Book blogging (mostly)
Juvenile Fiction
Finnikin of the Rock
Jul 15th
We interrupt your regularly scheduled episode of “Talk About How Long The Tale of Genjii Is” to bring you this post on Finnikin of the Rock. (I actually finished this a few weeks ago, and just didn’t get around to writing about it.)
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a good story. The Hunger Games isn’t the most sophisticated piece of literature, but it was a lot of fun to read, and it does contain quality writing. A good story, however, isn’t enough to make me overlook major flaws in a novel.
You may not have seen this coming but, in spite of its promising plot, Finnikin of the Rock has far too many flaws for me to overlook. Finnikin, the son of the captain of the guard, is from Lumatere. Ten years ago, however, his homeland was cursed, and since then no one has been able to cross its boundaries, either in or out.
Like I said, this is definitely a promising story. Unfortunately, between a lack of consistency in the geography of the world, and flat, boring characters there isn’t much else to like about this book.
Speaking of boring characters, why can’t any of them communicate like normal human beings? Why do they always have to jump to conclusions, and flee from each other at the slightest (assumed) offense? The School Library Journal review on Amazon.com calls Finnikin and Evanjalin’s relationship “intensely emotional”. I think a better description is “annoyingly unrealistic” or “frustratingly devoid of reason”. It’s not a good sign when even The Tale of Genji, in which characters purposefully obfuscate their language by speaking in ancient Chinese poetry, has more open communication.
Suffice it to say, I don’t recommend Finnikin of the Rock. If you could consider the plot apart from the characters, no doubt you would be able to find some moments to enjoy, but those pesky characters just keep getting in the way.
Full Database entry on Finnikin of the Rock. Beware spoilers.
Goose Girl (Audio)
Jun 21st
Goose Girl is not the type of book that would normally catch my eye. However, after reading Christy’s review of the sequel I figured it would be worth requesting from the library and listening to it when I got the chance. I had it for a few weeks and, honestly, I didn’t have a plan to start it anytime soon until I saw Erin’s claim that Shannon Hale “has not written a bad book”.
Convoluted story of why I started reading it aside, I’m really glad that I did. Goose Girl seems pretty straight forward at first – a crowned princess of a small kingdom is, unbeknownst to her, about to be sent off to marry the prince of a distant kingdom. As the story progressed, though, I was consistently impressed both with the number of times the plot surprised me and with how well-realized the world and characters were.
True, I’ve only read one book by Shannon Hale now, but I can see why Erin would say she hasn’t written a bad book. In addition to a consistent, deep world full of entertaining characters, Goose Girl is also filled with some beautiful writing. Even the first line (“She was born Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildinree, and she did not open her eyes for three days”) has a sense of weight and meaning that I find appealing.
My only real complaint was with the audio production. Instead of having a single narrator, this book had a full cast. I don’t mind this on principal, but with so many actors participating, it’s inevitable that some of the performances will not be as good as others. Ultimately, instead of enhancing the experience, the unevenness of the performances just made me wish the main narrator (who was excellent) had been responsible for everything.
I recommend this book without reservation. Don’t let the title (and in some cases the unfortunate covers) convince you that this is a book only for girls. Anyone who is willing to read a fairy tale based fantasy will be able to appreciate Hale’s quality story telling.
The Light – Morpheus Road Book 1
Jun 2nd
I love reading young adult fiction while on vacation. Last Christmas I tore through The Hunger Games in less then 36 hours, and it was absolutely fantastic. I didn’t know much about The Light, but I have listened to the first three books in MacHale’s Pendragon series, and they are good enough that I was willing to give this new series a chance.
The Light is, ultimately, a ghost story. In fact, the book starts with a hip “I believe in ghosts now” intro. From there, it follows Marsh, the main character and narrator, as he attempts to solve the various mysteries surrounding his haunting and his best friend’s disappearance.
While The Light was the fun, light reading I was looking for in a vacation book, it was also extremely disappointing. In spite of having an entirely different storyline and cast of characters, The Light felt exactly the same as the Pendragon books. In fact, in terms of the main character, there wasn’t anything to distinguish Marsh from Bobby Pendragon.
MacHale certainly isn’t a bad writer, but I’m starting to get the impression that his versatility is severely limited. If you aren’t absolutely in love with novels narrated by smart, sarcastic, angsty 15 year olds, who are just trying to figure out this crazy world, then I wouldn’t bother with The Light, or anything else written by MacHale.
It’s unfortunate, too, because he has some great plot ideas. I may even continue listening to the books in this series, just to find out what happens next, but I definitely won’t be reading them next time. Is that hypocritical, to continue reading a series that I won’t recommend? Perhaps, but I am a sucker for a cliffhanger.
Unwind
May 25th
I learned about Unwind from a coworker whose son was reading it for school. Apparently there was some controversy among the parents. Having just finished Don Quixote I figured this would be great light reading to bridge the gap before vacation. While easy to read, this definitely wasn’t exactly the light reading I had expected.
Unwind is set in a dystopian future in which America has fought its second civil war. Only this time, the fighting was over abortion. The war eventually ended with the signing of the Bill of Life. According to this document all life was protected from conception to the age of 13. From 13 to 18 a parent could choose to retroactively unwind their children. Unwind follows the story of 3 children who are set to be Unwound.
Unwind is full of interesting ideas and deals with the difficult subject of abortion with subtlety. However, the writing itself is just mediocre. It is worth reading if you want to start a discussion on abortion with a teen, but probably not otherwise.
In fact, the most interesting thing for me in regards to Unwind was finding the parallels between it and Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal (an essay in which Swift satirically encourages the Irish to eat their children in order to alleviate poverty). I would say more here, but I don’t want to spoil anything if you are interested in reading Unwind. Feel free to check out the last 2 paragraphs of my database entry for the details, though.
What suprised me the most, however, was that this would be picked for school reading. What do you think – is this appropriate high school reading?
Full database entry on Unwind. Beware spoilers.
P.S. I wrote this on my iPhone so please forgive any typos or weird formatting.
The Book of Three (Audio)
May 10th
I can’t exactly remember who or what referred me to The Book of Three. All I know is a few weeks ago I received a “the book you placed on hold is now available” email from the library and so I went and picked it up.
The Book of Three tells the story of a young assistant pig-keeper named Taran who lives in a mythical realm known as Prydain. If you have seen the movie “The Black Cauldron” you have seen a movie loosely based on this book. (Interesting note – the second book in this trilogy is actually called The Black Cauldron, but the movie of the same title is based on the first book. Go figure). Anyways, Taran has to recover his lost pig, but ends up having a grand adventure along the way.
The story is your classic hero quest, but what makes this book so good is the plethora of interesting characters. From the sassy and hilarious Eilonwy, to the pathological liar/bard/king Fflewddur Fflam, The Book of Three is absolutely bursting with entertainment. By the end, the story was just a means for placing these great characters into situations in which they could interact with each other. That isn’t to say the story was boring, but the dialogue was by far the star of the show.
I highly recommend this (the narrator is excellent on the audio book, but I’m sure actually reading it would be just as good) to anyone who enjoys lighthearted fantasy. Personally, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series if for no other reason than to see what everyone is up to next.
Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Apr 7th
First of all, I apologize for the recent lack of updates. Between traveling, Easter, and being sick I’ve been reading a lot, but not writing much. I have a nice little backlog of finished books, though, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch up and post some more over the next few weeks.
Now onto Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary. I don’t actually know what else I can say about the Fablehaven books that I haven’t said previously. They are fun, creative, exciting books that are perfect when you want something that is well executed, but does not requiring extensive emotional investment.
I guess the most important thing I can share with you at this point is as of the 4th (and penultimate) volume in the series, they are still very enjoyable. I didn’t find myself captivated quite as quickly with this book as I have with the first 3, but I ended up there eventually. So, if you are a fan of fun juvenile fiction that mixes magic and realistically developed characters, give the Fablehaven series a shot. And if you have been reading the series, send me an email so we can make up wild theories about how the series will end.
“’What am I supposed to do with this?’ Kendra asked, pulling the knife out.
‘Stab’, Seth suggested.”
Full Database entry on Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary. Beware Spoilers
39 Clues & a Giant Peach (Audio)
Feb 9th
I just finished 2 more audio books in the last week: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and The Black Circle (The 39 Clues Book 5) by Patrick Carman.
First up – James and the Giant Peach. This is another book that I’m sure I read dozens of times when I was growing up (or at least had read to me dozens of times), but had no clear memory of. Obviously there was a giant peach involved, and I thought I remembered it flying, or something, but that was about it.
If you are in the same boat, you really should pick this up and give it a read. It would probably take a couple hours at most, but it will be a fun, refreshing two hours. It’s obvious why this imaginative, exciting book is considered a children’s classic.
Though James is entertaining in his role as the titular character, it is his giant insect friends who make the book. I caught myself laughing out loud at their antics all the way up to the end.
As for the audio side of this audio book, Jeremy Irons is wonderful. He brings each of the characters to life and captures the light-hearted tone of the book perfectly. If you get a chance to listen to this one, don’t pass it up.
The 39 Clues fascinates me as a marketing strategy. If you aren’t aware of this series, it tells the story of Dan and Amy Cahill as they partake in a worldwide scavenger hunt to find 39 clues that will make them the most powerful people in the world. There are currently 7 books in the series, with an 8th due in April.
I say it’s fascinating from a marketing perspective because of several reasons. First of all, at the rate the books are going so far, they are on pace to have 39 in the series. That’s right, 39 – one for each of the clues Dan and Amy are searching for.
Another interesting aspect of these books is that they aren’t all written by the same author. My guess is in order to keep them fresh, and to turn them out fast enough, they have multiple authors working on subsequent books simultaenously. This, of course, means that they aren’t all as high quality as the first one (written by the talented Rick Riordan), and that they don’t all capture the exact same tone and style. So far, however, this hasn’t been too problematic. I imagine a lot of that is helped by the fact that so far all 5 books have been performed by the same narrator – David Pittu. His consistent voice probably helps smooth over many of the more subtle stylistic differences between authors.
There is also a card game associated with the series, but I don’t know anything about it. Suffice it to say, this is the most strategic, financially motivated books series I’ve ever read. But is it any good? Yeah, it is good. At least, it’s as good as the author who pens the current book. As I said above, Rick Riordan is talented, as is Patrick Carman who wrote book 5. However, this can’t be said for them all (in particular, book 3 by Peter Lerangis comes to mind as low point).
I’m also not sure how I feel about creating a series for children that has so many requirements for spending money. I’m capable of handling it as an adult (and checking them all out at the library helps), but if I kid were to get into the series, they would be wanting every book as soon as it comes out, plus all the trading cards, etc. At the same time, if it can keep children reading, it is doing something right so I probably shouldn’t complain.
Plus, in terms of tone and themes, the books deal with difficult problems with sophistication. For example, Dan and Amy are often tempted to behave the way the others in the contest do (lie, cheat, steal to get ahead), and they reflect upon these temptations with honesty. Sometimes they give in, and when they do they know they have made a mistake. It’s encouraging to see lessons like this being taught, no matter the cause that drives the books to be published.
Still, I don’t think I would recommend these to everyone I meet without reservation. They aren’t masterpieces, and in most cases there are books by the same authors that are better. However, if you enjoy juvenile fiction, long-running series, and world travel this might be right up your alley.
On another note, does anyone have any other young adult books to recommend? I’m starting to run out of audio books at the library…
Atherton Series (Audio)
Feb 1st
I absolutely hate not having an audio book to listen to in the car. For over 2 years now I have exclusively listened to books while driving. About a month ago, however, I found myself on the way to the grocery store just as I was finishing the last book I had in the car. Desperate, I decided to stop at the nearest library to pick something up (typically I reserve books beforehand to ensure I get something of high quality).
I normally stop at a library near my office, so this was not one I had ever been to before. While searching, I came across the book you see to the left – The House of Power by Patrick Carman. This caught my eye because I have read and enjoyed The Land of Elyon which was also written by Carman. It turned out to be a pretty good decision.
At this point I have finished all three books in the series (The House of Power, The Rivers of Fire, and The Dark Planet), and I enjoyed them all quite a bit. The Atherton series follows the adventures of an orphan boy named Edgar who loves to climb. He spends his nights climbing, and his days tending to the fig trees in the grove where he grew up. Soon, however, life becomes extremely interesting for Edgar as he discovers the truth about the world he’s grown up on.
What makes the Atherton books better than the Land of Elyon books is the adventure. It starts sooner in Atherton, and is generally more exciting throughout. The only major problem in all three books is the narrator is merely sufficient to get the job done. He doesn’t bring the characters or the setting to life the way many narrators do and as a result, I would recommend reading them before listening to them. At least it is the same narrator throughout, unlike the Land of Elyon, which went through 3 different narrators in 4 books.
If you enjoy books for younger readers (10-12?) definitely give these a shot. Especially if you enjoy unique worlds that, while narrow in scope, have a depth that allows for a pleasantly manageable thoroughness. (This can be said for both series by Carman, and is a clever writing technique that I’m surprised we don’t see more often. You may also enjoy reading them just to see how he does a good job of creating small worlds that are efficiently well-realized).
Recent books on CD (and why they aren’t in the database)
Dec 16th
I am constantly listening to books on cd in the car. Literally, all the time. I do not listen the news, music on the radio, or music on cd. I don’t sit it silence as I make my way to and from work. There is always a book on, and there is always at least one in queue. I didn’t start keeping track when this book on cd endeavor began (Thanksgiving of 2007, on a trip to Dallas) but if my memory is correct, I have listened to 68 books on cd since then, with 69 and 70 in the car at the moment. This does not include multiple listens to the same book (which has definitely occurred with books in the Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl series.)
So with that said, why don’t I have entries for all of these in the database since that is meant to be a repository of all the books I’ve read? This may seem ridiculous, as some have pointed out, but I don’t think it’s fair to these books to put them in the database. I don’t pay nearly as much attention to them as I do to the books I actually read (what with all the trying not to run my car into other cars). I don’t ever have a favorite quote recorded, I don’t tag important parts, or take notes while listening, and I don’t have anything to easily look over to confirm my synopsis is correct. I simply don’t give them the same attention as I do other books, and I think any write up I would do for them would reflect that.
However, that doesn’t mean I can’t at least share a brief bit about if they are good and worth listening to (or in some cases reading). The two most recent books I’ve finished are Ironhand and Stargazer. Both books are part of a larger series, and both are aimed at younger audiences (as are most of the books on cd I listen to).
The Stoneheart Trilogy
Ironhand (sequel to Stoneheart) follows George, a teenage boy who gets caught up in an adventure when all the statues in London suddenly come alive. He meets a few friends along the way (of both the flesh and bronze variety) and wreaks all sorts of trouble. The series is read by Jim Dale, who also narrated the Harry Potter audio books. He’s talented but, unfortunately, he is the best part about the series. They aren’t terrible, but they are only just good enough to keep reading and to make the drive to and from work more interesting. If they find their way on to your “to-read” list, I would recommend they stick towards the bottom. If you really want to be entertained by statues coming to life – just watch Gargoyles.
The Land of Elyon
Strargazer is actually the fourth in the Elyon series. They tell the story of Alexa Daily, a teenage girl who seeks adventure in the Land of Elyon, only to find more than she bargained for. I have enjoyed all four books, mostly because of the sense of adventure that Carman is able to capture. Still, they aren’t phenomenal, and the narrators have changed multiple times, which is always frustrating in a series. The unique world Carman has created for the series is consistent, but not very deep. I’ve recently started his Atherton series, however, it is seems to be a little better so far. I’ll let you know more once I finish it.
I’ll try to post more on the books on cd I read as I finish them, and at the end of the year (or more likely in January) I will do a post of the best books on cd I’ve read so far. (Special thanks to the Harris County Public Library, for providing me with all these books!)
Grip of the Shadow Plague
Dec 2nd
This is book three in the Fablehaven series. If you have read the first two, and are considering the third, it should come as no surprise that I recommend picking it up. So far each book has been exciting, imaginative, and non-stop entertainment.
If you haven’t read any of the Fablehaven books and are wondering if you should start, I say yes. From the very beginning, I have been captivated by Mull’s books. Plus, they are so quick and easy to read that, if you don’t like the first one, it will only take you a day or two to finish the book and realize it’s not for you.
They are each full of magic and wonder, and serve as an excellent palate cleanser between books that require more effort as the reader. That isn’t to say Grip isn’t good, or worthwhile, just that it serves to remind you how fun reading can be, like Harry Potter, and not how beautiful and heartbreaking a book can be the way I Am a Cat might.
Sorry, no quote on this one!
Full database entry on Grip of the Shadow Plague. Beware spoilers.