Okay two books this time.
I did a binge a the library this week and raided the YA section, so I have a ton of books that I am working on reading. Yes, I do book binges and get 10-11 books at a time. I usually include a few non-fiction books so that I don't completely run out of reading material. (Non-fiction always takes me a lot longer to read than fiction)
Librinth, A Fabulous Adventure on a Strange World of the Future, By Pearl North
So this on is about a girl, Haly who is a clerk in a gigantic Library, known as the Libyrinth. People have been known to get lost in this library. This book is set in a futuristic type world with people who obviously came from Earth at some point in time. There are the Singers, who are a group of people who believe that any written word is evil. The are slowly taking over the lands that protect the Libyrinth and plan to destroy the Libyrinth once they get their hands on a book called "The Book of Night". Haly's supervisor discovers the place where the book is and they embark, with her friend from the kitchens, to find the book and save the Libyrinth.
I liked this book because the characters are so gun-ho to save the written word. I could totally relate to that desire, and I ached every time the Singers felt obligated to destroy a book. The book was well written and the characters developed nicely. The world was creative and had a bit of a throw-back from Ancient Greece civilization. I also liked the author's thoroughness in creating a real history and even mythology for the civilizations that all came together at the end. Overall worth a read! I thought it was well executed story, with interesting characters and a capturing plot line. It is the first in a series and I'm eager to read the next two books.
But I'll be honest. I hate it sometimes when people feel the need to trumpet their option on some current political topic. This one kept discussing the characters sexuality. I mean WHY? That is personal, private and not really a discussion for books. It is a discussion for children with their parents. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox.
Well, okay I'm going to have to get back on it, just for a bit...
The next book I want to talk about is Wildthorn, by Jane Eagland.
This one is interesting because it is set in the Victorian time about a young woman who is thought too "mannish" and is declared insane and taken to an insane asylum. It is about her experiences in this asylum, which includes being chained to a bed, as was common during this time period. People of the time didn't really know how to help those that were considered "insane" or even different. There was even a belief that a woman who didn't want "womanly" things had a problems and should be declared insane.
The perspective of the insane asylum is interesting, especially the injustices that were inflicted on the poor patients, including a young woman who had obviously been raped and miscarried her step-father's child, but the doctors and nurses wouldn't believe her. This was a very true concept of the times, as something so shocking as that wasn't accepted in polite society. That's actually what Freud was widely believed to have discovered, but no one would believe him, so he had to change his conclusions to things about the Oedipus complex (at least this is what I'm remembering from my psychology class, many many moons ago).
Once again, it kind of annoys me when YA novels address sexuality. This character discovers that she is attracted to women. Once again, needs to be addressed in the home, not on so public a platform as a novel or even in schools. I personally don't agree with same-sex marriage, but that isn't really the problem that I have. Any discussion of sexuality really should be done with parents. Okay, once again off my soapbox....
Anyways, I recommend the second as an interesting read about insane asylums in the Victorian period, it isn't really a fanciful book or anything like that. It is more of a social dilemma read. But I'll be honest when I say that I wouldn't read it again.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
So the past couple of weeks I've been going down memory lane and re-reading all of the "Little House on the Prairie" books. If you've never read them, I recommend them.
It is the story of the Ingalls family moving from place to place during Laura's childhood. The main character is Laura, but her entire family is involved as well. There is one book about Almanzo Wilder's childhood, who eventually becomes Laura's husband.
They are very simply written and mostly what I think Mrs. Wilder is doing is displaying how hard life was then. I'm not sure that she ever saw a big city until she was MUCH older. Her family kept moving to more and more remote areas (or once back into a more civilized area) so all of the food they ate they basically had to make themselves.
Mrs. Wilder describes making cheese and bread (without so much as a pack of yeast!), going months without seeing milk, because they didn't have a milk cow, or theirs had dried up. The book that hit me was "The Long Winter" because they basically ran out of food when the trains couldn't get through the storms. They ate wheat that was ground in a coffee grinder and made into coarse biscuits. That was IT. I was amazed at this life style and how convenient everything is now days. If I run out of something I can just run to the store and get more.
These books are all about Farming too. Mrs. Wilder describes out the common farmer would put everything he had (including going into debt) into his harvest and sometimes the harvest would be bad. Two years in a row when they lived in Minnesota they lost their crops to grasshopper plagues. She talks about when she married her husband, Almanzo, how she didn't want to be dependent on a farm any more, so they had a deal that they could try farming for three years and if it didn't work out, Almanzo would do something else. It didn't work out and they barely were able to make ends meet and at the end of four years (she gave an extra year as a year of grace) their house was burned to the ground. They basically lost everything, but Laura still allowed her husband to farm. It was the chance that they might make enough money to pay for their equipment and house and for groceries and have some left over that kept them farming. It wasn't at all dependable.
Really these books show the true pioneering spirit, and willingness to make something out of nothing. They are inspirational in their own way, but I'll be honest. I still wouldn't want to be married to a farmer.
It is the story of the Ingalls family moving from place to place during Laura's childhood. The main character is Laura, but her entire family is involved as well. There is one book about Almanzo Wilder's childhood, who eventually becomes Laura's husband.
They are very simply written and mostly what I think Mrs. Wilder is doing is displaying how hard life was then. I'm not sure that she ever saw a big city until she was MUCH older. Her family kept moving to more and more remote areas (or once back into a more civilized area) so all of the food they ate they basically had to make themselves.
Mrs. Wilder describes making cheese and bread (without so much as a pack of yeast!), going months without seeing milk, because they didn't have a milk cow, or theirs had dried up. The book that hit me was "The Long Winter" because they basically ran out of food when the trains couldn't get through the storms. They ate wheat that was ground in a coffee grinder and made into coarse biscuits. That was IT. I was amazed at this life style and how convenient everything is now days. If I run out of something I can just run to the store and get more.
These books are all about Farming too. Mrs. Wilder describes out the common farmer would put everything he had (including going into debt) into his harvest and sometimes the harvest would be bad. Two years in a row when they lived in Minnesota they lost their crops to grasshopper plagues. She talks about when she married her husband, Almanzo, how she didn't want to be dependent on a farm any more, so they had a deal that they could try farming for three years and if it didn't work out, Almanzo would do something else. It didn't work out and they barely were able to make ends meet and at the end of four years (she gave an extra year as a year of grace) their house was burned to the ground. They basically lost everything, but Laura still allowed her husband to farm. It was the chance that they might make enough money to pay for their equipment and house and for groceries and have some left over that kept them farming. It wasn't at all dependable.
Really these books show the true pioneering spirit, and willingness to make something out of nothing. They are inspirational in their own way, but I'll be honest. I still wouldn't want to be married to a farmer.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Agency: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee
I stumbled across this book in the "New" section of the YA literature section. It is about a dectective agency comprised completely of women who are governesses, servants, etc set in Victorian London. The series follows Mary Quinn, who is a half-Chinese, half-Irish girl who was orphaned at a young age and grew up on the streets until she was caught for steal and had the death penalty. Then some ladies from a boarding school found her and got her released, so they could train her to be a spy.
This is actually the second book in the series, I haven't actually gotten around to the first book yet. I think that would fill in some of the plot gaps. By the way, I HATE starting a series on the second book. I was even mad that the "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" was the second book (chronologically). Nothing would satisfy me until I read the first one.
This one, the heroine dresses up like a 12 year old boy who is helping out on a construction site. She has been called by the "Agency" to investigate the death of a man who fell from the top of the tower that holds "Big Ben". (Fact, Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower or the clock).
I liked it well enough, like I said though, I think I need to read the first book. I thought the details of Victorian England were accurate, but I thought the mystery was a little disjointed. Mysteries have to flow and reveal clues along the way, so by the end your swear that you know who the bad guy is, but you don't actually know. This one was like watching CSI or some kind of cop show. It told you what happened, but didn't build up to the climax very well, until the chapter or so right before the climax.
Oh, by the way. I hate historical fiction. Really, if you are going to write a book set in the past, make sure that it is an alternate universe, NOT the actual "real" place/time. Then you can ignore/excuse any mistakes. I hated the Work and the Glory (can I be Mormon and still say this??? :) )
Not that this book did that. I thought the "alternate" reality (meaning that an agency of spies completely made up of women in Victorian England) was well defined. Also, the author really had a very good grasp on customs and roles of people in Victorian England, so that helped.
I didn't really care for the romantic side of it. I thought the heroine and her romantic interest moved a little too fast...but then again, I haven't read it yet. It had a bit to much sex for a book that had absolutely no sex at all, but then again that is just me. Once again, I think I need to read the first book. It sounds like there was a lot of build up in the romance side of things.
Rating: Worth a read! Definitely start with the first book though. I think that would help with the flow of the story. I felt like I was missing things throughout the whole book...hence the reason I HATE starting with the second book.
This is actually the second book in the series, I haven't actually gotten around to the first book yet. I think that would fill in some of the plot gaps. By the way, I HATE starting a series on the second book. I was even mad that the "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" was the second book (chronologically). Nothing would satisfy me until I read the first one.
This one, the heroine dresses up like a 12 year old boy who is helping out on a construction site. She has been called by the "Agency" to investigate the death of a man who fell from the top of the tower that holds "Big Ben". (Fact, Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower or the clock).
I liked it well enough, like I said though, I think I need to read the first book. I thought the details of Victorian England were accurate, but I thought the mystery was a little disjointed. Mysteries have to flow and reveal clues along the way, so by the end your swear that you know who the bad guy is, but you don't actually know. This one was like watching CSI or some kind of cop show. It told you what happened, but didn't build up to the climax very well, until the chapter or so right before the climax.
Oh, by the way. I hate historical fiction. Really, if you are going to write a book set in the past, make sure that it is an alternate universe, NOT the actual "real" place/time. Then you can ignore/excuse any mistakes. I hated the Work and the Glory (can I be Mormon and still say this??? :) )
Not that this book did that. I thought the "alternate" reality (meaning that an agency of spies completely made up of women in Victorian England) was well defined. Also, the author really had a very good grasp on customs and roles of people in Victorian England, so that helped.
I didn't really care for the romantic side of it. I thought the heroine and her romantic interest moved a little too fast...but then again, I haven't read it yet. It had a bit to much sex for a book that had absolutely no sex at all, but then again that is just me. Once again, I think I need to read the first book. It sounds like there was a lot of build up in the romance side of things.
Rating: Worth a read! Definitely start with the first book though. I think that would help with the flow of the story. I felt like I was missing things throughout the whole book...hence the reason I HATE starting with the second book.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tamora Pierce
So I love books by Tamora Pierce. She is so creative. The worlds she creates are consistent, believable, and really like another world. I envy that ability in writing. Every time I try to write like that it turns into a History paper (curse my degree in History!!!!) The characters are believable and lovable, in their own way. On of my favorite of her series are the "Trickster's Choice" and the "Trickster's Queen". Mostly because they are more political histories rather than outright warrior women like her other books.
That is her only down fall...her characters tend to have the same driven personalities...She tries to change it up a bit, but they are basically the same. I think it is her own personality coming out in her characters, so it isn't a bad thing. Ms. Pierce is just putting herself into her stories, another thing that makes her characters so endearing.
The other thing that I struggle with is that her characters always seem far older than they actually are. In her "Circle of Magic" series, she has her ten year old characters dealing with things that any ten year old, no matter what their lives have been, wouldn't be able to handle. It is kind of like a 30 year old coming out of a 10 year old body. In spite of that, I still love those books, and the characters. I just feel that she expects too much of her young characters.
I am glad that she stopped doing the quartet series style of writing. I have found that Ms. Pierce is much more thorough in her story telling style by avoiding the quartet. Namely "The Trickster's Choice" series. The book and its sequel is full of color, intrigue, and a very believable revolution. The intricacy of the plot is never less than perfect. Makes me shiver with the complete order, just like a perfect 4 part harmony. I also have enjoyed the "Beka Cooper" series about a "Dog" (or law enforcer) in the slums.
The one thing that stops me from buying her books. I hate that she feels like it is necessary for most (not all) of her characters to have sex by the time they are 16 or so. I think this is the whole young adult novel thing coming out. (almost all YA novels I have read discuss sex one way or another...at least modern ones. Older ones just talk about relationships) I have gathered from reading Ms. Pierce's bio at the end of her books that she is rather feminist, so I think it is just her opinion coming out, but I still have a hard time when one of the character's mother is encouraging her to sleep with a lot of different men (or "try out" relationships) before settling down to just one. I actually find it tasteless to talk about sex at all in books (it is all about the shock factor, and it is getting old...at least I am getting bored) and talking about relationships is one thing, but since when did sex and relationships become synonymous?? I just don't think that it is very appropriate. But I also know I will be considered a prude for saying so.
Anyways, over all I find Tamora Pierce's books to be colorful, interesting with believable characters. She is a wonderful story teller and her books are always worth a read.
That is her only down fall...her characters tend to have the same driven personalities...She tries to change it up a bit, but they are basically the same. I think it is her own personality coming out in her characters, so it isn't a bad thing. Ms. Pierce is just putting herself into her stories, another thing that makes her characters so endearing.
The other thing that I struggle with is that her characters always seem far older than they actually are. In her "Circle of Magic" series, she has her ten year old characters dealing with things that any ten year old, no matter what their lives have been, wouldn't be able to handle. It is kind of like a 30 year old coming out of a 10 year old body. In spite of that, I still love those books, and the characters. I just feel that she expects too much of her young characters.
I am glad that she stopped doing the quartet series style of writing. I have found that Ms. Pierce is much more thorough in her story telling style by avoiding the quartet. Namely "The Trickster's Choice" series. The book and its sequel is full of color, intrigue, and a very believable revolution. The intricacy of the plot is never less than perfect. Makes me shiver with the complete order, just like a perfect 4 part harmony. I also have enjoyed the "Beka Cooper" series about a "Dog" (or law enforcer) in the slums.
The one thing that stops me from buying her books. I hate that she feels like it is necessary for most (not all) of her characters to have sex by the time they are 16 or so. I think this is the whole young adult novel thing coming out. (almost all YA novels I have read discuss sex one way or another...at least modern ones. Older ones just talk about relationships) I have gathered from reading Ms. Pierce's bio at the end of her books that she is rather feminist, so I think it is just her opinion coming out, but I still have a hard time when one of the character's mother is encouraging her to sleep with a lot of different men (or "try out" relationships) before settling down to just one. I actually find it tasteless to talk about sex at all in books (it is all about the shock factor, and it is getting old...at least I am getting bored) and talking about relationships is one thing, but since when did sex and relationships become synonymous?? I just don't think that it is very appropriate. But I also know I will be considered a prude for saying so.
Anyways, over all I find Tamora Pierce's books to be colorful, interesting with believable characters. She is a wonderful story teller and her books are always worth a read.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Not my favorite. These books got really popular this summer and after hearing all about it on facebook, I finally broke down and read them.
It is set in a post-apocalyptic USA, where on area of the US, titled the 'Captial' basically runs the other 12 districts of the US. Because of a long past rebellion and uprising, every year the Capitaltakes a male and female candidate from each of the 12 districts between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight to the death in a huge arena, while every district watches.
So the story follows Katniss whose sister, Prim, is selected, so Katniss volunteers to take her place. With that being the whole premise of the story, it kind of bugged me (spoiler alert) that in the last book her sister dies because of her actions. Sort of.
By the third book the whole series turns in to a veritable bloodbath of a revolution where the 12 districts are trying to escape the oppressive rule of the Capital (by the way, did any one else notice how the capital seemed to be in Salt Lake City? Nestled in the Rockies?) The thing I guess I didn't like is the character development. Rather it was a character de-moralization. Katniss doesn't really change, she just goes insane, as does Peeta, her partner. They are manipulated and threatened and tortured by both the Capital and the revolutionaries, until they can't tell up from down. The story ends with Katniss spending her whole life trying to blot out the horrors that she has been forced to do and not really reaping the rewards of the over-thrown Capital.
This was not an uplifting trilogy. Maybe it could have been, but I don't think that that was the author's intent. (here I am putting words into the author's mouth...) It was about fighting for power, no matter the cost. Even though the twelve (and elusive thirteenth) districts had a right to live just as they did in the Capital, they wanted to do it and force the Capital to live as they had lived. I think the only noble thing that Katniss did in the entire book (really) was to kill President Coin, so that saner people could take control.
It did end relatively happy, but the emotional scars were there for the rest of Katniss' life. Understandable. But one would hope it would be offset by a bit of joy too.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Harry Potter and the... by JK Rowling
Oh Harry Potter...I love these books! I think I've touched briefly on them before, but they are my serious trip donn memory lane. One of the reasons I like these books so much is that I started reading them when I was 14 or 15 and as Harry grew up so did I. Maybe that is why so many women like Twilight...I personally think the first one was okay, then it just was dragged out from there. Anyways, moving on...
I own the entire Harry Potter set of books that I bought in England. For those of you who don't know, they changed some of the lingo slightly when the books were published in the USA, because we don't get thinks like "Car-parks" (parking lots) or "Lemon Sherbets" (which are basically lemon drops) so the American versions are a bit more Americanized. The earliest books were the ones that were changed the most (ex the British title is "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", which by the way is more accurate for anyone who knows anything about mythology, especially alchemy...There is no such thing as a Sorcerer's stone in mythology...) I prefer the British versions, there is something so...so...BRITISH about them and it reminds me of England (I lived there for about a year going to college). In fact, I have actually never read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the American version. Some one asked me what the difference was and I couldn't tell them...But from what I understand they are pretty close to the same now, probably because Scholastic finally realized that Americans do understand some British lingo, and it adds to the charm and appeal of the books. At least it always has for me! Mind you I read Dorthy Sayers and Agatha Christie for the Britishness, although I shouldn't really count those, because they are set in the '30s...
I actually prefer British authors over American ones when it comes the YA Fantasy. British authors know what their talking about, but Americans tend to tear old stories and myths to pieces and put them back together in a really patched up manner. Americans are too crass and are trying to get a "coming of age story" in the manner of Judy Blume mixed up with the fantasy, so the story-line gets a little lost in the process . It ends up being parallel stories. British authors manage to mix the two so the coming-of-age is part of the story-line...once again this is just my opinion. I think it has something to do with British authors practically being raised on old legends and myths, if not in their schools every town seems to have legends of some kind. I think it also has something to do with still having prayers in school and the Bible being part of the curriculem...Americans have a Puritian up bringing (don't deny it...it is part of the school system here), so their background tends to be more practical, more realistic and not so saturated with myth and legend (including the Bible, which I see as true, but it is still full of hard to believe stories). That is something we read in books, rarely do we experience it. At least in the West! We are also raised to see those stories and tales as taboo, almost embarassing to talk about (including the Bible to a degree!).
So we Americans tend to be a little awkward in writing YA fantasy, either going completely over the top (like those books that are completely set in foreign worlds and everything is a complicated mess) or we err on the side of reason, trying to explain every single detail or base our stories in as much reality as possible to escape sounding taboo. British authors know how to let the story explain much of the questions the reader might have about the story they read.
This is all my opinion, but I'll put a book back if it is written/set in America. Or at least I'll think twice! Although I have read some good books by Americans. I adore Patricia Wrede and I like Tamora Pierce (I have a hard time with her, because "coming-of-age" for her usually includes the character having sex for the first time...but not always!), Caroline Stevemere (sp?), Meg Cabot (she has such a witty sense of humor, I can't help but like these books! Not all her's are fantasy either, but she does really well with it). Notice that these are all women? Ironic...I prefer women writers, because they don't dwell on the scantly clad women characters...Almost every male fantasy writer has at one point or another had a scantly clad elf or queen, etc...blarg..male testosterone will ruin a good book every time! :)
I own the entire Harry Potter set of books that I bought in England. For those of you who don't know, they changed some of the lingo slightly when the books were published in the USA, because we don't get thinks like "Car-parks" (parking lots) or "Lemon Sherbets" (which are basically lemon drops) so the American versions are a bit more Americanized. The earliest books were the ones that were changed the most (ex the British title is "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", which by the way is more accurate for anyone who knows anything about mythology, especially alchemy...There is no such thing as a Sorcerer's stone in mythology...) I prefer the British versions, there is something so...so...BRITISH about them and it reminds me of England (I lived there for about a year going to college). In fact, I have actually never read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the American version. Some one asked me what the difference was and I couldn't tell them...But from what I understand they are pretty close to the same now, probably because Scholastic finally realized that Americans do understand some British lingo, and it adds to the charm and appeal of the books. At least it always has for me! Mind you I read Dorthy Sayers and Agatha Christie for the Britishness, although I shouldn't really count those, because they are set in the '30s...
I actually prefer British authors over American ones when it comes the YA Fantasy. British authors know what their talking about, but Americans tend to tear old stories and myths to pieces and put them back together in a really patched up manner. Americans are too crass and are trying to get a "coming of age story" in the manner of Judy Blume mixed up with the fantasy, so the story-line gets a little lost in the process . It ends up being parallel stories. British authors manage to mix the two so the coming-of-age is part of the story-line...once again this is just my opinion. I think it has something to do with British authors practically being raised on old legends and myths, if not in their schools every town seems to have legends of some kind. I think it also has something to do with still having prayers in school and the Bible being part of the curriculem...Americans have a Puritian up bringing (don't deny it...it is part of the school system here), so their background tends to be more practical, more realistic and not so saturated with myth and legend (including the Bible, which I see as true, but it is still full of hard to believe stories). That is something we read in books, rarely do we experience it. At least in the West! We are also raised to see those stories and tales as taboo, almost embarassing to talk about (including the Bible to a degree!).
So we Americans tend to be a little awkward in writing YA fantasy, either going completely over the top (like those books that are completely set in foreign worlds and everything is a complicated mess) or we err on the side of reason, trying to explain every single detail or base our stories in as much reality as possible to escape sounding taboo. British authors know how to let the story explain much of the questions the reader might have about the story they read.
This is all my opinion, but I'll put a book back if it is written/set in America. Or at least I'll think twice! Although I have read some good books by Americans. I adore Patricia Wrede and I like Tamora Pierce (I have a hard time with her, because "coming-of-age" for her usually includes the character having sex for the first time...but not always!), Caroline Stevemere (sp?), Meg Cabot (she has such a witty sense of humor, I can't help but like these books! Not all her's are fantasy either, but she does really well with it). Notice that these are all women? Ironic...I prefer women writers, because they don't dwell on the scantly clad women characters...Almost every male fantasy writer has at one point or another had a scantly clad elf or queen, etc...blarg..male testosterone will ruin a good book every time! :)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
I wasn't really expecting much from a Mormon fantasy writer (note, I am Mormon). In general, Mormon writers tend to sacrifice a good plot in favor of everybody being the good guy...it just is a little to goody-two-shoes for me, with exceptions to certain authors or books. Brandon Mull's Fablehaven was one of those exceptions.
The first time I read Fablehaven (the first book) I actually heard it, on audio book. Can I say that whoever was the reader/actor of that book did an awful job? His acting skills took away from my enjoyment of the book...the voices of the people lacked emotion, but the actual narrative wasn't bad. But because of this audio book I really had no desire to read the other books in the series.
I started to hear more about it, outside of deseret books on more nationally acclaimed reading lists and suggestions, so I got curious. I went to get them from my library and ever single copy was checked out and on hold for at least a month. So I got myself on the list and finally, FINALLY got the books. I was astonished. The series is full of imaginative creatures, a truly wonderful villain (which, in my opinion, makes fantasy really good or really bad...) characters that develop nicely, surprise twists and cliff-hanger endings. It was thought out and well put together with no plot-gaps or "oh i just thought of this I'm going to add it" plot developments (which, by the way, readers can see through...unless you do a REALLY good job of making it part of your story).
These books revolve around 13-15 year old Kendra and her 11-13 year old brother Seth. They go to stay with their grandparents on a sort of farm in New England and discover that it holds more secrets than they could have ever imagined. I just love how the main characters become essential to the community they discover and the main focus of the bad guys. It kind of has a Frodo feel to it, from being a simple middle-school kid to some one vital to saving the world, but the development is gradual and makes sense as the story progresses. It isn't a sudden switch. I became an addict overnight, from being unsure about the books to being desperate to get my hands on them. The final book in the series comes out this spring (I think) and I can't wait to get it.
Definitely worth checking out, and whatever you do, don't get the audio book...
The first time I read Fablehaven (the first book) I actually heard it, on audio book. Can I say that whoever was the reader/actor of that book did an awful job? His acting skills took away from my enjoyment of the book...the voices of the people lacked emotion, but the actual narrative wasn't bad. But because of this audio book I really had no desire to read the other books in the series.
I started to hear more about it, outside of deseret books on more nationally acclaimed reading lists and suggestions, so I got curious. I went to get them from my library and ever single copy was checked out and on hold for at least a month. So I got myself on the list and finally, FINALLY got the books. I was astonished. The series is full of imaginative creatures, a truly wonderful villain (which, in my opinion, makes fantasy really good or really bad...) characters that develop nicely, surprise twists and cliff-hanger endings. It was thought out and well put together with no plot-gaps or "oh i just thought of this I'm going to add it" plot developments (which, by the way, readers can see through...unless you do a REALLY good job of making it part of your story).
These books revolve around 13-15 year old Kendra and her 11-13 year old brother Seth. They go to stay with their grandparents on a sort of farm in New England and discover that it holds more secrets than they could have ever imagined. I just love how the main characters become essential to the community they discover and the main focus of the bad guys. It kind of has a Frodo feel to it, from being a simple middle-school kid to some one vital to saving the world, but the development is gradual and makes sense as the story progresses. It isn't a sudden switch. I became an addict overnight, from being unsure about the books to being desperate to get my hands on them. The final book in the series comes out this spring (I think) and I can't wait to get it.
Definitely worth checking out, and whatever you do, don't get the audio book...
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