Robertson has borrowed a bunch of tropes from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. There is the magic door, the perpetual winter, talking beasts, and a different timeline when you are in the mystical land. In both books there is the epic struggle of the good vs evil. In the Narnia Books, the White Witch represents evil or Satan, but in this book the bad guy represents Europeans. It is also interesting to compare Ochek, who is the hero/mentor of this book to Aslan in the Narnia book. (spoiler alert) When Ochek first meets Arik, a talking squirrel, he wants to kill and eat her, even though she is a sentient being. The children have to stop him. In other words, the big hero, the savior character, is, in a way, a confessed cannibal. I could see some people having problems with that and the anti- "white man" message. If, however, you just take it as a middle-grade fantasy, it is actually pretty good. The writing is artful and the characters as are well drawn and complex. It is a book that would make a good young reader stretch and contemplate some really hard questions. It would also be an interesting book for a parent/child book club. (2021, 256 p)
Saturday, October 26, 2024
The Barren Grounds by David Robertson
Thursday, October 24, 2024
The Truth about Miss Ashbourne by Joanna Barker
As you can tell from the summary, this is not an original storyline, but Ms Barker does a good job of telling the story in an appealing way. It is a bit like eating a favorite dessert. Even though you have eaten it dozens of times before, you still enjoy eating it again. Cassandra is a mixture of reserve and spunk. William is a charming tease. The relationship between Cassandra and her new found grandmother is sweet, and even her first experience with a ladies' maid is cute. Ms Barker has a good sense of humor, and there are some delightfully lighthearted scenes. I look forward to reading more by Ms Barker. (2018, 272 p.)
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Royal Heir by Traci Abramson
When I picked this off the shelf I didn't realize it was the 4th in the series but it works fine as a stand-alone. Abramson is not a NYT best selling author, but the story line is solid and the characters are, if a little too perfect, at least likeable. Ms Abramson's books often include mysteries involving the intelligence community, and I discovered that she actually worked for the CIA for a few years. This book demonstrates her understanding of the complexity of creating personal security systems. The book is by Covenant, and is squeaky clean. I was a little distracted by the narrator, who was trying to use an Italian accent, but it came out sounding like a Russian accent, but I generally enjoyed the book anyway. (2020, 304 p)
Friday, October 18, 2024
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman
At first I was amused by the premise of this middle-grade novel. It is clearly a pushback against all the unicorn merchandising of the last few years. As I read on, however, I got caught up in the story and characters. This is an above average "magic school" novel with complex themes and interestingly flawed characters. The world building has a few holes, but the setting, particularly the Eyrie, is a lot of fun and I think would really appeal to the target audience. There are some humorous passages, and a lot of good action writing. This book has a satisfying ending, but leaves enough unanswered questions to lead the reader to the second in the series (which I am likely to read sometime) (2022, 448 p)
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
This is a good choice to hand to the person in your life who wears busyness and stress like a badge of honor. Burkeman has a lot of good advice and the book is written in an accessible tone and length. I didn't read the book as it was intended, i.e. a chapter a day for four weeks, but I still feel like I got something out of it. That being said, when I started to write this review just a few days after finishing the book, I had a hard time remembering the specific topics he covered--so not super memorable. A lot of the principles he promotes have similarities to American Buddhist ideas of non-striving and being present but he doesn't use that terminology at all. This has much more of a "put your feet up and sit a spell" vibe. I think it is a message needed in current American society. (2024, 208)
Thursday, October 10, 2024
An Unwitting Alliance by Anneka R. Walker
This is the second in the Matchmaking Mamas series and is very like the first. Walker strikes a good balance between humor, drama, and romance. Tom can be a little annoying at times, but that makes his moments of sweetness even more appealing. I liked how Cassandra, at the end, is so emotionally overloaded she hardly knows what to do with herself. I remember that stage in my own courtship. This is not Pulitzer prise level writing, but I am looking forward to the next installment in the series which is coming out later this month. (2023, 272 p)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson
The "through the magic door" is a pretty common trope for middle grade fantasy, but this book does it better than most. It is clearly a "save the environment" book, but the author really does seem to have a genuine connection to and love of nature that shines through in her writing. It is almost worth reading for the nature descriptions and world building alone. Daisy, and even the secondary characters, are fully developed, interestingly flawed, and show good character development through the course of the story. The plot twists are a little predictable to me who have read literally hundreds of middle grade fantasies, but I didn't ever get bored and will probably read the next in the series. (2023, 333p.)
Sunday, October 6, 2024
The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer
I thought this was going to be a sappy romance, but it turned out to be more about overcoming ignorance in an impoverished community than it was about their romance. I have read several books about the packhorse librarians now. The Giver of Stars was a bit more gritty, but really well written. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is still probably my favorite. This one isn't bad, though, and quite clean. The writing is not spectacular, but just fine, and the plot is interesting. The romance between Addie and Emmett is understated, but it is still a romance, and they are both really likeable characters. If you are interested in the topic and are looking for something inoffensive, this is a good choice. (2020, 368p)
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris wrote this book when she was considering a run for president. It is about 1/4 autobiography and 3/4 campaign tract. As we now know, she was not successful in her presidential bid, but did well enough to be elected as Vice President under Joe Biden. Now, of course, she is the Democratic nominee for President. This book made me think a lot and understand why some people have reservations about Ms Harris becoming President. She is definitely a crusader, and has a lot of grit and drive, but her focus has always been on the downtrodden minority. That is very admirable and I came away from the book feeling like she is a woman who really does care about helping the marginalized parts of society. The thing that gave me pause is that she is so eager to help this group or that group, she doesn't stop to consider where all the money for per proposed programs is going to come from. She also seems to take a strong arm approach to forcing changes through the system. Will that approach work with Congress? Does she understand how to use diplomacy and compromise? I couldn't help but wonder how this book might be different if she were writing it now. What has she learned in four years working as the VP with Joe Biden? Full disclosure: I still plan on voting for her in November, and consider her as a better choice than the alternative. It will be interesting to see how and what she does if she becomes President next January. (368 p. 2020)