The last two-book review I wrote was compare and contrast, because the material in each book related to the other book. This time, not so much: one is non-fiction, and one is fiction, and without performing some mental calisthenics at a level I’m not willing to do right now I don’t think I could write a unified review.
Who Published This Book Half-Finished?
Coming off the heels of the stupendous Dread Nation, I was pumped for this YA novel. The setup: children travel through magical portals to alternate worlds, only to become distraught upon their return to their tedious old lives. (Postmodern Wonderland or Narnia!) Though this book won all the awards—Hugo, Alex, Locus Nebula—it utterly failed to enchant me. I suppose my heart is a closed door. Or maybe an inky void. Nancy (the sixth most interesting character, maybe) lands at Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children […]
But the Wind Goes Right Through You, It’s No Place for the Old
Okay, I’m going to be upfront here that this was a book club pick (my book club pick, actually), and we broke a cardinal rule: never read the first in a series. It’s incredibly difficult to judge character arcs and abandoned plot lines, because you know that the story is only just beginning. That also makes it difficult to write a fair review, but I will try. Do you love whimsical stories rooted in complicated family dynamics? Apparently I do, because I adored reading this […]
Arrr, There be Pirates and Voodoo Here
I needed a book to listen to at work and this came up in the available now selection at my library. I have never seen the movie so I don’t know if this follows it or if it is even based on the book. John Chandagnac, a puppeteer, is sailing on the Vociferous Carmichael to confront his uncle who stole his fathers fortune when it is attacked by pirates. On board are Beth Hurwood, her father Benjamin, and his doctor Leo Friend. After wounding the pirate captain, Philip Davies, with a […]