Review: Walk Two Moons

In tradition with my penchant for reading children's books, I've been reading "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech, a Newbery Medal winner, for quite some time now (because other books kept on coming out like "Clockwork Princess" that I just had to read first). That being said, "Walk Two Moons" was a terrific book worth reading. It's not a book you can storm through - there's too much packed into it to do that.

The story is about a girl named Sal who goes with her grandparents to visit her missing mother. On the way, she tells them the story of her friend Phoebe, her mother, and the lunatic. The story acts as a catharsis of sorts as it has parallels with her own story and the things she also has to learn.

The chapters alternate, more or less, in between Sal's narration and her trip with her grandparents. Each chapter is filled with interesting experiences, quotable quotes, and life insights. Indeed, each chapter is packed with things to ponder. In part, that is a reason it took me so long to read; it gave me reasons to put it down and think for a while. The book is not a page turner in the sense that it has no cliff-hangers and, although you are interested, the alternative chapters slow down the narrative.

So do I recommend it? Yes, of course, without a doubt. It's a book to come back to again. There is wisdom in its pages that children and adults alike ought to discover. It's a book that pulls on the heartstrings and talks to us about overcoming difficult times in our lives. If you're looking for a book to go through slowly (perhaps on a nightly basis) with your child, then this book works. If you're looking for a book for your child to go through quickly to gather his or her interest in reading in general, then there are better books I can recommend to you. But then again, you don't have to be a child to appreciate the worth of this book.

Review: The Search for Delicious

As many of you know, I love children's literature and I make a point of reading it often.

Today, on my ~2 hour plane ride, I reread from cover to cover "The Search for Delicious" by Natalie Babbitt (also famous for "Tuck Everlasting").

The story starts with a silly argument when the Prime Minister of kingdom decides to make an example-based dictionary and no one can agree on the same definition for "Delicious" The King believes that delicious is a good apple while the Queen believes that it is Christmas Pudding. And soon everyone in the castle is arguing so the Prime Minister's Special Assistant, a boy named Gaylen, is sent to poll the different villages of the kingdom. But in truth, there is much more underneath what appears to be a simple silly argument.

The story contains a little bit for everyone. There's a good deal of humor, but also insight. It has fantasy in it, but through this perspective is added about cycles of history of humans. Self-discovery is explored as is concept of belief in things we cannot see. Also, the poll itself leads the readers to consider the question as well: what is delicious? What is really important?

It's a short book, but the themes are well presented and clearly. One thing I appreciate about children's literature is that it doesn't beat around the bush. The book has ideas and they are given in a way that can be understood by anyone.

I'm glad I've reread this book and I'm sure I'll continue to reread it again in the future. It's worth it.

Reviews: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (The Necromancer, The Warlock, The Enchantress)

Where to start with this series? On previous occasions I've read and reviewed The Alchemyst, the Magician, and The Sorceress, the first three books in this six book series. The pace with which I've read these books is not due to them being slow-paced, but more because I didn't own all of the books from the get-go. Indeed, each of these books is very fast-paced. As with any lengthy series, I'll stick to just reviewing the whole series to avoid spoilers.

Let me start with the strengths of the series and in them I will point out the negatives along the way:

1st: They are imaginative.

Myths from all over the world are incorporated into the storyline. And not only myths, but also historical figures. The author has been quoted as saying that the only characters he invented for the series were the twins. You see, this story deals with Josh and Sophie Newman who, through a series of events, wind up going along with Nicholas Flamel who is very much alive due to an immortality spell that he uses from a book called the Codex, a book that tells of a prophecy of twins and of the destruction or preservation of the world. Among the many other human figures brought into the story are Machiavelli, Billy the Kid, Shakespeare, John Dee, Musashi, and Joan of Arc. From mythology are included such as Odin, Isis, Bastet, Hekate, Mars, and Gilgamesh. And let's not forget places such as Stonehenge, the Catacombs, Atlantis, Yggdrasil or artifacts such as Excalibur. And I haven't begun to scrape the surface. A negative from this is that it's hard to predict what will be brought in next to the story, making foreshadowing almost impossible. Also, because magic plays a role in the series and it's powers and limitations are never clearly defined (you can tell that there are rules, but you learn as you go and you never learn it all), again it makes you never sure what a character can pull out of their sleeve.

2nd: They are complex.

Some may view this as a negative, but I love it when I can tell that the author has the end in mind from the beginning. And especially by the ending you can tell that that's true. It's been said that the author's written linear plot progression notes are as long as a book and I believe it. Now, one thing that some readers may have difficulty with is the constant narration switch. Even from book one there are multiple narrators and it never gets better. In fact, the only downside of the ending is that there are too many things going on at the same time (even if it makes sense). We know who the main characters are, but still it feels slightly disjointed at times.

3rd: They are informative.

As one would hope with a series so full of material, much of the myth and legend is explained. Much of it is interwoven to an interesting effect. But my favorite was to learn about the history behind several of the historical characters, even if there was definitely a little bit of creative license added in places to help mold them into the story.

4th: They are insightful.

Because of the constant references to both myth and history, commentary is also made about what can be learned from those two entities which I found very interesting and worth understanding. In addition, this learning is then often applied to the characters, from which we can also learn how to apply these things to ourselves. Perhaps the only trouble is that the books have so many characters that none of them became so important that I became incredibly invested in them. Don't get me wrong; I liked the characters plenty, but there weren't many, if any, moments to cry over. And there wasn't any romance, which is also a negative for me.

The only extra downside I can think of that isn't in contrast to a strength is that the book didn't have a good denouement. Not that the ending was rushed - enough was given to make it not feel rushed - but that the ending could have been a lot fuller and still not dragged on in my opinion. With so many characters to follow I was impressed that most loose ends were tied up, but they weren't strongly tied. I would've preferred more.

All in all, a solid series. I may not read them again, but then again I may (since they will be lying around). Regardless, they are worth reading at least once especially for any fan of myth, history, and fantasy.

Two Reviews: Incarceron & To See The Queen

As many of you know I love reading both fiction and poetry; hence one review today is of one, while the other is of the other.

Incarceron
Catherine Fisher

The story is split into two narratives that come together.

First there is Finn. He lives in Incarceron, a vast living and ruthless prison very much like a world, but he has no memories of his earlier years, only a few flashes of a place he believes may be the outside. But how? No one comes in from the outside, just as no one escapes. Except there is the legend of one, Sapphique, who escaped many years ago. Then one day he discovers a crystal key and soon after begins speaking through it to a girl named Claudia.

Claudia lives on the outside, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. Soon she will be much like a prisoner in an arranged marriage to a royal flop. However, she soon believes that Finn may be the key to her escape as well.

We switch between the two places - inside Incarceron with Finn, and outside with Claudia. It takes a several chapters for the narratives to intertwine more, but both are interesting. We come to find that the outside is not necessarily a haven either. The motivations of the various characters also drives the reading forward.

I think what I liked most about this book were the questions it brought up about the nature of freedom. What does it mean to be free?

A quote a really liked goes as follows: "None of us have much idea where we are. Perhaps all our lives we are too concerned with where, and not enough with who."

Another idea was that of the implications of technology and how it can be both helpful and harmful to a society.

A final thing I enjoyed, which may not be enjoyed by some, is that the ultimate goodness or not of several characters is left unclear. There are some people who's true motives, or how they would act in a certain situation, or what they have done in the past, is left in doubt. Although often this might not be favorable, it made the most sense in this book where most characters must live duplicitous lives in order to survive. It is easy to paint characters black or white, but to make them gray and still likable is a challenge and I think it was achieved.

Although I have not read the sequel to this two book series (and I've heard it wasn't as good), I feel that this book was worth reading on its own. I'll read the second book, but even so this book has merit for the unique world it had created. It give you something to think about, which is fair praise for any novel. If you enjoy a bit of adventure, character development, as well as interesting ideas mixed into a young adult novel, I recommend this to you. Note: if you're looking for romance, there's little to none of that in this book at least. Perhaps in the next book.

To See The Queen
Allison Seay

I had the chance a week or so ago to see a poetry reading by a graduate of UNCG, now published poet. I bought her book and enjoyed it quite thoroughly.

I have noticed that nowadays with poetry it is becoming more and more common for poetry books to have a common narrative or theme that ties it all together, making the sum of the parts perhaps better than the individual poems. That is the way is was with this book of poetry. These poems deal with the authors own sufferings with depression and schizofrenia, a topic which drew me into the poems. From start to finish the poems are excellent, and yet there were few poems that I would pick out and read as a standalone poem. I'd post those few here, but they aren't online.

If you haven't had had the experience of a poetry book that is greater than the sum of its parts or are interested in the themes, by all means pick it up. Well, if you love poetry, that is.