Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category
Sunday, August 6th, 2006
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| Author: | Jonathan Stroud |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
Sardonic musings of a demon summoned by a very young, but now, successful, wizard.
Book review: Part 1
Spoiler alert
I hate spoilers. However, I wish I had known more about the third volume in this trilogy before my daughter and I started reading the first one. (This would not have been possible when we started the first volume, because the third volume had not yet been released.)
That being said, I highly recommend all the books in the trilogy and I am glad that my daughter and I read them together.
This review is being presented in multiple parts; each part may provide additional information that, taken together, might give away some of the plot twists of Volume 3.
On the other hand, those helping highly sensitive readers select books might want to read through all the parts of this review before recommending books in this trilogy to them ...
Book review: Part 2
My 11 year old really loved these books. But they are a bit of a departure for her -- there's real murder and mayhem in them, which, until recently, she would not have tolerated.
As in previous volumes in the Trilogy, this book switches perspective between three very different characters:
- Feisty Kitty is one of the commoners who are mistreated by the ruling elites and the demons they employ and are devastated by the economy and grief that result from the incessant wars the elites wage on foreign shores. She realizes that she must do something. But how much can one person do and can she live with the devastating consequences of her actions on her friends and colleagues?
- Bartimaeus the sardonic djinni, who stands back and makes sarcastic comments about the other characters and the plot, even when he's right in the middle of it all, and
- Nathaniel (John Mandrake) the gifted but annoying magician who has been co-opted by an Evil government because of his great intellectual abilities. Most of the time, the djinni has to obey the boy's commands, and a lot of the humor/sarcasm comes in when the djinni explains to the reader how morally compromised the boy is becoming. (And, to his credit, the djinni doesn't hesitate to tell the boy either, not that the boy listens most of the time.)
There is a complex relationship between these books and slavery too. The djinni is a slave, and even though he respects the good qualities of his boy master, he also hates having to obey his commands. Most of the time, the djinni makes this clear. But he's sometimes more supportive of his master than I think an average slave might actually be.
In Ptolemy's Gate, Bartimaeus also develops a touching relationship with Kitty and an awareness of kinship with the commoners whom most djinn scorn if they consider them at all. So much for cooperation between oppressed masses. |
Book review: Part 3
My 11 year old daughter -- a very sensitive reader who has fallen in love with many of the characters in the Bartimaeus Trilogy and who "trusts" Bartimaeus' author implicitly -- and I read books to each other, usually alternating chapters. So, here we are, alternating chapters. My daughter reads Bartimaeus' words:
There are times when even a near omnipotent djinni knows to keep his mouth shut, and this was one of them. ... Trouble was, neither of them was in a mood to listen to my doubts. ... Pride has a part to play in it, and other emotions too. Neither wishes to fail; each redoubles their efforts to impress. Things get done -- but not always the right things, or not always the things expected. .. Farqual's phrase rang uneasily in my mind: He would welcome your attack and feed off it. And, call me pessimistic, but that struck me as a mite ominous. But it was too late to worry about that now.
I interrupt her and ask, gently as I can, "So what is the author telling us here?" My daughter pauses reluctantly. It's been an exciting, interesting, scary story so far, a story that persuasively argues that war can harm the invading country as well as the country that was invaded, that slavery compromises the humanity of the slave-owner as well as the slave, that torture is likewise devastating to both the torturer and the victim, and that a country in which the ruling classes blithely assume that what is in their interest is also in the interest of commoners who have no say is a country heading for destructive violence. I persist -- "What is the author telling us right now?" She replies, "I HATE foreshadowing." She gets it, I'm pretty sure she does. I persist, "So what's being foreshadowed?" (It's almost always better when she gets the opportunity to face unpleasantness gradually.) She says, "Bad things are going to happen. But he CAN'T kill off -- ?"
Book review: Part 4
So, what are the options for an author who obviously is wanting to make a case for the horrors of war, horrors he thinks may perhaps be discounted by the young and foolish? If no one but the unnamed masses or unimportant minor characters in the book are affected by the violence, what does that say about war?
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Ptolemy's Gate (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3) |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Sunday, August 6th, 2006
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| Author: | Ann Brashares |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2001 |
A magical pair of pants, pants that are equally flattering on each in the Sisterhood, remind a group of four young women of their bond. And the pants also very creatively tether the four separate plot lines together.
Very well written chic lit. |
I found the four stories -- about: staying brave as a friend dies, being honest about one's feelings, dealing with a divorced parent's new family, and the dangers of manic/depression -- pretty realistic and interesting. But I do have some reservations about the book:
- Are there really strongly cohesive groups of four girls this different? Perhaps because the book rarely discusses what they do when together, I was not persuaded.
- Money and distance and parents seem to be insignificant obstacles to these young women. Adults in the book are there in a way similar to the authority figures in Peanuts. You see/hear rumors of them, but even at a summer camp, they seem to be mostly, frightentingly absent. Perhaps this is the way that teenage girls perceive them. Perhaps they are mostly absent in many teenagers' lives. The girls know they need to be there for eachother, because their parents -- aren't.
Well, anyway, I enjoyed getting to know Carmen, Lena, Bridget, and Tibby, who shine because of their inner goodness, although the magical pants, might add to the luminance. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The |
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up, Sports | Comments Closed
Friday, August 4th, 2006
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| Author: | Margaret Peterson Haddix and Rene Milot |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1999 |
Just Ella explains what happened to Cinder-Ella after her first happily ever after. She finds out that Prince Charming is not what she wants, but she has to find a way out of marrying him.
Ella doesn't like the palace either, it's too stuffy, but she does manage to make some good friends who end up saving her from a life of for ever just looking pretty and sewing all day long.
I liked this book; it was a don't-put-down-'til-you've- read-it-all book (To me, at least).
--Fizzy, age 11
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Just Ella |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
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| Author: | A.S. Byatt |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1990 |
Intricate and, yes, romantic, story of the work and loves of a motley community of poets and researchers, in this century and in the past all exploring pieces of a literary puzzle.
These nerdy people, all obsessed with doing the arcane thing that they do very well, figure out how to combine their efforts for the good of the group and themselves.
Not for children, but similar in theme, although vastly more ambitious than, Dragonfly. Highly recommended for gifted adults. |
Reading about how these gifted people connect intellectually and re-combine romantically, how they work together to solve the mysteries of the past and of their own hearts -- well, it's like wandering through a strange but beautiful garden.
In many discussions about academia, the intellectual pursuits, the single-minded pettiness of people who are deeply interested in -- let's face it -- minutia -- are ridiculed. But in Byatt's treatment -- not really a novel, but a combination of prose, poetry, excerpts from first-person narratives (pseudo-historical documents), we come to admire nearly every character in the book, obsessions, prejudices, intellectual prowess, and all.
Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Possession: A Romance |
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: for grown ups, Culture, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: Grown up | Comments Closed
Saturday, July 29th, 2006
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| Author: | Emily Rodda |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 5 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 5 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1993 |
A Quest, gently told; a good chapter book for a young/new reader.
In Questing to the top of the mountain with six fellow villagers to obtain water for his village, Rowan, a frail, young shepherd, gains confidence and courage. |
Unlike in other Quests, in this one, the trials that confront the travelers are nearly all resolved through reason, rather than force. For example, Rowan's climactic encounter with the dragon benefits both the boy and the beast.
Another nice touch: Rowan's fellow travelers do their best, but then, when a trial requires more than they can do, they retire for the good of the group, with the good wishes of the group. (Take that, Joe Lieberman!)
--Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Rowan of Rin |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 5 and up, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 5 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Tuesday, July 25th, 2006
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| Author: | Meindert DeJong |
| Illustrator: | Maurice Sendak |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1955 |
The children of a Dutch fishing village try various strategies in order to find a wheel that they can put on the roof of their schoolhouse so they can attract storks that will bring them luck. Winner, 1955 Newbery Medal
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wheel on the School, The |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Sunday, July 23rd, 2006
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2001 |
The books in this set are:
- Magicians of Caprona
- Witch Week
After reading Volume 1 of the Chronicles of Chrestomanci -- Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant -- we were very eager to read the second volume.
But the first book in this volume, The Magicians of Caprona, a Chrestomanci-universe-based story with many similarities to Romeo and Juliet was a real disappointment. |
In this case, of course, the warring families are magicians who fight each other by casting spells. The story is told from the point of view of a "slow-learner", who, of course, brings the families together and saves the city, and learns he is differently-abled, not dis-abled.
Even though the author is obviously a talented, creative, and thoughtful writer, we found this book tedious and predictable. Surprisingly little violence, despite the war that underlies the plot. Surprisingly little romance, considering the Romeo and Juliet theme. Much discussion of Punch and Judy, so the reader might want to be familiar with traditional puppet shows/themes before reading this...
-- Emily |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 2, Book 1: The Magicians of Caprona |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Fairy tales, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Friday, July 21st, 2006
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| Author: | E.L. Konigsburg |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1996 |
Motley group of gifted kids learn about each other and to work together to win a contest, aided by an inspiring teacher. |
Newbery Medal winner. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: View From Saturday |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: 8 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up, School, Science | Comments Closed
