Fall has already fallen upon us, and I'm hoping we're in for some nice, cozy, reading weather. Full disclosure, I still read mostly books from the local library or little free libraries this past month rather than working on more of my to-read stack, but I did complete a book I'd been meaning to read since high school (Le Morte d'Arthur).
Dark Lord of Derkholm - Diana Wynne Jones (1998)
From: Local Library
"I'm quite excited to know you read minds," he told the dragon. "There aren't many who can these days."
"Nobody bothers to practice, that's all," said the dragon.
I've been slowly working on reading more of Howl's Moving Castle author Diana Wynne Jones' books. This one was hard to find, but my scouring of local libraries and waiting finally prevailed. Like many others on my to-read list of hers, Dark Lord of Derkholm is a YA fantasy book. The story is generally different than your mainstream fantasy and is clever, humorous, and interesting. It has rather a lot of main characters, which I had a little trouble keeping track of at first, but I appreciated that they "filled out" the world a bit more.
There were some things in the book that bothered me, though - I'll try to give mostly spoiler-free examples (content note: mention of sexual assault). I weirdly had some trouble distinguishing between the wizard Derk and his son Blade, as they come across as quite similar in speech style, and the adult wizard's writing style reads fairly immature. Rape is stated as a passing mention of something that happens to unfortunate peasants; I think this underscores the seriousness of the Rules the book's world is bound to, but it's kind of jarring in context. There are somewhat-veiled references to (what is probably a) sexual assault on a young main character that takes a strong mental and emotional toll on them. And I struggled with the plight of the off-world soldiers - they're criminals, to be sure, but I didn't really feel it justified the book's treating them like unredemptive animals. I think Jones was trying to integrate some more adult ideas and food for thought into a YA book, but I guess to me there was a bit of a difficulty blending them appropriately, perhaps.
I wouldn't have been allowed to read this book as a child just due to the magic aspect, but I wish I had read it growing up and experienced it through the lens of an adolescent.
Related Reads:
Magic Kingdom for Sale (Brooks)
The Merlin Conspiracy (Jones)
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky - Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, & Benjamin Ajak (2005)
From: Local Little Free Library
"I was fast: that was my gift. If I did something bad, I would run. If something bad happened to me, I would run, too. The night all the turmoil broke out, I ran, like my mother had told me."
This book is, simply put, powerful. The experiences of the three authors, all of whom were Lost Boys of Sudan, are told in simple, poetic language. After the forward, the boys each start off with their earliest memories in their respective villages, and we follow them all the way to their eventual arrival at an Ethiopian refugee camp. I found their memories of their family members and specific tribal cultural practices especially poignant.
After reading this book, I was left with the sense that it's amazing what people can survive - and hard to even comprehend at times. It was a little hard to keep track of which author was which at times, but this is understandable given the layout. The content of the book is difficult, but I think it could be read by mature middle-school aged and up children. And I wish the authors had talked more about their time acclimating in the U.S., but understood why the authors didn't choose to focus on that piece of their story.
Related Reads:
A Long Way Gone (Beah)
Infidel (Ali)
When Broken Glass Floats (Him)
A Gathering of Shadows - V. E. Schwab (2016)
From: Local Library
"The world is neither fair nor right, but it has a way of balancing itself. Magic teaches us that much."
This is the second book in the Shades of Magic trilogy; I had read the first at the beginning of this year. I think I have a lot of the same feelings here as I did about the first book. I generally like the world and concept, but the book somehow feels too YA-ish for a non-YA book. A number of descriptors and certain phrases seem to be overused ("sharp smile", "he tipped his head"). I also didn't feel a lot of suspense for many of the main plotlines of the book, since their conclusions seemed obvious.
That all said, I generally enjoyed the read - it kept me interested, and it wasn't a long commitment. And this book either had less violence than the first, or I was more prepared in terms of what to expect.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (2007)
From: Local Little Free Library
"You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it."
This is a YA, diary-style book, complete with comic-book style illustrations. The protagonist is a teen boy (it follows that there are a fair number of mild sex-related trails of thought throughout). The book gives a realistic take of life on an Indian Reservation, paired with all the related complications and difficulties. It deals with things like poverty, death, and addiction - all serious topics, but interwoven with the protagonists's self-effacing humorous style. This book may seem juvenile at first glance, but it leaves the reader with a lot to think about.
Related Reads:
The Hate U Give (Thomas)
Wonder (Palacios)
(to be continued in Part 2)
Dark Lord of Derkholm - Diana Wynne Jones (1998)
From: Local Library
"I'm quite excited to know you read minds," he told the dragon. "There aren't many who can these days."
"Nobody bothers to practice, that's all," said the dragon.
I've been slowly working on reading more of Howl's Moving Castle author Diana Wynne Jones' books. This one was hard to find, but my scouring of local libraries and waiting finally prevailed. Like many others on my to-read list of hers, Dark Lord of Derkholm is a YA fantasy book. The story is generally different than your mainstream fantasy and is clever, humorous, and interesting. It has rather a lot of main characters, which I had a little trouble keeping track of at first, but I appreciated that they "filled out" the world a bit more.
There were some things in the book that bothered me, though - I'll try to give mostly spoiler-free examples (content note: mention of sexual assault). I weirdly had some trouble distinguishing between the wizard Derk and his son Blade, as they come across as quite similar in speech style, and the adult wizard's writing style reads fairly immature. Rape is stated as a passing mention of something that happens to unfortunate peasants; I think this underscores the seriousness of the Rules the book's world is bound to, but it's kind of jarring in context. There are somewhat-veiled references to (what is probably a) sexual assault on a young main character that takes a strong mental and emotional toll on them. And I struggled with the plight of the off-world soldiers - they're criminals, to be sure, but I didn't really feel it justified the book's treating them like unredemptive animals. I think Jones was trying to integrate some more adult ideas and food for thought into a YA book, but I guess to me there was a bit of a difficulty blending them appropriately, perhaps.
I wouldn't have been allowed to read this book as a child just due to the magic aspect, but I wish I had read it growing up and experienced it through the lens of an adolescent.
Related Reads:
Magic Kingdom for Sale (Brooks)
The Merlin Conspiracy (Jones)
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky - Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, & Benjamin Ajak (2005)
From: Local Little Free Library
"I was fast: that was my gift. If I did something bad, I would run. If something bad happened to me, I would run, too. The night all the turmoil broke out, I ran, like my mother had told me."
This book is, simply put, powerful. The experiences of the three authors, all of whom were Lost Boys of Sudan, are told in simple, poetic language. After the forward, the boys each start off with their earliest memories in their respective villages, and we follow them all the way to their eventual arrival at an Ethiopian refugee camp. I found their memories of their family members and specific tribal cultural practices especially poignant.
After reading this book, I was left with the sense that it's amazing what people can survive - and hard to even comprehend at times. It was a little hard to keep track of which author was which at times, but this is understandable given the layout. The content of the book is difficult, but I think it could be read by mature middle-school aged and up children. And I wish the authors had talked more about their time acclimating in the U.S., but understood why the authors didn't choose to focus on that piece of their story.
Related Reads:
A Long Way Gone (Beah)
Infidel (Ali)
When Broken Glass Floats (Him)
A Gathering of Shadows - V. E. Schwab (2016)
From: Local Library
"The world is neither fair nor right, but it has a way of balancing itself. Magic teaches us that much."
This is the second book in the Shades of Magic trilogy; I had read the first at the beginning of this year. I think I have a lot of the same feelings here as I did about the first book. I generally like the world and concept, but the book somehow feels too YA-ish for a non-YA book. A number of descriptors and certain phrases seem to be overused ("sharp smile", "he tipped his head"). I also didn't feel a lot of suspense for many of the main plotlines of the book, since their conclusions seemed obvious.
That all said, I generally enjoyed the read - it kept me interested, and it wasn't a long commitment. And this book either had less violence than the first, or I was more prepared in terms of what to expect.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (2007)
From: Local Little Free Library
"You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it."
This is a YA, diary-style book, complete with comic-book style illustrations. The protagonist is a teen boy (it follows that there are a fair number of mild sex-related trails of thought throughout). The book gives a realistic take of life on an Indian Reservation, paired with all the related complications and difficulties. It deals with things like poverty, death, and addiction - all serious topics, but interwoven with the protagonists's self-effacing humorous style. This book may seem juvenile at first glance, but it leaves the reader with a lot to think about.
Related Reads:
The Hate U Give (Thomas)
Wonder (Palacios)
(to be continued in Part 2)
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