Since my last post I finished the nonfiction title I was reading, listened to the second audio book of a paranormal spy series, watched a film adaptation of a Man Booker Prize winning title, and also read an urban fantasy novel and a romance short story. Yikes! Lots of catch-up to do today, so I'll try to keep this brief!
Joe, Alina, Vicki and Val Darger, "Love Times Three" - nonfiction
I've been re-watching the HBO series "Big Love" over the past two months, so I was naturally intrigued when this true story of plural marriage came across my desk. In fact, aspects of the Darger's life were the direct inspiration for events in the TV series, specifically the season one finale, so if you are a fan of the show I definitely suggest checking out this book. Polygamy has been in the media a lot in the past few years, from news stories about 'compounds' to the reality TV show "Sister Wives", but this is easily the most humanizing account I've come across. The Darger's story really made me look at my own views of marriage, in particular the legality of a marriage between consenting adults. I'm a big supporter of marriage equality, and it's really difficult to see why their marriage shouldn't be legal. So, absolutely worth a read if you're in the mood the expand your world view!
Christopher Farnsworth, "The President's Vampire" - audio book
I love this series! It's a vampire spy story, dark but hilarious, with lots of conspiracy theory 'quotes' which make it feel more realistic. I listened to the first book last year and I've been really looking forward to listening to this one, and it was everything I could hope for. Terrorist plots and snark abound, and Bronson Pinchot does a fantastic job narrating, really brilliant. His delivery is perfect for secret agent vampire Nathaniel Cade, and just annoying enough to not make me hate sidekick Zach Barrows. I highly recommend this series.
Kelly Meding, "Trance" - urban fantasy
OMG! This novel is fantastic! Set in an alternate near-future, this superhero story has everything! Action, comedy, drama (I cried), suspense, romance - you want it, it's here. I love superhero mythology, but I'm always a bit reluctant to read the Marvel/DC novels because I've never been into comic books, and I'm worried that I'm missing out on part of the story. This is a brand new universe, though, completely unrelated to the established hero lines - and it's delicious! I've had Kelly Meding on my TBR pile for a little over a year now, and she does not disappoint. I can't wait to read more of her books!
Rachael Herron, "Honeymooning" - short story
I adore Rachael Herron's writing, she's brilliant, warm, funny and pretty much everything I'd want in a best friend. This one is a novella in her romance/knitting series 'Cypress Hollow Yarn', taking us along on an unexpected Hawaiian honeymoon, and it's so funny I was giggling out loud on the bus. The driver thinks I'm crazy, but it's totally worth it!
"Possession" - film adaptation
I wasn't entirely enamoured with A.S. Byatt's "Possession" when I read it the first time last year, but it has been on my mind quite a lot recently. I didn't want to take the time to re-read it right now, so I decided to check out the 2002 film adaptation. It didn't suck. Obviously it's not possible to faithfully recreate such a massive and detailed story in a film, much less a film that isn't even two hours long, but they did an O.K. job. It did deepen my overall understanding of the story, but the novel was (of course) much better. I guess I'm going to have to give in and find time to re-read it anyway....
But, for now, my next novel is going to be the first of Mercedes Lackey's 'Five Hundred Kingdoms' series, "The Fairy Godmother". Looks like it'll be a fun one!
Happy reading!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Life Is Too Short...
Life is too short to dwell on disappointing novels, so I'm going to be brief. I finished reading Paul Christopher's "Michelangelo's Notebook" on Friday, which took me 15 days total. It wasn't a difficult read, but I didn't care enough to pick it up outside my designated 'reading time', and some of my reading time was spent with other things... like Twitter, and even Facebook. You know it's bad when Facebook is a more captivating read than your current novel!
Finn Ryan, to me, was barely more than a sex toy in this story. She was right in the middle of all the action, but not really driving any of the story. I have a hard time seeing how a series could be built around a character who is essentially the sexy sidekick, so it was disappointing. Beyond the painfully misogynistic portrayal of the alleged heroine, this book was absolutely littered with product placement. Honestly, I didn't even recognize half the brand names used to describe a character's appearance! As an occasional description it can really make a character, but because it is used so often, it doesn't really add anything to the story, which is why I found it annoying. It tells me more about the author than the individual characters.
So, I'm not going to be rushing to read the rest of the series any time soon, although I won't rule out picking one up someday in the future if I have nothing else to read. It wasn't horrible, just not as good as I had hoped it would be. Another customer told me the Andy McDermott "Nina Wilde" series is better, so I may try that out sometime. I'm currently taking a mini-fiction break, reading "Love Times Three" by the Darger's, which is very interesting and quite well written. I'm nearly finished, though, and my next fiction read is the first book in Kelly Meding's MetaWars series, "Trance" - which I'm really looking forward to!
Happy reading!
Friday, April 26, 2013
The Best and The Worst
Yikes, I'm way behind here! Sorry about that. I'm going to do a quick catch-up post, and hopefully get back on track.
The last book I posted about was the unnamed disaster of self-publishing, which took me about a week to get through. It was short, and it had large print, but there was definitely a lack of motivation to pick it up during down times. It didn't get any better in term of technical editing, and the story actually got worse as it progressed. The supporting characters were all cliches. It was painful to read it, and I will never read another book by that author.
After that, I wanted to read something good, and I'd heard a lot of positive buzz about the debut novel from Holly Smale, "Geek Girl". It was as close to perfect as any book I've ever read! It's a 'young adult' novel, but I'm nearly 30 and I loved it. Harriet Manners, a socially awkward teenager whose classmates have literally labelled her 'Geek', is 'spotted' by a modelling agency and becomes swept up in a whirlwind of high fashion and a web of her own lies. Harriet's journey towards self-improvement is tenderhearted and so hilarious that I was laughing out loud on the bus while reading it. So, so funny. I thought about quoting a few of the one-liners that made me giggle the most, but there were just too many, I couldn't decide! The supporting characters are all wonderfully drawn individuals who I would love to be friends with in real life. Honestly, I cannot recommend this novel enough, it is simply brilliant. The next book in the series (squeeeeeee!!) may be out as early as next spring, and I am so looking forward to it!
In all, "Geek Girl" took my just under two weeks (I didn't want it to end!) and last Friday, April 19th, I started reading Paul Christopher's art history thriller "Michelangelo's Notebook", which has frequently been recommended to me by customers. I've really been looking forward to it, as the series was described to me as a female version of Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon. Fantastic, right? So far, not so much. The introduction to our heroine, Finn Ryan, in the first chapter is a full page physical description of her posing nude for an art class. Throughout the story, every male she meets is entranced by her body, often staring openly at her breasts, and she is not above using her body to get a man to do what she wants him to. It is the worst sort of sexist portrayal of a woman who is supposedly intelligent and ambitious. Really, just appalling, and reading it right after the incredibly female positive "Geek Girl" is making it seem that much worse. I'm about half-way through it now, and I honestly couldn't say whether I will read the other three books in the series. A lot depends on how Finn is portrayed during the remainder of the story. I really hope it gets better!
Happy Reading!
The last book I posted about was the unnamed disaster of self-publishing, which took me about a week to get through. It was short, and it had large print, but there was definitely a lack of motivation to pick it up during down times. It didn't get any better in term of technical editing, and the story actually got worse as it progressed. The supporting characters were all cliches. It was painful to read it, and I will never read another book by that author.
After that, I wanted to read something good, and I'd heard a lot of positive buzz about the debut novel from Holly Smale, "Geek Girl". It was as close to perfect as any book I've ever read! It's a 'young adult' novel, but I'm nearly 30 and I loved it. Harriet Manners, a socially awkward teenager whose classmates have literally labelled her 'Geek', is 'spotted' by a modelling agency and becomes swept up in a whirlwind of high fashion and a web of her own lies. Harriet's journey towards self-improvement is tenderhearted and so hilarious that I was laughing out loud on the bus while reading it. So, so funny. I thought about quoting a few of the one-liners that made me giggle the most, but there were just too many, I couldn't decide! The supporting characters are all wonderfully drawn individuals who I would love to be friends with in real life. Honestly, I cannot recommend this novel enough, it is simply brilliant. The next book in the series (squeeeeeee!!) may be out as early as next spring, and I am so looking forward to it!
In all, "Geek Girl" took my just under two weeks (I didn't want it to end!) and last Friday, April 19th, I started reading Paul Christopher's art history thriller "Michelangelo's Notebook", which has frequently been recommended to me by customers. I've really been looking forward to it, as the series was described to me as a female version of Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon. Fantastic, right? So far, not so much. The introduction to our heroine, Finn Ryan, in the first chapter is a full page physical description of her posing nude for an art class. Throughout the story, every male she meets is entranced by her body, often staring openly at her breasts, and she is not above using her body to get a man to do what she wants him to. It is the worst sort of sexist portrayal of a woman who is supposedly intelligent and ambitious. Really, just appalling, and reading it right after the incredibly female positive "Geek Girl" is making it seem that much worse. I'm about half-way through it now, and I honestly couldn't say whether I will read the other three books in the series. A lot depends on how Finn is portrayed during the remainder of the story. I really hope it gets better!
Happy Reading!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
For The Love Of Your Readers
Last week I decided to give myself a mental reading break and re-read an old favourite, Jeff Lindsay's "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" - partly, as I mentioned, because I'd forgotten where I left off in the series! I stretched it to 7 full days... well, 5 plus two days of not reading because I didn't want to finish the book! In case you live under a rock and have never heard of Dexter, he is a blood analyst for the Miami Dade police department who kills other serial killers in his spare time. It's dark, and funny, and occasionally a teeny bit scary. Lindsay's writing style is simple and direct, but always manages to feel very lyrical, almost poetic. He makes a very dark subject feel light and alive. I often find myself worrying that I find being inside Dexter's head so normal! I suspect most people probably worry that they don't know 'how' to feel, or that their interpersonal relationships are in some way faked. At least, I hope it's not just me and Dexter!
I've been watching the TV series quite a bit recently, as well, so I wanted to make sure I had the story straight in my head, as they are very different. While I believe it is universally true that 'the book is better than the film', there are a few things I noticed this read-through that I think the show does better than the book, specifically the technical details of how the early bodies of the Tamiami victims were dealt with by the killer. It's relatively insignificant in terms of the story, though, so I'm willing to let it slide. I do prefer how the book portrays the individual characters. Deborah, for instance, is much smarter in the book! Also, the book makes the distinction between Dexter and his Dark Passenger, which is less clear in the series.
Anyway, I highly recommend the book, it's fantastic, in a dark way.
I was all ready to jump right into the second Dexter title, but heading out the door on Tuesday I changed my mind and grabbed a different book off the shelf. It is a self-published title I've had in the To Be Read pile for a little over a year now, and while it does not fall squarely into my preferred genre it is near enough that I was looking forward to it. I'm only a quarter through it, and I intend to finish it, but I've decided not to name the book here. It basically confirms all my worst fears about the self-publishing industry.
The story itself is intriguing, but the execution is painful. It is poorly formatted, it is poorly (if at all) edited, and it is poorly written. In the first 20 pages, I found 3 instances where the author had obviously decided to change the wording of a sentence halfway through, but didn't bother to go back and correct the beginning of the sentence so that it would be consistent. I can't see how a reader would miss something like that, so I can only assume the book was published without being read by some one other than the author, which is inexcusable. If you are publishing your own books, you must put them through some sort of editorial process! One does not simply write a story and publish it unedited, it is folly! You don't have to pay a professional editor - exchange manuscripts with another writer, have your friends read it, get your significant other to give it a browse - but someone other than you must look at your pages before you release your creation on the innocent public!
Not only is an external reader more likely to notice errors, but they are also able to tell you if a part of your story feels a bit flat. Like, perhaps, your main character. Plot is important, character is vital. If you find yourself using enough flashbacks to fill a whole chapter in order to make your protagonist feel human, consider starting with a prologue - it's more direct and allows your reader to emotionally connect with the situation right way. This is especially important if your novel deals with a lot of 'techno babble' that people outside the field may not be familiar with.
I don't want to paint all self-publishing authors with the same brush, that's not my intention here. I'm just beyond frustrated that an author thought this was acceptable. I know there are many reasons that people choose not to go the traditional route when releasing their books, and I know there are many fine self-published books out there. However, if you are self-publishing because your book was turned down by a publishing house, don't just decide that 'big publishing' is trying to keep you down and your only resource is to self-publish. Please consider that it may just be that your writing sucks. Please, don't give up! Keep writing. But get feedback and try to improve your story telling skills. We are starving for new stories, I'm sure if you spend a little more time polishing yours the world will embrace it!
Happy reading!
I've been watching the TV series quite a bit recently, as well, so I wanted to make sure I had the story straight in my head, as they are very different. While I believe it is universally true that 'the book is better than the film', there are a few things I noticed this read-through that I think the show does better than the book, specifically the technical details of how the early bodies of the Tamiami victims were dealt with by the killer. It's relatively insignificant in terms of the story, though, so I'm willing to let it slide. I do prefer how the book portrays the individual characters. Deborah, for instance, is much smarter in the book! Also, the book makes the distinction between Dexter and his Dark Passenger, which is less clear in the series.
Anyway, I highly recommend the book, it's fantastic, in a dark way.
I was all ready to jump right into the second Dexter title, but heading out the door on Tuesday I changed my mind and grabbed a different book off the shelf. It is a self-published title I've had in the To Be Read pile for a little over a year now, and while it does not fall squarely into my preferred genre it is near enough that I was looking forward to it. I'm only a quarter through it, and I intend to finish it, but I've decided not to name the book here. It basically confirms all my worst fears about the self-publishing industry.
The story itself is intriguing, but the execution is painful. It is poorly formatted, it is poorly (if at all) edited, and it is poorly written. In the first 20 pages, I found 3 instances where the author had obviously decided to change the wording of a sentence halfway through, but didn't bother to go back and correct the beginning of the sentence so that it would be consistent. I can't see how a reader would miss something like that, so I can only assume the book was published without being read by some one other than the author, which is inexcusable. If you are publishing your own books, you must put them through some sort of editorial process! One does not simply write a story and publish it unedited, it is folly! You don't have to pay a professional editor - exchange manuscripts with another writer, have your friends read it, get your significant other to give it a browse - but someone other than you must look at your pages before you release your creation on the innocent public!
Not only is an external reader more likely to notice errors, but they are also able to tell you if a part of your story feels a bit flat. Like, perhaps, your main character. Plot is important, character is vital. If you find yourself using enough flashbacks to fill a whole chapter in order to make your protagonist feel human, consider starting with a prologue - it's more direct and allows your reader to emotionally connect with the situation right way. This is especially important if your novel deals with a lot of 'techno babble' that people outside the field may not be familiar with.
I don't want to paint all self-publishing authors with the same brush, that's not my intention here. I'm just beyond frustrated that an author thought this was acceptable. I know there are many reasons that people choose not to go the traditional route when releasing their books, and I know there are many fine self-published books out there. However, if you are self-publishing because your book was turned down by a publishing house, don't just decide that 'big publishing' is trying to keep you down and your only resource is to self-publish. Please consider that it may just be that your writing sucks. Please, don't give up! Keep writing. But get feedback and try to improve your story telling skills. We are starving for new stories, I'm sure if you spend a little more time polishing yours the world will embrace it!
Happy reading!
Friday, March 22, 2013
I'm a Liar!
Long time no post! Sorry for that - I've been spending my evenings knitting away on a Doctor Who scarf, and I've also been spending less time on the bus, so I've been short-changing myself on reading time. I'm trying to be better about it! I'm already nearly halfway through my 'next' read - I lied when I said I would post before starting my next book. I felt the need to ruminate a bit before I commited any of my feelings about The Iron Codex to writing, which was a good decision. I was too emotionally invested in the story to look at it clearly when I first finished it.
It took me 24 days to finish "The Mirrored Shard", wrapping it up late Saturday evening. I admit, I struggled with my desire not to finish this story. Knowing it was the last in the trilogy, strongly suspecting it would have an unpleasant ending, I simply did not want to finish with Aoife. I like her. A little naive at times, but always courageous and supremely gutsy. She reminds me of Frodo Baggins, in that I watch them suffer and hope for a positive outcome, knowing there will never really be a 'happy ending'. There is too much darkness in their lives for things to ever return to how they were - and in Aoife's case, let's be honest, it certainly wasn't all that good to begin with!
I loved this series, but not as much as I thought I would. The ending was a bit of a let down, although to be fair the story is so large and complex there really wasn't another way to end it. The Iron Codex is an adventure quest, which by its very nature is a 'coming of age' story, much as I detest that phrase (it just sounds so twee), and by the end of this novel Aoife has embraced her destiny, if you will. She has grown up. The rest of the story, what happens after "The End", is not a part of this narrative. I understand that. My disappointment comes from liking the character so much that I want to know what happens next. As problems go, this is a good one for a story to have!
I'm certain that fans of H.P. Lovecraft will enjoy this series on a whole other level, but my lack of Lovecraftian knowledge didn't really effect my overall enjoyment. There were times when I knew that I was missing a reference to something, and a couple of things I googled, but it wasn't too intrusive. I would definitely recommend it for any Lovecraft fans!
Moving on, I wanted to catch up with Jeff Lindsay's 'Dexter' series, but I couldn't remember which title was the last I'd read, so I've started over again at the beginning. I probably won't read them back to back, but they are a nice palate cleanser between fantasy series!
Happy reading!
It took me 24 days to finish "The Mirrored Shard", wrapping it up late Saturday evening. I admit, I struggled with my desire not to finish this story. Knowing it was the last in the trilogy, strongly suspecting it would have an unpleasant ending, I simply did not want to finish with Aoife. I like her. A little naive at times, but always courageous and supremely gutsy. She reminds me of Frodo Baggins, in that I watch them suffer and hope for a positive outcome, knowing there will never really be a 'happy ending'. There is too much darkness in their lives for things to ever return to how they were - and in Aoife's case, let's be honest, it certainly wasn't all that good to begin with!
I loved this series, but not as much as I thought I would. The ending was a bit of a let down, although to be fair the story is so large and complex there really wasn't another way to end it. The Iron Codex is an adventure quest, which by its very nature is a 'coming of age' story, much as I detest that phrase (it just sounds so twee), and by the end of this novel Aoife has embraced her destiny, if you will. She has grown up. The rest of the story, what happens after "The End", is not a part of this narrative. I understand that. My disappointment comes from liking the character so much that I want to know what happens next. As problems go, this is a good one for a story to have!
I'm certain that fans of H.P. Lovecraft will enjoy this series on a whole other level, but my lack of Lovecraftian knowledge didn't really effect my overall enjoyment. There were times when I knew that I was missing a reference to something, and a couple of things I googled, but it wasn't too intrusive. I would definitely recommend it for any Lovecraft fans!
Moving on, I wanted to catch up with Jeff Lindsay's 'Dexter' series, but I couldn't remember which title was the last I'd read, so I've started over again at the beginning. I probably won't read them back to back, but they are a nice palate cleanser between fantasy series!
Happy reading!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
I'm Really Bad At Posting During a Series, Apparently
I managed to stretch my reading of "The Nightmare Garden" to 17 days - I wanted to have book 3 in hand before I finished this one so that I wouldn't have to wait between books! I inadvertently saw a spoiler about this novel, and I knew I didn't want to reach that point in the story without being able to continue right away. I jumped right into "The Mirrored Shard" so I've been spending more time reading than writing!
I really loved this novel, it's a great adventure. Each story in the series features Aoife trying to rescue a loved one, traveling between realms and discovering things about herself and her heritage. There's wonderful foreshadowing throughout the stories, although the execution doesn't always fulfill my expectations. For instance, I was a little disappointed with the climax - I felt that the trial wasn't nearly as trying as it could have been. That may have been an 'adult reading YA' issue, though. It's hard for me to keep perspective as regards that. I think my problem is that the story is so huge I find myself wishing it were an adult novel, I feel like it would have 'much more muchness'.
I liked Aoife much more in this novel than the first, not that I didn't like her in the first, it's just that by the end of this novel I see her more as a person than just a... well. a brat! She's very much a know-it-all teenager (as she should be!) but she's obviously grown up a bit, although she is still rushing about half-cocked.
I should have another post up in the next few days, as I'm going to force myself to write and post before I pick up my next read!
Happy reading!
I really loved this novel, it's a great adventure. Each story in the series features Aoife trying to rescue a loved one, traveling between realms and discovering things about herself and her heritage. There's wonderful foreshadowing throughout the stories, although the execution doesn't always fulfill my expectations. For instance, I was a little disappointed with the climax - I felt that the trial wasn't nearly as trying as it could have been. That may have been an 'adult reading YA' issue, though. It's hard for me to keep perspective as regards that. I think my problem is that the story is so huge I find myself wishing it were an adult novel, I feel like it would have 'much more muchness'.
I liked Aoife much more in this novel than the first, not that I didn't like her in the first, it's just that by the end of this novel I see her more as a person than just a... well. a brat! She's very much a know-it-all teenager (as she should be!) but she's obviously grown up a bit, although she is still rushing about half-cocked.
I should have another post up in the next few days, as I'm going to force myself to write and post before I pick up my next read!
Happy reading!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
In Which I Am Late (again), And I Ramble (a bit)
For the second time in as many months, I feel the need to issue a Trigger Warning. Better safe than sorry, right?
I finished reading "The Iron Thorn" by Caitlin Kittredge late last Friday night. It is a great young-adult novel. I loved it so much I jumped right into the second book,which is why this post is so very very late. My apologies. The bright side is I'm already half-way through "The Nightmare Garden", so that post should be up relatively soon!
This is the first steam punk novel I've ever read (gasp! I hope you aren't too shocked). I adore steam punk music and fashion, but I was struggling to get into the story for about 100 pages and I began to worry that maybe I actually don't like steam punk. Then, very suddenly, I got hooked by the story and Aoife's world. It reminded me of something Steven Galloway said: the first 1/3 of a novel teaches you the rules of reading that novel. So true! It's a brand new world, which entails a lot of back ground world building. It's not the most intense, sexy part of a story, but it is vital to making the story work. And this story? Works like a well-oiled machine. It's gorgeous.
Another confession: I've never read any Lovecraft, and Kittredge uses a lot of Lovecraftian locations and monsters, so I found my self spending a bit of time on the Google-box to flesh out the back ground. I'm not really a horror fan in any format, as I am prone to nightmares, but I suspect this series is a great sort of 'soft-core' introduction to Lovecraft. Horror-lite, if you will. It's perfect for me, and I'm intrigued enough that I may even try an actual Lovecraft novel later in the year. So, please don't take away my 'geek cred' just yet!
This is where my trigger warning comes into effect. I'm maybe a bit old-fashioned, and definitely very uptight, so there are elements of this story that I feel are not so young adult appropriate. At the very least, the idea of my niece or nephew reading it and not fully understanding it makes me a bit squeamish. Aoife is a complex character, and in addition to the many problems all heroine's face (absent parents, pressure to fit in, first love, rescue attempts, bringing down Orwellian dictatorships and breaking worlds), she is also dealing with mental illness. Part of how she copes with her internal pain is by self-harming. It is not a subject I am unfamiliar with, but it was a bit unexpected. Although it really shouldn't be. Kittredge's characters do trend toward the dark and damaged, and there is really no reason why her YA characters would be any different. I haven't been reading much YA recently, but I have noticed that darker themes are becoming more common place, so I'm willing to believe that it's just my naivete that allows me to believe teens aren't already reading these things. All the same, I think I'll wait another four years before suggesting this one to my own niece.
For now, though, I'm going to get back to reading "The Nightmare Garden" - Aoife is in trouble again...
Happy reading!
I finished reading "The Iron Thorn" by Caitlin Kittredge late last Friday night. It is a great young-adult novel. I loved it so much I jumped right into the second book,which is why this post is so very very late. My apologies. The bright side is I'm already half-way through "The Nightmare Garden", so that post should be up relatively soon!
This is the first steam punk novel I've ever read (gasp! I hope you aren't too shocked). I adore steam punk music and fashion, but I was struggling to get into the story for about 100 pages and I began to worry that maybe I actually don't like steam punk. Then, very suddenly, I got hooked by the story and Aoife's world. It reminded me of something Steven Galloway said: the first 1/3 of a novel teaches you the rules of reading that novel. So true! It's a brand new world, which entails a lot of back ground world building. It's not the most intense, sexy part of a story, but it is vital to making the story work. And this story? Works like a well-oiled machine. It's gorgeous.
Another confession: I've never read any Lovecraft, and Kittredge uses a lot of Lovecraftian locations and monsters, so I found my self spending a bit of time on the Google-box to flesh out the back ground. I'm not really a horror fan in any format, as I am prone to nightmares, but I suspect this series is a great sort of 'soft-core' introduction to Lovecraft. Horror-lite, if you will. It's perfect for me, and I'm intrigued enough that I may even try an actual Lovecraft novel later in the year. So, please don't take away my 'geek cred' just yet!
This is where my trigger warning comes into effect. I'm maybe a bit old-fashioned, and definitely very uptight, so there are elements of this story that I feel are not so young adult appropriate. At the very least, the idea of my niece or nephew reading it and not fully understanding it makes me a bit squeamish. Aoife is a complex character, and in addition to the many problems all heroine's face (absent parents, pressure to fit in, first love, rescue attempts, bringing down Orwellian dictatorships and breaking worlds), she is also dealing with mental illness. Part of how she copes with her internal pain is by self-harming. It is not a subject I am unfamiliar with, but it was a bit unexpected. Although it really shouldn't be. Kittredge's characters do trend toward the dark and damaged, and there is really no reason why her YA characters would be any different. I haven't been reading much YA recently, but I have noticed that darker themes are becoming more common place, so I'm willing to believe that it's just my naivete that allows me to believe teens aren't already reading these things. All the same, I think I'll wait another four years before suggesting this one to my own niece.
For now, though, I'm going to get back to reading "The Nightmare Garden" - Aoife is in trouble again...
Happy reading!
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