tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56013511470715588202024-03-13T04:08:10.293-04:00Just Booking AroundRina and Evan, reading and responding.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-61391588037256280312013-01-27T15:16:00.003-05:002013-01-27T15:16:42.638-05:00New haul of booksBack to the blog after what seems like nearly forever. Fortunately, on the web nothing gets cobwebs or aggravates allergies with collected dust...<br />
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It's rather Middle Grade-ish over here in literature... I've finished John Flanagan's Brotherband Chronicles book 3, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hunters-Brotherband-Chronicles-Book/dp/0399256210/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359317409&sr=8-1&keywords=flanagan+the+hunters"><i>The Hunters</i></a> (fun, but a little too much to swallow at some points) and am now starting on the so-far-excellent <i>Sway</i> by Amber McRee Turner. Also in my library pile:<br />
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<i>A Brief History of Montmaray</i>, by Michelle Cooper. (I <i>know</i> I have heard of these books around the place.)<br />
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<i>Darkwater</i> by Catherine Fisher... After <i>Incarceron</i>, do I need too much of a reason to read Fisher's books? She's got an incredible way with descriptions, and though she's not without her plot inconsistencies, I've been overall delighted with her imagination and ideas.<br />
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Clare Vanderpool's <i>Moon over Manifest</i>: another one I've heard about but never actually read, so I'm looking forward to trying it out.<br />
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<i>Selling Hope</i> by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb. Historical fiction, a vaudeville troupe, and Halley's Comet... The premise interested me while I was browsing the Juvenile Fiction section at my library.<br />
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So, hopefully, there will be more reviews soon.<br />
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Also, I have some thoughts on Ellen Potter's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Kneebone-Boy-Ellen-Potter/dp/0312674325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359317547&sr=8-1&keywords=the+kneebone+boy">The Kneebone Boy</a> </i>that I'm still trying to get in order. Am I the only person who was not 100% pleased by this one? It seemed to be trying a bit too hard to be "realistic" and ended up more on the disillusioning side. <br />
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P. S. - For the readers of my last "Waiting on Wednesday": I was a bit underwhelmed by Stiefvater's <i>The Raven Boys,</i> but then after <i>Scorpio Races</i>, I had the bar set fairly high. <i>Raven Boys</i> seems to be well-loved by many, though, so that might just have been my expectations getting in the way. Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-3586865583309770452012-08-29T17:24:00.001-04:002012-08-29T17:24:58.803-04:00Waiting on Wednesday: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater<div style="color: #0b5394;">
<a href="http://maggiestiefvater.com/wp-content/uploads/cover_ravenboys_300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://maggiestiefvater.com/wp-content/uploads/cover_ravenboys_300.png" width="218" /></a>"<i>“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St.
Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you
killed him.”</i><br />
<br />
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.<br />
<br />
Every
year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the
soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this
year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.<br />
<br />
His
name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at
Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away
from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.<br />
<br />
But
Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has
it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for
much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other
Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege
around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair;
and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but
says very little.<br />
<br />
For as long as she can remember, Blue has
been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought
this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the
strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure
anymore.<br />
<br />
From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the <i>Shiver</i> trilogy and <i>The Scorpio Races</i>,
comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and
the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before." </div>
<div style="color: #0b5394;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #0b5394;">
<br /></div>
<br />
After my <a href="http://justbookingaround.blogspot.com/2011/10/scorpio-races-by-maggie-stiefvater.html">enthusiastic reaction</a> to <i>The Scorpio Races</i>, I couldn't help giving an extra glance to Ms. Stiefvater's new book. I was initially dubious because it seemed to center around romance, but Kirkus starred it, and besides, I'm hungry for another magical, wild trip like <i>Scorpio Races</i> gave. A few weeks will show me whether my anticipation is well-founded. (Here's hoping!)<br />
<br />
----<br />
Cover picture comes from the author's website.<br />
<br />
"Waiting on Wednesday" is hosted by Jill at <a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Breaking the Spine</a>.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-23039827352906486272012-06-04T23:13:00.002-04:002012-06-04T23:13:15.627-04:00Taken by Storm, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17OjgiPbpYiQ2iw0-Y1Wdnn2DCftTYXAP3xHnkxqlQWGyOba2sM2UK4mQ7tXIvPVc-qlJlsi5B-FeUYCd5wjsFLbMx3ZTH-yoL6t-yCa2GMJZt4RT-zJAd2E55q2Elfovgpqdvj6wSpo/s1600/tumblr_m07xbgtTGP1r6dq6d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg17OjgiPbpYiQ2iw0-Y1Wdnn2DCftTYXAP3xHnkxqlQWGyOba2sM2UK4mQ7tXIvPVc-qlJlsi5B-FeUYCd5wjsFLbMx3ZTH-yoL6t-yCa2GMJZt4RT-zJAd2E55q2Elfovgpqdvj6wSpo/s320/tumblr_m07xbgtTGP1r6dq6d.jpg" width="213" /></a><b>A</b> vivid, wrenching, entirely worthy conclusion to an excellent trilogy. </h3>
<br />Take everything we've seen from Ms. Barnes before in this series and mark it up by fifty percent - the violence, the emotional impact, the shocking plot twists - then reduce the size of the book by a fourth, and you'll have this speed-reading terror of a foil-bound trilogy-closer. (I'm going to be speaking about it as though it's the end of the the series; it has a definite ring of finality to it that I hope goes undisturbed, and from what I've heard on the author's site, it will.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If anyone's reading this and doesn't know the first two books... click on the "shapeshifters" tag and find my reviews of them. Here we have Bryn, the human girl raised by a werewolf pack after the murder of her parents... Bryn, who has by this book grown up a good deal and taken her own very unique place in her raw, wild, and dangerous world.<br /><br />I'm saying very little here, to avoid spoilers. Because trust me, for this book, you don't want'm. I was on the metaphorical edge of my seat the whole time. Suffice to say that a long-held question of mine was answered, one of Evan's predictions came true that I didn't believe would, and one of my predictions did as well. Two plot points that we both expected also occurred. Not that I'm saying this book is predictable - I was eeping the whole while. <br /><br />There will almost certainly be a few points at which you will beg, "Don't let it end like this!"<br />Almost certainly a few to the tune of, "Is there honestly a way out of this?"<br />Wordless exclamations are also not inappropriate at many spots.<br /><br />I'm not entirely positive what I think of Callum's prescience as a plot device. It may have annoyed me... I'm honestly not sure whether it did or not. On the other hand, it annoys other characters, too. <br /><br />For those of you who read Hunger Games, you'll probably come to notice that Ms. Barnes has jumped on the "surprise chapter endings" bandwagon. I'm not un-sorry. But I did have to cover a few endings with my hand because my nervous eye has a tendency to jump ahead of my reading.<br /><br />(I just turned on Handel's "Messiah" again. I think I did this writing the review of the first book, too. I detect a trend here?)<br /><br />Age rec: This is going to stop all of nobody, but probably fifteen and up? And up? (chuckles nervously) Just for violence and some slightly disturbing scenes related to same. Unlike the previous two books, I found some parts of this one uncomfortable. Trust me - not because of the romance, so for any of you who worried that the third book would involve flagrant indecency, lay your minds at rest. [I am about to slightly qualify that last statement with a very indefinite and small spoiler that avoids naming names: <span style="color: white;">One of the characters becomes pregnant while unmarried, but the fact alone is established onstage, without any indecent content in sight.<span style="color: black;">]</span></span><br />
<h3>
<b>Bottom line: The promise held out in the first two books is amply fulfilled and then some.</b></h3>Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-91560600848047095892012-03-06T17:39:00.002-05:002012-03-06T17:43:23.313-05:00To whom may be concernedDue to scheduling being <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> full these days, I won't be blogging regularly (if at all) for the next few months. However, I intend to return at least in time for the reviewing of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Storm-Raised-Wolves-Novel/dp/1606843192/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331073748&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">Taken by Storm</span></a> (neep neep! so excited).<br />However, I intend to continue reading, and if anything completely amazing occurs, I shall wave my flags once more.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-41073288886106726952012-02-02T19:21:00.009-05:002012-02-03T20:22:58.147-05:00Two new MG/YA releases I read this week<span>Both of these books are fresh, new, well-written additions to the MG/YA shelves. I highly recommend the two of them.<br /><br />----<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Cinder</span>, by Marissa Meyer<br /><br />I have my friend to thank for lending me this one... the same friend who convinced me to read The Perilous Gard, so you see I owe her a lot.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cinder</span> is ... a sci-fi retelling of Cinderella, set in New Beijing, far into the future. There's a Lunar <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5n7NxcXXq2C86gg9wBw_im4MIePLGkobgqkTe1WjdhyphenhyphenuriI44DJY02xp9NF_kN6kjgQVVUgoTsErafHhw1HgAylaTeGQBcOSKpBU6cI7UNF6LjxC6pVweZzBxSV5-FgJLOCH1KLjXW7Y/s1600/cinder.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5n7NxcXXq2C86gg9wBw_im4MIePLGkobgqkTe1WjdhyphenhyphenuriI44DJY02xp9NF_kN6kjgQVVUgoTsErafHhw1HgAylaTeGQBcOSKpBU6cI7UNF6LjxC6pVweZzBxSV5-FgJLOCH1KLjXW7Y/s200/cinder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705084169200111266" border="0" /></a>colony (with a mind-controlling ruler), a bunch of neat technology, a lightly-written romance, a terrificly sad event that I still am trying to figure out how the plot could have worked without, and a mint of good writing.<br />Plus, the Cinderella character is a cyborg. Yes, I said a cyborg. And the whole thing works, yes, it works! Even though I guessed one of the twists, I didn't care. There were others I didn't. Also, I appreciated the Chinese culture references throughout the book. Though I've nothing against most of the futuristic novels out there, they seem to focus on the United States, and it was refreshing to see a different setting and society. One plot point seemed a little weak to me, but that's the only objection I could think of.<br />There's lots to love in this book.<br />Even though if you carry the book around without the dustjacket, you may get asked about the "Meyer" in metallic red type on the spine... (Had to explain to a pal of mine, no, not THAT Meyer!)<br /><br />Age rec: Really, this could be MG. I can't recall anything that would stop me from giving it to a middle-schooler... no mature content, not even any swearing that I remember. The only problem would be some rather chilling descriptions of the letumosis plague hospital - and, of course, the nasty behavior of a few characters.<br /><br />--------<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Winterling</span>, by Sarah Prineas<br /><br />I got this one for fun from the local library. I'd read enough reviews to believe there was nothing really amazing on the plot front, but I'm glad I picked it up anyway. I was surprised at how much <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8qmAWNs9zYmt1Yj4q5jLHrB12UORMj8Vbfn5KfrXCt6JcpVFI2abGhiUoQMO1N6XHX6c1DRDxzLBocI44sYOb2wUdj4T2h_qGKG-O7QY8gSMDHKUbDSRKkcq8nzeUPSU931ZbHck4iU/s1600/winterling-sm.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8qmAWNs9zYmt1Yj4q5jLHrB12UORMj8Vbfn5KfrXCt6JcpVFI2abGhiUoQMO1N6XHX6c1DRDxzLBocI44sYOb2wUdj4T2h_qGKG-O7QY8gSMDHKUbDSRKkcq8nzeUPSU931ZbHck4iU/s200/winterling-sm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705084642682029922" border="0" /></a>I enjoyed it!<br /><br />It's nothing too amazing on the surface... girl discovers her parents belonged to another world, finds gateway, enters, has adventures... but Sarah Prineas weaves the loveliest story together. The elements may sound cliched - an evil Lady who must be defeated, a land bound in winter, a tricky shapeshifter boy as companion to the heroine - but don't be deceived. <span style="font-style: italic;">Winterling </span>is far more than the sum of its parts.<br /><br />There's the imagery of the "dying crown" of leaves, of Fer's jacket, of the black feathers; the swift poetry of the Hunt's ride through the night; the strict rules of the land involving threes and oaths and bindings; the herbal magic, concrete and yet symbolic at the same time. The writing is simple and flowing.<br />For all that I thought the plot sounded cliched at first - its individual parts were not, though the main concept was... familiar. Yes, that's the word for <span style="font-style: italic;">Winterling:</span> "familiar." But in a good way, like N. D. Wilson's <span style="font-style: italic;">Dandelion Fire</span> felt familiar. Stories like that can be retold because they <span style="font-style: italic;">work.</span><br />And I haven't even gotten into all the neat stuff that makes this book special - the landscape descriptions, the moon reflection in the water, the subtle humor spread throughout - and the wolf guards! Those wolf guards! ...Words fail me.<br /><br />Age rec: I would say MG and up. Nothing I can recall that would give any trouble.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-54276106867172486172012-01-27T21:05:00.006-05:002012-01-28T23:44:47.209-05:00"Unspoiled" - My addition to the Queen's Thief week!<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="chachic.wordpress.com">Chachic</a> had the wonderful idea of making a Queen's Thief week - and lots of other bloggers jumped in to help! I fear I'm not deserving of their far more experienced company, but here is my attempt to add to the discussion. </span><br /><br />If you have not read through book 2 (The Queen of Attolia) DO NOT PROCEED... Part of this post is ABOUT how I proceeded years ago and got a spoiler!<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><br />Some Thoughts about Suffering, Spoilers, Gen, and Attolia</span><br /><br /><br />I was such a bad reader about those books, at first.<br /> I didn't like the brief description of The Thief in my library's brochure, so I made up my mind I wasn't going to read the books. In which case, I thought, what matter a few spoilers?<br /> Now, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The choicest secrets - Gen's identity, Gen's tricks, Gen's eventual romance - all remained unrevealed, by some miracle. But one thing I <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> manage to learn: that the main character gets his hand cut off in the beginning of book 2. I didn't know this fellow at all then, so I wasn't much in the way of caring at the time. I did think, "What, [checks mentally] this is a kids' book, right?"<br /> In the end - I can't remember exactly what put me over the edge - I read The Thief, quickly following with The Queen of Attolia. I was expecting that particular scene when it came; I had steeled myself for it. My original reaction, then, was much less dramatic than those of other Gen-fans. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have read it with no prior warning.<br /> And then I found out, sort of...<br /> I'd lent The Thief to some of my kid friends and, after their enthusiastic response, I dropped by one afternoon with book 2. Idly, I began to read aloud the first paragraphs. (Lots of stuff about the interior architecture of megarons - fascinating, wasn't it?) The kids thought I'd hit on something fun. We settled down to read.<br /> Well, it was ... something else again.<br /> No, actually the kids seemed remarkably unperturbed by it. <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> was the one who suddenly noticed how terrifically awful those first four-odd chapters were. I mean - Gen! and Attolia... When I'd read it on my own, I'd known what was coming, and though I was affected, I don't think I really comprehended it all 'round. But when I really got a look at it, I wanted to cry. Because there is real suffering in those chapters, for pretty much everyone - physical suffering, mental suffering, guilt, worry, fear. In another story there might have been an easy way out, but not here. Here decisions are made, nasty things happen, and Gen pays the price for being the daring thief. And oh, what a price.<br /> For the first time, I understood entirely why Eddis declared war.<br /><br /> ---<br /><br /> But it still didn't shake my firm conviction that Eugenides and Irene belong together. What happens in the dark dungeons of Attolia's castle is a deed ordered by a political personage - the Queen of Attolia. But Gen, in what I can only say is a staggering feat of empathy, recognizes the woman beneath the disguise built of necessity. He is able to separate the politics from the person. And Gen has always worked more with people than with politics.<br /> So I, like Gen, must have somehow seen beyond the mask myself. For I have read the first four chapters of book 2 aloud, my throat tight with sympathy, and cheered as Eddis confiscated the caravans' goods and went to war to avenge her Thief's injury - but as I open the cover of each book, and softly set them closed at last, I wish the Queen of Attolia may find joy.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-27858522586900692682012-01-23T19:05:00.004-05:002012-01-23T19:16:37.058-05:00Michael L. Printz Awards<a href="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/2012/stiefvater_web.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 429px;" src="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/sites/ala.org.yalsa/files/content/booklistsawards/bookawards/printzaward/2012/stiefvater_web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The <a href="http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz">Michael L. Printz Award site</a> informs me (thanks, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com">Charlotte</a>, for the links to the lists!) that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Scorpio Races </span>has won a Printz Honor!<br /><br />Congradulations, Maggie Stiefvater, on a good book that's gaining its laurels already.<br /><br />(Also there is <span style="font-style: italic;">The Returning</span> on the list, which blog readers know did not go across well with me. But I am not going to say anything against the Printz commitee tonight!)Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-39728481168277149432012-01-03T21:42:00.008-05:002012-01-03T22:20:20.704-05:00Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini - shared review since we both read it<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/images/data/ARTICLE_PHOTO/photo/000/004/4348-1.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 298px;" src="http://www.publishersweekly.com/images/data/ARTICLE_PHOTO/photo/000/004/4348-1.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><b>Evan:</b><br />Despite our </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);" href="http://justbookingaround.blogspot.com/2011/08/still-waiting-after-wednesday.html">previous</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);" href="http://justbookingaround.blogspot.com/2011/06/waiting-on-wednesday-inheritance-by.html">posts</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">, we weren't quite impatient enough to spring for buying this book ourselves. So - the library having a mile-long hold list - we had to wait until we could borrow a copy from some friends of ours who had.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rina:<br /></span>To any of you who will be reading this review, you already know the plot of the Eragon novels. To those who haven't read the previous 3.... why read the review of book 4? So... I can skip a plot outline... which I really don't like to write, so all's well.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">We'll try not to spoiler anything important (white text on white is good!) but if you really want to go into the last installment of the series with no prior knowledge, we'll be discussing it in enough depth that you might want to leave now...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><b>Evan:</b><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Inheritance</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"> definitely rises above its predecessors to bring the tetralogy to a more-than-fitting conclusion. Paolini had already shown us about as violent villains as he could in Durza, Morzan, and other imperial commanders - how could he beat that when finally showing us the ultimate villain, Galbatorix? But with the insight of a good author, he switched the playing field! The evil emperor doesn't fight but speaks - in arguments that sound sensible and even true - making me wonder for a minute whether even the author was on his side! But then I saw the subtle flaw, and I marveled at Paolini's newfound skill. <i>(Galbatorix describes for us <span style="color:white;">a real problem</span>, but he doesn't mention that <span style="color:white;">he hasn't even begun to fix it. And even if he does unify all mages under him, how can we trust him? Can even magic oaths bind him who knows the Name of the Language?</span>)</i> When Eragon finally confronts Galbatorix, he doesn't win a cheap triumph with an obvious move like too many other protagonists. Rather, the evil mastermind shows us (not tells us!) that he can and has defeated myriads of other would-be heroes - and Eragon finally takes him down in a completely unexpected way that left me cheering and marveling.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">The author's narrative and description skills have grown like a hungry dragon, too. Clunky prose and <a href="http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7Ehyper/hns/indians/offense.html">second-cousin-to-the-right-word</a>'s are definitely still in abundance, but there are real gems in there - like when the curtains behind Galbatorix's throne draw themselves back, with four truly excellent paragraphs, to reveal themselves as the black wings of Shruikan. Or, when Eragon and Saphira are thrown up by a huge storm and skim the tips of the atmosphere... A couple pages into the book, I decided to skim most of the words lest I cringe at every awry metaphor or abuse of syntax. But I just couldn't hold myself to that. I needed to slow down and admire the jewels - if not as big as those on the belt of Beloth, at least as shimmery as Saphira's scales.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Rina:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(Now that you mention it, we never <span style="font-style: italic;">did </span>find that belt. What'd they do with it, anyhow?)</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />My main problem with Inheritance was that I felt the greatest parts of the story were weighed down by a lot of... not so great parts. There were moments that made me gasp with excitement (though not many), moments that made me go, <span style="font-style: italic;">"oh, awwwww" </span>in a very happy and satisfied way, moments that kept me glued to the page, and moments that bored me. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />I'm afraid Paolini has just tried to follow too many threads, and he's not got the greatest idea of what belongs in his story and what doesn't. Three chapters describe one battle from Roran's perspective - the attack of a city we've never seen before and never see again - but we still have a number of unresolved plot points that taggle off into nothing, which seems to me just a shame. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><b>Evan:</b><br /><a href="http://thespottedmushroom.com/2011/11/23/inheritance-book-review/">One reviewer</a> didn't read any chapters narrated by Roran, and he said he didn't feel he was missing anything. I wouldn't go that far. Roran's character development is somewhat satisfying in itself, his mature observations on the nature of magic give needed perspective to that issue, and his narrative during the battle at Urû'baen gives us a sense of vastness that Eragon's narrative is missing. (Plus, his comment once that he knows he doesn't have skill but just luck <i>[i.e. authorial intervention]</i> is unintentionally hilarious.) Still - and in retrospect, this problem's been plaguing Roran's narrative ever since the first cut back to him at Carvahall - Paolini doesn't successfully draw him into the main plot thread. If all Carvahall had died, would that have made the least difference to Eragon's efforts? Well, they did rescue <span style="color:white;">Jeod</span>, who pulled a valuable detail out of a book... but other than that, not much. Similarly, all Roran's valiant and intrepid battle leadership doesn't seem to affect what Eragon is doing. Paolini could probably point us to several conversations where characters try to point out how it's vital - and yes, after a lot of reflection, I see it is. But a better author (such as I'm confident Paolini will become) would show his readers that rather than just stating it, so they'll see it without having to spend a while mulling it over.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">And this's just one example of a myriad details - such as those sprawling across the hundred post-climactic pages - that, however interesting or even good in its own right, haven't been drawn into the central thread of this book. Oh, yes, <span style="color:white;">Brigid</span> bears a grudge against Roran from Book II. If brought up in some battle, this could've been great suspense! But she and the author left it hanging till after the climax, when it's little more than academically interesting. There's more than enough material in here for a good book, a much better book. Paolini's learned between his first book and now to put that in. I'll be watching his future books for him to learn to draw that together.</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rina:</span><br />Also, it's just clumsily written. I'm sorry, but it is. Paolini is fond of metaphors to the point of distracting the reader, and his prose is quite uninspired for the most part. His characters have improved over the books, and his dialogue shows flashes of goodness, but I couldn't help feeling that the author was banging on the wrong notes most of the time when it came to word and sentence and phrase. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />I feel a little sorry for this book - and the author. There, I've said it. Perhaps no one believes me, but I wish Paolini and an editor had really sat down and took another big-picture look before publication. There was so much that could have been fixed and made better, so much that was snarled up with unnecessary flyaway strands, so much potential.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I hope Christopher Paolini writes more. A lot more. I think he's called his life-work right: to be a writer. I'm hoping he's not going to be hindered or held back by the success that came early, for like his characters, he's got what he needs and only lacks training and time. I hope and believe there will be a day when the Inheritance tetralogy is just his "early works" and he's gone beyond anything he's written yet. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Age rec - Phew. Tough one here. Paolini has a fascination with battle scenes that I don't share in the least, and they can get a little detailed - though I wasn't disgusted or disturbed (except by the fact that I was bored in the middle of a battle, which seems wrong). </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />There's all the torture scenes involving Nasuada - again, handled lightly and well for the most part. However, though Evan may shrug, there's a very nasty and definitely unfortunate chapter later in the same plot thread, and I do not recommend it for anyone young or faint-hearted. I skimmed (Evan and I were reading together) and mentally went, "Hey, not bothering here. Tell me when it's over." It involves the bad guys using maggot-like flesh-eating bugs for torture ... oh, well. (I'm really a bit mad at the author for including them - I had an idea of how their appearance could be justified, but he didn't take it up.) </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />The romance is written with a refreshingly light and sensible hand. The only potentially objectionable business... well, Saphira, I'm staring at you here, but the last thing I'm going to do is start talking about morality in dragon relationships... <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">(<b>Evan:</b> Thanks for flying offstage right before starting, though...) </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />So. If you've read the other books, you can read this one pretty much all right too. With warnings for violence and burrowing grubs. Ick. Botheration.<br /><br /><br />-------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The good, good stuff I loved - better not read if you don't want <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS:</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />Nasuada and Murtagh, beautiful stuff, understated and... "sweet" seems an insult and a cheapening - I'll call it "good." I tapped the page at one of those chapters and said, "This is the difference between a guy author and a girl author. It's sad when the guy author understands girls better than the girl authors do." Because Nasuada isn't falling all over Murtagh - of course she's not. She's a leader, a commander. It would be wrong for her character. But it's not wrong to put that line in when Murtagh just looks away and says "You know why." And I confess I went mushy and stopped hating Murtagh then. Maybe I'm not noble-army-commander material though...</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><br /><br /><b>Evan:</b><br />Of course she doesn't... she's in the middle of fighting against someone he's still sworn to. Letting herself fall for him would be totally contrary to everything she's done before. And Murtagh realizes something of the same thing when he cries to Eragon, "Just one more day and I'd have saved her!" Which Eragon doesn't even believe. Why should he? Maybe Murtagh would've, but we don't know, and I don't think even he should be so sure.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rina:<br /></span>Doru Araeba... so easily he could have made it a peaceful little haven of lost memories and old sorrow, or heaped on all the metaphors he loves and tried to make us cry about the Riders' deaths. But he very nicely evoked a subtle wrongness about the whole place, a nastiness that made me understand why no one liked to hang around there! I liked the "shadows sitting on a branch" line especially.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);"><br /><br /><b>Evan:</b><br />And he did it in just the right manner. If he waxed lyrical about mysterious powerful magics, readers would - at least, I'd - just shrug and not really know what to think. But at this single moment (and one other), he invoked something else: science. We all know how terrible a nuclear blast is. And his characters stay perfectly in character and in period when talking about it. Beautiful. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rina:</span><br />...Evan already waxed poetical about the climax, so I'll leave that to him...</span><br /><br />And even the sentence when Arya's talking about how Firnen hatched for her. Though I didn't approve entirely of her getting that dragon, I did like that part of her story...</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">"It was nearly evening, and I was carrying his egg in my lap...speaking to him, telling him of the world and reassuring him that he was safe..."</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">It reminds me so much of how I talk to rescued puppies. That's a scene I wouldn't have minded actually seeing... </span>Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-36408606840948951682011-12-13T22:00:00.002-05:002011-12-13T22:39:00.255-05:00Green Angel by Alice Hoffman<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/148030000/148030544.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 306px;" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/images/148030000/148030544.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />How I got it: I remembered a review of this book and saw it at the library, whereupon the rest worked out pretty well.<br /><br />Book in a nutshell:<br /><br />Green, a fifteen-year-old girl, stays behind angry while her family goes to market in the nearby city. But a huge explosion destroys the city and devestates the countryside, killing her family and changing her life forever. She descends into darkness and despair... until reasons for hope begin to appear.<br /><br />---<br /><br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">think</span> the book is supposed to be set in the future. Even though it feels like a fairy tale, it involves all sorts of modern things. One of the reviewers calls it something like "a post-apocolyptic fairy tale," which seems to be a pretty close description. From the back cover, this slim novella seems to be a total wash of depression. But due to its brevity and its capable writing, I don't mind... and it doesn't stay that way.<br />It is really more of a fairy tale than a serious story for long-term staring-at. It's beautiful and well-done, portraying a shy and lonely girl recovering from tragedy.<br /><br />Age rec: I'd say 12 and up - content-wise, there's nothing that I can remember, but its dark tone throughout much of the story would probably be off-putting to many younger readers. Other characters are mentioned as drinking alchoholic drinks, and the main character tattoos herself. But as the bottom line, I just don't think young kids would be interested.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-30296287750563356962011-11-13T14:57:00.007-05:002011-11-13T22:46:45.568-05:00Matched, by Ally Condie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.allysoncondie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/60457107.JPG1.jpeg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 258px;" src="http://www.allysoncondie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/60457107.JPG1.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />How I found this book: Picked it up because I'd also just picked up <span style="font-style: italic;">Divergent</span> by Veronica Roth, both of which being rec's from a friend of mine.<br /><br />(Picture found on the author's website.)<br /><br />I'm going to leave off the proper plot summary because it's really not the best part of the book - in fact, it could turn off some people who are tired of love triangles, enough so that they miss a really fine novel.<br /><br />You may have heard that this book is a "rip-off of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Giver</span>." I did certainly notice some similarities... For people who've read <span style="font-style: italic;">The Giver</span> as their "first dystopia" just like I did, it's a little familiar. But then it's also very different. It's a teen vision, a girl's vision.<br /><br />The world of Cassia's Society <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> almost a utopia - until one thinks about it. It's peaceful, beautiful, safe. No one has to worry about choices - or choosing wrong. Nearly all disease is gone, nearly all accidents. The food is perfectly portioned, the schedule of each person detailed, by the Officials. There's no obvious show of force or coercion. Even death is made a quiet, formal thing, when each citizen dies peacefully at precisely 80 years of age. 100 poems, 100 songs, 100 works of art are there - selected by the creators of the Society. There's no fear and no change.<br /><br />Cassia's personal view of her quiet, pretty world changes twice in quick succession. First, when her "Match" - the person she's later going to be married to - turns out to be her friend Xander... but then a picture of another boy appears briefly inside the "match" information package. An Official assures her that this is merely a mistake, and that the boy whose picture she briefly saw is not even allowed to be Matched, as he is an Aberration. But he's also a boy who she's met before. Second, her grandfather turns 80 and dies painlessly as is usual in the Society - but he shows her a gift that ought not to even exist... a piece of paper with two poems that were <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> within the 100.<br /><br />It's more than a "love triangle" when Cassia finds herself liking Ky - the Aberration - as well as Xander. It's a choice she's wavering in - between the simple childhood friend, the one she views as the Society's choice for her, and the odd boy who teaches her how to write her name and shows her the poems that he makes up. And she has allies in this "rebellion" that she chooses to make - the memory of her grandfather, and one of the poems that he gave her: Dylan Thomas's <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175907">Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.</a><br /><br />(I used to not like that poem, but now I do a good deal more. Perhaps whenever I read it, I will have a little mental picture of a girl in a green dress, holding a glint of gold in her hand.)<br /><br />Cassia's not a brave revolutionary. She burns poems out of fear - but she loves the words that she feels driven to destroy. But she knows in the end what choices to make - and she <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> brave - tremendously brave.<br /><br />I like that this book honors the connection between individuals. Cassia confides in her family members, and they in her. She loved her grandfather and honors his memory. She speaks the truth to Xander about her feelings for Ky, saying before she does - "I could love him. I <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> love him. And because I do, I have to tell him about Ky. I do not mind stealing from the Society. But I will not steal from Xander any longer. Even if it hurts, I have to tell him. Because either way, <span style="font-weight: bold;">whichever life I build, has to be built on truth."</span><br /><br />I had to include that last quote. It's one of the best lines I've read for a long time in a YA book. And, in a way, it captures what I see as the essential inside message of <span style="font-style: italic;">Matched</span> - that life has to be built on truth, not just <span style="font-style: italic;">fact</span> but <span style="font-style: italic;">truth.<br /><br />---<br /><br /></span>It would be a quick step from there to speaking of the Truth Himself - a step that the Ms. Condie, however, doesn't choose to take. But for a modern YA dystopia novel - this one is on par with The Hunger Games as the most relevant, truth-filled one I've read yet.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span>In my opinion, the most chilling scene of the whole book is near the beginning. Cassia's father works on collecting artifacts for the Officials to review. Cassia goes to his worksite at one point. They're excavating an old library. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span>"The workers...suck up piles of papers with the incineration tubes. My father told us that right when they thought they had gone through everything, they found steel boxes of books buried down in the basement. Almost as though someone tried to hide and preserve the books against the future. My father and the other Restoration specialists have been through the boxes...they will incinerate all of it."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"...There are few piles of books left...the workers move from one to another... It's faster to incinerate individual pages instead of books, so they slice the books open, gutting them along the spines, preparing them for the tubes."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"...The books' backs are broken; their bones, thin and delicate, fall out. The workers shove them toward the incineration tube; they step on them. The bones crackle under their boots like leaves..."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />Shudder.<br /><br />Ms. Condie is an English teacher, according to her bio. I know that to her as well as to me, this is a terrible image.<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span>---<br /><br /></span>Age rec - This could almost be upper MG and up. There's no swearing, nothing more than kissing in the romance. But, as in all dystopia novels, the premise is a good bit disturbing.<br />For ages 14 and up - go for it!<br />Especially rec'd for those who aren't quite up for the violence and emotion of The Hunger Games but want to read a wisely-handled novel of this sort. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-59328760599511568452011-11-05T14:55:00.001-04:002011-11-05T14:57:03.482-04:00Hoping to...... re-read <span style="font-style: italic;">Hexwood</span> and review it - if possible<br />... get more books from the library<br />... review <span style="font-style: italic;">Dolphin Island </span>tonight.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-51579008221702253732011-10-23T15:38:00.005-04:002011-11-01T11:49:41.253-04:00The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1305377249l/10626594.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 317px;" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1305377249l/10626594.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />How I found this book:<br />I detested the beginning of <span style="font-style: italic;">Shiver</span> but remembered the odd name of the author; when I saw this book on the New Teen Books display at the library, I scanned it (must have been only the back cover excerpt?) and brought it home in one of the most trusting book-obtaining sprees I have ever gone on. I don't know what got into me, really. But this time it <span style="font-style: italic;">worked</span>...<br /><br />To be open and up-front with you, readers, I am 100% wowed with this book. I am buying myself a copy. I may also get horseback riding lessons. Who knows?<br /><br />And I <span style="font-style: italic;">love</span> the cover, too.<br /><br />Book in a nutshell:<br /><br />The island of Thisby (apparently supposed to be somewhere off the English or Irish coast) has one unique thing, one terrible and beautiful thing that sets it apart. It has the <span style="font-style: italic;">capaill uisce</span>, the water horses, that come out of the sea in late autumn - the horses who eat meat, who kill humans, and who run like the wind.<br />The Scorpio Races is a yearly event on the first of November. In the month before, as the <span style="font-style: italic;">capaill uisce</span> come up, people begin to train and ready for it. But this isn't a horse race. This is a water horse race, along the beach, fighting to control your magical mount and not be attacked by anybody else's on the way.<br />This is the story of two competitors: Puck Conolly, a stubborn girl hoping to win the race so as to earn money to save her family's home, and Sean Kendrick, a young man who rides a <span style="font-style: italic;">capaill uisce</span> that belongs to him in all but lawful contract. The stakes are high, and the training season is beginning.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Scorpio Races</span> is a heartwrenching, beautiful, fast-paced book with just the right amount of everything. It's for horse-lovers and fantasy-lovers and action-lovers - if you're looking for just a romance, there's one here, too, though it's pretty subtle compared to many out there.<br /><br />This is a very well-written book. Ms. Stiefvater doesn't waste words, but she scatters them well; the Festival scenes were especially well-done. Though the dual-narrators thing occasionally left me confused as to who the "I" was at a given point, I didn't count points off. It was a good way of telling the story - in fact, the best that I could think of.<br /><br />The <span style="font-style: italic;">capaill uisce </span>(Author's Note assures us it's pronounced CAPple ISHka) especially resonated with me, as I have a peculiar mix of love/fear feelings toward horses. I never had too much experience with them, and I doubt I'll ever lose my slight wariness when around them. Even though these are fantasy horses, I felt that I could transfer some of the characters' feelings to apply to real-life horses: respect, admiration, excitement, sometimes love, occasionally a degree of trust, an understanding of the power of the animal and the potential harm they can inflict. <span style="font-size:78%;">(If you are a horse lover, please understand I do not mean to insult domestic horses. I've met many lovely horses in my life and know that most of them are perfectly friendly. But I respect them, their size, and their occasional unpredictable behavior.)<br /></span><br />It's a story about losing things, or being on the brink of losing them, or considering whether you have them at all. Puck's brother Gabe wants to leave his orphaned brother and sister and go to the mainland. Sean wants his own life, outside of the stable where he's been working for nine years, and most especially wants to own his <span style="font-style: italic;">capaill uisce</span> Corr for himself. Puck wants to keep her life together and not lose the house - or her brother Gabe. Odious Mutt Malvern wants something... the lovable Dory Maud and her sisters want something... Some wishes are possible, some seem impossible. Some are granted, some not.<br /><br />Another interesting theme is Puck herself. She's not only the first girl to run in the Scorpio Races, but also... an atypical entrant in other ways (avoiding spoilers here). She undergoes all kinds of attempts to get her to withdraw her entry, attempts made by people with reasons ranging from tradition to sheer meanness. And when she's asked at one point whether she was "inspired by the women's suffrage movement," she answers, "I'm just a person with a horse, same as anyone else on this island." True. I don't see Puck as a feminist. She's not trying to be revolutionary; she's just being herself.<br /><br />I also noticed a strong thread about home and belonging. Sean dreams of having his own farm. Puck wants to keep living in the house with her brothers. They belong on Thisby - they belong <span style="font-style: italic;">to</span> Thisby. But others - such as Gabe and his friends - speak of not being able to stand the island, of wanting to leave. And then there are the tourists, including George Holly, who love Thisby but only for as long as the exciting races are going on.<br /><br />I could hardly put this book down. Nearly every suspicion and guess I had about plot outcomes was disproven. Ms. Stiefvater made a bright, dangerous, <span style="font-style: italic;">living</span> little world that I'm sorry to leave, even though I half-imagine it's going on still while I have my back turned! My heart went out to many of the characters. For a moment I even felt sorry for Mutt. But this is a book of hope, as well as loss, and the last page brought tears (of joy) to my eyes. (Yes. Rina, who didn't cry during any of the Hunger Games books, cried at the ending of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Scorpio Races</span>. Finish it, and you'll see why to.)<br /><br />Age rec: I'd say 13, 14 and up. There are some references to things, but nothing I considered terribly embarrassing - a little swearing, too - and the romance is surprisingly light (esp. considering what I've heard of the author's previous work). The worst that can be expected are the rude insults and ragging that Puck receives as persecution from hostile islanders. I can definitely recommend this book for boys and for girls, for teens and for grownups.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-52448525863228109052011-10-16T15:10:00.004-04:002011-10-16T16:40:18.551-04:00Wildwood by Colin Meloy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfo8CCbansdjHtlfo2QQfdt3_fl3QNgGy_AWW3FeCa9MCMxdXgUrGbj-wfYz48clTa8bUI_z8X528S4k3MiMITKsfv2pS8c6kazz7_zSxzBNNqCcdK9_0-p_cznN8MA11R-38W5UE-vhs/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfo8CCbansdjHtlfo2QQfdt3_fl3QNgGy_AWW3FeCa9MCMxdXgUrGbj-wfYz48clTa8bUI_z8X528S4k3MiMITKsfv2pS8c6kazz7_zSxzBNNqCcdK9_0-p_cznN8MA11R-38W5UE-vhs/s200/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664192305450606386" border="0" /></a><br />How I found this book: Well, seeing the title of this post, you will probably go, <span style="font-style: italic;">Oh no, not another Wildwood review!</span> That's the answer. A lot of people reviewed it. They said enough things about it that I wanted to read it.<br />I also got stuck with it for a while because my library temporarily closed shortly after I took it out.<br /><br />(Picture of cover from the author's website)<br /><br />Book in a nutshell (hard to do, since it's about an inch and a half thick):<br />Prue McKeel's an average Portland, Oregon, girl. She's good in school, loves her family, and stays away from the Impassible Wilderness - that great empty blot on all the maps of Portland, the forest that few ever enter. Then one fateful day, her little brother Mac is abducted in the park by a flock of crows (a murder of crows, as the book mildly calls it, using what I believe is the proper term for such a congregation). At the edge of a cliff and panting from a bike chase, Prue sees the black shapes disappearing down into the far-off pines of the Impassible Wilderness.<br />The next day, she sets off, with her suspicious classmate Curtis in pursuit... after all, if you were a rather geeky young boy (to borrow the colloquialism) with an interest in books, and you saw an acquaintance of yours disappearing off to potential adventure, wouldn't you pursue too?<br />Inside, the Impassible Wilderness turns out to be a divided land inhabited by talking animals and odd people. And it's a land of danger and misfortune, of instability, that the two children find themselves in. The coyote soldiers of the Dowager Governess are ruthless, but are the bureaucrats of the South Wood even worse? And while Prue's definitely out of patience with the latter, what's going to happen now that Curtis is allying with the former?<br />Not to mention, how is Prue ever going to find Mac?<br /><br />----<br /><br />I <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> like this book. I keep thinking that it's like Narnia... but it isn't... why do I say it is? Because of the children, I suppose, and the talking animals, and the comparison someone made between the Dowager Governess and the White Witch.<br /><br />(For what it's worth, I agree with the comparison. Not to mention, in many ways Curtis seemed to be running a parallel of Edmund. Who would that make Prue? More like Peter than any other, really.<br />Seriously, though, there are too many parts of this story that have no Narnian counterpart for me to really present a comparison on a large scale. The bandits, for example!)<br /><br />The scenery is beautifully described; this book is a subtle paen to a beloved Northwest Coast landscape... which I have visited before and love as well.<br />There's a very rich cast of characters, as might be expected.The Bandit King is part Aragorn and part.... I don't know, maybe part cowboy? He - and his band - are quite human, believable, flawed, and yet fun. South Wood's bureaucracy is portrayed dryly in all their chilling, impersonal straitness. Owl Rex and his eagle General are heroic figures, Enver the sparrow a nervous patriot. In fact, every character, even the bit parts like housemaids and bandits in prison, is lovingly crafted and handsomely portrayed.<br />The characters, in my opinion, are the crowning glory of this book, and make a far-fetched story feel as real as next door.<br /><br />Both Prue and Curtis show realistic, well-written character development throughout the book, unlike many MG heroes and heroines these days. I find myself falling back onto the Narnia analogies: Prue becomes a leader like Peter, if not a warrior, and Curtis comes to an understanding, like Edmund, of what's really up. I love them both, really. I'd be proud to be friends with either of them.<br /><br />Oh, there are oodles of things I love about <span style="font-style: italic;">Wildwood</span>! But...<br /><br />My main problem began around page 328. It would be a major spoiler to say exactly what it was, but... I was very displeased with the sudden influx of Magic into the story, especially in the way that it happened.<br />Highlight below for a spoiler that explains why I was displeased:<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It is revealed that the Dowager Governess made a deal with Prue's then-childless parents: she would cause them to have a baby (exact words: "I'll make you with child") if they promised to give their second child (if there ever was one) to her. A sort of Rumplestiltskin bargain, except worse. </span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Admittedly, since it was "a few weeks later" that a doctor stated Prue's mother was pregnant, one could take the notion that the "Wood Magic" merely removed whatever was keeping her from being pregnant - but really. </span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Moreover, IF a character learned that she'd basically been concieved by the magic of a nasty villain, I think she WOULD be somewhat more shaken about it. So it's a plot problem as well as a very weird and unpleasant idea.</span><br />And again, when we meet the Mystics at the Council tree, suddenly everything takes a flip into Eastern-religion-style meditation and "Wood Magic." The Mystics take a major role in many things from there on out, and the trees and bushes begin to be partly sentient when meditated with, and... Wood Magic becomes a sort of <span style="font-style: italic;">deus ex machina.</span><br />I was disappointed. We had such a great set-up (what with the Bandit King and his lot, and the birds, and the talking animals and the bureaucrats and everything!) and now, suddenly, a needless Magic shows up - and of a sort that I found completely unsuited to a Portland, OR, setting and barely foreshadowed.<br />Wood Magic becomes a sort of <span style="font-style: italic;">deus ex machina, </span>especially taking a role in the climax when (spoiler) <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Prue harnesses her powers and convinces tree branches to save her brother from the Dowager Governess's deadly plans.</span><br /><br />Final thoughts:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Wildwood</span> is a modern, MG epic that, unfortunately, seems to fall short in some plot features. If the magic had simply been left out and a few elements re-worked to compensate, I would have considered it stellar. I'm longing to talk about all the things I love about it, but at the core it was a bit of a disappointment. I'm sorry. I want to like it more. It's good now, but it could have been <span style="font-style: italic;">great</span>.<br />If it had fallen short in more ways, I wouldn't have felt so bad about where it did. The trouble is, until around the 300-page mark, I was set up for an American Narnia! Then, instead of Aslan, we end up with meditation and one-with-the-earthness. Frankly, I would have preferred a lack of any spiritual elements at all. I wasn't expecting any, but then they showed up.<br /><br />But if you're reading this review and scratching your head saying, "What's she griping about? Sounds great to me" then by all means go read <span style="font-style: italic;">Wildwood</span>. You will love it.<br /><br />Age rec: Well, I guess MG. 10 and up. And up, and up! But with a warning regarding all of the above. The battle scenes are not bloody, and there's no bad swearing that I recall, and definitely nothing of the adult-content variety. Really, except for the odd Wood Magic... but I've been over that already.<br /><br />N. B. - the Impassible Wilderness seems to be based off a real park in Portland: Forest Park. Take a look on Mapquest - the thing's huge!Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-49404758738705152832011-10-02T14:48:00.000-04:002011-10-02T15:09:54.227-04:00UpcomersDancing around an Upcoming Books post on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com">Charlotte's Library</a>, I discovered a few that I'm interested in.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qOMNGkzIL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 209px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qOMNGkzIL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I really haven't got a great fancy for Reeve novels, but I may end up reading this one, if it receives good reviews. Fever is my favorite of his characters. I wonder if Kit's children are in this book too?<br /><br />Frankly, anything about poor Kit Solent is a very poignant pleasure - you see, I have read the Mortal Engines series since <span style="font-style: italic;">Fever Crumb</span>, and.... anyone who has read those knows what I mean. (Insert mournful noise here).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This one deserves its biggest picture.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HOV5U8RvL._SL500_AA300_.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 445px; height: 445px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HOV5U8RvL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I'm not much of a Rick Riordan fan. I read <span style="font-style: italic;">Percy Jackson</span> books 1 - and 5. Nothing inbetween, except for a chapter or so at the beginning of book 2. Book 1 did not interest me. But then, probably I'm not expected to appreciate a tale issued for middle school boys.<br />Book 5 <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(The Last Olympian</span></span></span>) impressed me a good deal. "The years," I said, "have added age and perhaps even wisdom to these characters!" Yes, but the years had also added power and depth to Rick Riordan's writing. Not so much that I will play catch-up with the other books in the series, but enough that I had a <span style="font-style: italic;">very good time</span> reading <span style="font-style: italic;">The Last Olympian</span>.<br /><br />A younger friend of mine - the same one who lent me the first and fifth Percy Jackson books - proceeds to incite me to read the new serieses. I've been dubious.<br /><br />However, this cover deserves to be printed and framed.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-21011312467419978022011-09-21T14:46:00.000-04:002011-09-21T14:53:43.400-04:00Waiting on Wednesday: Liar's Moon, by Elizabeth C. Bunce<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.elizabethcbunce.com/images/Liars-Moon-Large.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 343px;" src="http://www.elizabethcbunce.com/images/Liars-Moon-Large.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I read <span style="font-style: italic;">Starcrossed</span> with initial reluctance. The protagonist seemed disappointingly selfish and shallow at first, but as the plot thickened, she grew ever more lovable and understandable. By the end, I thought the whole book was great, the protagonist a friend of mine, and Elizabeth C. Bunce a master of the art.<br /><br />Needless to say, I want the sequel.<br /><br />Amazon.com blurb:<br /><br />---------------------<br />Prisons, poisons, and passions combine in a gorgeously written fantasy noir by the author of the Morris Award-winning A CURSE DARK AS GOLD.<p>As a pickpocket, Digger expects to spend a night in jail every now and then. But she doesn't expect to find Lord Durrel Decath there as well--or to hear he's soon to be executed for killing his wife. </p><p> Durrel once saved Digger's life, and when she goes free, she decides to use her skills as a thief, forger, and spy to investigate his case and return the favor. But each new clue only opens up more mysteries. While Durrel's marriage was one of convenience, his behavior has been more impulsive than innocent. His late wife had an illegal business on the wrong side of the civil war raging just outside the city gates. Digger keeps finding forbidden magic in places it has no reason to be. </p><p> And it doesn't help that she may be falling in love with a murderer . . .</p><p><br /></p><p>-----------------</p><p>Since I can't remember most of the names from <span style="font-style: italic;">Starcrossed</span>, I think I need to re-read it. But that will be a welcome pleasure in and of itself. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></p><p><span style="font-style: italic;">Liar's Moon</span> (can I say I LOVE the title, esp. considering some points from book 1) comes out on November 1st.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/breakingthespine.blogspot.com">Breaking the Spine.</a><br /></p>Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-74745763775317636912011-09-13T14:36:00.000-04:002011-09-13T23:28:10.846-04:00Two very beautiful MG novelsA double post today! Both of these came from my library, when I was browsing the younger section for something pleasant.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dancing Through the Snow</span>, by Jean Little<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JTNQc1iFL._SL500_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 218px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JTNQc1iFL._SL500_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the story of Min: early memories of a callous, abusive pair who weren't her parents, abandoned in a public place, in and out of foster homes for years. Now, a little while before Christmas, she's been returned to the social services office again after another placement that didn't work out. But a new chance comes, in the form of Jess Hart, a doctor who helped her when she was younger. Jess, with a characteristic disregard of red tape, sweeps Min away to her own home. And this begins a new life for Min - full of unexpected complications, like an abandoned dog, a puppy-mill investigation, and an irritating boy named Toby, as well as with surprising joys.<br /><br />At its heart this is a simple, gentle book about a girl finding her place in the world. Each of the characters is lifelike, from caring Jess Hart to even the difficult Toby. There's no earth-shaking conflict or excitement in this book, but there's all sorts of beauty, and the small decisions of right and wrong, good and bad. I felt that this book could really have happened - and stories like it probably have, before.<br /><br />Age rec: anyone. The more unpleasant aspects - Min's difficult early life, the puppy mill - are, if not ignored, "lightened" for younger readers. And I myself was moved almost to tears at several points, including the ending.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Weasel</span>, by Cynthia Defelice<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cynthiadefelice.com/wp-content/uploads/weasel.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 157px; height: 233px;" src="http://cynthiadefelice.com/wp-content/uploads/weasel.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />A continent and many years away from the Jean Little book, 180 degrees different in every way almost, <span style="font-style: italic;">Weasel </span>is about a boy named Nathan and the hard history he comes up against. Set in the American woods soon after Daniel Boone's time, this story tells about Nathan's meeting with Ezra, a man who's lost everything, and Weasel, the man who has taken it from him for no reason but cruelty. Nathan encounters Weasel himself and is forced to examine his own notions of justice....<br /><br />... And so is the reader.<br />There were several times in this book where I myself was wondering, what would I do if I were in Nathan's place? It's hard to say, and I'm still not sure. This book isn't stopping short of putting the difficult questions - and the difficult truths - out there.<br />A key question seems to be: what makes a man good, what makes a man bad? Nathan recognizes that the settlers vilify the Indians. He himself hates Weasel. Weasel, granted, has done terrible things. What does this make Nathan in regards to how he acts towards Weasel?<br />I'm still thinking... I feel I could write an essay about it someday.<br />A keenly-written, sometimes heart-wrenching book about one boy's meeting with cruelty - and his <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">ultimately love-affirming</span> response.<br /><br />Age rec: A man's tongue is cut out and his pregnant wife killed. This isn't shown, and described in little more detail than I've just used, but on Amazon there were some people who disliked the book for that reason. There is, of course, no question about the immorality of such killings and cruelty. The whole book, though, is a pretty in-depth discussion about morality and choices. I would love to use it to teach a class sometime. I personally would say ages 9 or 10 and up, simply because the main point of the story is ethics and a younger child might not understand most of it.Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-71334052325074879222011-08-31T12:41:00.000-04:002011-08-31T15:55:16.040-04:00Waiting on Wednesday: Brotherband Chronicles - The Outcasts, by John FlanaganI really didn't have the slightest idea this one was coming out... until all of a sudden I did! I'm suffused with excitement. John Flanagan's books are my indulgent treat: not really the most amazing literature, but so much fun. And terribly funny too.
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<br />And a new set of characters! And... sailing! (One of the things near the top of Skills I'd Like To Have.)
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<br />Amazon.com blurb:
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<br />----
<br />They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field . . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing.
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<br />John Flanagan, author of the international phenomenon Ranger's Apprentice, creates a new cast of characters to populate his world of Skandians and Araluens, a world millions of young readers around the world have come to know and admire. Full of seafaring adventures and epic battles, Book 1 of The Brotherband Chronicles is sure to thrill readers of Ranger's Apprentice while enticing a whole new generation just now discovering the books.
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<br />----
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<br />Since it gets released November 1st, I foresee another distraction from my NaNoWriMo project...
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<br />Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by <a href="http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/">Jill at Breaking the Spine.</a> I am happy to be finally back on top of things with it, since I've been skipping out for a while.
<br />Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-80510923853023197992011-08-28T19:54:00.000-04:002011-08-28T20:05:54.799-04:00Five books, five words eachI wanted to have a say about the books I've read recently/am reading... but I don't feel as though all of them could be reviewed at length. So I'm trying something new.
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<br />Five books I've read in the past week or so, five words each...
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Wizards at War, </span>by Diane Duane (Young Wizards series #8) -
<br />Brilliant, stunning, powerful. Series's best?
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Drowned Ammet</span> by Diana Wynne Jones (Sequel to Cart & Cwidder) -
<br />Not light reading. First better.
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Blood Red Road</span> by Moira Young (<a href="http://justbookingaround.blogspot.com/2011/08/blood-red-road-by-moira-young.html">See my long review</a>) -
<br />Post-apocolyptic hero tale in dialect.
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Spellcoats</span> by Diana Wynne Jones (Prequel to Cart & Cwidder and Drowned Ammet) -
<br />Liked the weaving. Book drear.
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<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Falling from Grace</span> by Jane Godwin -
<br />Strange. Characters flat, foolish. Disliked.
<br />Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-39674522375820797452011-08-25T19:00:00.000-04:002011-08-25T17:05:20.227-04:00Still Waiting After Wednesday: Inheritance, still by Christopher Paolini<p><img src="http://www.publishersweekly.com/images/data/ARTICLE_PHOTO/photo/000/004/4348-1.JPG" align="right">
<br />Because I'm waiting on it, too. In fact, I'm the one who introduced Rina to the series. For that matter, if I was asked for the two authors who'd influenced my writing most, I'd have to name Tolkien and Paolini: Tolkien because he did everything so well it drew me in, and Paolini because he started doing things so poorly I knew I could do it at least as well. (Tolkien's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Middle-earth">first drafts</a> helped, too.) Still, his plots are interesting, and he's definitely worth reading at least once.
<br /></p><p>The first book... well, Paolini already knew back then how to do gripping beginnings. Next, unfortunately, we see Brom tell the top-secret tale of the Empire's beginnings to the whole town; then, he and Eragon run off to learn magic and... do nothing in particular. Then Eragon dives into danger to rescue an Elf who... is beautiful. Yes, I know the Empire is evil (though you've only got Brom's word for it at the moment - and, yes, they killed your uncle for letting you keep a WMD around), but for all you know, they locked her up for a perfectly good reason! Like, oh, putting love charms on innocent farm boys! Well, Our Designated Hero somehow gets out of that situation, and he's on into the next book.
<br /></p><p>Despite this, I kept reading, and Paolini improved. The Battle of the Burning Plains might've been unrealistic, but it was much better than the Battle of Farthur Dur. The trilogy might've expanded into a tetrology, but it stemmed from a good decision: he'd defined Eragon's character well enough that he knew Eragon couldn't just fly off with Saphira but would have to stay behind and deal with <font color="white">Sloan</font>. Roran might've not been the best choice to lead the village in Book II, but it's better than letting Eragon and Saphira fly through an ill-drawn world. I'm confident Paolini will improve still more as he concludes it in Book IV.
<br /></p>Evanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16655980548835061363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-24929942628280314662011-08-25T14:59:00.000-04:002011-08-25T16:39:12.869-04:00Blood Red Road, by Moira YoungHow I found this book: I don't know - one too many people on the blogworld talking about it? So I stuck it on the holdlist. I'm not quite sure why, to tell you the truth! But I'm ever so glad I did.
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<br />Book, in a nutshell:
<br />Saba is relentlessly loyal to her twin brother Lugh. So when raiders take him, for reasons unknown to her at the time, and leave her father dead behind them, she goes off after him - along with her much younger sister Emmi. Her attempts to rid herself of the inconvenient Emmi fail, and her search for Lugh goes hardly better. After she ends up in the cage-fighting ring in Hopetown, she finds information about Lugh's captors - and a band of girls who might be able to save both her <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> him.
<br />But there's more than a brother at stake in this wind-swept world.
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<br />I loved this book. It's a first-person narration, in dialect, without quotation marks - could have been a deal-breaker, but no - I actually liked it. Though the um, informal narration was a bit confusing at times. (If you thought that Katniss's narration in <span style="font-style: italic;">Hunger Games</span> was annoying at all, don't even try this one.)
<br />I love the way Saba's going after Lugh - I have got a brother, and I know what she means with the whole business. I love the developing relationship between her and her little sister, as they grow to understand each other better. I love that the little sister is a very good character in her own right - she does at least as much growing in this story as anyone else.
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<br />Most of all, unlike so many of the dystopian and post-apocolyptic books these days, this one's got <span style="font-style: italic;">hope. </span>The world's messed up, but there are solutions, and people are effective to find them.
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<br />There is no such word as <span style="font-style: italic;">can't </span>for this lot. Recapture kidnapped brother? Worth a try. Find your way across the desert? Why not. Dash into a burning building to save a friend? Let's go. Fight blind clawed lizards at night in a dry lakebed? Go for it. Escape from bondage in the cage fighting? Sounds likely to me. Find a new way on the spur of the moment when everything goes wrong? Can do. Change the shape of society? Might as well.
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<br />And, though the whole "magic-stone" thing is a little blatantly obvious - just a little - I approve of the obligatory love interest. For once, I actually can figure out what the protagonist sees in him!
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<br />Age rec: Unfortunately, there is a lot of strong language. A lot. And though there's nothing actually indecent, some hints. I might as well reassure readers, though - there wasn't anything that happened that offended me, so I'll save you the worries you might have at some points. It's not as "nice" as <span style="font-style: italic;">Chime</span> but much "nicer" than <span style="font-style: italic;">Finnikin of the Rock</span>: I would say fourteen, fifteen and up. <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>
<br />Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-28924010778402535052011-08-17T15:48:00.001-04:002011-08-17T15:55:59.609-04:00Cart and Cwidder, by Diana Wynne Jones<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Cover_of_Cart_and_Cwidder.jpg" align="right" />
<br />Wandering players show up a lot in MG fiction, but this one's actually good. Our main character is the youngest son in the family of traveling minstrels, so we see them in much, much more detail than the normal archetype. In fact, the only one who sort of fits that is the father... but the protagonist discovers another side of his before the end of the book.
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<br />No, these wandering players aren't a means to take the hero from place to place. Well, actually, they are. (Though their passenger isn't really the hero... but he's still more than he seems.) They're more. We nod at their bringing news from town to town. We feel for the kids trying to keep the show on the road after several chapters have left them by themselves. And then, we see the songs actually come true... to the surprise of the protagonist himself.
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<br />Did I mention there's a plot? Did I mention a war and a revolution? At another time, Diana Wynne Jones wrote a very fun <i><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=isbn%3A0333278917">Romeo and Juliette</a></i>; this's her <i>Common Sense</i> (or <i>Les Miserables part II</i>; can anyone give me any famous old stories about revolutions?). And our young protagonist ends up in the thick of it, much to his surprise and chagrin.
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<br />There're three more books in this series; I've only started the second. I hope Diana Wynne Jones violated her custom and wrote at least one more about these same protagonists, because I want to hear more about them!
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<br />Age rec: MG and up. <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The mother</span> actively regrets marrying her husband, but it's definitely kept clean and roundly viewed as a bad or at least sad thing.Evanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16655980548835061363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-33296266655780494632011-08-17T15:29:00.000-04:002011-08-17T15:56:41.717-04:00Incarceron, still by Catherine FisherI couldn't help overhearing several scenes when Rina was listening to the audiobook. Between the interrupted <span style="color:white">wedding</span> and the voyage to <span style="color:white">the end of the world</span>, I decided to read this book myself. And yes, I got the paper version.
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<br />I politely listened while Finn was chained atop the road in the first chapter, but he altogether lost my sympathy when he sprung the trap. "Oh, great," I thought, "another amoral antihero." What restored my interest in Finn was when he freed Attia and left the gang - when he started standing up for morality against his environment! Sure, he falls back sometimes, but he's always trying to break his conscience free from its prison. That's what makes him a hero and a person I'd like to know.
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<br />But even before Finn's conscience, the book's environment grabbed me. Despite what Rina said last month, it isn't Victorian. It appears late-medieval. And that's nice and fun; it's almost the Standard Fantasy Environment. Except it isn't. The country isn't late-medieval, it's futuristic under the iron rule of kings who make everyone act and appear medieval! I like this. It adds another layer of depth; it stops me from cringing whenever characters say or do something anachronistic; it turns those times into character- or background-building moments! I still smile whenever I remember Claudia telling her servant, "Just put it through the washing machine. I'm sure you've got one somewhere."
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<br />As Rina said, the themes and setting and action more than make up for any deficiencies in characterization. She doesn't delve into themes as much as handle them - they come up naturally in the plot, and the characters address them as appropriate. We don't get any meditations on human nature; we see it in action and we see Claudia and Jared attempting to forge a solution which human nature won't instantly tear down.
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<br />And do they succeed? For that, we can see the sequel... I'll be reviewing that later this week, with more attention to the themes and characters.
<br />Evanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16655980548835061363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-31125389317463518772011-08-16T10:55:00.000-04:002011-08-16T11:05:06.814-04:00Top Ten Tuesday - Freebie week: Top Ten Striking BooksTop Ten Tuesday is hosted by <a href="http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/">The Broke and the Bookish</a>; thanks to them for hosting, and thanks to<a href="http://thesecretadventuresofwritergirl.blogspot.com/"> The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl</a> for joining in and bringing this to my notice. I'm happy to present my first - and on such a nice Tuesday!
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<br />Top Ten: Freebie
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<br />Rina's Top Ten Striking Books
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<br />Striking, n.: in this case, unique, unexpectedly beautiful, and with long-lasting echoes.
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<br />Come on, I'm sure we've all had at least one - that book you pick up and start reading, maybe with high hopes, maybe with none. And all of a sudden a creeping sensation comes over you saying, <span style="font-style: italic;">this is a good book. This is a really good book. This is a really, really good book. This is a book that I've never seen anything quite like before.</span>
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<br />Without further ado (and in no particular order of strikingness):
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<br />1. The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien
<br />Okay, perhaps there is an order to this list.
<br />My dad and brother were discussing Tolkien's literature while I was at my formative language stage - I'm surprised I'm not bilingual in Elvish as a result. I had these books read to me when I was eleven.I don't know what I'd been expecting, but it hadn't been what I found.
<br />Bear in mind that my only fantasy novels before then were the Redwall books and the Chronicles of Narnia. I was floored. That any thing of paper and ink could contain the characters, the world, the choices, the magic, the sheer volume that The Lord of the Rings did - no wonder I turned into a fantasy writer that year.
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<br />2. Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher
<br />This is a pretty recent read. I heard it on audiobook, actually, and I wish I could personally thank Kim Mai Guest for her beautiful narration. Ms. Fisher has spun not one but two worlds in this book, and she's brought them both to bright, breathtaking life.
<br />From the mighty halls of Incarceron, tangled with darkness and mechanical rats; to the soaring point of Blaize's tower, its airy room full of glass globes; to the summer days and carefully-arranged diorama of Protocol - we carry our own crystal Keys along with the characters, peering into their brilliant worlds.
<br />And the breakneck pace of the action hardly drops for a moment. If there was any part of the story that dragged, I didn't notice.
<br />Ms. Fisher has dressed up a dystopian novel as high fantasy, created worlds clear enough to dream into, and managed to write two stunning books with hardly a crumb of romance - someone give her a medal.
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<br />3. By These Ten Bones, by Clare B. Dunkle
<br />Part of the wow of this book, I thought in the beginning, was my chosen place/time to read it: the dark backseat of a car heading south to Georgia by night, with a small booklamp shining cold on the pages and Michael Card music playing in the background. But two years later, I've read it in front rooms at church retreats and curled up at the foot of my bed, and I still love it. (Though I would also love to "fix up" a few of the dialogue tags.)
<br />Part of the greatness of this book, I think sometimes, was that it was the first werewolf novel I'd ever read. Now I've read a few more, and heard just about every possible twist on the topic, and I still hold onto this little book as my favorite. (Though I'm nothing loth for a little Jennifer Lynn Barnes on occasion.)
<br />It is written by a Christian author, and is a Christian book, though not of the bland, didactic (or badly-written and barely moral) sort all too often fobbed off on us Christians who only want a little decent adventure.
<br />Since it's so many things, I take it for what it is: a short, dark gem of a tale. A book about a werewolf boy and the plain, ordinary Scottish girl who makes up her mind to save him. A book that prickles up the back of the neck sometimes. A book that speaks, in simple words, of olden-days Scotland and its people, as well as of courage and fear and love and sacrifice. A book that descends almost into hopelessness and ends in - well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?
<br />Go read for yourself. It won't take but a few hours.
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<br />4. Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
<br />Mark Twain is credited as saying, "A classic is a book that everyone wants to have read and no one wants to read." Sadly, this book has been placed on that selfsame shelf. True, some of the words may be a little odd to us today; true, the beginning is slow and the tying-up-all-the-threads ending slower; true, we may become tired of the author's intrusions on the narration to highlight a point.
<br />But this isn't the ordinary historical fiction, written when the sins of the past are viewed in 20/20 hindsight. This was written in the very days it describes, by a woman who refused to be silent about the atrocities many in her society accepted as normal. For that, if nothing else, it deserves our attention.
<br />And - I'm afraid this'll be more convincing - it's just a really good book!
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<br />(All right, I did give the four best the four first spots. But these other ones are striking, too.)
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<br />5. The Great and Terrible Quest, by Margaret Lovett
<br />An old book, both in terms of publishing dates and in how long it's been since I first read it. Back in the day when my mom read books to my brother and me, this was one of my brother's choices. I was skeptical: this was when I preferred animal stories over people stories.
<br />Was I ever surprised!
<br />It's a story of Kings and Lords, of a sort-of Medieval Europe place, of an orphan boy and the forgetful, odd man that he chooses to help - and follows into fear and wonder and a life he's never expected. As a children's book it's unbelievably good; as an adult book it's still amazing.
<br />And, for my animal-loving younger self, there was even a clever jester's dog around.
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<br />6. Reaching Dustin, by Vicki Grove
<br />A random library acquisition turned out to be something very special. Local library sadly doesn't seem to be able to locate their copy anymore, so I haven't read it in longer than I'd like. It's about a writer girl (understandably a favorite topic of mine), but so much more than that - it's about acceptance, and reaching out, and long-lasting effects of actions. I love Ms. Grove's mythological references, her beautiful writing style, the leit-motifs of stories and songs and retribution, and a particular set-up of words near the end of the book. I love, also, these books where the past and the future meet in one place, and we watch our handful of characters turn one into the other.
<br />I really need to see if the library has found it yet.
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<br />7. The Queen's Thief series, by Megan Whalen Turner
<br />I read spoilers for this series, positive that I wouldn't ever read it. A disappointing blurb in the library brochure, not to mention my irrational wariness of Greek or Roman-ish books (maybe I thought they would be like the Greek Myths?), didn't draw me to book 1 at all. But somehow I picked up The Thief anyhow.
<br />Four books into the series, I'm entirely sold. The humor! The unreliable narration! The slightly-spun classical myths! The characters... Tricky Gen. Gallant Eddis. Poor, savage, trapped Attolia. Earnest, shy Sophos. That poor magus who puts up with so much. And those infuriating Mede ambassadors! I don't think I could live in these books - I'm not half clever enough - but I joy to read them.
<br />How I long for the next in the series. Two books more - but how many years?
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<br />8. A City in Winter, by Mark Helprin
<br />At first it looks like a picture book. And yes, it does have beautiful painted illustrations every six or ten pages, large type, and glossy pages. But, though I know some eight-year-olds I'd give it to, there's nothing juvenile about this book - even less about its sequel The Veil of Snows. This story of a lost princess and her quest to overthrow the evil usurper is at the same time completely serious and entirely absurd. I might cry, if I weren't so close to laughing; I might laugh, if I weren't so close to crying. All of this makes it sound insane, or else makes me sound insane.
<br />But if you read it with the faith of a child, maybe you'll understand what I mean, too.
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<br />9. Dandelion Fire, by N. D. Wilson
<br />This is an odd entry on the list, since it's the second book of a trilogy. The first, 100 Cupboards, is decently interesting, if a little odd in parts: a wimpy boy in Kansas discovers world-gate cupboards in the attic wall of his cousins' house. Not fantastic, but a good book. So when I discovered (at long last) that there was another, I decided to try it out.
<br />Suddenly the black and green of the first book blossoms like a bursting dandelion into the blue and gold of its sequel. The magic reaches through the ordinary and sparks a story full of laughter and love and wonder and danger. The cupboard doors spring open (sometimes literally). A great power is threatening the worlds, and "all who can stand soon shall" against it. And we watch the brave ones fighting bravely - and the cowards becoming brave, and the fools wise. All in N. D. Wilson's deceptively bare prose, acted out on his briefly and vividly described settings.
<br />Somewhere in Heaven, I think, might feel like Badon Hill.
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<br />10. Tales of the Resistance, by David and Karen Mains
<br />Time runs short, but then I don't know what to say about this book really. My brother persuaded me to get it from the church library. I didn't have high hopes. But it's the oddest, strangest, loveliest children's allegory I've read since Narnia - and with beautiful pictures, too.
<br />Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-84938593941843248782011-08-13T11:14:00.000-04:002011-08-13T11:49:49.568-04:00Cart and Cwidder, by Diana Wynne JonesI found this book because, <span style="font-style: italic;">in memoriam</span> sort of, I am now reading more Diana Wynne Jones than I used to. And this looked to be a likely thing.
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<br />Book in a nutshell:
<br />Moril's family are travelling entertainers - players and bards. We learn practically on the first page that the country they live in is divided into two rather sharp-edged sections: North and South. The North is a hazy dream beyond the mountains, the South an unpleasant reality where speech and song are censored and the lords of the land can basically do whatever they want.
<br />But while Moril and his family are traveling up and down the South, they pick up a passenger: an annoying, mysterious boy named Kialan. His arrival begins a startling chain of events. After death, desertion, and the authorities are done with them, the traveling cart family has shrunk to only three members. And they know that their only hope is to get North.
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<br />This is a simple, straightforward book, a quiet and heartfelt story of family and friends and freedom, twined about with a love for song and words. I never guessed any of the surprises, though, for all its outward simplicity. Each of the people is carefully and almost invisibly characterized - even the musical instruments seem to take part in the story.
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<br />Honestly, there's not much I can say about it. All the wonder's in the book itself - it doesn't sound like much to say I love sweet, shy Dagner the composer, or feel sorry for Kialan's rather clumsy attempts to make himself friendly, or thrill at Moril's song at the climax. But it's a book that I can recommend to nearly anyone.
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<br />The only thing I could ask for improvement in is the songs - some of them might be a little more, oh, songlike? But that's a picky detail. And besides - I like reading about travelling players. They're a favorite of mine.
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<br />Especially when they're also revolutionaries.
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<br />Age rec: Anybody. Though it's rather sad at parts, I can't think of a single reason it should be kept away from anyone old enough to hear a good story. Diana Wynne Jones was pretty dependable on for that, with sole exception of the slightly disturbing elements in <span style="font-style: italic;">Hexwood</span> (but that's another story and another post).
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<br />Who'd be interested in a Diana Wynne Jones blogweek?
<br />Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5601351147071558820.post-25378346900354883822011-08-10T10:04:00.000-04:002011-08-10T10:11:22.211-04:00Waiting on Wednesday: Froi of the Exiles, by Melina MarchettaYes... I love <span style="font-style: italic;">Finnikin of the Rock</span>... it's a terrific novel. Blog-readers probably already know I think that. The eponymous Finnikin does get on my nerves to a degree, but the book's amazing, and Evanjalin... well, she's amazing too, isn't she?
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<br />And then I learned that there would be more coming up!
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<br />Now, when I think of books that require sequels, <span style="font-style: italic;">Finnikin</span> isn't usually on the list. In fact, one of my favorite things about it is how it's so complete and self-contained. But if Ms. Marchetta wants to write more about our favorite lot of Lumaterans, far be it from me to refuse! Even though, from what I've heard, this book isn't set in Lumatere, maybe we'll get a look at our old friends before Froi travels off. And from the sound of the blurb, there will be a mighty adventure upcoming.
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<br />(From the author's website - Amazon hasn't got one up yet)
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<br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span id="" class="I B FComic">Blood sings to blood … </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="I B FComic">Those born last will make the first … </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="I B FComic">For Charyn will be barren no more.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span id="" class="FComic">Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home ... or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior’s discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span class="FComic">It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood … and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen. </span><span> </span></p><p>---</p><p>Oh, neeps, I can't wait. On the other side of winter, I hope, I shall be there, reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Froi of the Exiles</span> (and angling to watch the Hunger Games movie).
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<br />Rinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06268596359396967388noreply@blogger.com4