Need

Need by Carrie Jones

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not bad, but not terrific either. I might read the next one in the series to see how Zara resolves the situation she leaves hanging at the end. Overall a pretty fast read and not one that I needed a lot of concentration for (i.e. I was able to read it while in between playing with my 2 year old son if that's any indication).

The characters are fairly stereotypical, but the premise is interesting and the story moves along fast enough to forgive this flaw. As is usually the case, the heroine fairly readily accepts the supernatural goings-on around her while doing some minor protesting and briefly considers fainting. Overall, I'd recommend it to readers who really enjoyed the Twilight series or Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series who are looking to branch out into the larger supernatural realm.



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The Bloody Chamber

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wonderful use of language and imagery. All the praise from my online book group members is richly deserved! I'd recommend this to (grown-up) fantasy readers looking for something a little different. These stories are definitely not written for children, but are not more violent or explicit than many of the YA books that are being published right now. No foul language, but there are violent scenarios and sexual imagery. For readers wanting to revel in the richness of the English language, these stories will be a delicacy.



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The Wood Beyond the World

The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The plot of The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris is not particularly complex and is trite by today's standards. However, this is one of the books that started the "dude from mostly humble beginnings ends up in magical land and becomes king somehow" fantasy trend. Lots of ye-olde style language, but nothing unmanageable. Overall, definitely should be read by fans of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, as those readers will delight in discovering the ways this book influenced the work of those authors in particular. For other readers, if you like fairy tales, you'll probably like this book.



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The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo is the story of a very small mouse in love and his adventures. This children's book is a very quick read for an adult, but likely to keep children (I'd say primarily 3rd-5th graders) busy for a few days (definitely less for avid readers). The Tale of Despereaux would also appeal to 1st and 2nd graders as a read-aloud book. This is not to say older children or adults would not enjoy the story (far from it!!) but that they may find it too quick for their tastes. Something like Brian Jacques' Redwall series might have more appeal to middle and high school students.

All that being said, Desperaux and his tale/tail are very cute and it's a very endearing story "for young and old alike." :)

Highly recommended for all children and families - as well as general readers.

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

I finally read it! The latest installment in the series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince is an asset to the series. I found the book to be refreshing in that Harry continues to grow up (and mature) and while sometimes grumpy and melodramatic, has moved beyond being the sullen teen we saw in Order of the Phoenix.

As a reader of the series, I was not disappointed.

Highly recommended for Potter fans. For those unfamiliar with the series, it's best to start at the beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Inkspell

Back for another children's book! Inkspell is Cornelia Funke's sequel to her book Inkheart. Overall, I found Inkheart more enjoyable in its entirety, as Inkspell has kind of a cliff-hanger ending. I strongly suspect that Ms. Funke will add a third book to this series to wrap up the loose ends. The characters and world created in this "Ink" series are rich, varied, and imperfect in their own ways. I think when the hero characters have regrets or other flaws, the story they interact in is much more vivid.

Must read for those who liked Inkheart. Highly recommended for Harry Potter fans and fantasy fans (as long as you don't need elves in your fantasy books).

Dragon Rider

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke is a great children's book. Orphans, cranky fair folk, dragons, adventure - what more do you want in a children's story?! :)

Highly recommended for all young fantasy readers. Adult fantasy readers may enjoy this as long as they enjoy a lighthearted story.

Wrinkle in Time

Another book that was praised to me over and over again when I was in grade school, but never read. I suppose I was just being contrary. :) Anyway, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is a great book and though written for children contains very adult themes (of distopian Big Brother-type societies and people fighting against them). Really, it sends the message that it's important for us all to have differences, but to not let those differences get us down too much (there will always be people who love you).

Highly recommended for children - especially those who enjoy stories where "ordinary" children do extraordinary things (fighting evil and whatnot), though this story doesn't have magic. Extraordinary things happen through science more advanced than our own at present. Also highly recommended for adults who like this kind of story and are looking for a quick read (ax. 2 hours).

Earthsea Series

I began another classic children's fantasy series and again was not disappointed! The Earthsea series by Ursula LeGuin begins with A Wizard of Earthsea and continues with The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, The Other Wind, and Tales of Earthsea. I've now finished the entire series.

LeGuin's writing style is very different from Lloyd Alexander's. I'd say his tone is almost like that of an oral storyteller while LeGuin's is a little more literary. The main character for much of the series is Sparrowhawk, a young wizard whose destiny takes him all over his world. The main theme is light vs. darkness in the depths of the human soul, but it's treatment isn't preachy. Now that I've finished the series, my early conclusions about not wanting to see any dramatizations thereof are confirmed. There's just no way they could have nearly the value - the kind of dark & personal intimacy as reading the books has. That being said, I hope the movie will draw more people to these books. Another interesting aspect is that though the books are sequential, the later books don't start right where the last one left off - or tell you much about what's happened in between the books. Very interesting.

Highly, highly recommended. Absolutely a must read for fantasy fans! I cannot praise this series enough.

Peter Pan

Another children's book. They're on my mega-list of lifetime reads, so I figured I'd knock a few quick ones out of the way during the month that I moved and am prepping for Christmas and my wedding! All this aside, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie was a fun, but very quick read. Definitely written for children, it would probably be much better as a read-aloud title for younger children (maybe 6-9 years old?). As an adult, I can see where it would be appealing to children, but isn't written at a level where "kids of all ages" can enjoy it (whereas Lloyd Alexander, J.K. Rowling, Cornelia Funke, and others don't "dumb down" their writing).

Recommended - at the very least to somewhat counter the Disney version and as a piece of our cultural heritage. :)

Prydain Series

During November I've also finally read the Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander. This series consists of The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King. These books were first recommended to me by my friend Wolf (yes, this is his real name & not some weird RenFaire thing gone awry) during the 3rd or 4th grade. I finally read them and really enjoyed them - even though they're obviously intended for younger readers.

This is a fantasy series with some relationship to Welsh mythology, but mostly focuses on growing up, maturing (not always the same as growing up), and finding one's way in the world. As I've said above, I really enjoyed this series! You won't find detailed settings or character descriptions, instead enough details are given so that the reader is able to make their own mental images of how the characters look and the settings of where they might be. What character descriptions exist are almost Homeric in nature and these descriptions are largely the same throughout the series. The characters grow and change and find both joy and grief in this satisfying series.

Very highly recommended for fantasy readers and fans of Harry Potter looking for another series to read. I am not a particularly fast reader and was able to finish each book in ax. 3 hours (some a little more, others a little less), so this is only a quick fix for readers more used to Potter-length books (e.g. it took me ax. 9-10 hours to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix). Very enjoyable nevertheless!!