Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

"The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,

      All on a summer’s day;

The knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts,

      And took them clean away..." 
--The Queen of Hearts, a traditional child's poem

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes is book #1 of the Queen of Hearts saga, an epic young adult (YA) retelling of the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland.

Prone to fits of fury, stubborn, and having few friends and many adversaries, Princess Dinah is next in line for the Heart throne in Wonderland Palace. Her only joys in life include visiting her "mad" brother Charles and eating tarts with Wardley, the future Knave of Hearts and, hopefully, her future husband. 

Above all that, Dinah wants little more than for her father, a brutally ruthless king, to acknowledge her without anger or insult. He suddenly does so--much to Dinah's humiliation--by introducing her to Vittore, her illegitimate half-sister, in front of the whole court. 

From then on, a series of strange and violent events take place as Dinah's coronation draws closer. She soon realizes she must figure out what is happening within and beyond the palace before she loses not only her future crown but her own head as well. 

Queen of Hearts was pretty much everything I would want in a YA fantasy retelling: An intriguing plot, beautiful details, clever references to the original story, and suspenseful with a bit of darkness without being too scary. My only real problem was with the character Vittore. It's obvious she is meant to be the polar opposite of Dinah in looks and personality. But upon reading her description, I muttered to myself, "Oh. No." After meeting a plethora of fascinating characters, the last thing I wanted was a blonde-haired-blue-eyed stereotype. Thankfully, after finishing the book, I'm not so sure that Vittore is as innocent as she appears. Dinah certainly doesn't seem to think so. In conclusion, I can't wait to continue the series.

You can find the book here: Queen of Hearts

...what tarts?

In My Core: Pax by Sara Pennypacker

"How's your book?" My dad asks me as we drive through the autumn roads. I look up at him with a little smile.

"Very sad. But very good," I tell him, "The first chapter already made me tear up."

The book in question is Pax by Sara Pennypacker, which came out in February. In this middle-grade tale, a fox named Pax is in the backseat of the car with his owner, eleven-year-old Peter. At first, he thinks there's nothing wrong until he senses Peter crying and arguing with his father. The car suddenly stops at an opening to the woods. Peter gets out with Pax and throws a toy soldier far into the brush. Pax, believing this is a usual game of fetch, happily chases after it. But when he comes back, Peter is gone. From then on, the story alternates effortlessly between Peter and Pax's perspectives and is enhanced by Jon Klassen's beautiful black-and-white illustrations.

With his father going off to join the military, Peter is forced to release Pax into the wild and sent to live with his grandfather. By nightfall, Peter realizes "in his core" that he isn't where he's supposed to be, and it was a major mistake to leave Pax behind. So the next day, he sets off before dawn to make the three hundred mile journey back home on foot, hoping to reunite with his beloved friend despite the threat of an oncoming war. But his trek is soon interrupted when he breaks his foot behind a barn. He is then taken into the care of the barn's owner, Vola. A veteran who wears a prosthetic leg and a lifetime of wisdom, Vola helps Peter get back on his feet, physically and metaphorically, on three conditions. Meanwhile, Pax meets other foxes in the woods, namely a vixen called Bristle and her little brother Runt, and the trio embarks on their own adventures as Pax faithfully waits for his boy to come back to him.

This book infuses so many themes that it's difficult to focus on just one. However, the idea of family is the most striking to me personally. As somebody who is very close to my family, it's tough reading through some parts. Pax and Peter are already inseparable. Peter's relationship with his father is troubled, especially after the death of Peter's mother, and their struggle to communicate gets worse when his father leaves for the war. Vola copes with her own past as a soldier who killed another person in combat and still feels responsible. As for Bristle and Runt...well, I don't want to give away the whole thing. I will say you'll want a box of tissues handy, though. Oh, and you may get a strong craving for peanut butter while you read.

Why, you ask? I just know *thumps heart with fist* in my core.

Purchase Pax at this link: Pax