Book Review: Grim, ed. by Christine Johnson

This book, a compilation of short stories inspired by the prolific Grimm fairy tales, explores lives of traditional characters in a variety of situations. Whether in the future, in alternate realities, or just re-imagined by talented writers of youth literature, these classic and creepy tales are fantastic. The authors include: Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Julie Kagawa, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Kimberly Derting, Myra McEntire, Malinda Lo, Sarah Rees-Brennan, Jackson Pearce, Christine Johnson, Jeri Smith Ready, Shaun David Hutchinson, Saundra Mitchell, Sonia Gensler, Tessa Gratton, and Jon Skrovan.

I enjoyed almost 90% of the stories included, and while I didn’t recognize some of the characters/story lines/themes, I still got a kick out of the sheer expansiveness of the stories and their awesomeness. Their was a fair amount of brutality, sex, hate, deception, secrets, love, mystery, and everything that is quintessential in a classic fairy tale. Some were particularly short and sweet, with a quick concise wrap-up; while there were others that had more characters, a more extensive plot-line, and occasionally, drug on for longer than felt necessary. Some stories were honestly surprising! I would be half-way through a story, and then *duh!* would realize the characters related to, say, Red Riding Hood, or Sleeping Beauty, or (quite often), Beauty and the Beast. That was one thing that I kind of disliked–there were multiple versions of the same story/tale. I think it would have been preferable to stick to all different stories, or at least have separate versions that were so different, so altered, that they wouldn’t be comparable. I did enjoy the theme of the Grimm fairy tales, or classic fairy tales–doing just fantasy seems to run to close to other short story compilations like Firebirds, Firebirds Rising, or even the third in the compilations, Firebirds Soaring (which I totally need to get to at some point). Anyhow, the stories were intriguing and unique, and kept me interested throughout the entire book. I recommend it!

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Book Review: Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (graphic novel) by Denton J. Tipton

This illustrated story tells of the next villain to plague the colorful lands of Oz: The Jester. He’s the long-lost brother of the Wicked Witch of the West (WWotW), and he seeks to rule over the entire land of Oz by controlling the troupe of flying monkeys and threatening the villages across the land. Once the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and (no-longer-cowardly) Lion hear of his evil plan and witness the havoc he’s already wreaked, they devise a plan to bring the only thing that could save Oz: Dorothy Gale. They traipse across Oz, encountering new fantastical beings and lands, all while magically surviving attacks and setbacks. It ends with a cliffhanger, a mystery of what will happen to Oz and Dorothy–destined to be revealed in the upcoming animated film.

I think the colorful and minimalist illustrations meld well with the stories of Oz, and capture a small sense of how the mystical world would be, just as the movies and books have. It reminds me of Lisa Frank and the colorful, over-the-top girly-ness of it all. While the dark and evil colors of the Jester’s scenes do wonderfully juxtapose the bright and cheeriness of Oz, the Jester’s stupidity is slightly off. Since he is the brother of the WWotW, it seems like he would be just as evil (which he is). Yet, on the other hand, he is no where quite as bright. He has a method worked out for his evil plan, but fumbles and makes things almost comical. This is probably a good idea for a children’s book–lends to the lightheartedness of it and doesn’t seriously scare the living daylights out of a child. Reminds me of an extremely PG version of the Joker from Batman comics. A neat version of the L. Frank Baum stories; I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel to the story, Legends of Oz.

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Book Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

This second installment of the Graceling series tells an alternate story that predates Graceling by a couple of decades. This gives a slight history of Leck and how his Grace began. After a brief introduction of Leck’s birth and patronage, the story shifts into the land of monsters, where magical and colorful beasts attract humans and human-like monsters to their death. Their beauty can cause madness, and some even entrance humans into rushing to their death. The human version of the monsters are just as beautiful and deadly. Their beauty, rainbow-colored hair, skin, gaze, and voice can cause a multitude of reactions, bringing humans into their power. These “monsters” have the power of mind control and can sway almost any man or woman with a simple thought. The story opens with Fire, one of the last “monsters”, raised by the cruel and powerful Cansrel, who led the late-king Nax, and his kingdom, into ruin. She lives away from the royal city with Archer and Brocker. The kingdom has slowly been rebuilding its strength, with the aid of Nax’s two sons, Brigan and Nash. A new threat in surrounding lands and ruling parties, Mydogg, the Pikkians, and Gentians, are threatening the new peace with war. Nash and Brigan call on Fire to try to help them understand who the real enemies and allies are, and where any possible threats may originate. She is terribly afraid of becoming overbearing and ruthless as her father was, and tries to avoid the true extent of her power.

This was harder to start than Graceling for me, I’m not exactly sure why. I’ve strained for so long to read, read, read as much and as fast as possible that I think I just hit a wall. Once I got past Leck’s gruesome introduction and the confusion at Fire and Archer’s names and powers, I became enthralled in Fire’s character and depth. Since I was expecting more of the Grace’s and a continuation of the Graceling storyline, this second installment did throw me for a slight loop. Fire’s character was intriguing and sensitive, but also extremely defensive and sheltered. I loved seeing her come out of her shell mentally as well as physically. She finally began to use her power to good use, and didn’t allow for it to control her. I liked Brigan’s strong silent resolve and his blossoming into a brave and strong love of Fire’s. Her relationship with Archer was just plain odd, but I guess satisfied her need for affection without actual love or obsession. She found a player that she could be with that she knew wouldn’t become obsessed and fawn over her unnecessarily. There were brief glimpses of Fire’s relationship with her evil father, which were oddly sweet. She was the only one he trusted and didn’t overpower, and it was interesting to see his version of love for her. I would really love to see if Fire had children and how they would turn out. Yes her father was evil, but other than his history, I don’t recall there being any other “evil” monsters. Just because there was one, doesn’t mean all the “monsters” would be the same. Oh well. On to Bitterblue! Hope its as fantastical as these past two 🙂

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Book Review: Alanna- Song of the Lioness Book One by Tamara Pierce

Alanna Trebond and her brother Thom decide to switch places to truly achieve their desire and idealized destiny. Alanna wishes to learn swordplay and become a knight, while Thom, who is not very good at these things, wishes to become a powerful sorcerer and wizard. To achieve these vastly different futures from the ones planned for each of them by their scholarly obsessed father, Alanna decides to pretend to be a boy. This allows her to travel to the royal city and study to be a knight, while Thom will go to the convent where young boys study to be a sorcerer alongside the girls studying to be women. While she may be the smallest of the pages and squires, Alanna trains hard, on her own and with others, to defeat bullies and prove herself. She makes quick friends with Prince Jonathan and his companions, and makes herself indispensable amongst the court with her bit of the “Gift” (magic) that she possesses. After saving the life of the prince and aiding the castle healers with her power, she is chosen to accompany Jonathan to the land of the Bhazirs, or desert people. Once in the land, they learn of a magical dark city, one Alanna has seen in dreams and prophecies. Jonathan decides to sneak away to defeat the evil in the city, and Alanna has no choice but to follow and protect her friend.

Alanna is a very strong and intelligent girl, and was incredibly interesting to follow. This book didn’t seem to have a lot of background details and fully rounded characters, but I did enjoy the witty banter Alanna brought to conversations. It seemed very lopsided to present a pair of siblings, twins no less, and hardly have mention of her brothers’ tale or life once they parted ways. While I understand this story was about Alanna and not Thom, it still seemed odd to only mention him once toward the end. This very slightly reminded me of Hero and the Crown, but didn’t seem to be as multi-layered or as comprehensive. I liked the story line very much, but it just seemed incomplete. I feel like if it were another 100 pages or so, it would have been better. I plan on reading more into the series to see if the characters are better developed or if the details improve. It was light and entertaining to read, but just felt….incomplete. I know this a terrible description, but there were just so many details I wish were included! Three years passed in a blink of an eye, it seemed, and things were just hunky dory. Oh well. Hopefully it continues to improve! I think I was just too busy comparing it to others.

 

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Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In this fantasy land with seven kingdoms, ruled by seven kings, there are a small population of people that have special abilities or strengths, or Graces. Each person’s Grace is different, and some are very powerful and very “useful” to those in power. The protagonist, Katsa (in my head I kept confusing her with Katniss…not the same, not the same), believes her Grace to be killing. She is very skilled at killing, injuring, maiming, punishing, etc., etc., etc. Her mother and father have died, leaving her to her uncle, the king’s, command. Her uncle King Randa of the Middluns, is very petty and cautious of others who challenge his power, and frequently sends Katsa to do his bidding (or threatening) across the land. Katsa secretly rebels against his wishes, and creates the Council to do good deeds and protect those not deemed worthy by higher rulers. Through the Council’s work, she encounters a Prince of Leinid, nicknamed Po, who’s Grace seems to finally be a rival to her own. She constantly adapts and discovers her true self, all the while falling into a complicated plot with kidnapping, torture, extreme adventure, and most surprisingly (to Katsa), love.

I reaaaaaallly enjoyed this book. As I mentioned with The Hero and the Crown, fantasy books with strong female characters who develop into even stronger heroines are my favorite. I like the idea of a young girl who can perservere without the guidance or protection of another male or female. While the protagonist, such as Katsa, changes and evolves to become a better person through Po’s help and others’ (Raffin, Bitterblue, Oll, etc.), she doesn’t change who she is without it being her choice. I liked the fast-paced action, the mystery, and the strong honor that Katsa exuded. Her choices were difficult at times due to her conflict of interest or concern for another person, but she never strayed from her ideals of right and wrong. I liked her motherly behavior toward Bitterblue, which contrasted to her strong and independent character traits, made Katsa even more endearing. I was urgently awaiting the conclusion of this book and couldn’t wait to see what would befall all the characters, good and bad. The ending was not disappointing, and I liked the concise  wrap-up, which still left some opening for subsequent titles. I really want to keep reading this series!

The Hero & the Crown by Robin McKinley

The Hero and the Crown has been one of my favorite books since middle school. My seventh grade English teacher, Ms. Flowers, introduced our class to this epic fantasy novel.

Being the type of student I used was, I neglected to remember the title or author of this book once I had left middle school and discarded all my homework and lesson plans. Therefore, to my dismay, I couldn’t remember the usual items one needs to find a book at the library. And, remember, this was before the days of helpful internet searches. I believe I had encountered the internet by way of AOL instant messenger, and perhaps a couple of random websites that probably don’t exist any longer. So where was I to turn to? What magical place existed that could help me discover this book that I felt was to be my favorite of all time? Well, psh, duh. The library!!! 

The children’s librarian looked through random book after book, searching for these obscure search terms of “dragons”, “swords”, “magic”, and “red hair”. These are what defined my favorite book…. But she found it! I was skeptical…there was no way this book she found was my book. But as I crawled into a comfortable nook in the library, and began to read as if it was a brand new story, I was able to sink right back into my favorite fantasy. 

I’ve found one of my favorite types of novels involve young or youngish girls/women who find themselves set apart from the rest of their family and peers. This is typically due to cultural norms, family rules, or some sort of absolute set down by her ancestors or the law. But of course, this protagonist rebels, or brazenly rejects this societal norm, and strikes out on their own path. Despite shortcomings because of an oddity about the character or being shunned/neglected by her family, these characters develop into strong heroines. They save the day, rescue the castle/village/world/family, and generally are awesome.

This book was the first of many in my obsessive track of reading, and helped me realize my love of this genre and these type of characters. I believe I’ve already read this one book multiple times, and hope to read it about once a year. Check it out!

Book Review: Indelible

Indelible follows Joy, a relatively normal teenager, whose life is thrown into complete disarray after a chance encounter. Joy’s mother recently left her family to escape to another life, and since her brother left for college, he has kept his distance and silence. With her mother abandoning her family, Joy feels the need to quit her passion of gymnastics, and generally withdraw from life. Her one tie to normalcy is her friend Monica, whom Joy goes dancing with in a random bout of energy. At the under 18 night at the creepy yet “awesome” Carousel/Circus club, Joy spots some seriously “goth” kids watching her. This chance encounter leads to some freaky action, when the “goth” boy slices her eyeball (gross). After this freak encounter, strange things start appearing in her life and for her-eyes-only. She has been “linked” to this strange goth boy, Ink, and associates from his world are constantly appearing and/or passing her cryptic messages. As Joy sinks deeper and deeper into Ink’s (and his “sister”, Inq’s) world, her ability to survive or pass a day uninjured becomes slim. An ultimate foe and mysterious plot threaten the lives of more than Joy, and could cause an ultimate rift between the Fair Folk and humans.

This book was all over the place. It was extremely hard to follow, and seemed to borrow concepts and ideas from books like The Mortal Instruments series. These similarities were that both Ink and Inq used rune like drawings/tattoos, there were things Joy could see that other humans could not, a secret underworld, etc, etc, etc. I did like Joy’s energy and bull-headed stubbornness to do what she wanted and not be a withering damsel in distress. She took charge with her feelings for Ink, and was adamant about following her gut and protecting herself. It was a whirlwind of odd characters, interesting settings, and a confusing plot by the “villain”. It also seemed disconcerting how complacent Joy was toward these strange characters that would be monsters in any other book. The Bailiwick was a complex character, and I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue that surrounded his butler, Kurt. It never seemed to fully explain the full history between Kurt and Inq, and it was odd how suddenly everything was fixed by an inexplicable power Joy discovered in her moment of need. I did enjoy the book, it was an entertaining read, but it just bothered me at quick and convenient explanations, confusing statements that would be repeated over and over to Joy and not explained further, and random plot points like her brother coming out. I could see that Joy’s family life ran parallel to the odd happenings in this underworld, and like how it wrapped up nicely at the end…but it just seemed too forced and the characters didn’t feel fully developed.