The Turn of the Screw

I like to think that I read a lot of books - certainly more than the average person. back in the day, I might have considered myself well-read ... but now, not so much. Being told to write for an audience with a fifth-grade reading level ... and eventually reading on basically the same level, must have had an effect eventually.

Anyway, I haven't read a "real" book a while. I used to love the classics, but now all I read are books that don't take much brain power ... teen fantasy, science fiction, graphic novels. Don't get me wrong: clearly I love the teenage brain sludge, otherwise I wouldn't read it ... but when I went back to the classics with "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, I think it made my head hurt a little.

James was a wee bit over my head. I have absolutely no idea if the narrator (the governess) was insane and imagining the whole thing, or it was supposed to be just a straight up ghost story. How can you tell when the narrator is reliable?

Quick summary: the novella begins with a friend recounting a tale of a dear friend he had, now deceased, who was a governess for a wealthy gentleman out in the country where she is instructed to care for two children, but never to contact their guardian for any reason. The story soon switches to this governess' perspective. And of course, she meets the two children, Flora and Miles and they seem perfect. Pale, blue-eyed, the whole package. And then the governess starts seeing dead people around the house. Oh, and they happen to be the previous governess and her lover. And she is the only one who can see them. And she is convinced the children can see them, too, and are being "influenced" by them ... and are just pretending to not see them.

But maybe it doesn't really matter. Either the governess was crazy or it's a straight up ghost story. I'm just not completely sure if the governess was supposed to be the bad guy, or the ghosts were supposed to be the bad guys.


Either way, it was a short novella and a nice ghost story of sorts to read in October.

Books I've read recently, but have been too lazy to write about

So, hey, you get the condensed versions:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympian's "The Battle for the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan. I love this series. A lot. It just keeps getting better and better - sad to be only one away from finishing. I guess I will have to check out the Red Pyramid and some of his other new stuff.

• "The Lions of Al-Rassan" by Guy Gavriel Kay. I love every Kay book, and this is one of his best (doesn't quite beat Tigana but it is definitely up there.) This has to be the most historical book of his I've read, not nearly as fantasy-like as most of his other works. There are real parallels here to Spanish history and the wars with Christians, Jews and Moors. Well worth a look if you are at all into historical fantasy.

• "The Heart of the Myrial" by Maggie Furey. Another Maggie insisted that I read this book a long, long time ago. It took me about 7 years, but I finally got around to it. While it began as a rather typical fantasy, it packed a few surprises. The writing gets better with the series.

• "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins - The entire Hunger Games series was excellent. As with anything that gains the slightest bit of notoriety, critics wailed about how violent and "adult" the books are. Death? Corrupt politicians? Noooo! So beyond a teenager's reach. But, seriously, the entire series is impossible to put down, and the ending didn't disappoint.

• "Girls in Trucks" by Katie Crouch. Crouch's debut, another one I picked up at a GM meeting a few years ago. I had heard nothing about it since I got it three years ago, so was surprised when people approached me saying they had heard good things about it. A national bestseller - who knew? What started out as a somewhat stereotypical YA about a high school girl took a few surprising turns. Deep, probing -- it asks all the tough love questions. Crouch just came out with her second, this spring. I will have to check it out.

A good Shannon Hale book!

You might think I would have given up on Shannon Hale after starting with "Austenland," but I decided to try "Princess Academy," as I already owned it.

I should probably be a little ashamed at how much I like this book. I REALLY loved it. A lot. It had surprising depth for a YA novel. Not only was it a great fairytale princess story, but it also portrayed teenage insecurities, classism, and typical childhood rivalries exceptionally well. I guess I shouldn't have doubted a book that got a Newberry Honor nod.

Austenland

I picked up an advanced copy of "Austenland" at one of the last meetings I attended before being forced to leave the book world. Like nearly every other hopelessly romantic female in the world, I gravitate toward all things Austen, but this one was too much for me. I can't imagine this book appealing to anyone who isn't an Austen fan (or at least Pride and Prejudice -- be it the book, BBC or 2004 film version).



It is such a short, quick book (basically the only thing I've been reading, this summer. surprise surprise!) that I did manage to get through the whole thing, but it was trite and predictable the entire way.

Don't get me wrong: generally, I can't get enough of horrible, predictable romantic comedies, but even I have my limits. Ugh. This is the worst post ever (and that's saying something, since all I do is ramble about my personal opinions of the books I read without any sort of critique whatsoever) but man, sorry. I'm done.

Alison Croggon

Alison Croggon's Pellinor series begins with "The Naming" (released outside the U.S. as "The Gift").



There is nothing remotely original about the series, drawing heavily on LoTR and Harry Potter (right down to defeating a sea dog monster by singing it a lullaby in the second in the series). But, the writing's better than average and the characters are interesting.

I read the first one really quickly but am having a hard time getting through the second in the series, "The Riddle." I am struggling with the same issue I faced when reading "The Historian" -- I just feel like the same stuff keeps happening over and over again, without really going anywhere. Maerad and Cadvan are traveling. They're faced with a force of evil and banish it. She talks about the weather and landscape. They get to where they're going. They hear bad news, then they travel again. They're faced with a force of evil and banish it. They travel some more. They meet another bad guy. They travel some more. She talks about the weather and landscape. Then they get to where they're going. (In "The Historian" -- oh! another dead end and lost clue. Noooo!). "The Historian" dragged forever without really going anywhere -- Croggon's second is just repetitive.

This series has been recommended to be several times; a good bookseller friend of mine raves about it. So maybe I'm the only one who thinks it is a little too Lord of the Rings/Star Wars (don't go to the dark side, the light is all about "balance"/Harry Potter?

Ah well. With any luck, it will get better as the series goes on (again, like HP).

Melissa Marr's Latest: "Radiant Shadows"

When I started working at Borders, Melissa Marr had just released her first young adult novel, “Wicked Lovely.” Since 2007, she’s released one a year. Her latest came out this spring, “Radiant Shadows,” and I have yet to really be disappointed by the series.

Marr keeps the storyline and fantasy world fresh by having each story focus on a different character. A character that may be present only in a chapter or two in one of the earlier books becomes the main character in the next.



Such is the case in “Radiant Shadows.” The Unchanging Queen’s brother, Devon, is also her Bloody Hand -- he does all her dirty week, serving as the eyes and ears of the high court outside of Fairie.

Ani is Gabriel’s daughter, half fey and half mortal. Both characters were introduced earlier in the series, but in “Radiant Shadows” they come together when readers learn that Ani is only alive because of Devon’s interference.

Don’t get me wrong: it is still just another young adult fantasy series. But it can be rather challenging to find one that is actually written with some skill. Most are so badly written they jar you out of the plot with the awkward transitions and poor diction (House of Night, anyone?). That is not the case with the “Wicked Lovely” series. Marr does an excellent job of keeping all of the threads of each character up in each new installment - e.g. a character doesn’t just drop off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again.

Personally, I find faeries more interesting than vampires (probably because they’re generally witty and quick, rather than just blood-sucking), and will keep watching for Marr’s take on the world of faerie. The final book of the Wicked Lovely series is slated for publication February 2011.

An Abundance of Katherines

Continuing down the line of John Green works, I finished “An Abundance of Katherines” a few weeks ago. Though vastly different from Green’s debut, “Looking for Alaska,” "Katherines” is another coming of age novel centering on learning how to survive in one’s skin. The age old teen struggle of learning to like yourself and like yourself enough to show other people who you really are - not shirk away from your perceived flaws. Learn to be OK with how people see you, because it is often only a reflection of how you see yourself.



In “An Abundance of Katherines,” the narrator -- a washed up child prodigy named Colin -- has dated a lot of girls for his 17 years -- all of them named Katherine. 19 of them, in fact. And Colin has been dumped by every one of them.

After Katherine XIX dumps him -- inevitably, in Colin’s mind -- he can’t shake the stupor. His best friend (e.g. his only friend) cajoles him into taking a road trip: destination anywhere.

They are lured to Gutshot, Tennessee, the final resting place of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and find jobs to keep them there for the duration of the summer.

OK, so I've only read the first two of Green's books, but even simply going off of the first two I would recommend him to anyone who appreciates a well-written, quick read. I cannot put them down. It is rare to find an author who can actually write good, believable characters and a good story, but Green does it. Character-driven and still an interesting plot.

Amazing.