Dragonfly by Julia Golding

Dragonfly

by Julia Golding

Rating: 5 stars, PG-13

Summary: Princess Taoshira, or Tashi, and Prince Ramil, or Ram, are complete opposites. Taoshira, the Fourth Princess of the Blue Crescent Islands lives her life according to rules, rituals, and religions. She has been taught to guard her emotions and never let her own wants and needs overpower the good of her country. Ramil, the crown prince of Gerfal is a wild spirit who lives life to the fullest. These two are brought together when the powers-that-be in their respective countries decide that a marital union between the two lands is in order. Neither are pleased, but after much complaining, they decide to at least try to make the best of it. It all goes downhill from there: kidnapping, war, heresy, slavery, the list goes on and on. Along the way, through all of these trials, the two begin to see more in each other than just cultural differences. And by that, I mean they start to fall in love. The book has a happy ending, but also a lot of suspense to keep the reader wondering how it could be a good ending.

Opinions: One of the first things I noticed about Dragonfly was that it avoided a classic fantasy pitfall: basing invented cultures on real ones. I felt like all the different nations in this book had elements pulled from all sorts of real-life cultures, from European, to Asian, to African, but no one culture was more prominently used than another. Likewise, no culture in the book was overly influenced by one real-world country. Speaking from experience, this is harder than it seems, but Julia Golding did an excellent job. She also did an excellent job at crafting both a detailed religion and a very religious culture that, again, had no resemblance to current religions and religion-based cultures. I did get confused on the location of the different countries in relation to where the characters were a couple of times, but there is a map in the front of the book.

The romance in Dragonfly was really subtle and slow to come on, considering it was mentioned in the book jacket, but it did seem really natural. Tashi and Ram squabbled through much of the book, and there was no sudden shift from animosity to love; it was all pretty gradual.

I felt like the book was a really subtle social commentary, especially in the realm of religious tolerance. Tashi grew up in an extremely religious culture (though I still hesitate to call it a theocracy, at least by modern terms), and her beliefs become a pretty significant sub-plot. The book also says quite a bit about giving people chances, as well as what can come of misunderstanding between different cultures.

I gave the book 5 stars because I absolutely loved it! I didn't inhale it like I do a lot of books that I really enjoy, but I think I enjoyed it all the more for not reading it hours on end. I predict that this will be the Graceling of this summer (I read Graceling early last summer, and it ended up being my top book for the year), if not this year. I actually noticed quite a few similarities between the two books, but nothing negative and, in retrospect, they are probably simply a result of genre conventions. I gave the book a PG-13 rating for violence, as the end of the book was really quite violent (though not unnecessarily so), and for very mild sexuality, almost all of which was passing comments and conversation rather than actions. The book is rather long, and it took awhile for the book to grow on me, but I did read the last hundred pages in one sitting.

A warning to those who read fantasy for the magic: this is fantasy only by virtue of taking place in an entirely made-up world. In that way, it's similar to General Winston's Daughter, which I also reviewed. Still, it's a very enjoyable world with a well-developed world and characters, and enough plot variety to capture both the action and the romance fans.

Panama by Shelby Hiatt

Panama

By Shelby Hiatt

Rating: PG-13; 3 stars

Summary: A 15-year-old girl is eager to leave her boring life in Dayton, Ohio for one of exoticism and intrigue in Panama. There, she discovers that, unfortunately, life in “the Zone” area of the Canal is pretty much the same as life in Dayton. That is, until she meets Federico, a Spanish canal worker with a secret political agenda. Her obsession with him leads to the start of a friendship then, suddenly, much, much more. She spends the remainder of the book romancing (and sleeping with) Federico. She grows up and learns much about herself as the construction of the canal (and the book) comes to an end.

Opinions: To start off, I actually read a lot of reviews of this book because, for the life of me, I couldn't remember the name of the girl (none of the other reviewers could either, apparently). While reading these reviews, I couldn't help but notice a definite trend among the reviews: most thought it was inappropriate for the intended audience (some even calling it no more than a bodice-ripper) and that it was poorly researched. On the first point, I kind of see their point of view, but at the same time I've read books for teens that were a lot more graphic about sex, even if there was less sex in the story. On the second point, I have no comment. I honestly didn't notice any of the inaccuracies that were pointed out. The only thing that struck me was the fact that the book took place in the early 1900s, and this girl was going and having sex like it wasn't a big deal. Now I'm not naive; I know that teens had sex then, it just came across as odd to me that the whole book was based around that when it took place in such a, well, conservative period.

Other than that, I'll be honest: I enjoyed the book. It was not the best I've read by any means, but it was a nice, light-hearted romance that took my mind off the stresses of school and life. The only thing I can say I didn't like was my issue with the sex that I explained above. Other than that I thought it was an enjoyable read.

Now for the ratings: If this was a movie, it would be a pretty hard PG-13, if they kept the sex like it was in the book. Any more graphic than that and it would definitely be rated R. And I gave it 3 stars because the sex part really bothered me, not in a prude sort of way, just in a no-suspension-of-disbelief way. Still, the book was, overall, enjoyable.

Top Ten Books of 2009

Top Ten Books of 2009

So I know it's been a looooooooong time since I updated, and I'm trying desperately to get caught up on my reviews. As it is, I'm way behind on my reading for 2010. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a list of my top ten reads of 2009. Not all of these were published last year, but I did read them all last year. I also haven't written reviews for many of them (most of them, actually), but I do intend to. So for now, here's the list. With any luck, I'll get an actual review up with the next week or so. Spring break is next week, so I should have plenty of time for both reading and writing.

All of the top ten are young adult fiction.

10. General Winston's Daughter, by Sharon Shinn. Rating: PG; 3 ½ stars

This book was an excellent social commentary dressed as a fantasy novel. Not what I expected, but quite enjoyable.

9. The Explosionist, by Jenny Davidson. Rating: PG; 3 ½ stars

I didn't realize when I picked up this book that it was an alternate history book. It was a very interesting premise that kept me hooked through to the end. Well-written.

8. Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink. Rating: PG-13; 4 stars

As I said in my review, I didn't realize this was historical fiction until I started reading it. This was a very enjoyable, chilling book that cured my fix for more Victorian paranormal fiction (I swear, it'll become a genre some day!)

7. Wondrous Strange, by Lesley Livingston. Rating: PG-13; 4 stars

This book reminded me a lot of Tithe, by Holly Black, and I liked it just as much! The characters and story were lively and intriguing, while still following the traditional legends of fairies.

6. In the Name of God, by Paula Jolin. Rating: PG; 4 ½ stars

This book was really intriguing and thought-provoking, and I loved every page of it! It isn't a light-hearted read, but it gives a balanced view on the other side of religious extremism.

5. A Northern Light, by Jennifer Donnelly. Rating: PG; 4 ½ stars

I loved the characters in this book, and I thought is was really cool that it was written as a sort of companion to An American Tragedy. It made me really want to read Tragedy.

4. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan. Rating: PG-13; 4 ½ stars

This book was so gripping! I read it all in one sitting and spent half of that sitting in tears! It was just an excellent book.

3. The Fattening Hut, but Pat Lowry Collins. Rating: PG-13; 5 stars

The Fattening Hut is one of my favorite books. I generally make a point of reading it once a year. I think the premise is fascinating, and the book draws attention to a terrible practice often considered taboo to talk about.

2. Psyche in a Dress, by Francesca Lia Block. Rating: PG-13; 5 stars

This is another book I read pretty much in one sitting, not that that took much; the book is pretty short. I absolutely loved the sheer poetry of this book. I think Francesca Lia Block is an amazing writer, and this is the book that turned me on to her writing.

1. Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. Rating: PG-13; 5 stars

I'll admit it: part of the reason I picked up this book was because it had my name in the title. That and the sword on the cover really drew me in. Still, I am so glad I picked it up. True, this book isn't as literary as some of my other top ten picks, but it is definitely my favorite book of the past year. I love the characters, love the story, just love everything about it! If you haven't read this, you really need to!

Runners-up:

(in no particular order)

The Nature of Monsters, by Clare Clark (MATURE CONTENT)

Castle Waiting, by Linda Medley (graphic novel)

God Went to Beauty School, by Cynthia Rylant (poetry)

Weetzie Bat, by Francesca Lia Block (young adult fiction)

Two Girls of Gettysburg, by Lisa Klein (young adult fiction)

The Amaranth Enchantment, by Julie Berry (young adult fiction)

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (MATURE CONTENT)

The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss (adult fiction)

Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri (adult fiction/short stories)

And yes, I really could only limit my top books of the year to nineteen. Sorry.

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week

Today starts Banned Books Week in the USA. For those who don't know, Banned Books Week celebrates freedom of speech by encouraging people to read books that have been banned in schools, removed from libraries, and in some cases, even taken to court to be banned in entire towns.

Now don't misunderstand: these aren't books that are illegal to own (at least, not in the US), they are books that some people have simply tried to make harder to obtain. Many of these books have been banned for sexual content, others for antireligions or pro "magic" sentiments. Recently, many children's books (particularly picture books) have come under attack for showing gay relationships, even in cases where the main characters are all animals.

I'm going to try not to make this post a into a rant; censorship is something that really makes me mad. In my opinion, if we try and cover up the truth (or even the "maybe" truth), we only risk making the mistakes of the past. In any case, I wanted to write this entry to inform, not intimidate.

It is unfortunate that throughout history, even recently, many classic books have been banned. These books include: To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Native Son, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Fin, even Little Red Riding Hood. Also stunning are some of the recent books (many bestsellers) that have been banned or challenged: The Kite Runner, The Giver, The Freedom Writers' Diary, The Lovely Bones, His Dark Materials trilogy, and of course, Harry Potter. Every book on that list has either been made into a movie, or is in production. The most surprising to me is the inclusion of children's picture books on banned book lists. Both Uncle Bobby's Wedding (about the marriage of two gay gerbils) and And Tango Makes Three (about two male penguins in a zoo who form a relationship and adopt a chick; it is nonfiction) were children's picture books that have been banned and challenged in various places across the country.

So please, I urge you: celebrate Banned Books Week. Take a banned book to school or work. When someone asks what you're reading, inform them about book banning and Banned Books Week. A friend of mine did a high school research paper on censorship last year; she found that an alarming number of students didn't even know that books could be banned or challenged. Imagine if people started removing books from shelves and no one knew. If students are unaware, they can do nothing to change it. Celebrate your freedom to read what you want! Happy Banned Books Week!

The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Rating: PG-13; 4 stars

Summary: The Prophecy of the Sisters tells the story of two sisters who, after their father dies, find out that they are part of an ancient prophecy that could bring about the end of the world. Each sister bears an opposing part in this prophecy, and one of the main issues is that the sisters feel that they were each given the wrong role. The "good" sister, from whose perspective the story is told, is thrust much more fully into danger since her sister refuses to help her change the ending of the prophecy.

Lia, the POV-character, spends the majority of the book learning about the prophecy. Towards the end of the book, she begins searching for the "keys" that will help end the prophecy in her favor (and in the favor of the rest of the world). The book has an open ending; I'm sure there will be a sequel (in fact, a little digging on Amazon reveals that it is the first book in a trilogy).

Opinions: This book took me a little by surprise. There was nothing I gleaned from the book jacket that pointed me towards the fact that it takes place in the Victorian Era. It was a very nice surprise. I love historical fiction, and have been waiting for another dark fantasy/historical novel since the Gemma Doyle Trilogy ended. This granted my wish.

This novel had me hooked to the unable-to-put-down point from about the middle onwards. Lia's quest for answers was very well-written. There weren't too many times when I figured things out before Lia did (an unfortunate side-effect of being a voracious reader). I felt like the characters were realistic and believable. This was definitely, IMO, a plot-based novel, as opposed to a character-based story. Even so, the characters were written just as well as the plot. The fact that it was the action and not the characters that moved the story forward was made irrelevant because both components were so well-written.

Now, the reasoning for my ratings. I wasn't sure if I should rate this PG or PG-13. There's virtually no swearing, no sex or nudity, but the story itself is inherently dark. I decided that were this a movie, it would probably be PG-13, even if it was a very mild PG-13. I also felt that 4 stars was a very good rating for this book. It was a very enjoyable read; there's nothing I can really complain about. But still, it didn't contain that "wow-factor" I'm looking for in a 4 1/2 or 5 star book. Still, it was a great book that I wholeheartedly recommend.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

Rating: G; 4 stars

Summary: The Castle Corona is a lively tale about a royal family (king, queen, princess, and two princes) and two orphan peasants. The king loves sleeping and hates his itchy robes. The queen hates always being less than the king. One prince is a poet, the other, a warrior. The princess is spoiled and rude, but doesn't seem to enjoy being this way. The two orphan siblings work hard for a mean master, just as many fairytale characters do. The book starts out with the peace in the kingdom being disturbed by a thief, the first in its history. As the book goes on, certain circumstances bring the royal family and the two orphans together. They all grow to love each other and...well that would be giving away the ending.

Opinions: This book wasn't at all what I expected. It was shelved in my library with teen books, when it probably really belonged with independent reader books, such as The Tale of Despereaux (more on that comparison will follow). However, despite it being a children's book, it was an excellent read. It reminded me a lot of Despereaux, which I absolutely devoured when it was released, and still find occasion to read at least once a year. It seems to me that they have the same target audience in mind: same genre, vocabulary level, themes and morals, etc. They were both printed not only with reading in mind, but also with sharing: each chapter of Corona is headed by a full-color illustration. And though the illustrations didn't appeal to me as much as Despereaux's (after all, who can resist a cute and cuddly mouse?), the fact that they were there was a delight. The book may have been told simply, but I feel that it is an excellent book for all ages nonetheless. It is a perfect "bedtime story" type of book: read a chapter or two a night, perhaps even alternate the parent and the child reading.

Now as for the 4-star rating, there was nothing in particular I didn't like about it, there just wasn't that "wow" that expect from a 5-star book. It is an excellent book, and I think readers of all ages and types will enjoy it to some degree.

General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn

General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn

Rating: PG; 3 1/2 stars

Summary: Averie Winston is a rebellious, reluctant heiress in the manner of all rebellious ladies of privilege in the literary world (only one that comes to mind at the moment is Gemma Doyle and co.). She may live in an invented world, but her character and customs calls to mind the past when girls had to have a waist as big around as their age in years and (God forbid!) if they showed the world an ankle whilst crossing the street, they were ruined.

Averie's country is an imperial giant, and the beginning of the book sees her travelling overseas to the colony where her father and fiance are stationed. When she arrives in the new land, Averie is eager to see it from the citizen's perspective, if only her father and chaperone would let her! Not to worry though, for they soon relent. On Averie's travels through the city, she meets a merchant girl named Jalessa. When a rebel bomb goes off and Jalessa's wares are ruined, Averie generously offers for the woman to be her maid.

Opinions: I thought the idea behind this book was wonderful. It shows imperialism in a non-blaming point of view (after all, the countries present are fictitious). Through the different characters, the readers get ideas from both sides of imperialism (those that benefit, those that are overcome). I thought that idea, as well as Averie's gradual realization that imperialism isn't a one-sided, all-benefit situation was really well presented to the reader. I enjoy studying history, and I appreciate how a book like this can maybe make those who aren't history buffs aware of a critical issue from world history.

On another note, the book was marketed as a romance (at least in the jacket flap), but I really didn't see that as much. I didn't even mention it in my summary. I enjoyed the romance, but I thought it was much more of a subplot that the jacket blurb made it out to be. To me it was far more of a social commentary than a romance. That being said, the romance aspect was well-written and not at all forced, even if it did take a back seat to the action.

Now, as to why I gave this book 3 1/2 stars, the ending was a bit disappointing to me, particularly where a certain character was concerned (you'll have to read it to see what I mean). It was a very enjoyable book, but I have read better. I have a habit of over-rating things, so when I read a book that's really a 5 and I see how much better it is than those I rated 4 1/2, I'm kind of stuck. So, I figured 3 1/2 was a safe rating. It probably would have been a 4 if it had ended the way I wanted (where certain characters are concerned), but then again it may have been disappointing for that very reason. Like I said before, this is a very enjoyable book. If you enjoy fantasy that is heavier on culture than magic or historical fiction, I think you would enjoy this book, as it is essentially (IMO) a delightful fusion of the two genres.