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checkers65477It's been awhile, but here's what I've read recently.
Dreamhunter and Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox were great. I liked almost everything about these books--the fantasy world, the characters, the story. The setting is a land similar to ours in the 1920s, only some people are Dreamhunters--they are able to travel into a land called The Place where they fall asleep and collect dreams. When they return, they perform the dreams in theaters or for groups of people. The plot is complex and many things are revealed little by little, as you come to care very much about the characters. The books reminded a little of the Inkheart books and of His Dark Materials in the way Knox included both children and adults as important characters that made us identify with the different generations, including all of them in the telling of the story. Dreamquake, the second book, was a little more confusing, but the ending blew me away when secrets about The Place were revealed and the story was resolved in a satisfying way. Knox is a New Zealander and I really enjoyed how that countryside was used as a model for the setting of the story. Dreamquake won a Printz Honor last year.
I haven't read any other books by Meg Cabot, but Jinx was a lot of fun. Jean, or Jinx as she is called, is convinced that her only luck is bad luck. She's excited about moving to New York City to live with her aunt and uncle, and is looking forward to reconnecting with her cousin Tory. When she arrives she finds that Tory is involved in some illegal activities--underage drinking and drugs, and that she plays around with witchcraft. I had a moment of panic right there because I had just ordered the book for my middle school library, but the bad stuff isn't described in any detail and Jinx wants nothing to do with it; trying hard to convince Tory to change her ways. The writing is a lot of fun and Jinx's voice is authentic and humorous. The only thing that bugged me about the book was how Jinx was so clueless about Zach's feelings. We were reminded over and over that Zach couldn't possibly care for her when it was so apparent that he did. That sort of plot convenience is included in many romance books, though, and this is definitely a romance book, with a little fantasy thrown in.
I'd been meaning for a long time to read some of Joan Aiken's short stories, ever since MWT recommended them in one of the author's notes of her book. I read Shadows and Moonshine and have savored some of the stories, reading them more than once. Aiken is one of those authors that a non-writer like me just doesn't know how she does it, writing a story with typical fairy tale elements but making it lovely and different. My favorite was "A Harp of Fishbones" which was told like an old-fashioned fairy tale with lyrical language and magical details.
Dreamhunter and Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox were great. I liked almost everything about these books--the fantasy world, the characters, the story. The setting is a land similar to ours in the 1920s, only some people are Dreamhunters--they are able to travel into a land called The Place where they fall asleep and collect dreams. When they return, they perform the dreams in theaters or for groups of people. The plot is complex and many things are revealed little by little, as you come to care very much about the characters. The books reminded a little of the Inkheart books and of His Dark Materials in the way Knox included both children and adults as important characters that made us identify with the different generations, including all of them in the telling of the story. Dreamquake, the second book, was a little more confusing, but the ending blew me away when secrets about The Place were revealed and the story was resolved in a satisfying way. Knox is a New Zealander and I really enjoyed how that countryside was used as a model for the setting of the story. Dreamquake won a Printz Honor last year.
I haven't read any other books by Meg Cabot, but Jinx was a lot of fun. Jean, or Jinx as she is called, is convinced that her only luck is bad luck. She's excited about moving to New York City to live with her aunt and uncle, and is looking forward to reconnecting with her cousin Tory. When she arrives she finds that Tory is involved in some illegal activities--underage drinking and drugs, and that she plays around with witchcraft. I had a moment of panic right there because I had just ordered the book for my middle school library, but the bad stuff isn't described in any detail and Jinx wants nothing to do with it; trying hard to convince Tory to change her ways. The writing is a lot of fun and Jinx's voice is authentic and humorous. The only thing that bugged me about the book was how Jinx was so clueless about Zach's feelings. We were reminded over and over that Zach couldn't possibly care for her when it was so apparent that he did. That sort of plot convenience is included in many romance books, though, and this is definitely a romance book, with a little fantasy thrown in.
I'd been meaning for a long time to read some of Joan Aiken's short stories, ever since MWT recommended them in one of the author's notes of her book. I read Shadows and Moonshine and have savored some of the stories, reading them more than once. Aiken is one of those authors that a non-writer like me just doesn't know how she does it, writing a story with typical fairy tale elements but making it lovely and different. My favorite was "A Harp of Fishbones" which was told like an old-fashioned fairy tale with lyrical language and magical details.
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Date: 2008-10-14 03:54 am (UTC)I know that moment of panic. I ordered a graphic novel titled Black Hole for my high school library last year, and when we got it, I was like WOAH SEX AND NUDITY AND OMG! So, I bought it from our library and took it home. (c:
Just because you mentioned MWT: I helped a woman find The Thief in my library today -- she was thinking of using it for her class and I talked it up big time. We have the super old hardcover with a terrible cover, so I am going to order the paperbacks for the series now that I've noticed. No kid would check it out with the cover its got now.
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Date: 2008-10-15 12:53 am (UTC)Good idea about getting the paperbacks of the Thief books. Such lovely covers. My library has copies of a lot of the different covers, including that hardback. But they are usually checked out, since I fangirl them to everyone I see.
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Date: 2008-10-14 12:41 pm (UTC)When I was a teenager, I used to completely lose myself in Joan Aiken's stories. She had that wonderful ability to be both funny and haunting.
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Date: 2008-10-15 01:04 am (UTC)I've never been much of a short story reader but have been reading more recently. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read anything else by Aiken, not even The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
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Date: 2008-10-15 12:24 pm (UTC)Joan Aiken is great -- though honestly Wolves isn't my favorite of those books. You might try Black Hearts in Battersea, or Midnight is a Place.
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Date: 2008-10-14 05:48 pm (UTC)I generally like Cabot's books in a lighthearted entertainment kind of way but haven't read Jinx - shall keep an eye out for it at the library.
I'm not generally a short story fan but this collection sounds intriguing.
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Date: 2008-10-15 01:05 am (UTC)