Introverted Reader

Madapple by Christina Meldrum: Book Review

Aslaug has lived an isolated life with her mother in the woods of Maine. A disturbing story is revealed in alternating chapters. One set of chapters reveals the course of Aslaug's life in the summer of 2003. The other reveals Aslaug on trial in 2007, for a crime that isn't even revealed until very late in the book. These are some crazy *itches. I'm sorry, but that's the logical place to start this. Aslaug appears to be an innocent victim, living in a house with her mother where they don't have electricity and all the windows are boarded over. Is it to keep the world out or Aslaug in? When she finally starts to meet other people, she's woefully unprepared for what she finds. She doesn't understand a lot of modern technology, she's brilliant with languages but doesn't understand everyday slang, and she doesn't realize the evil that people can hold in their hearts. Well, evil probably isn't the right word. I'll try again. The evil that fanaticism can lead people to. Save us all from fanatics of any flavor. Is there anything scarier than someone who is doing crazy, hurtful things because they believe that God, Allah, the Easter Bunny, or anyone else has told them it's their sacred duty to do so? I can't say that I enjoyed this--I was too upset throughout most of it for that. But I'm still mulling over some of the religious history and characters' behavior that I read here. This is a book to get under your skin and unsettle you for a while. If you're in the mood for that, go for it. If not, steer clear.

Book Review Lists

Year in Review

2009 was a great reading year for me! I finished 134 books! That has to be a record for me, at least since I finished school! I was pretty stingy with the five-star ratings this year, so I think I'll go ahead and list them all. I think it's funny that I don't read that many young adult books, and yet my five-star list is tilted firmly that way. Maybe that should tell me to pick up more young adult fiction? Anyway, in no particular order, my top books of 2009 (links are to my GoodReads reviews): Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones One Child by Torey Hayden The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier Graceling by Kristin Cashore A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman Maus II: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins War for the Oaks by Emma Bull Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder Un Lun Dun by China Miéville Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are your top picks for 2009?

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December 31, 2009

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George: Book Review

The lass is the last child in a family of nine and the fourth unwanted girl. She is so unwanted that her mother doesn’t even bother to name her. When a polar bear comes crashing through the door one night and asks her to live with him in his castle for a while, she agrees on the condition that her family will be provided for. And her adventures begin. I really don’t think I’ve ever read East of the Sun, West of the Moon (the fairy tale that this is based on), but I truly enjoyed the book. Retold fairy tales obviously come in many shapes and sizes, and this book stayed very true to the feel of the old fairy tales. The characters were developed a bit more, but I still wouldn't say that they're well-developed. The story was more about "what happened next," and I kept turning pages to find out exactly that. I liked that the lass could talk to animals. It added an extra element to the story when her pet Rollo could tell her what the castle walls smelled like. There were some lessons to be learned here, such as not giving up and avoiding trying to be something you're not. I was going to give this four stars, because I really did enjoy it while I was reading it, but now that I'm trying to write my review a week later, I find that the book has already faded in my memory, so I'm going to bump it down to three and a half stars. I'll still recommend it, but I'll probably find myself searching out a different re-telling of this fairy tale to see how they compare. I just found and read the original fairytale, and Jessica Day George did stay remarkably true to…

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King: Book Review

"I should have thought it obvious," I said impatiently, though even at that age I was aware that such things were not obvious to the majority of people. "I see paint on your pocket-handkerchief, and traces on your fingers where you wiped it away. The only reason to mark bees that I can think of is to enable one to follow them to their hive. You are either interested in gathering honey or in the bees themselves, and it is not the time of year to harvest honey. Three months ago we had an unusual cold spell that killed many hives. Therefore I assume that you are tracking these in order to replenish your own stock." Retired, fifty-four-year-old Sherlock Holmes is left speechless at this speech from fifteen-year-old Mary Russell. He realizes immediately that he has finally met a mind to match his own, and his retirement might not be quite as boring as he expected. I haven't read any of Conan Doyle's work recently enough to be able to comment meaningfully on how well the Sherlock in The Beekeeper's Apprentice matches up to the "real" Sherlock. All I can say is that I enjoyed the originals and I enjoyed this one. Mary is a rare heroine. She's ultra-intelligent, fiercely independent, funny, sharp-spoken, unafraid to get her hands dirty, and ultimately vulnerable. Sherlock finds himself losing interest in everything around him until Mary comes into his life to both test his wits and learn from him. The pair, who, from the outside would appear to be aloof from everyone else, ultimately save each other. There were several mysteries the two investigate throughout the book, from Mary's first attempt to solve a small local crime on her own, to the infinitely-bigger plot that almost proves to be the team's undoing. I…

Bookish Miscellany

It’s Monday! What are You Reading?

I should have started this meme, hosted by J. Kaye, last week, when I read so many books while the power was out. This week I've been trying to catch up with blog stuff and on GoodReads, and then there was Christmas, so I haven't gotten much read. Finished: Madapple by Christina Meldrum (review up tonight, hopefully) The Bright Forever by Lee Martin Upcoming: Under the Dome by Stephen King--if I can wake up in time to get to the library before they close. What can I say? I'm a night-shifter. What are you reading?

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December 28, 2009

The Bright Forever by Lee Martin: Book Review

On a beautiful July evening, nine-year-old Katie Mackey disappears on her way to the library. And our hearts break. I just don't know where to start. It's hard not to compare this to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, but there's a huge difference. As I remember it, The Lovely Bones dealt with the family's grieving process through the years following Susie's death. The Bright Forever follows the immediate aftermath of Katie's disappearance. All the rage, despair, hope, shame, suspicions, and "what if"s are examined in this book. And then it goes a step farther. At the very end is something of a call to action. The last narrator (there are several) says, "And what about the ones that evening who saw us come and go...and never for an instant thought there might be something wrong? The problem is this: how many of us were there who could have done something to stop what was going to happen? Where does responsibility start and end?" "We thought we were all free: free from work, from chores, from one another." "'He always looked like he was carrying the world on his back. I'd see him around town, and my heart would break.' 'Did you ever tell him that?' I asked her. 'Tell him that you saw him, that you felt something about what it was to have his kind of life?' 'I can't recall ever saying a word.' 'He might have liked to have heard it.'" What could be prevented if we just noticed each other? Not even just crimes. Maybe the neglected little boy wouldn't grow up to be the twisted man if someone had noticed his pain when he was younger. Just noticing. How hard is it, really? And yet we seldom do it. I can't say that the characters were…

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review

Weezie Foley is back and better than ever. She’s trying her best to win Savannah’s historic district decorating contest, but the couple across the street are throwing tons of money into their efforts. To add to her troubles, her boyfriend Daniel always becomes decidedly Grinch-like at Christmas, and she just can’t get him into the Christmas spirit. But nothing ever defeats Weezie for long, and there are plenty of laughs as we watch her determinedly spread Christmas cheer. I adore Mary Kay Andrews, and her Savannah books are my favorites. I wish I could be friends with Weezie and her best friend, BeBe. I would say that I have a crush on Daniel, but I have my own sexy husband who is also a fantastic cook. I’ll let Weezie keep Daniel. This was a short, easy, fun read that reminds us what is truly important about Christmas. I picked up a few other pointers along the way too. First of all, “Unless you scrub [your hands:] under hot water for at least three minutes with an antibacterial soap, you’re just inviting trouble.” And here the hospital I work for is teaching us to wash our hands for 15 seconds. Next, “Never, ever ask a former clergyman to say the blessing over a holiday dinner. Not if you like your dinner warm, anyway.” I kind of knew that one, but it never hurts to repeat the lesson. And finally, and most importantly, DO. NOT. EVER. interrupt a group of UGA football fans who are watching a replay of the 1980 Georgia-Florida championship game. Ever. Trust me. The results will not be pretty. But they will be hilarious. I was howling with laughter as I read about this extended family Christmas dinner! I recommend this for a fun little Christmas read. It…

Black Mountain Breakdown by Lee Smith: Book Review

We first meet Crystal Spangler when she’s a dreamy twelve-year-old Virginia mountain girl, in the summer before she begins high school. We follow her as her dreaminess leads her to look for meaning, or for herself, in all the wrong places. I adore Lee Smith’s work. She writes about the mountains of Virginia. I’m in North Carolina, but reading a book by Lee Smith feels like coming home. She captures the spirit of these mountains and these people perfectly. Just read this opening paragraph: ”Now the lightning bugs come up from the mossy ground along the river bank, first one, then two together, more, hesitant at first, from the darkness gathered there already in the brush beneath the trees. Crystal sits and watches, holds her breath, the Mason jar beside her knee; if she looks down, she can’t even see it now. She touches it with her finger and feels the glass with the letters raised and indecipherable in the dimness so that they could be anything, any words at all. They could be French. Suddenly out of the scrub grass at her knees comes rising a small pale flickering light, sickly unearthly yellowish green, fairy light. It is so close she can breathe on it and see the whirring, tiny wings. Crystal doesn’t move. She could catch it, but she doesn’t. Only her eyes move to follow the flight, erratic at first as if blown by wind although there is no wind in the hot still damp of early June on the river bank, then into the dark branches, away and gone. Crystal can barely see the river on down the bank, barely hear it. She looks across the river bed now to the railroad track cut into the mountain which goes straight up on the other side, almost…

Bookish Miscellany

History or Historical Fiction? Booking Through Thursday

This week's question at Booking Through Thursday is Given the choice, which do you prefer? Real history? Or historical fiction? (Assume, for the purposes of this discussion that they are equally well-written and engaging.) I'm a dedicated fiction reader, so it's almost impossible for me to get past my belief that non-fiction is dry and boring. So, in all reality, I'm going to go for the historical fiction every time. But if I had two books on the same topic in front of me, and someone I trusted swore to me that they were both equally readable, I would actually go for the real history. I have a feeling I've picked up a lot of incorrect history over the years from reading historical fiction because it's never easy to know which parts are "historical" and which parts are "fiction." I'd rather have the facts straight in my head. Which one would you pick up? You can share your answers here and at Booking Through Thursday.

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December 24, 2009

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville: Book Review

Strange things start happening around best friends Zanna and Deeba. A fox appears on the edge of the playground, watching Zanna. They come across graffiti saying “Zanna For Ever!” A woman they don’t know approaches Zanna in a café and tells her what an honor it is to meet her. It all culminates one night when the girls are having a sleepover and notice a broken umbrella hanging off a window, spying on them. They follow the umbrella and eventually find themselves in a place…not London. UnLondon, in fact. I loved this! Loved it. The author acknowledgments should give you an idea as to what to expect. China Miéville writes, “As always, I’m indebted to too many writers to list, but particularly important to this book are Joan Aiken, Clive Barker, Lewis Carroll, Michael De Larrabeiti, Tanith Lee, Walter Moers, and Beatrix Potter. Particular thanks are due Neil Gaiman, for generous encouragement and for his indispensable contributions to London phantasmagoria, especially Neverwhere.” Miéville chose some big footsteps to follow and he absolutely pulled it off. This mostly reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, with a little side of Neverwhere. The sense of totally unpredictable fun that pervades Alice was alive and well in Un Lun Dun. There was crazy word play (Binjas! Gotta love ‘em!), fantastical creatures, and a world where the impossible has become the everyday. But underneath all the fun, there were subtle messages about loyalty, friendship, doing your best, having faith in yourself, standing up for what’s right, and even a little dash of environmentalism. None of this is at all heavy-handed though, so it really can be read as a fun adventure story. Miéville illustrated the book himself, and I loved the illustrations. They added a perfect note of whimsy to an already-whimsical book. My favorite…