The Daughters of Ys opens with a father relating a story to his daughters. The story concerns the magical way he met his wife and their future mother on a dark stormy night in the middle of the sea. From there, the two carve a city from the sea and begin a new life.
But now, their mother is dead and, the king and his daughters (Rozenn and Dahut) have to figure out their lives and how to run their magical kingdom, Ys, without her.
In this coming-of-age tale, secrets run in every direction. The discovery of what those secrets are make this story fascinating.
Magic and living comes with a cost is one of the many lessons that could be learned from this fairy tale.
I loved the illustrations by Jo Rioux and feel like they really elevated the story. She uses mostly muted colors to weave shadows and magic throughout the tale. The brightest colors are reserved for Dahut, the younger and more magically inclined daughter.
I think this book is appropriate for young adults. There are some mature themes that are dealt with, but they’re not explicit. Highly recommended.
The bone house did not speak. They never did. But still, Ryn felt obligated to say something. “Sorry about this,” said Ryn. And then she swung the axe at the dead woman’s knees. pg 14, ebook
In addition to her wandering dead problem, Ryn’s father went on a work outing and never returned. When a stranger comes to her village with a proposition to explore the lands around her home, Ryn decides to find him.
That is where the story really picks up.
Author Emily Lloyd-Jones explores Welsh myth and legend in this young adult fantasy. I enjoyed the story but the big twists were sign-posted so well that I guessed them before they occurred, something that I never manage to do.
This is probably because I’m not the intended audience for the story, but that’s fine. It is well-written other than that small quibble.
I liked the main character, Ryn, quite a lot. She’s strong, brave, and unafraid to venture into enchanted forests.
Reluctant readers might enjoy this book because the pace is quite fast. Recommended for readers who like young adult fantasy stories.
Vicky lives with her brother, Vergil, who is a renowned e-sports player of the game “Xenith Orion.” Though Vicky loves to play video games too, she is too shy and self deprecating to tell him.
When an opportunity arises for Vicky to join an e-sports team of her own, she takes it, and uses a mask to conceal her identity. But she knows, it is only a matter of time until her secret comes out.
What will she do then?
I very much enjoyed this coming-of-age graphic novel. Readers get to see Vicky really coming into her own in the video game scene, while handling her personal relationships, particularly the one with her brother.
This story touched on the potential sexism of e-sports. So few young women play, and when they do, they can draw all sorts of negative or toxic attention. Vicky avoids some of this with her costume, but other parts of it she can’t escape- like when one of the members of her brother’s team presses her for her phone number, though she doesn’t want to give it.
Or the negative comments arising from spectators to the tournament which are specifically directed to a female member of another team who isn’t hiding her gender behind a mask.
I experienced this type of thing first-hand in some of my gaming days. I was big into EverQuest in the early 2000’s. Luckily for me, that was before head-set communication during gaming was a thing, so, even though I played female avatars, most of the people I gamed with just assumed I was a guy.
It was easy for me to hide. I never felt like I had to, like Vicky, but looking back on it all now, it saved me from negative attention for years.
News articles about e-sports have reported women comprise about half of casual gamers but only a handful of professional gamers. Here’s hoping more young women find the courage to follow their dreams!
The video game portions of this book were the most difficult to follow. It cut quickly from one character to the next with little explanation of what is going on except the kill.
Other than that, I thought this book was well done.
Highly recommended for reluctant readers, fans of video games, and readers who enjoy graphic novels.
Chivalry is a delightful fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by the talented Colleen Doran.
The story itself is simple: an elderly woman discovers the Holy Grail at a second-hand shop and takes it home. A knight comes questing for the grail and she is unwilling to give it up.
Does everything end up happily ever after for everyone in our tale? Read and see…
I loved the artwork of this story. Doran uses beautiful colors to highlight the art. Some of the pages are done like medieval folios, they were my favorite.
In the notes at the end of the book, Doran shares she wanted to make the whole book like an illuminated manuscript but she discovered that was unworkable. The pages she did do in that style are breath taking.
Highly recommended for fantasy and comic book fans.
In Ansel’s world, when you turn 18, you chose a quest and complete it in order to “find yourself”. He has decided to seek out the fabled Folklords, mysterious figures wrapped in mystery and myth.
He has chosen to find the Folklords because of curious dreams he has been having of a world with metal machines, high rises, and people dressed strangely. (This is supposed to be our world, but Ansel doesn’t know that.)
Unlike in our world, the librarians of Ansel’s world hoard knowledge and stories. He’ll have to get past them to complete his quest. Will he find the Folklords before the librarians catch him?
This middle grade, fantasy graphic novel was fun. I liked the juxtaposition of our modern world with Ansel’s fantasy one.
I also liked the homage to the New York Public Library with a fantasy library and real lions guarding its gates.
This book is appropriate for middle grade readers. There’s a few pages that deal with torture but it isn’t graphic and is dealt with tastefully. Just a warning for parents who may be concerned about that kind of thing.
The story is predictable, but good.
As more book banning challenges arise all across the country, I can’t help but wonder if the librarians of Ansel’s world might cross over to ours, so to speak, locking away books and telling people what sort of information they should seek out.
I’m a huge fan of libraries and librarians (in fact, I borrowed this book from the library). So I hope we will continue to have champions standing up for knowledge and free access for all!
Her search takes her to London where, after a night of violence and supernatural scares, she discovers a whole other world existing alongside the every day one.
This is a world of magic and legend, and mysterious, ultra-cool booksellers.
“Susan hesitated and looked back. The monstrous bug was still writhing, but something else was happening now. A dark fog was flowing up the stairs.”
“Children’s writers,” said Merlin. “Dangerous bunch. They cause us a lot of trouble. … They don’t do it on purpose… But quite often they discover the key to raise some ancient myth, or release something that should have stayed imprisoned, and they share that knowledge via their writing. Stories aren’t always stories, you know.” pg 59, book
The characters and their sparkling dialogue are the high points in this fantasy tale for young adults.
I was also fond of the heroes being a bunch of booksellers. The only change that would have raised that, in my opinion, was if author Garth Nix had made them librarians. But that’s just me. 🙂
The world Nix has imagined, though intriguing, never moves beyond the entirely predictable. I suppose I wasn’t the intended audience for the story, but I believe a great book entertains all ages.
“I never knew anything about the Old World or any of this stuff before I met Merlin.” pg 67, ebook.
Although, now that the world is created, I could see this being the first entry in a fun, light-hearted series. We shall see.
Only recommended for young adults who are looking for fantasy reads. Adults readers may find themselves longing for more complexity.
**Spoiler alert: for those who haven’t had the chance to read this classic tale. Please read before you enjoy this review!**
A Wrinkle in Time begins in a deceptively normal way: on a night with wind-tossed trees and a howling rain storm. From there, award-winning author Madeleine L’Engle takes readers literally to the stars and beyond in this extraordinary coming-of-age fantasy novel.
I first read about the adventures of Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin when I was eleven or twelve years old. It was during my early bookworm phase, when I was still learning there were genres that I enjoyed more than others.
I was swept up in the adventure part of this story- facing down the shadows and ‘It’ in my subconscious mind and heart. I remember thinking the Aunt Beast portion of the story was boring and being disappointed Meg’s father was a real man with flaws rather than a superhero who could solve all of her problems.
Looking back on that interpretation now, I see my own burgeoning psychological development and the belief that my parents were some kind of godlike beings- something that most if not all children pass through at some point or another. When did you discover that your parents were real and fallible, just like you?
However, listening to the audiobook as a fully grown adult with a daughter of my own, I was struck by Meg’s strength and bravery. It takes a great deal of inner resolve to face down society’s expectations and the numbing experience of living soullessly every day, following someone else’s school or work schedule and agenda. (A real life version of the pulsing, all-encompassing brain of L’Engle’s fantasy world.)
How many days have I awoken only to race off to the hamster wheel of the work week- toiling away so the highly-paid minds of the CEOs could rest easy, knowing that the company was producing product (whatever industry that may be) and providing value for the shareholders? More than I’d care to admit, before I discovered the safe haven of the librarian’s world.
In my own effort to find my calling, I was reminded of Meg’s struggles to survive her encounter with It, not just survive but decide how her body and mind should function. In some ways, the modern work experience feels like someone else dictates how many breaths you should take per minute or what rhythm your heart should beat.
I had the good fortune of listening to an audiobook that has L’Engle speaking a brief introduction and then an afterword read by one of L’Engle’s granddaughters.
The granddaughter (I’m embarrassed I don’t remember her name) shared the details and struggles of L’Engle’s life- including the rejection of her manuscript by numerous publishing houses and the shade some readers threw her way for their own interpretations of her story. Some claimed the book was too overly Christian while others thought it promoted witchcraft. Her granddaughter said L’Engle was baffled by the hate mail.
Photo by Abstrakt Xxcellence Studios on Pexels.com
Curious how a reader’s lens of perception shapes the experience you have with a book. As I mentioned earlier, as a child I thought this book was a grand adventure. As an adult, I see it as a metaphor for living in the modern world.
I’m keen to have my own reluctant reader try this book and share what she thinks about it.
Recommended for everyone but especially those who find themselves a beat or two out of step with the proverbial Its of the modern world. This book reminds you that you’re not alone.
I enjoyed the book more than the movie- but here’s the trailer for those who like movies more than books.
With those three sentences, Terry Pratchett introduces readers to one of the most beloved characters from his Discworld series, Tiffany Aching.
Young Tiffany lives in sheep raising country, where chalk from an ancient sea lies beneath the ground. When an otherworldly creature bursts out of a creek and tries to pull her and her little brother Wentworth beneath its waters, Tiffany fights back.
It is the beginning of a life or death struggle with monsters from worlds beyond Discworld, though Tiffany does not know it at the time.
But luckily for her, there are allies who will join her in this fight- the Wee Free Men.
“In the reeds, quite low down, small voices whispered: “Crivens, Wee Bobby, did yer no’ see that?” “Aye, we’d better offski an’ tell the Big Man we’ve found the hag.” pg 10
Pratchett weaves this coming of age story with humor and magic. He utilizes the best themes of the Witches Discworld subseries to do so.
Tiffany discovers headology, the importance of belief and appearances, and her own mysterious connection to a witch legacy that was hiding in plain sight in the hills.
The pacing of the tale is quick, racing from one danger to the next, and perfect for young adults or reluctant readers who enjoy fantasy.
In addition, Pratchett uses a real life painting in the story which adds another layer of ‘fairy magic’ to the telling. The artwork is “The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke” by Richard Dadd and you can see it here: https://bit.ly/3tW58bb
Detail of “The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke”
The surreal painting captures the unsettling feel of the creatures and worlds Pratchett so deftly describes. It is also whimsical, but hints at the danger lurking in the shadows.
For the past few weeks, I have been doing a read-through of the Discworld Witches series and really disliked the last one, Maskerade. I felt like the witches’ character flaws were beginning to dominate the story, which was draining its humor and heart away.
The Wee Free Men brings magic and heart back into the equation. In Tiffany, readers discover a brave young girl who wants to do the right thing but doesn’t have any one to show her the way. We know her mentors will show up eventually, but until then, she and the wee free men need to figure things out on their own.
And how they do that is a very good story. Highly recommended.
Christopher Paolini brings his fantasy series for young adults to an end with Inheritance, the fourth and final book in The Inheritance Cycle.
Eragon, Saphira, the Varden and their various allies including elves, dwarves and urgals, make their way to Uru-baen, the capital of the evil Galbatorix’s empire, in a thrilling set of battles that bring a conclusion to the struggle between the characters of this world.
If you’ve been following my reviews as I made my way through this series, you’ll note that this is the highest rating (four stars) I’ve given any of the books. I could tell that Paolini brought all of the skills that he learned in writing the first three books to this one.
The characters are well-developed as he’s had thousands of pages to make them that way. The battles are nail-bitingly awesome.
The fallout after the main confrontation is long enough to tie up loose ends, but not so long that I was tired of reading about the world.
And it is a fun world to visit. Paolini took his cues from the classics of fantasy to craft his own world so that it feels familiar in a comforting way to fans of fantasy fiction.
But that familiarity cuts both ways. Paolini doesn’t move far from the expected tropes in the creation of his story. There were a few large reveals in Inheritance that I wanted to be more imaginative than the twists that Paolini crafted.
That being said, I did enjoy this book more than all the others. Once I started the final hundred pages, I couldn’t put the book down.
I think this series could be a lot of fun for young readers. Despite its predictability, there is much to enjoy in The Inheritance Cycle. Older readers or the young at heart might want something that veers a little more off of the expected paths.
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