cookbook, and goes down to the secret basement where their parents keep a lot of special ingredients. The result: chaos in Calamity Falls.  On top of all of this, they are visited by their aunt Lily - a relative their parents does not keep contact with because of a centuries old familiefeud. Lily seems very interested in the cookbook...

Ty read the recipe out loud: Sir Jasper Bliss did grate one large green squash while chanting the names of lonely customers thrice. Sir Jasper did pass through a metal sieve one fist of flour and one fist of sugar. Sir Jasper did drizzle two acorns of the finest distille Tahitian vanilla over the flour. Then he did fold within the batter one egg of the Masked Lovebird, Agapornis personata, which Sir Jasper did acquire from a mystic who had collected them from the primordial forests of Madagascar.

It is hard not to be charmed by this book. It is really cute, and it is apparent that the author has had a good time whilst writing it. The book have a lot of creative twist and turns, and the recepies are truly original and creative.  I cannot compare the book fully with the Harry Potter - books, but it is not hard to see that Littlewood has the same imagination as do J.K. Rowling.

Rose is a character that many young girls will sympatizes and identify with. She feels that her parents doesn't see her, she is unsure about herself and about her parents love for her. She dreams of a special bou, and about being noticed. During the story she has to figure out if her own self-realization is important, or if she should focus on her family. Rose does not have confidence in herself, and all she wants is to help others and do something useful.
Rose' brother Ty is a little more outgoing, and he happily uses his parents magic recepies to his own gain, but the result is not what he expects at all.

Littlewood deal with a lot of important topics. First of all, this is a coming of age - story, a story about maturing, getting older and the fact that it is quite possible to change without the use of magic. It is about sticking together, about family and loyalty.

I think that this book will appeal to thee target-audience. Bliss is a cute and riveting book, even I got caught up in the story. I also like that the author have given a title to every chapter, and that there are cutre drawings on the first page of every new chapter.

The book has a satisfiying ending, but there is a tiny cliffhanger here which tells us that there will be more books about Rose, her family and the Bliss - bakery. It will not surprise me if these books become a great success. The book is also great for being made into a movie.
But before you do read Bliss, I need to give you a little warning: You may feel a deep craving after cookies and muffins whilst you are reading.

Other reviews:
Book Aunt
Booklady's Booknotes

Waiting on Wednesday: False Memory

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we talk about books we are eager to read.

My pick this week is False Memory by Dan Krokos:

Miranda wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory. In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her. Except Peter, a boy who isn't at all surprised by Miranda's shocking ability. Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn't easy--especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can't remember loving. Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn't seem to matter...when there may not be a future. Dan Krokos' debut is a tour-de-force of non-stop action that will leave readers begging for the next book in this bold and powerful new series.

This just sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it. I have not read a lot of sci-fi novels, so that is also a bonus. The book comes out August 14th.

Waiting on Wednesday: A Breath of Eyre

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we talk about books we are eager to read.

My pick this week is A Breath of Eyre by Eva Marie Mont (April 2012)

Emma Townsend has always believed in stories—the ones she reads voraciously, and the ones she creates in her head. Perhaps it’s because she feels like an outsider at her exclusive prep school, or because her stepmother doesn’t come close to filling the void left by her mother’s death. And her only romantic prospect—apart from a crush on her English teacher—is Gray Newman, a long-time friend who just adds to Emma’s confusion. But escape soon arrives in an old leather-bound copy of Jane Eyre…

Reading of Jane’s isolation sparks a deep sense of kinship. Then fate takes things a leap further when a lightning storm catapults Emma right into Jane’s body and her nineteenth-century world. As governess at Thornfield, Emma has a sense of belonging she’s never known—and an attraction to the brooding Mr. Rochester. Now, moving between her two realities and uncovering secrets in both, Emma must decide whether her destiny lies in the pages of Jane’s story, or in the unwritten chapters of her own…

This just sounds like something right up my alley. It is about a girl who apparently lovedsto read and then gets to spend time in a story from a book. And not every book but Jane Eyre (I love that novel).

The trailer is really good too, take a look:

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop 09.02 - 11.02

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison. 

For more information, visit this post. 

This week's question: 

What would you prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

I would rather read 100 mediocre books. I seldom read the same book twice, since there are so many other good books out there. But there are exceptions of course.

I also participate in the February Book Blogger Hop over at Crazy for Books. More information on that meme here.




This week on The Norwegian Book Girl:
In My Mailbox
Review of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Return of Music Monday
Review of Heaven by Christoph Marzi
Waiting on Wednesday: The Whispering House

Have a great weekend everyone :)

Waiting on Wednesday: The Whispering House

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we talk about the books we are eagerly awaiting for to be published.

My pick this week is The Whispering House by Rebecca Wade (22th of May 2012):

 When the Price family moves into Cowleigh Lodge while their home is being repaired, fourteen-year-old Hannah discovers that the ghost of a girl who died there at age eleven wants help unraveling the mystery of her 1877 death.

I love stories about ghosts and there is just something about this book that peaks my interest. I do not normally read a lot of middle grade titles, but this one is on my reading list for sure.

Review: Heaven by Christoph Marzi

Publisher:Mangschou (Norwegian publisher)
Pages: 360
Release: September 2011
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Bought
Challenge: None this year, read it in 2011
Good to know: This book was first published in Germany in 2009 and last year it came out in Norwegian. The book was published in English February 2nd this year.

The night that Heaven lost her heart was cold and moonless. But the blade that sliced it out was warm with her dark blood... David Pettyfer is taking a shortcut over the dark rooftops of London's brooding houses, when he literally stumbles across Heaven: a strange, beautiful, distraught girl who says that bad men have stolen her heart. Yet she's still alive... And so begins David and Heaven's wild, exciting and mysterious adventure - to find Heaven's heart, and to discover the incredible truth about her origins. Part thriller, part love story and part fairy tale, this brilliantly original novel from a bestselling German author will take your breath away...

A Great Fantasy

Heaven has one of the best storylines I have encountered in a YA - novel. Nothing in this book is predictable, the surprises are many and the suspense is high.

Parts of London is covered with a nightsky without stars. It has been like this a long time and for David Pettyfer, who works in the bookstore The Owl and the Pussycat, this is normal. David's work consists of delivering books, often rare books, to customers in London. He likes to take a shortcut over the rooftops of London's brooding houses whilst on his way with a book. David has had a troubled past, but the job in the bookstore is a new beginning for him. One night, David runs into Heaven on a rooftop ...

Heaven, or Freema Mirrlees as she also is called, is an orphan. She tells David that some bad men have stolen her heart. David does not know what to believe, but he soons finds out that someone is after Heaven. He have to help keep Heaven hidden and at the same time figure out why the men are chasing her.

I have read a lot of YA - novels in the past years, a lot of them have a similar storyline. You know what's going to happen, who will fall in love with whom etc. In Heaven you cannot predict anything. Marzi have created a fantastic and thrilling story with a mystery that is slowly unveiled as you flip the pages. There are a lot of paranormal elements in the story too, like zombies and ghosts.

It is not hard to guess that Marzi loves the victorian era and the writers that lived in this time. Heaven is kind of like a love poem to the city of London and a lot of the characters in the story have been given names from characters in Dickens' stories. The book made me want to read a story by Dickens again.

Marzi is a musiclover and there is a lot of references to songlyrics in the novel. He also got the idea for the novel itself from a song, Chim Chim Cher-ee, as sung by Dick van Duke and Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins.

The language in the book is not that consistent. Marzi knows how to write poetically and the book is full of beautiful quotes and observartions. But, at the same time, there are a lot of repetitions and clichees here.

Heaven was an interesting character. It takes some time for the reader to get under her skin, but I liked that. Jeg was constantly wondering what had happened to her in the past, why her parents had died and why the men where out for her heart. Marzi kept me guessing until the final pages in the book.

This book is not a part of a series. Keep in mind that Heaven is not a book for the younger readers. There is a lot of swearing in the book, the characters are thinking abous sex and have dealt with alcohol and drugs.

If you love London, Dickens and Urban Fantasy you should pick up this book. It is great! And if you do not love London and Dickens, pick up the book anyway and read it.

(I do not have any quotes this time since I read this book in Norwegian)

Other reviews:
Lost Among the Shelves
Bloggers Heart Books
A Cupcake and a Latte

The English cover for the book:

Return of Music Monday

Music Monday is a meme where I talk about some of the great new songs, or old songs, released by Scandinavian artists. I may also talk about other songs that are stuck in my mind at the moment.

This monday I will share a new, Norwegian song with you. It is a song from the artist Tone Damli Aaberge. Tone is one of Norways hottest stars, a position she has risen to over the years. She is also the girlfriend of a famous Norwegian actor, Axel Hennie, and the two are called Norway's supercouple by the media.

Tone's new song, Look Back, easily gets stuck in your head. The musicvideo for it have caused a lot of controversy in Norway, and some have called it too sexy. Tone herself has said that her targetlisteners also listen to music from artists such as Lagy Gaga, so she has to make sure people notice her. Beside, she wanted to stretch her own boundaries a little. The world must think Norway is a truly conservative country since a musicvideo like this can cause so much controversy. Anyways, here is the video, judge for yourself:



And if you like this song, I suggest you check out some of Tone's other tunes. They are worth listening too:

Butterflies:


Stuck in my head:



And last one of my favories by her, I Love You:


Have a great reading week everyone.