Review of The Runaway King, by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Runaway King

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Scholastic Press, New York, 2013. 331 pages.
Starred Review

The Runaway King is the sequel to Cybils-winning The False Prince, and I like it even better than the first book. Yes, you should probably read them in order, mainly because this book gives away some things from the first book. In fact, you probably shouldn’t read my review until you’ve read the first book. You do not have to vividly remember what happened in the first book to read this one, because crucial information is filled in without being tedious.

Jaron’s life is threatened right at the start of the book. The pirates who were hired to kill him are upset that they failed. If they don’t get him, they’re going to attack all of Carthya. Other neighboring countries are threatening as well, but Jaron’s regents don’t want to let him prepare for war.

The title is something of a misnomer, because Jaron never runs. He decides to pretend to be pouting in safety, but instead he’s going to head to the pirates and deal with them. How will he deal with them? That’s what this book is about.

I do think I’m going to need to reread the book to decide if I think Jaron is more clever or more lucky. His plot was rather complex, and I got the impression things didn’t go as he planned them — but there was still at least one major surprise for me regarding his intentions, and I enjoyed that. (Is that obtuse enough to not give anything away?)

I love the way Jaron compulsively tells the truth. The reader can see him doing it as he goes and watch people “misunderstand” his words with his careful misdirection. And how much do we readers misunderstand? I’m going to have to reread it just to figure that out.

The story still isn’t finished; trouble looms at the end of the book. But this is one of the more satisfying second books I’ve read in awhile. The story in this book has a nice beginning, middle, and end, and isn’t simply an unfinished continuation.

This book, like its predecessor, begs comparison with Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series. This one actually doesn’t suffer by the comparison (which is high praise coming from me!). Jaron doesn’t seem as in control of his complicated plan as Gen would be, but he also is in a more precarious situation to start with. He’s a younger king than Gen, and he’s growing into his kingship. Watching him do so is a delight to read.

jennielsen.com
scholastic.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/runaway_king.html

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 the 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.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Sonderling Sunday – Neverending, Unendliche

Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s Sonderling Sunday! That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books — or the English translation of German children’s books.

Last week, my Sonderling Sunday post was interrupted when I found out the offer I’d made on a new home was accepted, and I was way too distracted to continue. (I’m so excited! It’s a lovely condo with a lake view! And my very first home purchase!)

So this week, I’ll continue where I left off in Die unendliche Geschichte, by Michael Ende, translated into English as The Neverending Story

About all I’d covered last time was the snorkeled letters on the door of the shop. This is the section before the chapters with large alphabet illustrations. I didn’t mention that in the German edition, this section is in red type, while the later chapters are in green type. The English version has this section in italics.

Continuing on, listing German first, because that’s the original language:

regenfleckige Mauer = “rain-splotched wall”

da? eine kleine Traube von Messingglöckchen, die über hing, aufgeregt zu bimmeln begann
= “that a little cluster of brass bells tinkled wildly”
(literally: “that a little bunch of grapes of little brass bells, that hung over it, excited to jingle began”)

Der Urheber dieses Tumult = “The cause of this hubbub”

durchweicht = “soaked” (“through-wet”)

Schulmappe = “school satchel”

Dämmerlicht = “half-light” (“twilight”)

mannshohen = “shoulder-high” (“man-high”)

I like this one:
Rauchkringel = “ring of smoke”

Es zieht = “There’s a draft.” (“It attracts.”)

in einem hohem Ohrenbackensessel aus abgewetztem Leder
= “in a high worn leather wing chair”
(“in a high Ears-back-chair of threadbare leather”)
“Wing chair” or “Ears chair”? I kind of like the latter!

Büschel = “outcroppings”

bissigen Bulldogge = “vicious bulldog” (“biting bulldog”)

knollenförmigen Nase = “bulbous nose” (“tuber-formed nose”)

Oh, I like this word!
Mundwinkel = “corner of his mouth” (“mouth angle”)

A new expression to try:
Ach du liebes Bi?chen! = “Goodness gracious.” (“Oh dear little bit!”)

ein Mordsgetue = “a terrible fuss” (“a murder-to-do”)

I probably shouldn’t challenge you to use this sentence:
Ich bin ganz and gar kein Kinderfreund.
= “I simply have no use for children.”
(“I am completely and totally no child-friend.”)

Oh, goody! More insults! (Always the most fun)

blöde Schreihälse = “screaming”
(“stupid screamnecks” — I guess the translator didn’t want to be so rude.)

Quälgeister = “torturing people”
(“spirits of torment”)

die alles kaputt machen = “breaking things”
(“who make everything broken”)

die die Bücher mit Marmelade vollschmieren = “smearing books with jam”
(“who the books with jam fully smear”)

die Seiten zerrei?en = “tearing the pages”

die sich den Teufel darum scheren, ob die Erwachsenen vielleicht auch ihre Sorgen und Kümmernisse haben
= “It never dawns on them that grown-ups may also have their troubles and cares.”
(“who don’t give a damn that adults possibly also have their worries and cares.”)

seine Lektüre fort = “went on reading”
(Interesting! Lektüre means reading, not talking. I bet that’s how the English word “lecture” started out.)

Here’s a fun expression, and a tongue-twister, to boot:
Manieren hast du nicht für fünf Pfennig = “Where are your manners?”
(“Manners have you not for five pennies.”)

dich verspotten = “make fun of you”

Spinner = “Screwball” (“spider”)

Mondkalb = “nitwit” (“mooncalf”)

Aufschneider = “braggart” (“out-cutter”)

Schwindler = “liar”

Love those sch- words!
schlurfte = “shuffled”

dumpfes Gemurmel = “low mumbling”

Unwiderrufliches = “irrevocable”

wunderschöne, gro?e Anfangsbuchstaben
= “large, beautiful capital letters at the beginning of the chapters”
(I love it! German has a word for “capital letters at the beginning of the chapters”)

eigentümlich verschlungenen Buchstaben = “strangely intricate letters”
(“strangely inter-snaked letters”)

I’ll stop tonight where Bastian reads the name of the book he has discovered:
Die unendliche Geschichte

Summing up, I think the best new word of the night was Anfangsbuchstaben.

Most fun to say: schlurfte

Hardest to say: Manieren hast du nicht für fünf Pfennig

Cutest word: bimmeln

Biggest change of perspective: Ohrenbackensessel

Best insult: blöde Schreihälse

Worst insult: die die Bücher mit Marmelade vollschmieren

Again, go out and practice your new vocabulary! If only in the form of a dumpfes Gemurmel.

Review of Chloe, by Peter McCarty

Animal Characters, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Chloe

by Peter McCarty

Balzer + Bray, 2012. 36 pages.
Starred Review

Hooray! Another big family picture book! Chloe is the middle child in her family of rabbits. She has ten older brothers and sisters and ten younger brothers and sisters. And, more realistically than in Another Brother, even though they are rabbits, Chloe’s siblings are pictured as different sizes and different ages.

But this isn’t a story about having too many siblings. This is a story about having fun.

Chloe loved the end of the day, when her whole family was together. She called it family fun time.

But her father brings home a new television. When the whole family except Chloe and little Bridget watch TV, Chloe thinks it’s the worst family fun time ever.

But then Bridget finds the bubble wrap. . . .

Pop! Pap! Thip! Bip! Pop!

This is a simple story, about how doing simple things together can be the most fun at all. Peter McCarty’s wonderful illustrations are what make this a stand-out. Even though there are 21 siblings and two parents, each rabbit is portrayed as an individual. I love the way little Bridget imitates Chloe’s gestures and expressions. I love the way the character on TV looks over at Chloe and her brothers and sisters having fun. I love the way Dad stays up popping bubble wrap after everyone’s in bed, and I love the way the baby in the crib is the only child not asleep.

I complain sometimes (a little tongue-in-cheek) that with all the quest for diversity in children’s literature, big families simply aren’t well-represented. Well, here’s a picture book where the big family isn’t the point, isn’t held up as strange. The big family is what it is. This is a simple story about having fun.

[I also love that it’s a book that celebrates the fun of popping bubble wrap. Did you know those bubbles are called utricles? It was featured on my 365 Words a Year calendar one day when I was in college, and my officemate and I used to gloat over any opportunity to pop utricles.]

petermccarty.net
harpercollinschildrens.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/chloe.html

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 the 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.

SLJ BoB is Here!

Events, General 0

It’s that time of year! School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books is starting up! (I keep hearing this rumbling that other tournaments happen in March, but I’ve never heard about anything so exciting.)

What is SLJ’s Battle of the Books? The stellar Battle Commanders and Commentator choose 16 of the best children’s books of the previous year and arrange them in tournament brackets. The judges are distinguished children’s and young adult authors. Their tales of their travails while judging are my favorite part of the battle (unlike Roger Sutton). The judges usually manage to make an entertaining and brilliant commentary, playing off themes or styles from the books they judged.

And until tomorrow, you can still vote in the Undead Poll for one book, if slighted by the judges, to come back from the dead for the Big Kahuna Round at the end.

But enough about the details! Let’s talk about the books!

This year, by the time the books were announced, I’d read 15 of the 16 books, a new record. (No, I take that back. I was halfway through Bomb.) I still haven’t read Endangered, but it’s next on my TBR pile, so I might (maybe?) finish it before its match on March 14.

What’s more, not only have I read 15 of the books, I’ve reviewed all 15. Now, I only review books I like, and in previous years, let’s just say that I did not review all of the Battle books. Okay, a few of the reviews are not glowing. But I still liked them enough to review them. What’s more, out of the fifteen I’ve read, nine made my 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. Two of the remaining six (Bomb and Three Times Lucky) I didn’t read until 2013, but they are highly likely to be 2013 Sonderbooks Stand-outs. So it’s pretty clear I like their choices this year.

Here are the first round match-ups with my pick listed first:

Match One, judged by Kenneth Oppel:
Wonder vs Bomb
This one’s a toughie. Bomb is probably the more excellently crafted book. But, doggone it, hasn’t it gotten enough awards? The Sibert, the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction, Newbery Honor, oh my! Shouldn’t Wonder at least win a round in Battle of the Books?

Mind you, whichever book wins Match One, I want to win the first round only, because look what’s in the second match:

Match Two, judged by Margarita Engle:
Code Name Verity vs. Titanic: Voices from the Disaster
Sorry, Titanic. I liked you enough to name you #3 Sonderbooks Stand-out in Children’s Nonfiction. But Code Name Verity was my favorite book read in 2012, and that hasn’t changed. Yes, this was also my pick in the Undead Poll, but I don’t really want it to win that way. I want every judge to acknowledge its brilliance. However, I realize not all judges are so perspicacious. We shall see how they do in acknowledging greatness.

Match Three, judged by Kathi Appelt
Three Times Lucky vs. Endangered
Yes, I realize this isn’t fair, since Endangered is the one book I haven’t read yet. But I have a soft spot for Three Times Lucky, and I find myself hoping I don’t like Endangered as much. (Though it would be fun to see Endangered go up against The One and Only Ivan in a later round. If only for the cartoon SLJ’s artist would draw.)

Match Four, judged by Deb Caletti
The Fault in Our Stars vs. Temple Grandin
Again, I’m sorry, Temple Grandin. It’s not that I don’t like nonfiction. But I did think The Fault in Our Stars was wonderful. And this is another case where I’d like to see a stellar book get a bit more recognition. I notice The Fault in Our Stars was #9 in Teen Fiction on my Sonderbooks Stand-outs, but Temple Grandin was #8 in Children’s Nonfiction. So I have to admit that #9 in Teen Fiction is higher in my affections than #8 in Children’s Nonfiction. So sue me.

Speaking of Stars:

Match Five, judged by Adam Gidwitz
Starry River of the Sky vs. Jepp, Who Defied the Stars
My affection for Starry River of the Sky is mingled with admiration for what a sweet person Grace Lin is, since I got to hear her speak at KidLitCon last year. But I also not only read Starry River of the Sky, I also listened to it, and that made me appreciate its structure and craft even more than the first reading. Jepp? Well, I did review it, and I only review books I like…. But I want Starry River of the Sky to come out of this match shining.

Match Six, judged by Franny Billingsley
Liar & Spy vs. Splendors & Glooms
I don’t think my ranking here will surprise anyone. Liar & Spy was a 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out, but Splendors & Glooms was not. Now, Splendors & Glooms is much more similar to Franny Billingsley’s books, all atmospheric and creepy and magical, than Liar & Spy is. But my first year when I tried to predict Battle of the Books choices by thinking judges would pick books similar to their own, I got them all wrong. My current theory is that judges are quicker to see flaws in books like their own, or are perhaps extra admiring of someone who pulls off a book they could never write. So I hope Franny Billingsley will agree with me.

Match Seven, judged by Marie Lu
Seraphina vs Moonbird
Okay, I admit, this time it looks like I’m simply choosing fiction over nonfiction. Because Moonbird was a 2012 Sonderbooks Stand-out, but Seraphina wasn’t. And Moonbird was #9 in its category, and Seraphina was in a much tougher category, fantasy for teens. I’d always have a hard time rooting against a good fantasy novel for teens.

Match Eight, judged by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The One and Only Ivan vs. No Crystal Stair
Sorry, but no contest here. Count me an Ivan fan. Again, my ranking in Sonderbooks Stand-outs is telling: The One and Only Ivan was #2 in Children’s Fiction, but No Crystal Stair, while reviewed, was not a Stand-out.

On reflection, I’m pretty lucky with the first round — few of my favorites are pitted against one another. But I’m setting up to be much more upset if any of my favorites lose!

Now, I’ll make new predictions for Round Two, but just a run-down on how it would go if I got to judge all the matches:

Code Name Verity would win every match in which it appears.

The Fault in Our Stars would win the second round before succumbing to Code Name Verity‘s brilliance. Though I must admit, I’d cheer for Mo if Three Times Lucky pulled off a win.

In the bottom half of the tournament, I’m almost counting on one of my favorites not advancing, so I won’t have to choose between Starry River of the Sky and Liar & Spy, though I’d probably go with Starry River of the Sky. But I would want Ivan to win all its matches until it faces Code Name Verity.

For the book coming back from the dead, I’m hoping it won’t be necessary for Code Name Verity to be resurrected, making it a match-up with Code Name Verity, The Fault in Our Stars, and The One and Only Ivan, with, you know it, Code Name Verity coming out on top. (It’s gotten enough Honor! Time to WIN!)

But believe me, I don’t expect the judges will see it my way. They never do!

How about you? What are your picks? (Links to blog posts are good, too!)

Review of Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, by Katherine Marsh

Children's Fiction Review, Historical 0

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars

by Katherine Marsh

Hyperion, New York, 2012. 385 pages.

Jepp, Who Defied the Stars is the fictional story of a court dwarf who served at the castle of astronomer Tycho Brahe. Now if, like me, you didn’t know that Tycho Brahe had a castle, let alone a dwarf jester, you’ll find the details of the time period fascinating.

Jepp’s story is one of someone marginalized who attempts to rise above his fate. Unfortunately, for me, that part was good, but didn’t really hit me deeply. I didn’t quite buy Jepp’s motivation along the way. This may be because I strongly dislike books written in the present tense. This book disguises it by presenting the first part as Jepp describing what happened in the past to have him wind up in a cart traveling to Denmark. It’s probably no coincidence that I found the first part, with Jepp in the court of the Infanta, much more compelling than the later part in Tycho Brahe’s castle. That’s probably because everything in Tycho Brahe’s castle is told in present tense, and I couldn’t quite overlook how that annoys me in a book (she said, while using it in a review).

But that may simply be my unreasonable bias. As I said, though, the historical details are fascinating. And the lives of court dwarves give the reader something to ponder over. The overarching question — do the stars determine our fates? might seem old-fashioned, but I like what the author does with it. Truly we can be more than the person we are born to be.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/jepp.html

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 the 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.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, by Ha-Joon Chang

Current Issues, History, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism

by Ha-Joon Chang

Bloomsbury Press, New York, 2010. 286 pages.

I have to recommend this book, because it was a huge eye-opener. I’m not sure I absorbed everything, mind you, but I was impressed.

Ha-Joon Chang is a professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge. In all of the short chapters, teaching some truths about economics, he uses examples from international economics and international politics. Here is someone who knows what he’s talking about! He uses statistics and clear counter-examples to show why some things commonly believed about capitalism are simply not true.

I’ll quote some excerpts from the Introduction to give you an idea what’s going on in this book. I do recommend this book highly for anyone who does any thinking about public policy.

This book is not an anti-capitalist manifesto. Being critical of free-market ideology is not the same as being against capitalism. Despite its problems and limitations, I believe that capitalism is still the best economic system that humanity has invented. My criticism is of a particular version of capitalism that has dominated the world in the last three decades, that is, free-market capitalism. This is not the only way to run capitalism, and certainly not the best, as the record of the last three decades shows. The book shows that there are ways in which capitalism should, and can, be made better. . . .

Once you know that there is really no such thing as a free market, you won’t be deceived by people who denounce a regulation on the grounds that it makes the market ‘unfree’ (see Thing 1). When you learn that large and active governments can promote, rather than dampen, economic dynamism, you will see that the widespread distrust of government is unwarranted (see Things 12 and 21). Knowing that we do not live in a post-industrial knowledge economy will make you question the wisdom of neglecting, or even implicitly welcoming, industrial decline of a country, as some governments have done (see Things 9 and 17). Once you realize that trickle-down economics does not work, you will see the excessive tax cuts for the rich for what they are — a simple upward redistribution of income, rather than a way to make all of us richer, as we were told (see Things 13 and 20). . . .

Human decisions, especially decisions by those who have the power to set the rules, make things happen in the way they happen, as I will explain. Even though no single decision-maker can be sure that her actions will always lead to the desired results, the decisions that have been made are not in some sense inevitable. We do not live in the best of all possible worlds. If different decisions had been taken, the world would have been a different place. Given this, we need to ask whether the decisions that the rich and the powerful take are based on sound reasoning and robust evidence. Only when we do can we demand right actions from corporations, governments and international organizations. Without our active economic citizenship, we will always be the victims of people who have greater ability to make decisions, who tell us that things happen because they have to and therefore that there is nothing we can do to alter them, however unpleasant and unjust they may appear.

This book is intended to equip the reader with an understanding of how capitalism really works and how it can be made to work better. . . .

Most of the issues I discuss in the book do not have simple answers. Indeed, in many cases, my main point is that there is no simple answer, unlike what free-market economists want you to believe. However, unless we confront these issues, we will not perceive how the world really works. And unless we understand that, we won’t be able to defend our own interests, not to speak of doing greater good as active economic citizens.

If you’d like to educate yourself to be a good economic citizen, this book is a great place to start. If you’d simply like to have some food for thought and some solid evidence behind your opinions, this book is also a great place to start. I’m not at all sure I grasped all the arguments or would be able to articulate them myself. But I at least was convinced myself! And my eyes were opened to worldwide economic situations I had known nothing about.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/23_things.html

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 the 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.

Review of Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer

Science Fiction, Teen Fiction Review 0

Scarlet

The Lunar Chronicles, Book Two

by Marissa Meyer

Feiwel and Friends, New York, 2013

I have already expressed how delighted I was with Marissa Meyer’s book Cinder, a science fiction retelling of Cinderella, or perhaps I should say a science fiction story with themes taken from Cinderella. So I eagerly awaited the second book, Scarlet, which plays off themes from Red Riding Hood.

Yes, you definitely need to read these books in order. The author makes no effort to make Scarlet a stand-alone story. (So if you haven’t read Cinder yet, stop reading this review. Yes, it’s a good series and is worth starting at the beginning!) I was afraid she was going to zoom to another character and leave Cinder hanging, so I was very glad that didn’t happen.

We last saw Cinder in prison and told she should escape and given something that might help her do so. This book continues a few hours later, as Cinder attempts to make her escape. I was glad that wasn’t left to happen offstage.

Though the main story in this book is Scarlet’s. It’s a Red Riding Hood theme, but follows the fairy tale even more loosely than Cinder followed Cinderella. Scarlet is a redhead who wears a red hoodie. Her grandma has been missing for weeks, and the police have stopped looking. She wants nothing more than to find her grandma.

In Cinder, we heard about an old lady who long ago helped the missing Lunar princess, so we rather expect that has something to do with Scarlet’s grandma. We also saw in Cinder the Lunar queen’s army of mutant wolf-like creatures. This is playing off Red Riding Hood, after all, so there’s no surprise when wolf-like creatures have a lot to do with the story.

That was actually the part I didn’t really like. I can accept that Lunars have mind-control powers. I can accept that humans have the ability to create cyborgs but that they’re second-class citizens. I can accept that Lunars don’t allow cyborgs because they are more difficult to control. But the ability to create wolf-like mutants for an army? That just seemed a little out there.

This book, in keeping with the Red Riding Hood theme had a lot about the wolf-like mutants, which strained believability a bit for me. (Why would they behave so much like wolves, if they’re human?) And there was plenty of distasteful violence. There was a bit of romance, but, honestly, it leaned toward the creepy side.

So, what did I like? Why will I avidly look forward to the next book?

I liked the character of Scarlet. She’s resourceful. She’ll do anything for her grandmother. She cares about fairness, and she grows good food on their farm.

I liked all the parts about Cinder. I was glad she wasn’t left hanging, and I enjoyed the banter with the other convict she picked up in her escape attempt. Her struggle to get free and decide what to do next was compelling and felt believable.

I loved what happened with Iko! And I’m glad she’s back.

Most of all, this book is a great set-up. Mind you, I thought The Lunar Chronicles were destined to be a trilogy, but now see that there are two more books to come, and I’m bummed it won’t all resolve in the next book. But it looks like Cinder is going to be forced into a showdown with the Lunar queen, and that’s something I want to read about very much.

marissameyer.com
thelunarchronicles.com
macteenbooks.com

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/scarlet.html

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 my own personal copy, purchased from Amazon.com.

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.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Review of The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Dark Is Rising

by Susan Cooper

Simon Pulse, New York. First published in 1973. 244 pages.
1974 Newbery Honor Book
2012 Margaret A. Edwards Award
Starred Review

I decided to reread Susan Cooper’s books when I heard she’d won the 2012 Margaret A. Edwards Award. I missed her books when I was a kid; I’m not sure why. They would have fit nicely with the other fantasy books that were my favorites: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Edward Eager, Zilpha Keatley Snyder. But I have read them once, as an adult. Also in the meantime, The Dark Is Rising was named one of the Top 100 Children’s Novels in School Library Journal‘s poll.

I have to admit, The Dark Is Rising isn’t my favorite kind of fantasy, at least not as an adult. I like the main character to have some clear goals and some plans for attaining them. In The Dark Is Rising, Will Stanton does have to find the Six Signs, but to do that, he has to follow his gut. He has to trust to luck and his newly discovered magic and do his best.

However, The Dark Is Rising is a wonderfully atmospheric book. The Dark Rider isn’t as sinister as Tolkien’s dark riders, but he’s close. (And, come on, this is a children’s book!) In her Margaret Edwards speech, Susan Cooper described how she was living in America, far from her home. She answered that longing for her home by putting it in The Dark Is Rising. You can feel it. The places described feel real.

And Will moves by feel. You see that throughout the book. So though I personally don’t prefer a book where the character just senses what should come next, Susan Cooper was able to pull it off by giving us the feelings along with Will. In fact, as I thought about rereading this book, I admit I remembered most vividly how frightening the beginning of the book is, where the cold tries to get in, and the snow breaks Will’s attic room skylight. Here’s the scene after he cleans that up:

There was nothing to see, now, except a dark damp patch on the carpet where the heap of snow had been. But he felt colder than the cold air had made him, and the sick, empty feeling of fear still lay in his chest. If there had been nothing wrong beyond being frightened of the dark, he would not for the world have gone down to take refuge in Paul’s room. But as things were, he knew he could not stay alone in the room where he belonged. For when they were clearing up that heap of fallen snow, he had seen something that Paul had not. It was impossible, in a howling snowstorm, for anything living to have made that soft unmistakable thud against the glass that he had heard just before the skylight fell. But buried in the heap of snow, he had found the fresh black wing feather of a rook.

He heard the farmer’s voice again: This night will be bad. And tomorrow will be beyond imagining.

She’s definitely got the atmosphere going. She also works in so many things that seem mythic. Elements of wood, bronze, iron, water, fire, and stone. Herne the Hunter. Even the time of Midwinter through Twelfth Night. And she moves her characters back and forth through time smoothly, which is an accomplishment in itself.

In some ways, it’s appropriate for Will to follow his nose in this book. On his eleventh birthday, he discovers as the seventh son of the seventh son, he’s one of the Old Ones. He has a task, but has to learn quickly. Part of that learning is to learn to feel his own magic. I don’t remember the remaining books well enough to remember if this progresses to where he is more of the instigator. I am looking forward to noticing that this time around.

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/dark_is_rising.html

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 my own personal copy.

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.

Please use the comments if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers!

Sonderling Sunday – Die unendliche Geschichte

Sonderling Sunday 0

It’s time for Sonderling Sunday! — That time of the week when I play with language by looking at the German translation of children’s books. Today, I’m going to flip it around and look at the English translation of a German children’s book, Michael Ende’s Die unendliche Geschichte, known and loved in English as The Neverending Story

First, the stats: The original German version is 428 pages long, but it’s a much nicer, more lavishly illustrated version than my English paperback, which is 377 pages long. Still, the English version did at least give a full page to each starting chapter illustration, even though they’re in black and white instead of two-color as in my lovely German edition. And they did preserve the A-to-Z nature of the illustrations.

But right on the title page, we find a difference! The German edition has a subtitle!

Die unendliche Geschichte

Von A bis Z mit Buchstaben und Bildern versehen von Roswitha Quadflieg

This translates to: “from A to Z with letters and pictures provided by Roswitha Quadflieg.”

You see, the full-page illustration at the front of each chapter has a letter in the illustration, progressing from A to Z. The English edition merely says “Illustrated by Roswitha Quadflieg.”

The beginning of the book is about Bastien Balthazar Bux, and does not have the Illuminated Letters or any heading except the backwards words on the door of the bookshop.

In the English version, this is:
“rednaeroC darnoC lraC
skooB dlO”
— except mirrored as well as backwards. (Carl Conrad Coreander: Old Books)

In the German version, it is:
TAIRAUQITNA
rednaeroK darnoK lraK :rebahnI (ANTIQUARIAT: Inhaber: Karl Konrad Koreander)

While talking about the rain rolling over the letters on the door, we learn
“ornate letters” = geschnörkelten Buchstaben
In the context, it made me think of snorkeling letters! And when I look in Google translate, they call it “scrolled.” Perhaps that’s where a snorkel gets its name — from that curve on the end.

**Okay, my Sonderling Sunday was interrupted by finding out that my offer was accepted on a new home!**
And you know what? Now I’m too hyper to focus at all! I’m so excited!

Mind you, this place went on the market yesterday, and I loved it by the pictures. But was it really so good? I looked at it today, and it was even better than the pictures. My favorite part? A whole wall filled with windows and a lake view. I didn’t even know that it was possible to find a place near my church with a lake view!

But four people had already seen it, and there was already an offer. So my realtor recommended offering full price. I did, and they accepted my offer! What a whirlwind of a day!

So next time, I will continue beyond the snorkel-shaped letters! But I think that’s all for now! Good night!

Review of Praying for Strangers, by River Jordan

Christian, Musings, Nonfiction Review, True Stories 0

Praying for Strangers

An Adventure of the Human Spirit

by River Jordan

Berkley Books, New York, 2011. 322 pages.

River Jordan was facing a rough year. Both of her sons were active duty military. One was being deployed to Afghanistan and the other to Iraq. A crazy resolution came into her head, and it ended up being the only resolution she ever carried out, all year long. She began praying for a stranger every day.

This book is the story of that resolution and the way it transformed her year and her life.

The chapters are short. This makes a lovely inspirational book to read a chapter a day during your quiet time. Some of the chapters tell about strangers she met and felt compelled to pray for. Some told their stories to her and why they desperately needed prayer when she offered it. Some she never told she was praying. But what a thought, what a challenge: To pray for a stranger every day.

She reflects on what she learned in the amazing year, and why she’s going to keep going:

But what I am learning when I pray for strangers is that I fully expect those prayers to be answered for the simple reason that this act is carried out from one soul to another without any personal agenda attached. The faith attached to those prayers is tangible, sometimes more than others. When I pray for those closest to me, all those prayers are a part of my selfish heart. Yes, I pray out of love for them but also for my need for that love to continue. For them to be well, happy, successful. For them to thrive in their lives that I might find happiness.

I’m beginning to see that the part of me that reaches out to the homeless and the well-to-do, the young and the aged, the broken and lost, is the one that matters most. My heart has opened up so much further than I ever dreamed possible. These strangers, this adventure, are making me a better person in spite of myself. Once an internal recluse, I’m more open to not only meeting people, but opening myself up to truly caring what happens in their lives. . . .

That’s the way it is now: These people and their stories are no longer shadowy extras, character walk-ons cruising the periphery of my life. Their stories have become integrated into the fabric of my own. Perhaps the poets and prophets were right all along. We don’t come into this world separate, or belonging to a select few, but we’re a part of the human race. All of us amazingly the same in spite of our differences. This is the real thing. We belong to each other. We always have. And in the process of my understanding this, of walking out this resolution, I’ve lost my regret and instead have counted it lost if I don’t touch a life, offer a smile, a prayer, a pause along the way. So every day I continue to do this one tiny thing. This one tiny, incredible thing.

I recommend taking a walk with River Jordan on her surprising journey. You will be inspired and you will be challenged. And your eyes will be opened.

riverjordan.us

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/praying_for_strangers.html

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 the 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.