What would Ula read?

4 out of 5 👊Cinderella and her #metoo story A little disclaimer here first: The original version of Cinderella is obviously problematic with strongly patriarchal worldviews, yet didn't mention any actual abuse and forced marriage. Cinderella seemed very happy with the story plot and her life choices. In 'Cinderella is Dead', we got to know new facts about her life and the kingdom that added a whole new female-abusive layer. Hence my title. Two hundred years after Cinderella fairytale and the glass shoe incident, the annual ball gathers young women 16 to 18 years old and 'eligible bachelors' with no age limit to pick their new treasure wife. Female participation is obligatory and failure to attend (or not being picked) equals atrocious consequences.  Since her early childhood, Sophia was reading Cinderella's story but would rather marry a princess than Prince Charming. Although her family accepted the relationship with her childhood friend Erin, they knew she mu...

3 out of 5 🌟Interesting ideas with poor execution Mayhem and her mother Roxy have fled their abusive stepfather/husband from their house in Texas to a family home in California. Roxy hasn't been to Santa Maria, CA since the day she left to start a new life. Yes, there's a dark secret involved. The book comes with a trigger warning about rape description but it does not include all the other things that threw me off when reading. This supposed to be a young adult, hence I didn't anticipate the number of expletives I encountered while reading and yet, that wasn't the worst part. I was unpleasantly surprised with gruesome descriptions of homicides and * Spoiler Alert * the fact than they were committed by "good" characters in the book and also treated as something noble (what!?). People cheering, giving presents to the murderous vigilantes... Is that still a book for teenagers? Plus, descriptions of doing drugs endorsed by the family members and friends. * Spoil...

3.5 out of 5 🌟Magical realism meets historical fiction 'Library of Legends' tells a real but little known story of the Chinese-Japanse war. In 1937, a group of students traveled across China flying the Japanese army while also carrying ancient tomes of the Library of Legends. The volumes, describing Chinese mythology, was a national treasury and needed to be hidden away inland China. As a part of magical realism, during that danger quest, they have unbeknown encountered mythical beings who followed the students along their journey. 'Library of Legends' is full of history mixed up with magical experiences. And Janie Chang did a great job including testimonies of the survivors alongside enhanced Chinese mythology and bringing them together on historical background. That's the best side of this title but even if I love books with a historical setting depicting factual events, I had a hard time reading this one. I enjoy Lian, one of the main characters of the book, and...

4 out of 5 🌟Wonder not-yet-a-Woman, a social justice warrior Wonder Woman, as every comic character from both DC and Marvel worlds, has been recreated multiple times with a new origin story. Sometimes they are related to each other, and sometimes they built with totally different narration. 'Tempest Tossed' belongs to that second category, the plot is unlike any other iteration of Diana's beginnings. That creates a great opportunity to jump on the Wonder Woman's bandwagon even for readers who don't know DC Universe. Amazons live in Themyscira, a secret island far from civilization, unbeknown to people. Loosely based on Greek mythology, these warriors are the favorite making of the Ancient Greeks' Goddesses. Wonder Woman vel Princess Diana is a teenager, or rather a "changeling", as she's called on her island. Diana has never been outside of Themyscira and amidst the story's events, she gets to know our world and tries to make sense of it. ...

3.5 out of 5 🌟Girl Power Fantasy Full disclosure : I used to love fantasy books and I know if I'd read that book ten years ago, I would've given it 6 out of 5 stars. But after reading a lot of fantasy I couldn't stop cringe seeing yet another  chosen one  that proven herself/ saved the world/ fulfilled her destiny. That book is redundant to all classic YA fantasy topics but at the same time, it makes it sounds so much better. If I could forget all other titles about girls with extraordinary abilities and know only this one, I'd do that without hesitation. Let's imagine the world driven by patriarchy where young women need to prove themselves pure in a sacred ritual when entering adolescence. The ones that fail, are condemned to death and their families are disgraced. It wasn't hard to imagine, was it? The word created by Namina Forna resembles real people's experiences, therefore it feels personal to readers. Deka, the book's protagonist was notoriously...

4 out of 5 🌟Folklore feast Stories about mermaids or other sea-people are as old as the World's history of sailing. From beautiful young ladies rescuing sailors to blood-thirst water monsters waiting to kill them, mermaids look different in various parts of the globe. 'The Mermaid Atlas' is a short illustrated research about merfolks around the world. The book presents each continent and its sea-people on a big map and provides descriptions to each water tribe. Every page is decorated with illustrations by Miren Asiain Lora showing the details of mermaid's appearance. What I liked the most was the information the book provided. Each type of mermaid is described with quite a lot of details, including history, legends, appearance, and more if available. Additionally, the book breaks down the mermen lifestyle, where they live, what they eat, and how good they're with magic. Also, presents all the actual facts like seamen presence in mythology, historical encount...

4.5 out of 5 🌟Charming mixture of magic and adventure Just after a few pages into 'Dalya and the Magic Bottle' I knew that book is exceptional. I started reading it with my son and cannot stop after he was already long asleep. It reminded me of a feeling when I was reading 'Harry Potter' for the first time. The novel is captivating and magical, a true fairytale. I enjoyed almost everything about this title. It's an international adventure that takes place in Istanbul, Turkey with squad goals like in ‘Wizard of Oz’ and mysterious events reminding me of ‘Alice in Wonderland’.  The story is about a young girl from Ohio who arrived in Istambul with her Dad to meet their relatives and spend summer in an old family house. Both the Turkish mansion and her family share a secret that will lead her into a magical journey. Did I mention I loved the story? It's packed with action, cliffhangers, plot twists, and adorable characters. Even if is full of old clich...