Review of Princess Ben, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Light Reading, Romance, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

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Princess Ben

Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2008.  344 pages.

Starred Review.

I dearly loved Princess Ben!  This is exactly my favorite sort of book — an original fairy tale, with princes and princesses and magic and danger and enchantments and adventure and romance.

Princess Ben is no damsel in distress who waits around to be saved by the prince!  (In fact, there’s a delightful fairy tale reversal toward the end.  I dare say no more!)

At the start, Princess Benevolence’s parents meet a dreadful fate, with circumstances pointing to assassination at the order of the neighboring, or rather surrounding kingdom of Drachensbett.  As in so many other princess tales, Ben must now learn to be a proper princess, under the stern direction of her aunt the Queen.

Naturally, there are also plans to marry Ben off in the service of diplomacy.  However, matters get complicated when Ben discovers a secret passageway to a magic room and a book of magic.  She begins learning how to perform magic and use it to serve her own purposes, like get some decent food.

But as in any fairy tale, before the end the fate of the kingdom lies in Princess Ben’s hands.  The reader can’t help but root for things to end Happily Ever After.

Ben’s a delightful character, a princess with spunk and a weight problem.  The plot is nicely twisted to keep things interesting.  Utterly charming and a whole lot of fun.  Not a book that’s easy to stop reading.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on the main site at:

www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/princess_ben.html

Review of Ever, by Gail Carson Levine

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

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Ever,

by Gail Carson Levine

HarperCollins, 2008.  244 pages.

Starred Review.

Hooray!  A new book by Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted and Fairest.  In Ever, the author takes us to a different sort of world.  Instead of magic and fairies, this world is inhabited by gods and goddesses.

Olus is a youthful god, the god of the winds.  He is curious about mortals, and so travels far from his own country and disguises himself as a mortal, a herder of goats.  He finds himself fascinated by the family of his landlord, especially Kezi, who makes beautiful weavings and beautiful dances.

Then, because of an unfortunate vow, Kezi’s life is to be sacrificed.  Can Olus find a way to save her?  Perhaps he can make her immortal like himself.  Only this will mean both of them undergoing a terrible ordeal.

Here is an enchanting story about love and fate, about uncertainty and awareness.

As with her other books, Gail Carson Levine again achieves a mythic quality to her story that I love so much.  We have a simple story with undercurrents of Truth.  Delightful!

http://www.gailcarsonlevinebooks.com/

http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on the main site at:

www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/ever.html

Review of Larklight, by Philip Reeve

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Starred Review 0

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Larklight

Or:  The Revenge of the White Spiders!

Or:  To Saturn’s Rings and Back!  A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space!

by Philip Reeve

Performed by Greg Steinbruner

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2006. 400 pages.

Audiobook:  Recorded Books, 2007. 8 CDs, 8.75 hours.

Starred Review.

Imagine for a moment that outer space is not a black emptiness, but really the “aether,” and full of living things.  Imagine that there’s life on Mars, life on Venus, life on Saturn, and even “ichthyomorphs” floating in the middle of space.

Now imagine that instead of just discovering gravity, Isaac Newton used alchemy to figure out how to make spaceships.  Imagine that in the 1800s, the British Empire wasn’t just an earthly empire ruling the seas, but ruled the solar system.

Art and Myrtle Mumby grew up on Larklight, a large old house that orbited the moon.

At the start of the book, their house is attacked by space spiders the size of elephants.  Their father is captured by the spiders, but they manage to escape and land on the moon.  On the moon, their life is in danger from giant moths, but they are rescued by space pirates.  The captain of the pirates is a teenage boy, but the crew are all aliens.

The pirates don’t want to obey Myrtle’s demands and take them to a British Embassy, and the children’s adventures are only beginning.  The book presents narrow escape after narrow escape as Art and Myrtle travel the solar system and end up saving the world.

This story is indeed a “rousing tale of dauntless pluck.”  I was put off at the beginning because I hate the thought of giant spiders, but before long I was lingering in my car to listen.  Even though I knew Art would surely escape, several times I found myself wondering how on earth he would get out of the latest tight spot.

Once again, I was enchanted by the delightful accents of the British narrator.  This audiobook would be a fabulous adventure to listen to for a family traveling on summer vacation.  Although there are some fearsome situations, Art and Myrtle emerge unscathed from them all.  Great fun!

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on the main site at:

www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/larklight.html

Review of The Prophecy, by Hilari Bell

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0
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The Prophecy
by Hilari Bell

Reviewed June 1, 2008.
EOS (HarperCollins), New York, 2006. 194 pages.
Starred Review.

I loved this book! The Prophecy is exactly the sort of book I would love to write. A well-crafted, light fairy tale type story, it still packs a punch. I was completely charmed.

Prince Perryndon’s father is the forty-fifth warrior king of Idris. Perryn would rather study than learn to fight.

However, when the king is home from the wars with the Norsemen, the master-of-arms makes a show of teaching Perryn to fight. The show only makes Perryn look like a fool and a failure and makes his father despise him all the more.

Then, studying in the library, Perryn discovers something that he thinks can win over his father after all: A prophecy that tells how to defeat the dragon! All they need is a true bard, a unicorn, and the Sword of Samhain.

The king scoffs at the prophecy, and scoffs at Perryn for believing it. However, his work does get him some attention.

When Perryn asks a magic mirror to show him any more writing about the prophecy, it shows him Cedric, the master-of-arms, writing a letter. In the letter, Cedric tells the Norsemen that Perryn has discovered the prophecy. He writes:

The sword was lost long ago, but magic often finds a way to raise itself. The boy is too weak willed to do anything on his own, but if he convinces his father to go looking for that sword, the dragon might be killed. 

If Idris were prosperous and well manned, it would be almost impossible to conquer — it is proving hard enough, even with the dragon eating away their strength from within.

So I will kill the boy. It can be made to look like an accident.

Now, knowing that Cedric will kill him at his first opportunity, Perryn decides to prove he is not too weak willed to do anything. He will assemble the pieces of the prophecy himself. If he can kill the dragon, surely he can win his father’s approval.

I love the way Hilari Bell shows us a prince with plenty of strikes against him, yet who is desperate enough to find a way to do something and help his people.

A truly wonderful book. This is my favorite of all the books I read for this year’s summer reading program.

This review is posted on the main site at: 

www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/prophecy.html

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Review of Seeing Redd, by Frank Beddor

Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

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Seeing Redd:  The Looking Glass Wars, Book Two, by Frank Beddor

Dial Books, New York, 2007.  371 pages.

http://www.lookingglasswars.com/

www.penguin.com/teen

In Seeing Redd, the sequel to The Looking Glass Wars, Queen Alyss’s Aunt Redd is again plotting to take over the queendom of Wonderland.  Now she’s in our world gathering a sinister army to join her.  Next door to Wonderland, Alyss’s neighbor King Arch has plots of his own.  Meanwhile, Hatter Madigan is finding out what happened to his family while he was gone.

This second book has a darker feel, with lots of time taken up showing the evil of those dedicated to Black Imagination.  There’s also lots of detail in the fighting and weaponry.  This trilogy (I believe it will be) will make an exciting movie some day with lots of special effects, but I had trouble visualizing the detailed weaponry, and wasn’t terribly interested in that part.

I am now quite interested in Alyss, so I will definitely want to read the third book when it comes out.  I hope she gets a time of rest at the end!

Buy from Amazon.com

This review is posted on the main site at:

www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/seeing_redd.html

Review of The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor

Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

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The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor

http://www.lookingglasswars.com/

Dial Books, New York, 2006.  358 pages.

Starred review.

What if Lewis Carroll didn’t make up the story he told in Alice in Wonderland?  Suppose instead of him telling a story to Alice Liddell, she was the one who told a story to him.  In that story, she was really Princess Alyss Heart of Wonderland.  Suppose her story were true…

Alyss’s last day in Wonderland was her seventh birthday.  She was ready to begin her formal training to eventually become queen.  Alyss had the most powerful imagination ever seen in a seven-year-old Wonderlander.  This was important, because what the queen imagined became real.

Instead of the Cheshire cat Lewis Carroll told about, Alyss’s birthday was interrupted by a part-cat, part-human creature with nine lives, the chief assassin of her aunt Redd, who wanted the throne.  Alyss’s aunt Redd burst into the celebration shouting, “Off with their heads!” She battled Alyss’s mother and took over the Queendom.

Hatter Madigan was the name of Alyss’s personal bodyguard.  He managed to escape with Alyss to another world – our world.  But on the way, he lost his grip on her, so while she landed in England, he wound up in Paris.

At first, Alyss could still create things with her imagination.  She could still make flowers sing.  But as time went on, as her stories were mocked, as she was taught what was “real” and what was not, her imagination grew weaker.

But after Lewis Carroll published his book of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Hatter Madigan, still searching for Alyss 13 years later, at last knows where to find her….

This well-crafted book has characters that sound familiar, but have much more depth than you might have remembered.  Once I started this book, I didn’t want to stop.  I’m going to start reading the sequel right away!

Buy from Amazon.com

Review of Audiobook Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

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Enna Burning

by Shannon Hale

Read by Cynthia Bishop and the Full Cast Family

Full Cast Audio, 2007.  8 CDs.  8 hours, 30 minutes.

Text copyright 2004.

http://www.squeetus.com/

http://www.fullcastaudio.com/

My readers probably know that Shannon Hale is one of my favorite living authors.  Her books always show up on my stand-outs lists, usually at the top or near the top.

Full Cast Audio’s fabulous production of the second of the Bayern books, Enna Burning, allowed me to enjoy the book in a whole new way.  They cast the book with fresh voices for each character.  You feel you’re really hearing Enna’s thoughts and her interactions with her friends.

Enna Burning is a beautiful book with a dark edge to it.  It’s a story of wartime, but also of magic.  Of trying to do what’s right.  Of trying to use power wisely.  It’s also a story of an enduring friendship between Enna and Isi, the heroine of the earlier book, The Goose Girl.

This audiobook does have some difficult themes.  But it would make a wonderful family listening experience for older kids.  For adults and teens looking for an absorbing story beautifully performed, I highly recommend this production.

Buy from Amazon.com

This review is on the main site at:

www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/enna_burning_audio.html

Review of Skulduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Mystery, Teen Fiction Review 0

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Skulduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy

Performed by Rupert Degas

Harper Audio, 2007.  7 1/2 hours.  6 compact discs.

I would love to meet a well-dressed detective with a voice like Skulduggery Pleasant.  The narrator does a magnificent job of making him sound tough and reliable and a hero to turn to when young Stephanie Edgely needs saving from deathly peril.  His Irish accent is irresistible.  When he turns out to be a living skeleton, we find we still want him on our side.

Stephanie is plunged into a world of magic and ancient evil after her uncle’s death.  She comes close to death countless times as she finds herself working with Skulduggery to try to save the world.

This book is full of action and narrow escapes.  The banter between Stephanie and Skulduggery is full of fun, wit, and affection.

The magic world Derek Landy creates — the one that ordinary people don’t know about but goes on around us — is much darker and more sinister than Harry Potter’s.  The villains here are truly evil, and there are some gruesome deaths.

But most of all, this is a fun and captivating adventure yarn.  The narration is completely magnificent, and found me wanting to linger in my car even after I’d reached my destination.

The things that happen to people (in the past of the story and its present) are horrible and gruesome enough that I would save this book for teens and up.  But for those who don’t mind a little grit in the story, I highly recommend this book.  Better yet, listen to the audio version and enjoy the Irish accents!

Find this review on the main site at:

www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/skulduggery_pleasant.html

Review of Enchantment, by Orson Scott Card

Fantasy, Fiction Review, Romance 0
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Enchantment
by Orson Scott Card

Reviewed January 10, 2008.
Del Rey Books (Random House), New York, 1999. 419 pages.
Starred Review.
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2008: #1, Fantasy Fiction

I didn’t have to consider for a second how highly to rate this book. Enchantment was the best book I had read in a very long time.

What if Sleeping Beauty woke up today? Orson Scott Card gives a possible answer to that question. He weaves in Russian fairy tales, a Russian Jewish family coming to America, and ancient local gods of Russia. In the process, he crafts a beautiful love story which is at once thought-provoking, suspenseful, and utterly captivating.

The book opens when Ivan Smetski’s parents tell him that he is really a Jew named Itzak Shlomo. The time is right for the family to declare who they are and leave Russia. Before they leave, Ivan discovers a strange place in the woods. He thinks he sees the face of a beautiful woman, asleep, covered with leaves. Then something moves in the leaves near her and comes straight toward him. He runs in terror.

As an adult, Ivan goes back to Russia. He thinks that memory must have just been his vivid imagination. Nonetheless, he feels compelled to visit the place. When the monster moves in the leaves, this time he stands his ground.

The story that follows is as beautiful as the fairy tales it calls to mind, but gives us more details. He shows us that it’s not so easy to deal with a Princess when you’re only a common young man. He comes up against such formidable figures as Baba Yaga and the Bear god of Russia. I especially enjoy learning the reason why Baba Yaga has a house on chicken legs that can move around the country.

One reason I love this story is that I once tried to write a book based on the same idea—Sleeping Beauty waking up today. The idea seemed good, but the logistics bogged me down. How would she get papers to deal with the modern world? How would she cope with the sheer weight of all her family and friends being dead? How would she deal with modern life? How would she handle the language?

Orson Scott Card takes care of every obstacle I found and makes it look easy. Ivan is uniquely prepared to deal with a girl from old Russia. Like his father, he is a student of ancient Russian languages. Instead of treating this like a coincidence, we feel that Ivan was specially chosen for this task.

I won’t give away the other ways the author turns obstacles into features of the story. His love story is also wonderful. The two don’t like each other at first, but we can see their attitudes gradually changing, as each discovers the other’s true worth.

This is the sort of book I will want to read again every few years. A real treasure.

This review is posted on the main site at

www.sonderbooks.com/Fiction/enchantment.html

Review of The Magic and the Healing, by Nick O’Donohoe

Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

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The Magic and the Healing, by Nick O’Donohoe

Firebird, 2006.  First published in 1994.  324 pages.

Reviewed January 14, 2008.

BJ Vaughan is packing up her stuff, ready to leave vet school forever.  Her mother committed suicide before she could be overcome by the symptoms of a genetic disease she might have passed to BJ.  Unable to focus, BJ failed her small animal rotation, and figures she might as well call it quits.

Then Dr. Dobbs calls her into his office and asks her to work on a special rotation he’s supervising.  He shows her a horn.

She barely noticed; the horn had taken her over.  “A land animal.  Antelope have two like this, generally darker.  Goats have two, but they curve more in any of the goats I know–“

She had her first suspicion of what it was.  She shivered, and the shiver turned into cold certainty.  Of course.  She should have guessed it long ago.  It was obvious, except–

Except that there weren’t any.

BJ accepts Dr. Dobbs’ assignment and finds herself traveling with a group of veterinary students into Crossroads, a place between worlds, where impossible creatures exist and need their help.

Here’s a fantasy book with a twist of James Herriot.  There’s a dark side to this book, as someone has sinister plans for Crossroads, and the students get in the way.  You can’t help liking BJ and her companions– her consistent reaction is to help ease suffering, with no thought to her own safety.

This book has more of a feel of fantasy for adults, though it’s published by a Young Adult imprint.  This isn’t fairy tale fantasy, but a somewhat grittier look at what it would be like to practice veterinary medicine on creatures like griffins and werewolves.

An absorbing and intriguing story.

This review is posted on the main site at

http://www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/magic_and_the_healing.html