The Wild Orchid

Title : The wild orchid

Author : Cameron Dokey

Citation : Dokey, Cameron. The wild orchid : a retelling of the ballad of Mulan. New York : Simon Pulse, 2009.

A classic timeless fairy tales with the background of Chinese culture, Mulan, unlike any other girl in China, she has an ability to wield a sword as deftly as an embroidery needle. Determined by her wish to spare her aging father and bring honour to her family, when the emperor summons all male to fight, she disguises herself and get involved in the fight. In the middle of Mulan's courage with a bow and arrow, she never expects to find a friend in the commander of her division. Will she have the courage to reveal her true identity and feelings with Prince Jian? With a touch of Chinese folklore, this story happens to have a character-drive storyline, suspenseful tone and compelling writing style. No wonder that Dokey has made this book an award winners of YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults as Twists on the tale for the year of 2010.

The Sower of Tales

Title : The sower of tales

Author : Rachna Gilmore

Citation : Gilmore, Rachna.  The sower of tales. Markham, Ontario : Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2005.

Dreaming and muddling her way through days, putting off her chores and infuriating her mother, Calantha only wants one thing. It is to apprentice with the Gatherer and to dedicate herself entirely to the Story Pods and the Tales. Until that one evening, she becomes open and attentive to everything. Everything goes harmoniously including the Gathering, the words of release and the villagers whose worries put away for a moment watch the seeds grow peacefully. Until something horrible happens where the Story Pods stop growing in every ditch across the Plains. Therefore, Calantha sets out on a journey to seek the legendary Sower of Tales and to find out what is really happening on the Plains especially when the threat from the Northern Kind is worrisome. Winner of the National Chapter of Canada IODE Violet Downey Book award, the author Gilmore, combines an amazing fantasy world and a stirring adventure with a taste of suspenseful tone and compelling style. An epic quest that makes the book is highly enjoyable.

The Feverbird's Claw

Title : The feverbird's claw

Author : Jane Kurtz

Citation : Kurtz, Jane. The feverbird's claw. New York : Greenwillow Books, c2004.

Being kidnapped by the Arkera after saving herself the first time, Moralin of Delagua is seeing death coming straight at her. The Arkera dress in rough clothes and use language Moralin cannot understand, but one thing she understands is she doesn’t understand why they kidnapped her. Why are they taking her into the heart of the red forest, where the fire-breathing skulkuk lives? And if Moralin can escape, can she survive the skulkuk and the other perils of the wilderness? From the author of "The Storyteller's Beads comes this story set in an ancient world, Delagua city, where only boys are allowed to fight. This fantasy fiction is trying to break down the taboo by setting a character of Moralin, a young girl who disguises herself and is trained to become an excellent warrior. Due to the book's genre, this intriguing story with its strong heroine is appealing to avid readers, although it is often confusing and with emphasis on plot over rich character development. It may be slow-moving in terms of pace, but in the end, the author rewards readers with simple yet profound insights about how the societies work.

The Blue Sword

Title : The blue sword

Author : Robin McKinley

Citation : McKinley, Robin. The blue sword. New York : Greenwillow Books, c1982.

An orphan girl, Harry Crewe, leaves her Homeland to live in a desert country called Damar, after the dead of her father. Damar is a bleak landscape where Homelanders and the secretive magical Hillfolk share the area that once part of the great kingdom. She then gets kidnapped by Corlath, the Hillfolk King, who takes her deep into the desert. Without knowing the Hillfolk language, she is wondering why she has been chosen by Corlath who does know that she is to be trained in the arts of war. Will she be ready to accept her true destiny's that of the heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan?  There had no woman who can handle and use weapons as skillful as the Lady Aerin that gone into battle with the North in the Hill-King's army. The Blue Sword is the first installment of the Damar series. A world-building storyline, fast-paced and strong sense of place mix together with a descriptive and engaging style have made this book of New York Times bestseller.  

Other book in the Damar Series : The hero and the crown (1984)

Un lun dun

Title : Un lun dun

Author : China Mieville

Citation : Mieville, China. Un lun dun. New York : Del Rey, 2007.

A twelve-year-old heroine Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret door leading out of London and into a strange city, Un Lun Dun. It is a city awaiting its hero whose coming was predicted long time ago and happened to be set down for all time in the pages of a talking book. In the setting, the city is a place where words are alive; a jungle exists unobserved behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes walk stiffly down the streets and a dark cloud dreams about burning the world. In short, through the looking glass, Un Lun Dun is an urban Wonderland of uncanny delights where all the lost and broking thing of London end up, including Brokkenbroll, a boss of the broken umbrellas; and Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is a gigantic pin-cushion and Curdle. The compelling style and the fantasy journey of this book are combination of unexpected opportunities for heroism and magic. The unexpected twist will make readers to keep turning the pages until they have reached the end.

The Third Eye

Title : The third eye

Author : Mahtab Narsimhan

Citation : Narsimhan, Mahtab. The third eye. Toronto : Dundurn Group, c2007.

For Tara and her brother, a nightmare is defined by the year their mother and grandfather fled the village of Morni in the middle of the night. Having a new stepmother who is cruel and deceptive makes her wanting to protect her brother, especially when men of the village have been disappearing because the village is lacking healers. Then, a mysterious man with a third eye possessing an odd power, Zarku, appears in Morni and everybody is fascinated by his magic, except Tara. She see through his evil disguise. Without nothing but her own courage and wit, can she find her missing mother and grandfather who is the true healer, in time to save her village? This story is such an interesting combination of elements of classic fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel with Indian mythology. Its original and entertaining couple with tone of strong sense of place will make readers enjoy the lushly described Indian setting as well as some cultural references such as Hindu Gods. The novel opens with a compelling scene that should captive the heart of fantasy fans. For avid readers, the novel is well worth the extra effort to try it. With its unique setting and beautiful prose, readers can't say no to the next book.

Other book in the Tara Trilogy: The silver anklet (2009), The deadly conch (2011)

The Shadow Speaker

Title : The shadow speaker

Author : Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Citation : Okorafor-Mbachu, Nnedi. The shadow speaker. New York : Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2007.

A futuristic fantastical adventure fiction that happens in West Africa in 2070 is about a Muslim teenager, Ejii. After witnessing her father's beheading, a fifteen-year-old "shadow speaker" Ejii sets on a dangerous journey across the Sahara desert to look for Jaa, her father's murderer. Then soon she discovers that there is a greater purpose to her life after knowing her possession of mystical powers. Accompanied by her newfound friend, she realises the need to protect her people from a force seeking to destroy them completely. With a plot of the era of mind-blowing technology and tantalising magic, the book is leisurely paced and has a fascinating lyrical writing style. Readers will be engrossed by the novel's complicated characters, especially its women and the unusual appearance of African with a taste of Muslim tradition. This book by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu is the second fiction of her first debut, Zahrah the windseeker.

The Golden Compass

Title : The golden compass

Author : Philip Pullman

Citation : Pullman, Philip. The golden compass. New York : A. A. Knopf, 1995.

A terrible experiment separating humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's sinner being, is being conducted and children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers". Therefore, an orphan named Lyra Belacqua leaves her carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College and embarks on a journey to look for her kidnapped bestfriend, Roger. Accompanied by her shape-shifting daemon and a truth-telling instrument, a compass called Alethiometer, she keens of finding out a mystery in the far North including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that is believed to be part of a parallel universe. The Golden Compass is the first book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. With a world-building storyline, fast-paced, tones of atmospheric and suspenseful, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterisations and seamless plotting. The story line moves along at a fast clip, but flags when it comes into philosophical matter. The intricate plot makes the book is really compelling and richly detailed.

Other book in the His Dark Materials Trilogy: The subtle knife (1997), The amber spyglass (2000), Lyra's Oxford (2003).