Finished September 29
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
This is the first in a series called Chaos Walking, and Ness's first book for teens. It is a gripping story and I could barely put it down. Todd Hewitt is almost 13, and on this birthday in a month he will become a man. Todd lives on New World, and ever since the settlers of Prentisstown were infected with the Noise germ, Todd hears everything the men in town think and they hear his thoughts. The animals are also affected and Todd hears the farm animals, the wild beasts and his dog, Manchee, as well. As he gets closer to his manhood, he senses that people are hiding things from him. When he encounters something unusual out in the swamp, he tries to keep his thoughts around it quiet until he can talk to the two men who brought him up, Ben and Cillian. This new element forces Todd to flee the town with his dog with little knowledge of what awaits him out in the rest of his world.
Todd's confusing feelings and the stories he has been told about his world affect how he reacts to what he encounters in it, and sometimes that is not a good thing. As he meets others and shares his story, he struggles to reach what he thinks will be a safe haven.
This story had lots going on, and lots of emotional situations, and Todd is a very likable character, even when he makes mistakes. He grows a lot here and I am eagerly looking forward to the next in the series.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Memoir aimed at Teens
Finished September 27
The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland
Mariatu Kamara was raised in a small rural village in Sierra Leone until the age of twelve. Hiding from rebels, Mariatu was going for food with a group of others when she was caught by the rebels. Forced to watch them torture and kill people she knew, the rebels eventually cut off both her hands and left her. Mariatu survived by going for help, eventually making it to the nearby town of Port Loko, where she was transported to a hospital in Freetown. Mariatu took advantage of any help offered and fought for her own survival and dream and is now a college student in Toronto enrolled in an Assaulted Women's and Children's Counselor/Advocate Program. She is also a UNICEF Special Representative. Her story from her childhood in a rural village living by subsistence farming, through the attacks by the rebels, her journey to Freetown for medical help, her survival there in the refugee camps (along with two other cousins who also lost their hands), and her eventually sponsorship to Canada is told with candour and equanimity. With her attitude towards helping the rest of her family and her country survive this history, she offers hope for the future.
The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland
Mariatu Kamara was raised in a small rural village in Sierra Leone until the age of twelve. Hiding from rebels, Mariatu was going for food with a group of others when she was caught by the rebels. Forced to watch them torture and kill people she knew, the rebels eventually cut off both her hands and left her. Mariatu survived by going for help, eventually making it to the nearby town of Port Loko, where she was transported to a hospital in Freetown. Mariatu took advantage of any help offered and fought for her own survival and dream and is now a college student in Toronto enrolled in an Assaulted Women's and Children's Counselor/Advocate Program. She is also a UNICEF Special Representative. Her story from her childhood in a rural village living by subsistence farming, through the attacks by the rebels, her journey to Freetown for medical help, her survival there in the refugee camps (along with two other cousins who also lost their hands), and her eventually sponsorship to Canada is told with candour and equanimity. With her attitude towards helping the rest of her family and her country survive this history, she offers hope for the future.
Children's Fantasy
Finished September 27
The Book of the King by Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry
This is the first book in the Wormling series, and features Owen Reeder, a boy who lives above a bookstore with his father, the bookstore owner. What Owen discovers early in this book is that things are not what they seem and their are powers, both in and around him, that he is unaware of. When set upon by bullies, he finds that there is a power that saves him from harm, and he is intrigued by this. When a stranger tries to give him a book and his father tries to prevent him from taking it, he finds that he is not sure who to trust anymore. For part of his adventures, he is assisted by the stranger, and by Constance, the young daughter of his cleaning lady. For most of the difficult bits, he must rely on the book and the knowledge he gains from it.
This looks to be an interesting series, good versus evil, with multiple worlds and Owen is a good character, bookish but not meek.
The Book of the King by Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry
This is the first book in the Wormling series, and features Owen Reeder, a boy who lives above a bookstore with his father, the bookstore owner. What Owen discovers early in this book is that things are not what they seem and their are powers, both in and around him, that he is unaware of. When set upon by bullies, he finds that there is a power that saves him from harm, and he is intrigued by this. When a stranger tries to give him a book and his father tries to prevent him from taking it, he finds that he is not sure who to trust anymore. For part of his adventures, he is assisted by the stranger, and by Constance, the young daughter of his cleaning lady. For most of the difficult bits, he must rely on the book and the knowledge he gains from it.
This looks to be an interesting series, good versus evil, with multiple worlds and Owen is a good character, bookish but not meek.
Another Scandanavian Novel
Finished September 27
To Siberia by Per Petterson
This wonderful novel is narrated by a young Danish girl from her childhood through the German occupation of Denmark during World War II to a few years after the war. She is very close to her older brother Jesper, who watches over her, teases her, and cares deeply for her. He calls her Sistermine, which I found a lovely term. They live in a small town, with their father, a cabinetmaker, and their mother, a religious zealot who writes her own hymns. The family also moves before the war to an apartment over a dairy and they run the dairy as well. They go regularly to visit their grandfather's farm and help with harvest. The Germans arrive when the girl is 14 and the occupation from her point of view is described very well. She and Jesper grow ever closer until he must run from the Germans. After the war, her wanderlust, always a part of her, takes her away and she tries various jobs in various places, always set apart from others around her. The characterization here is very well done and you feel the loneliness of her life and her longing for something else. The title comes from her plans, even as a child to someday go to Siberia.
To Siberia by Per Petterson
This wonderful novel is narrated by a young Danish girl from her childhood through the German occupation of Denmark during World War II to a few years after the war. She is very close to her older brother Jesper, who watches over her, teases her, and cares deeply for her. He calls her Sistermine, which I found a lovely term. They live in a small town, with their father, a cabinetmaker, and their mother, a religious zealot who writes her own hymns. The family also moves before the war to an apartment over a dairy and they run the dairy as well. They go regularly to visit their grandfather's farm and help with harvest. The Germans arrive when the girl is 14 and the occupation from her point of view is described very well. She and Jesper grow ever closer until he must run from the Germans. After the war, her wanderlust, always a part of her, takes her away and she tries various jobs in various places, always set apart from others around her. The characterization here is very well done and you feel the loneliness of her life and her longing for something else. The title comes from her plans, even as a child to someday go to Siberia.
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Thriller on audio
Finished September 24
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain, read by Carolyn McCormick
This is a followup novel on the book Heartsick that introduced Portland detective Archie Sheridan. In Heartsick, which I haven't read, Sheridan had been tracking a serial killer known as the Beauty Killer for more than a decade and had finally got her caught and in jail, although not without personal cost.
Here, Sheridan is investigating a body found in a park, and reporter Susan Ward becomes involved in identifying the victim. Archie is distracted by the escape of the Beauty Killer, and is obsessed with her. As both the case and the hunt for the Beauty Killer move through the book, we see deeply into Sheridan psyche and his obsessions. We also see into reporter Susan Ward and her nontraditional choices in life.
While gory at times, and graphic, this novel presents real emotions and human behaviour and show what drives people to do things. I enjoyed it.
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain, read by Carolyn McCormick
This is a followup novel on the book Heartsick that introduced Portland detective Archie Sheridan. In Heartsick, which I haven't read, Sheridan had been tracking a serial killer known as the Beauty Killer for more than a decade and had finally got her caught and in jail, although not without personal cost.
Here, Sheridan is investigating a body found in a park, and reporter Susan Ward becomes involved in identifying the victim. Archie is distracted by the escape of the Beauty Killer, and is obsessed with her. As both the case and the hunt for the Beauty Killer move through the book, we see deeply into Sheridan psyche and his obsessions. We also see into reporter Susan Ward and her nontraditional choices in life.
While gory at times, and graphic, this novel presents real emotions and human behaviour and show what drives people to do things. I enjoyed it.
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
China Journey
Finished September 23
The River at the Center of the World: a journey up the Yangtze, and back in Chinese time by Simon Winchester
The edition of this book that I read had a new afterword by Winchester bringing some of the issues around the river and his trip up to date.
Winchester has visited China often and his knowledge of the language assists greatly in both facilitating this journey and informing it. He travels with a guide, Lily, up the river from the mouth to the headwaters. The book breaks the journey into sections, with a map showing the relevant area at the beginning of each section. The trip starts out in the water where the Yangtze waters meet the ocean, and Winchester talks about the major towns that lie along his route, the history of the river, its trade and navigation, and the people he meets. As always in his books, he makes the story interesting, informative and yet not weighed down with too much information. The geography of the river is fascinating and his trip was taken after the Three Gorges Dam project had started, but before it was complete, so this is one of the last glimpses of that section of the river, now buried beneath the waters. I learned interesting tidbits of Chinese history and all kinds of things about the river itself that add to its imagery in the imagination.
I highly recommend this to travellers, historians, and just those who like a good story.
The River at the Center of the World: a journey up the Yangtze, and back in Chinese time by Simon Winchester
The edition of this book that I read had a new afterword by Winchester bringing some of the issues around the river and his trip up to date.
Winchester has visited China often and his knowledge of the language assists greatly in both facilitating this journey and informing it. He travels with a guide, Lily, up the river from the mouth to the headwaters. The book breaks the journey into sections, with a map showing the relevant area at the beginning of each section. The trip starts out in the water where the Yangtze waters meet the ocean, and Winchester talks about the major towns that lie along his route, the history of the river, its trade and navigation, and the people he meets. As always in his books, he makes the story interesting, informative and yet not weighed down with too much information. The geography of the river is fascinating and his trip was taken after the Three Gorges Dam project had started, but before it was complete, so this is one of the last glimpses of that section of the river, now buried beneath the waters. I learned interesting tidbits of Chinese history and all kinds of things about the river itself that add to its imagery in the imagination.
I highly recommend this to travellers, historians, and just those who like a good story.
Second in a series
Finished September 22
The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black
This second in a series featuring Dublin pathologist Quirke is by John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. This is set a few years after Christine Falls, the first in the series and opens with Quirke being asked a favour by an old schoolfriend. The friend's wife has been found dead, naked and seemingly drowned and he asks that a postmortem not be done. He says he doesn't want her body dealt with in that way. Quirke is intrigued and agrees, but finds interesting information when he examines the body. He is "getting himself in trouble" again. He feels out his contact from the police, Inspector Hackett and without asking for his help, arouses suspicions in him as well. As the two men work separately to discover the truth about what happened to Deirdre Hunt, Quirke's daughter Phoebe becomes involved and is in possible danger.
The book was well written and the characters well developed, but I didn't like anybody, and thus the novel never really grabbed me. Quirke is a sad character, driven by his own past, but never really facing up to things and I find that sad.
The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black
This second in a series featuring Dublin pathologist Quirke is by John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. This is set a few years after Christine Falls, the first in the series and opens with Quirke being asked a favour by an old schoolfriend. The friend's wife has been found dead, naked and seemingly drowned and he asks that a postmortem not be done. He says he doesn't want her body dealt with in that way. Quirke is intrigued and agrees, but finds interesting information when he examines the body. He is "getting himself in trouble" again. He feels out his contact from the police, Inspector Hackett and without asking for his help, arouses suspicions in him as well. As the two men work separately to discover the truth about what happened to Deirdre Hunt, Quirke's daughter Phoebe becomes involved and is in possible danger.
The book was well written and the characters well developed, but I didn't like anybody, and thus the novel never really grabbed me. Quirke is a sad character, driven by his own past, but never really facing up to things and I find that sad.
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