Monday, January 5, 2015

[Jackaby] William Ritter and [Black Duck] Janet Taylor Lisle

Okay. These two books though. It's going to be hard to write normally while writing this.
I'm about 99% sure that I looked like this upon finishing both. :P
But really though. I just. 
They're both so good
And, oddly enough, both are historical fiction. Well, actually, Jackaby might not be historical...but it's still amazing. 
Anyways. Without further ado....
Jackaby

Genre: Supernatural, historical(ish).
Author: William Ritter (his name seems like one you'd come across in the book, actually.)
Content: Um...none, really, that I remember. I mean, there's the violence that comes with this being a murder-y thing and [SPOILER] the whole Red Cap thing. *shudder* But other than that...there wasn't really anything in it!
Memory: Jackaby, Abigail, and Charlie being awesome investigator buddies. And Mona yelling at them. "We have cake." Douglas the duck. 
Rating: 5 stars. 

I really, really liked this book. A lot. It's just the coolest idea. Like, in the synopsis, there was this line that started with "Doctor Who meets Sherlock". SO. COOL.
And the charactersssssssssss. They're precious. <3
I'm kinda thinking it's a series? Or at least hoping?
Because I need more of Jackaby and Abigail and Jenny the ghost. And supernatural occurrences that crop up in New Fiddleham. <3

Black Duck.

Genre: Historical, suspense, could be mystery? 
Author: Janet Taylor Lisle
Content: Again, this one didn't have anything in it, really. I mean, there was the whole illegal transport of alcohol thing, and it got kinda violent at times, but other than that...
Memory: Tom Morrison's shack by the beach, Marina's clam chowder, and a rolled up fifty-dollar bill stuck inside a pouch and shoved beneath a mattress.
Rating: 5 stars!

This book. I cannot get over this book. It was jarring finishing it and being yanked out of New England in 1929, away from Ruben and Jeddy and Marina and Tom Morrison, and a speedboat called the Black Duck.
Also, can we just TALK about that ENDING?
I think I should have seen it coming? I read the book super fast, so I don't really remember if Ruben ever came out and said what happened in the beginning, but...still? Ow? I was hurt by that? But the bits after were amazing. The whole book was. 
I just really appreciated Black Duck because it's one of the only YA '20s books I've found that doesn't focus on flappers and parties and either Chicago or New York (yesIknowmybookisinNYCbutITSDIFFERENT).
Like, I get all of that was a big part of the 20s, but there's so much more! There's people like Ruben and Jeddy, people like Mr. Riley and the small sleepy New England towns, ships like the Black 
Duck. There's more.
//end rant. 
But yes. Black Duck is amazing and you should read it. So is Jackaby.
The two couldn't be more different, but they're both great. <3

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