Review of The Raven King, by Maggie Stiefvater

raven_king_largeThe Raven King

Book IV of The Raven Cycle

by Maggie Stiefvater

Scholastic Press, New York, 2016. 439 pages.

This is a grand and ambitious cycle of books. Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is lyrical and evocative. The story is unlike anything I’ve ever read — ley lines running under Virginia, a family of psychics, a girl who magnifies the magical gifts of others, a man who’s part tree, a rich private high school student searching for a long dead Welsh king who will grant wishes, another boy who can dream things up – and make them real. And then there’s the curse that if Blue kisses her true love, he will die. And the blooming romance between Blue and Gansey, that rich kid searching for the long-dead king.

I liked the voice in which the book is written. I like the way the author focuses on different characters by turns, starting new chapters with the words, “Depending on where you began the story, it was about…” about many, many different characters.

All that said – and I certainly was going to read every word of this book after reading the earlier three volumes – this is not my favorite kind of fantasy. I like fantasy books where the magic makes logical sense to me, operates by rules. The magic in this book seems much more nebulous and hard to follow.

There’s also a whole lot of darkness here, along with gory death.

And yet the author pulled off a satisfying conclusion. Well, maybe it was a slight let-down. Since I didn’t fully understand how the magic worked, I was a little befuddled by how all the plot threads wrapped up – but mostly satisfied.

And did I mention the wonderful writing? Yes, the story’s dark. Yes, it’s confusing in spots, but you will be pulled along into this world and into the lives of these characters, flawed but lovable, muddling through, trying to make sense themselves of some powerful magic.

This series isn’t one I’ll necessarily ever read again – but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with it.

maggiestiefvater.com
thisisteen.com
scholastic.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of One Day, the End, by Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Fred Koehler

one_day_the_end_largeOne Day, The End

Short, Very Short, Shorter-than-Ever Stories

by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
illustrated by Fred Koehler

Boyds Mills Press, 2015. 32 pages.
Starred Review
2016 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

Here’s another picture book about the power of imagination and writing your own stories.

The first spread sets the tone and explains what’s going on:

For every story, there is a beginning and an end, but what happens in between makes all the difference.

The rest of the book gives many short, very short, shorter-than-ever stories about one little girl. That is, it tells the beginnings and ends of stories. The pictures vividly show what happens in between. Truly, that makes all the difference!

Here are some examples of the stories in this book:

One day… I went to school. I came home. The End

One day . . . I lost my dog. I found him! The End

One day . . . I made something. I gave it to Mom. The End?

One day . . . I wanted to be a spy. I was. The End

The front flap introduces the girl character with the heading, “Meet the Storyteller.” She’s busy and imaginative. The pictures show her all over the place in a way that conveys boundless energy.

I am very curious as I write this how much direction the author gave the illustrator. Did she simply come up with these simple frameworks and let him fill in the rest? Or did she supply a few of the ideas? All of the ideas?

However they came up with it, the combination works beautifully!

With each story, the little girl makes her way across the page, full of energy, doing things, having adventures. Most of them end with a smile, but there are some interesting variations (such as when the dog jumps into the tub with her).

The final story reads, “One day . . . I wanted to write a book. So I did. The End”

The pictures for that review all the previous adventures found in this picture book, leaving the reader with a reminder that all you need for a story is a beginning and an end . . . and let your imagination run wild with the in-between.

rebeccakaidotlich.com
freddiek.com
boydsmillspress.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The New York Times Book of Mathematics, edited by Gina Kolata

ny_times_book_of_mathematics_largeThe New York Times Book of Mathematics

More than 100 Years of Writing by the Numbers

edited by Gina Kolata
Foreword by Paul Hoffman

Sterling, New York, 2013. 480 pages.

If you’re at all interested in mathematics, this is a fascinating book covering the history of major developments in mathematics in the twentieth century and the start of the twenty-first, as told in the pages of The New York Times.

Since the articles are from The New York Times, they are written for the general public, and the articles aren’t too lengthy. I mostly read one a day for a very long time. Incredible as it may seem, the book was never on hold when I wanted to renew it.

My only complaint was that I had to learn to check the date – given at the end of each article – before reading the article rather than after, because all are reported as happening in the present – it was nice to know when the major development had actually happened in 1936 (though there are more from recent years than going that far back).

Of course, having once been in a PhD program in Mathematics (though I settled for my Master’s), I was extra interested to get tastes of what’s going on before and after my time in the math department. For me, it was interesting to place the articles as before or after my time at UCLA.

The articles are grouped in chapters of related articles. You’ll get an idea of what to expect from the chapter titles: “What Is Mathematics?”; “Statistics, Coincidences and Surprising Facts”; “Famous Problems, Solved and As Yet Unsolved”; “Chaos, Catastrophe and Randomness”; “Cryptography and the Emergence of Truly Unbreakable Codes”; “Computers Enter the World of Mathematics”; and “Mathematicians and Their World.” Try this book for a bird’s-eye view of that fascinating world.

sterlingpublishing.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?