Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder was one of my favorite reads for 2013 and hit with my teen book club. The book was a surprising treat. Meyer stays close to the original Cinderella fairy tale in that several characters and the story arch are all similar. But she weaves in a science fiction aspect with skill. Cinder(ella) as a cyborg? Yes!

Cinder is a heroine with spunk, grit and serious determination. Unlike the Cinderella most of us know, Cinder’s goal in life isn’t to get hitched to the prince. Rather she spends her days learning her craft -- expert mechanic. And it is her skill which puts her in the Prince’s sights.

Humans have colonized the Earth and morphed into hybrids called Lunars. They threaten Earth while it is succumbing to a mysterious plague. Cinder finds herself caught up in dubious research for a cure in a political landscape that is quickly changing. An evil stepmother, an android fairy godmother, a coach of Cinder’s making and a race to the ball that is sure to bring laughter… Cinder is a clever YA novel with a lot to discuss, and many comparisons for those who have read various versions of the fairy tale.

The sequel, Scarlet, is already out and the third book, Cress, is out February 2014. Teen guys and girls alike enjoyed this novel in my book discussion. Definitely a thumbs up!

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, 2012.     Pages: 390

Rating: 4 Stars     Source: Public Library

Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline goes exploring in her new house where she finds a door that opens to a brick wall. Little does Coraline know that she's opened a portal to a strange and eerily similar world. When the bricks disappear, Coraline steps through the door to find a house identical to her own but with fantastic toys and wonderful food. But there is another mother and father and the "other mother" intends to trap Coraline forever.

Gaiman's writing was fantastic. I kept thinking this guy can write. The story reminded me a lot of Alice in Wonderland -- there was even a snobbish cat. While I enjoyed Coraline it did not evoke much of a response from me; however, I think kids who enjoy fairy tales and those who like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will appreciate this book. There is a movie out, too, which I plan to watch. I think it looks good. Have your read or watched Coraline?

Publisher: Boomsbury, 2002     Pages: 176
Rating: 3 Stars     Source: Public Library

Review: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

What a delightful story. The Tale of Despereaux features a teeny tiny mouse who falls in love with a human princess, experiences betrayal and loss, who faces darknesses unknowable with only a needle at his side and hope in his heart for protection. The book is broken into four parts with the first being little Despereaux’s story.  The second is that of a desperate and twisted rat Chiaroscuro’s story. The third book introduces the poor, abused but aspiring farm-girl Miggery Sow. The fourth book brings all the characters together as Despereaux fights for love, Chiroscuro for revenge, Miggery for attention and the Princess Pea, whom Despereaux loves, is in the dangerous middle of it all.

If you like fairy tales you will probably enjoy The Tale of Despereaux. However, this tale is not quite as dark as many classic fairy tales. We have a damsel in distress and a would-be knight in shining armor. The hero constantly runs up against adults who try to stand in his way and block his love for the princess. Other villains surface to interfere and manipulate circumstances. There is a hint of a magical element in the soup because, as Cook says, “When times are terrible, soup is the answer” (232).

I absolutely loved the narrator’s voice. She addresses the reader several times asking questions, making observations and sharing how she would feel were she in a character’s shoes. I found the writing style cute and charming. I read several chapters aloud to my mom as she drove to Kansas City with me to pick up my new desk. She laughed quite a bit because it’s just such a cute story and the characters are dynamic giving me a chance to test out my voices. I think this tale is perfect to read along with young elementary kids. Have any of you read The Tale of Despereaux? What do you think of it?

Publisher: Scholastic, 2006     Pages: 267

Rating: 5 Stars         Source: Used Bookstore

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black

Let me begin by saying Tithe has some really strong points as well as some really low points. This is perhaps why I am having difficulty writing a review.

A part of me enjoyed the story. Kaye, a sixteen-year-old girl, finds out she is really a changeling – a pixie that looks human – and is thrown into the middle of a courtly feud in this new world. But I wasn’t really interested in Kaye or most of the characters. The human characters smoke, drink, swear, shoplift and ditch school a little more than most normal kids. It was pretty impossible for me to identify with them. I felt sorry for Kaye (her mom is a transient rock star wannabe who has no interest in parenting) but by the tone of the text the reader isn’t meant to feel pity for her. Kaye’s best friend is very childish and jealous. The boys are very touchy feely with the girls. The only reason I did not dislike Kaye is because of the lack of guidance she has and the fact that she is young and trying to figure herself out. In stark contrast to the humans, Roiben, the “dark knight” faerie, is a complex character offering mystery and a better romantic figure. I liked Roiben and he was probably the only reason I kept reading.

It took about a hundred pages before I became interested in the story. I felt the text lingered too long on Kaye’s crappy human life and I was antsy to get to the faerie tale part which was good. Black doled out just enough of the good stuff to keep me reading. The text is a fast read. I would have quit otherwise. Some of the sentences just didn’t make sense. I was re-reading many, trying to get the meaning out of them without success. The “f” word set in right away but tapered off to my relief because the dialogue was just too high school for me, if that makes sense. As the story focused more on the faerie tale part, my reading experience improved. I feel Black’s writing style in Tithe is very conflicted. It seemed as though she wanted to write as Kaye in first person. I think that would have worked so much better. The third person POV was cramping Black’s style.

If you like faeires, kelpies, and pixies crossing from weird other worlds to ours, you may enjoy Tithe. If you like urban-fantasy, I suspect this text is for you. Although marked as YA, parents should be aware of the issues, most of which I mentioned earlier. Without parental guidance, I do not recommend letting very young teens read this. Like I said, I did like the story. I’ll be reading Ironside in the future with hopes that Black will have worked out the kinks.
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2004 (originally published 2002)     Pages: 331
Rating: 2.5 Stars     Recommended Age: 16 and up                   Source: IC Public Library

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Unlike most fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland isn’t very dark. Sure, there’s the off-with-their-heads! Queen of Hearts but she wasn’t really that scary and no one was actually beheaded. The King wasn’t quite the push over as I remember him being in the cartoon movie. He was just ditzy like most of the characters and offered pardon to all whose heads the Queen demanded. I never felt anxious for Alice, like she was in real danger, because she wasn’t. She manages to bully her way out of most situations by eating mushrooms and becoming too large for people to trifle with. This is definitely an ok story for little ones but they will likely find the original hard to read and many of the puns may be lost on them. The Mock Turtle episode was boring, his story lasting way too long for me. The caterpillar and Mad Hatter scenes were a lot of fun with their riddles. Alice was a silly little girl, rather ditzy and not very clever except for the fact that she has a fantastic dream. I enjoyed the poems at the beginning. They were my favorite part of the story. It seems that many of the characters are stand ins for people Carroll knew and so many inside jokes are not readily evident (nor do they need to be to enjoy the story). I read the story from The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll: A Wonderland of Stories, Nonsense and Wit.
Publisher: Penguin Books, 1988     Source: IC Public Library
Rating: 2.5 Stars                             Pages: 106 (p. 15-120 in this edition)