Archive for January, 2008
Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Tithe, by Holly Black
This book, the first of three related ones by Holly Black (of Spiderwick Chronicles fame), was released in 2002. Although it apparently took her five years or so to write it, it’s kind of funny that it came out such a short period of time after the re-release of Emma Bull’s War for the Oaks. [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit,fantasy by Stephanie
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
The Seeing Stone (Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 2), by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
Earlier I reviewed the first book in the Spiderwick Chronicles, The Field Guide, by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. The second book, The Seeing Stone, is also a very small volume, something like 20,000 words, with whimsical illustrations and a cinematic future. In the first book, we meet the Grace siblings (Jared, Simon, and Mallory) [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit,fantasy by Stephanie
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
The Riddle (Pellinor, Book 2), by Alison Croggon
Earlier I reviewed The Naming by Alison Croggon, which was the first book in this quartet. Book 2, luckily, follows almost precisely where book 1 left off. (I mention this because book 3 follows a different set of characters.) At the end of book 1, our Intrepid Heroine (Maerad) has been charged with finding the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit,fantasy by Stephanie
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Throne of Jade (Temeraire, Book 2), by Naomi Novik
I also reviewed the first book in this series, His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, here. This is book two out of at least four; book 4 came out recently, and apparently there is no end in sight for the series. While I love Novik’s world, I’m a little leery of unending series. However, book [...]
No Comments » - Posted in book reviews,fantasy by Stephanie
Friday, January 11th, 2008
Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel
This novel, Oppel’s fifth or so, was an honor book by the American Publishers Association (Printz Award), and in its native land of Canada, it won the Governor-General’s Award. I thought those were pretty good credentials, no? Airborn, book 1 of at least 3 (book 3′s existence can only be inferred from the writer’s FAQ [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit,fantasy by Stephanie
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Murkmere, by Patricia Elliott
Often I judge books by their covers (as does everyone else in the world, or they’d all be in brown paper bags), and this one has an interesting pastel drawing of a girl and a swan. Honestly, that’s the main reason I picked it up. Patricia Elliott wasn’t an author I’d heard of before, and [...]
No Comments » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit,fantasy by Stephanie
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
Ashling, by Isobelle Carmody
Earlier I reviewed Obernewtyn and The Farseekers by Isobelle Carmody, and lamented the lack of availability for the other books in the series. Well, I found a copy of book 3 (which had been published by Tor) at Half-Price Books, and bought it immediately. If you’ll remember, we have Elspeth Gordie and her band of [...]
No Comments » - Posted in book reviews,fantasy by Stephanie
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
I bet some of you were getting sick of all these 3-plus reviews. Here’s a spork, to help. In order to review this book, though, I’ll probably have to give away some plot points. However, some of them are like me telling you Harry Potter is a wizard. You may not know this if you’ve [...]
18 Comments » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit,fantasy by Stephanie
Monday, January 7th, 2008
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1 & 2, by Lemony Snicket
Yes, yet again I read the book after the movie came out, but at least I haven’t seen the movie. In any case, I think everyone knows by now that Lemony Snicket is a pseudonym for Daniel Handler, and these were his first children’s books. In the first book (The Bad Beginning), the Baudelaire children [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in book reviews,children's lit by Stephanie
Friday, January 4th, 2008
His Majesty’s Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1), by Naomi Novik
I’m not exactly a Napoleonic Wars buff, but I am a big fan of books from the Regency and later books set during that time. His Majesty’s Dragon, first of a series by Naomi Novik, is about the Napoleonic Wars – but with dragons. If that’s not enough to get you to read the book, [...]