Once Upon a Time in the North - Philip Pullman

Read for: YA Challenge

To continue my short reviews, I'll get straight to the point!

Once Upon a Time in the North is another book set in the world of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. In the same format as Lyra's Oxford, this delightful little hardback is actually a prequel. The story follows aeronaut Lee Scoresby as he meets Iorek Byrnison for the first time.

Unlike Lyra's Oxford, Once Upon a Time in the North captured my interest from the very beginning. The fact that neither Lee nor Iorek were the most important characters in the trilogy actually made the book even better reading. It is often the minor characters that intrigue me and this was especially the case with Scoresby. Very little is revealed about him during the series, aside from his character and friendship with the armoured bear, little is told of his back story. A daring choice of follow up installment, I do not know if this was a particularly big hit or not, although I really enjoyed it. Beautifully packaged, the book also contains a game and some letters from Lyra herself.

Still earmarked with Pullman's excellent literary style, though not bogged down in the religious aspects that were a bit much for some in the later books, Once Upon a Time is an adventure through and through. This would certainly be understood if read with no prior knowledge of the series, though anyone who desires a little more insight into Scoresby's history and the tale of how he met Byrnison, will likely find the story more satisfying. As always, Scoresby's daemon, Hester, is a joy to read about and is most certainly my favourite daemon in the series. Sadly, as is often the case with such novellas, not enough is revealed and the reader is left wanting more.

Where is the Book of Dust I ask?

Other blog reviews:
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Things Mean a Lot
In Spring it is the Dawn

An Abundance of Katherines - John Green

Read for: YA Challenge

After falling in love with John Green's writing in Looking for Alaska, I took the opportunity while visiting the Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, to buy both An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns.

An Abundance of Katherines is about Colin Singleton, a high school graduate and child prodigy who has just been dumped by his girlfriend, Katherine. In fact, all Colin's girlfriends have been called Katherine...all nineteen of them. After being dumped shortly after graduating, Colin and his best friend, Hassan, decide to go on a road trip, while Colin continues to work on his Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability. On this road trip, Colin and Hassan find themselves in middle of nowhere Gutshot, where they meet Lindsay, not a Katherine but something very different.

Katherines is a little more daring than Looking for Alaska, while at the same time, very little appears to happen. Although I did not find myself becoming particularly attached to the characters in this book, I did enjoy the writing, particularly the mathematics that pervade the story. I also liked Green's use of footnotes for these mathematical formulae and other amusing tidbits.

Sadly, I did not love Katherines as I did Alaska, but it was a well written book regardless. I would recommend it as an example of John Green's intuituve and insightful writing, although as other bloggers have pointed out, not everyone would consider this book suitable for younger teens.

Other blog reviews:
1 more chapter
Becky's book reviews
things mean a lot
The Written World

Have I missed yours?

What I Was - Meg Rosoff

Read for: YA Challenge

After having enjoyed How I Live Now so much, and after reading Nymeth's review, I picked up my next Meg Rosoff novel, What I Was.

Narrated by our protagonist as an old man, the story is predominantly set in the early 1960s, the year in which he "discovered love". Sent to a school for hopeless cases on the East Anglian coast, the narrator finds little of interest in his daily life, with boring school work, bunkmates and professors that he can't stand, yet no home that he wants to return to. It all changes one day, when on a cross country run, he meets Finn, the boy who lives by the sea, and everything changes. Finn, the mysterious boy who rarely speaks a word, who lives by himself in a small run down cottage on the beach. As far as books go, I loved this more than How I Live Now, even when I didn't think that would be possible. As a story though, this resonated perfectly with me. Child on the cusp of adulthood, searching for something he does not understand, something he does not yet have, nor does he know to want it. Until he meets a boy who has all those things.

And Finn, oh Finn. If it is possible to fall for a character in fiction, I fell for him. Such gentleness and hardness all at the same time. Mysterious, yet longing. Each time when I thought I had come to understand him and his friendship with the narrator, I realised I knew nothing of him. It is Finn that is the heart of this story, and Finn whom we are all searching for or longing to become. And that is the beauty of this story. I don't think I can describe it as well as Nymeth, except to say that there is that line, between wanting to love someone, and wanting to be them, that their life is somewhat superior to your own, and that is explored so delicately here.

How is it that as an adult now, I keep discovering these wonderful, insightful books aimed at teenagers? I am quite envious, having not read anything even remotely comparable at that age. Yes there is a twist in What I Was, and although I knew from other reviews that it was coming, I did not look for it and thus did not expect it. I was somewhat sideblinded, and yet not in the typical dramatic way. This twist is perfectly relevant to the story and ultimately how the reader sees the characters. I long to reread the book now that I am aware of this revelation, and I truly hope that it will add to my enjoyment of the book, rather than detract from it.

Other blog reviews:
Things mean a lot "What I Was is also about how idealizing a person can sometimes keep you from seeing how they really are; can make you miss what's right in front of your eyes. And then who do you love? The person of the construct in your head?"

Have I missed yours?

Holiday Swap

Last year I participated in the Book Blogger Christmas Swap, from which I received the most beautiful gifts from Quixotical and hopefully myself put a smile on my Swapee, kicking-k's face. My Christmas Swap contact was Dewey, and so this year I would like to join up again, in honour of her, and hopefully put a smile on someone else's face. And of course, get a little something myself, because what girl doesn't love gifts, most especially when the gifts are from the people who know us so well!? So if you are interested, take a look at the Holiday Swap website and enjoy the run up to winter.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie

Read for: YA Challenge; Dewey's Books Challenge

Another book that seems to have been subject to all the hype recently, although less so on this side of the pond. I picked it up in the States, after spending some time with a Navajo woman and driving through Flathead and Spokane land.

The Absolutely True Diary is exactly that, narrated by our part-time Indian, Junior, who grows up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. After a disastrous start to high school, Junior requests a transfer to a different school, in a rich, predominantly white town, miles away from his home. He soon discovers that change brings numerous challenges, both at home and at school.

Rather than being a story about an Indian boy suffering the trials and tribulations of life and leaving the rez in order to have a better education, it is more the story of a teenage boy suffering the typical trials and tribulations of life. Two things make Junior stand out from the average American boy. One being that he suffered brain damage as an infant, which affects his speech and has caused some physical problems. The other is that he is Native American, growing up in poverty on the Spokane reservation. Although perhaps it is the latter reason that the book has been so hyped, it is not the only reason to pick up and enjoy this book. In fact, quite the opposite. Sherman Alexie has written a touching tale about a boy trying to find his way in the world, surviving his health problems, bullying and his family's poverty, to obtain himself a good education and possibly a bright future. Yes it is made all the poignant by his ethnicity, but much of the humour comes from the typical teenage mishaps and discoveries.

Having said that, Sherman Alexie has obviously drawn on his deep intimate knowledge of life on a reservation to write a wonderfully humourous and often sad tale which gives us some insight into a world that most Americans know little about. Regardless, this is an amusing and touching tale that will strike a chord with any teenager (or anyone who remembers being a teenager) who has felt like an outsider.

Other blog reviews:
Bold.Blue.Adventure
Becky's Books
You Can Never Have Too Many Books

Have I missed yours?

Puppet Master - Joanne Owen

Inspired by Eastern European folklore and the puppet theatres of old Czechoslovakia, Puppet Master is an homage to both, bringing to life the eerie legends along with its own slice of fairytale.

Set in the Prague of 1898, the tale centres on a young girl, Milana, who's mother disappeared shortly after the death of her beloved father. Together, the family had run the local puppet theatre, and both the setting and language hark back to a time when puppets were one of the main arts and forms of entertainment. Milena is intrigued by the opening of a new puppet theatre, and its Master, a mysterious man with two devoted apprentices, the identical twins Zdenka and Zdenko. But the Puppet Master is more than he seems, and his power does not only lie over his marionettes. He plans to take over the city with a dazzling show of his power, and claim Prague for his own. Milena is the only one who can stop him, and together with her wise and slightly eccentric aunts, Tereza and Katerina, she must face her own fears if she is to save her family and the city from the Puppet Master's terrifying power.

What's not to love about this story. Set in turn of the century Prague, the story is seeped in history and legend, made all the more visceral by the author's aversion to modern language. Both her storytelling and writing fit the period beautifully, allowing the reader to become completely immersed in her world. Like My Swordhand is Singing, another Eastern European book I have recently enjoyed, Puppet Master revels in its setting and the truth behind its legends. Not only does it deliver an entertaining gothic horror story, but it also packs a cast of powerful female characters and I dare you to not be inspired to read the folklore behind the tale.

One review that I read likened the story to the work of Tim Burton and the surrealists that inspired him. Now I am a huge fan of Tim Burton (yes, HUGE) and this tale, although perhaps somewhat tame in comparison, has all the eeriness, mystery and gothic horror that one would expect from a Burton story. With puppets. Yes. Are you not sold yet?

One thing I am inspired to do is visit the Norwich Puppet Theatre, one of only four dedicated puppet theatres in the country...Jack the Ripper the panto anyone?

Inkdeath - Cornelia Funke

I always feel a little sad when a series comes to an end. And you just know this is going to be the end...with a title like Inkdeath...what else could you expect!?

Inkdeath is the third and final book in the Inkworld trilogy, and after the shocking conclusion to Inkspell, there was no way I was going to miss this one. Starting off immediately where Inkspell left off, which I can say no more about, as it will entirely ruin the ending of that book. Suffice to say, events are not particularly happy and the characters have to get themselves out of quite a mess in this book.

Inkspell really redeemed itself after the series got off to an iffy start in Inkheart. Characters were a little more fleshed out, plot developments were more intriguing and the Inkworld was very well described. Inkdeath had my attention throughout, not least because at least one of my favourite characters' life hung in the balance through most of the tale. However, the plot was a little disjointed, and the writing delved too often into quite deep metaphysical debates on whether or not we can shape our own destinies if everything is already written on the page. This is a concept that I am not sure many children would understand, nor would they want to give a great deal of thought to it. And to be quite frank, I lost interest in those parts of the story, and tended to skip the pages that concerned them, a habit I ususally try to avoid. Also, this book seemed a lot more violent than the previous instalments, which though it did not bother me, I can imagine being quite offputting for parents.

The ending was somewhat conclusive, though left the story open for further development...but I for one hope they leave it where it is. A somewhat unsatisfying conclusion for me personally, though it was not possible for me not to read it!

What did you think?