Review: Tamora Pierce – Briar’s Book

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Briar’s Book
Tamora Pierce
Briar was brought up as a street rat from age 4. Now he finds it hard to balance his gang upbringing with his new life at the temple. With plague on the way, Briar must learn new skills quickly. But will it be fast enough to save those he loves?
251702This book is told almost entirely from Briar’s point of view. The progress of the plot is rapid, and you will find it difficult to break away from the narrative. Pierce is a master craftswoman, filling out characters seemlessly with the books that came before.

The ending of this book is gripping, you won’t want to put it down. It didn’t take me very long to reread this book, but if you are reading for the first time you may want to dedicate more time to enjoying events.

Of the books in this quartet, this one is the most disturbing for me. I don’t enjoy the plague at all, as it’s easy to be reminded of swine flu. The close calls of a number of friends of the four children are very close to home for me.

Sadly for me, as you can see in the above picture, I have the hardcopy version of this book which was sent to me by mistake. As an Australian customer, I find it too expensive to send things back. If anyone would like to swap this book with me for the paperback version, I would love for my collection to be matching!

I’d recommend this book for children and teenagers. There are some ugly parts of the book, but nothing that I feel is too out there. If you have read through the first three books, nothing in this book will be a surprise.

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or alternatively you can book swap with me!4star

Review: Tamora Pierce – Daja’s Book

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Daja’s Book
Tamora Pierce
Tris, Daja, Briar and Sandry are still great friends, and their magics are twining together just as well as before. Unfortunately, that means that plant mage Briar is getting sparks of lightning that kill plants, and Daja gets out of control just like Tris. Things are even more complicated by the fires threatening to spark over the region they are travelling in. Will everyone survive?
Daja is trangshi, which means that she is unable to communicate with her Trader kinfolk. Her smith magery gets out of hand, and she is able to create a beautiful growing tree, which is seen by the Traders in the area. They want to buy it – but noone is willing to communicate with Daja.
Just like the other books in this series, there is a focus on the plot pushing forwards.The majority of this book is from Daja’s perspective, although the other three children also have parts. There is some character development, particularly for the children learning responsibility for their magics.
In this book, it is possible to see how magic can kill someone, because they are trying to stop the forces of nature. Certainly this is a theme brought back by Pierce multiple times, that the forces of nature will sometimes have their way, no matter what people try to do to stop them. I don’t think it’s a bad thing – those of us in the real world have to deal with things like earthquakes and fires without the aid of magic.
I think out of all of the Circle of Magic books, this one is my favourite. Ever since I started rereading these for the purpose of reviewing them, I have been dying to get to this one! Daja’s character really speaks to me, even though I’m decidedly not black or built like a smith. Her insecurities and frustrations, as well as her motivations are really touching.
Suitable for children and teenagers alike, I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and magic. You could read this book without having read the first two in the series, but you will then spoil some of the plot of those for yourself. This book takes place almost immediately after Tris’s book, while everyone is still recovering from the pirates and earthquake.

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5star

Review: Tamora Pierce – Tris’s Book

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Tris’s Book
Tamora Pierce

Tris, Daja, Briar and Sandry have survived the earthquake, and Summersea is also beginning to heal its wounds. There is no rest for the four friends though – as powerful mages they have a duty to help put things right as well as fight off the next attack.

58890As the title suggests, the majority of this book is about Tris. She is a budding weathermage, but she lacks control. Spouting with lightnings she is a danger to pirates and friends alike. Strangely, her magic seems to be leaking into her friends’, which makes for some very interesting results.

What I love about this book is that the cover really matches the contents. I imagined Tris’s hair a little bit more frizzy, but it’s a pretty good representation! The original title for this book was ‘The Power in the Storm’, which naturally I feel fitted better with the book’s content.

It is important to read this set of four books in order so that the progression of the characters can be clearly seen. The book is a good mix of plot driven action and character development. The pirates give the four friends something to do, and adds some interest to the book. I’d be perfectly happy to just hear more about what they learn with their teachers (but then, that’s me, and I like that type of thing), but I suppose the pirates add another level of interest.

This is another comforting book to me, I read it when I don’t want to get too involved! It only took me around 1-2 hours to reread in entirety. Since I’ve now reread it a lot of times, it’s hard to say what originally attracted me to this book. I’d probably say it was because I enjoyed this first book so much!

I would recommend this book for children (only just though, as there are some bloody deaths and nightmares) and teenagers. It’s a very easy read for me, but a very enjoyable one. It seems to me, anything by Tamora Pierce is imminently rereadable.

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4star

Review: Tamora Pierce – Sandry’s Book

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Sandry’s Book
Tamora Pierce
Briar, Tris, Daja and Sandry hae been left without their close families and packed off to Winding Circle. All from very different backgrounds, and initially it seems like Sandry is the only one making an effort to spin them together. It’s a great children’s book.

58889The majority of this book is each of the characters finding themselves and their magic. It is a foreign concept to them that magic can be anything other than special words for a love spell, or an alarm spell for protecting special trees. I can easily see the magic in the simple things, such as growing plants. Some people have green thumbs!

Although the point of view is split between each of the four children, it still reads nicely, and I was able to get attached to each of them. If there was a fault in this book, it would be that I felt like Briar’s character didn’t get enough air time.

Something that struck me about the new titles for the books (each after the four main characters) was that they no longer really do justice to the story. I wouldn’t have said that this first book was specifically about Sandry, it is more of an introduction to all four of them.
I couldn’t tell you what attracted me to the book in the first place, because I’ve read it so many times that it is just comforting to me to read it. It is a very short read, I can read it in 1-2 hours, but younger readers would probably take longer. I’ve been reading and rereading this book for years now. I can still remember checking out ragged old copies of it from the high school library! Back then, it was called the far more descriptive ‘The Magic in the Weaving’. Or now, a quick google tells me that that’s the UK version and this is a USA version that I have. Anyway, I think it’s unfair to call it ‘Sandry’s Book’, as it is about the other three as well.
This book is certainly suitable for children, and some teens as well. No blood or guts, just  If you’re like me, and encountered this book earlier in your life, do you still love it just the same?

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Review: Jay Asher – 13 Reasons Why

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13 Reasons Why
Jay Asher
Hannah Baker committed suicide. That’s not the end of her though – she has made a map and audiotape a bunch of reasons why she has killed herself. Poor Clay is on her list, and he feels compelled to keep listening.
1217100I didn’t actually like Hannah very much. I felt that she could have avoided the trouble she got herself into – it wasn’t fair to blame her year level. She should have known better! She gave up.

I liked Clay, good boy Clay, and felt he was really short changed by Hannah. He’s so nice! And she put him through this after her death. It was so unfair.

I found the first chapter of this book confusing more than anything. Initially I thought it was the person who’s chapter it was with the interspersed comments, but it wasn’t. I checked the blurb of the book multiple times to make sure I wasn’t confused.
The book was compelling in a weird way. Asher did suck me in and I wanted to know what Clay had done. And then I was disappointed there too. I can’t say I found it comfortable to read – but then it wasn’t supposed to be comfortable. I ended up skimming the end. I just wasn’t into it enough to accept it.
I felt let down by this book. I expected so much more, maybe unrealistically hoping that Hannah had bigger problems than just being labelled a slut. Yes, it’s bad, but there are other things you can do rather than killing yourself. There is help available! She didn’t really try very hard, and although people didn’t help her, it was unfair to blame everyone else for a choice that ultimately only she could make. I guess I was looking for depth, but I didn’t find it.The discussion question type things at the end are ok. I guess this could make a good school book, which would be ever so relevant, particularly to American teens. Sorry, perhaps Australians are a little less wimpy. I’d recommend this book for teens. I really didn’t love it enough to properly recommend it – maybe other people will enjoy it more than me. I know there are a number of people out there who love this book. But it’s not me. I feel like I have wasted 10 reviews on ‘earning’ this book, and I could have picked something with more substance.

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Review: William Nicholson – The Wind Singer

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The Wind Singer
William Nicholson
Bowman and Kestrel are close twins. Within the city of Amaranth, everything is controled by tests and family ranking. Each of the districts has its own colour, and no one is allowed to swap – unless their family ranking moves up and down. Kestrel doesn’t like the tests. When their baby sister fails her tests it doesn’t impress the officials, and it doesn’t make Kestrel feel any happier.
295181Mumpo irritates me as much as he irritates Kestrel! Nose dribble, ugh. At the same time, he’s representing so many things that kids take for granted. Being a slow/dumb kid means that you don’t have friends. I think the ending for Mumpo is particularly suitable, although a little predictable.
This book is really quite harrowing in a way. The Zars are killing machines, and they literally kill everything and are happy about it! Not that this is presented in a positive light, the Zars are really quite terrifying. It’s a race to see who can survive, and it’s cut very fine.
Yes, the plot of this book is simple, somewhat predictable, and there is no character development to speak of. But it’s a children’s book! I think that the ideas presented in it are clear enough to children, and that’s what is important – not what a 20 something year old thinks of it.
I can understand why this book was a ‘Gold Award Winner’. The themes and values expressed in it are so poignant. The values of family, and friends, and also not judging people all on the same basis. The character of Mumpo is for pitying, but at the same time, he surely must be good at something.
This book reminds me of the Seventh Tower series by Garth Nix in a way. The castle with its different layers of people, each class not wanting to talk to the one below it. An emperor who is powerless or unhelpful. Of the two, I think I prefer the Seventh Tower, just because the character from that has a little more depth. As I’ve said before though, The Wind Singer is still enjoyable.
This book actually brings to mind the Naplan tests that are currently sweeping over Australia. Kids in grade 3 are expected to answer all kinds of questions, and then their schools are ranked according to the answers. It’s based on literacy and numercy – which are both important, but some kids’ minds just don’t work like that. I read the other day about kids in kindy being prepped for these big tests. There just is something wrong with ranking kids and schools like that, and then giving teachers rewards based on performance.
This is the first book in a trilogy. I read all of these books when I was much younger (when they are actually age appropriate!). I picked this one up at the opshop, because I prefer the old covers. Amazon’s offering for this one is a trilogy set only that I could find – but if you like the first one, you’re probably going to like all three.

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Review: Diana Wynne Jones – Power of Three

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Power of Three
Diana Wynne Jones
There is a powerful curse at work on the moor. The giants, the people and the Dorig are all suffering from one ill-advised deed. Although the reader may think they know what to expect – they really don’t. It is up to Gair, the ordinary son of a hero, to save the day.
The plot of this book builds up slowly. Although the reader will know from the beginning that things are not right, and where the curse has come from, it is not clear how things can be set right, or even if they can be.
There are a variety of characters which is nice, with the majority of focalisation through Gair. Children will find them likeable, and not too confronting. The ending is a bit of a chair edged one, but it’s certainly not too scary!
I guess this book was a little disappointing for me. I thought I had never read it before, but after getting into it, I realised that it had. It meant that even with all of Gair’s bad feelings, I knew what was going to happen, and I couldn’t dread it properly.
This was a fast read for me, but no doubt will be a little more challenging for its target audience. It did read aloud well though, probably a mark of its author’s craftmanship. It’s a good book, just not for me any more. I somewhat regret buying this one, except that I am sure I will share it with my children eventually!
This book is for children. The storyline is simple, and emphasises the need to look after your friends, and also the importance of words. For a writer, words are all you have to get the message accross, so of course they are important!

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Review: Julie Anne Peters – Keeping You a Secret

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Keeping You a Secret
Julie Anne Peters
Holland is a typical senior – great grades, college aspirations and a steady partner. Everything changes one morning though when a new person at school who has transferred gets a nearb locker. Suddenly Holland’s life is changing, everything is falling apart.
7006711I’ve attempted to keep this review gender neutral, because some of the beginning of the book is based on suspense. I think I’ve failed, but for me, when I first started reading I didn’t know if Holland was male or female – I didn’t even know it was queer fiction! I suppose the cover should have given it away to me, but I can’t say I pay that much attention most of the time.
Holland is a good character. You feel along with Holland, you worry about Holland, you don’t know what is going to happen next! At the same time, Cece seems a little typical, in that she doesn’t want to share Holland with anyone else. It is remarkable the level of maturity shown by these two main characters – but perhaps getting a driver’s licence at 16 does that to US teens.
Something that irritated me about this book and also Scars, is that the two protagonists have a gift at drawing, and so are able to express themselves in that way. For someone like me, who has never been creative in that way it is difficult to connect with them in quite the same way.
One of the problems I have with this novel it the used of ‘she sneered’. Maybe it’s a big thing in the US, but every time I read it, I felt myself getting annoyed! And perhaps because I was unfamiliar with it I noticed it every time, and felt it was over-used.
One of the key things from this novel is that coming out is your own choice. It should happen when you feel ready, even if other people don’t feel that way. I can understand Cece’s misgivings about coming out in a homophobic environment, but sometimes you just have to do it, particularly if you are in love and young.
This has to be one of my most favourite YA queer books of all time. I love it. I can’t emphasise the way this book changed my life enough. Every time I read it, I pick up something new. This was the first book by Peters that I read, and it paved the way for the rest of the YA queer fiction I have read.
This is almost certainly teenage fiction only, sadly enough. I feel that most parents would not be comfortable with children reading this book, although I feel that perhaps I would have been ready to read this book at age 11. I think it’s likely that girls will be more excited to read this book. It’s an essential for people who have questions about their sexuality, or want to understand a queer person better. This book has a set of discussion questions in the back, so you can provoke quite a lively talk if required! Peters has a number of books for younger readers that I believe also comment on important things about life, if you love Peters as much as I do, but want to share it with someone younger.

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Review: Juliet Marillier – Heart’s Blood

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Heart’s Blood
Juliet Marillier
Caitrin is running from the past, yet the future she is running into is even worse. Beset by ghosts and demons both real and imagined, can Caitrin do something useful with her life, and end up with the man she loves?

 

7938503From the first couple of words, Marillier suckers the reader in. I found myself wanting to read on just to find out what Caitrin was fleeing from – whether I would be told that or not I waited breathlessly to find out.
The text seems a little stilted in the first couple of pages, but I was positive that it would improve. It’s something after reading the three books of the Sevenwaters trilogy I was sort of expecting to find. It didn’t bother me significantly though, because Caitrin had already pulled me in! I think it was a slightly easier read than those three books, but no less enjoyable
There are some early beautiful descriptions of the garden. Marillier has done a great job of landscaping the area for her reader while also striking a balance with history and the characters. I can imagine that a lot of research into Irish history went into this book, and it’s been utterly worth it.
There are two hooks in the reader – the material Caitrin is researching (and that she is interested in) and also what is happening in the present. It’s wonderful to see the character development of all the living characters, and also of some of the Host. Marillier deals nicely with rape, murder and torture – the reader isn’t overwhelmed. The reader can face fears with Caitrin as she blossoms back into the independant woman she should be.
The use of mirrors providing further insight into the past is fascinating. The change in perspective from Caitrin to Nechtan really works well, and after an initial stumble, I found myself accepting the mirror premise. It hasn’t been overused in the text, and that’s what I think makes it work.
I read parts of the book aloud, and found that a couple of sentences in the passages I was reading were too long! I also struggled with the legitimate Irish names, which defied my attempts at pronunciation. However, my audience of 1 didn’t care, and the text flowed smoothly and had a lovely rhythm about it.
This is a brilliant novel, just what I was hoping to read after the poor quality of ‘Wit’ch Fire’. It had me reading past my bedtime because I had already spent the whole day reading it! I’d recommend this book for teenagers and adults. There is some very brief sexual content, but it’s not enough to make the book unsuitable for younger readers.

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Review: Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights

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Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte
This is a classic novel that I have been assigned to study in literature. This is not something I would choose to read by myself by any means. I didn’t love the language, I didn’t feel for the characters, but I read it anyway! Do I think anything is good about this novel? Well, maybe.
This novel starts out slowly, and painfully, and I had to entice myself to read onwards with not allowing myself to read anything else (or is that punishment?). The drivel that is written, complete with personal endearing terms that I’m sure the author felt added colour, but just irritated me because I had to look to the back of the book to see what they meant.
Eventually the storytelling gets going, and it is focused on the past for a time, with Mr Lockwood being told stories by his housekeeper. This part did keep me reading to an extent, mainly because I was ignoring another task I needed to be doing.

I have to admit I did not finish reading this book. I haven’t locked myself in for studying the unit that this book is required for this semester, and so I have abandoned it in favour of other things I need to read first. If I do end up taking the unit, I will finish reading this book, and post another review of my feelings about the whole thing.

I’m sure there are Bronte fans out there that are going to hate me for saying this – but I really didn’t feel for Heathcliff. I felt that he brought so many of his troubles upon himself, he didn’t deserve any sympathy, not matter how bad things were for him.

I find the cover of this book visually appealing at least. It fits in with the storms that seem to plague the countryside now that Lockwood has moved it (or at least it seems that way!).

I’m not sure why you would want to read this book, except that it is a classic, and therefore is probably worth reading just to say yo have. I know that there is a movie based on it, and on the parts I saw of it, it is relatively violent. I’d recommend this book for adults I guess. But really – there are so many other good things to read out there, you don’t need to waste your time on this one!

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