Review: The Lantern Bearers

Title: The Lantern Bearers

Author: Rosemary Sutcliff

Publisher: Sunburst

# of Pages: 280

This is one in a series of loosely inter-related books called The Dolphin Ring Cycle, by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Favorite Line: "Morning always grows again out of the darkness, though maybe not for the people who saw the sun go down. We are the Lantern Bearers, my friend; for us to keep something burning, to carry what light we can forward into the darkness and the wind."

Plot Summary:
Aquila served in the Roman cavalry and came home to Britain for a short vacation to see his family. Shortly after his arrival, he heard that Rome was deserting Britain because it was too much trouble to defend. Aquila deserts the army and stays behind to defend his home. However, the Saxons soon raid his home; his father is killed, his farmstead burned to the ground, his sister kidnapped and he is taken as a slave. He lives in the Saxon camp for several years, honing his hatred of those that betrayed his family and hoping for a chance at revenge.
When the chance to escape finally arrives, he seizes it and goes off to find the man who turned traitor on his father. That man, however, has already died and Aquila is left adrift, unsure now what motivates him to live. Seeing very little else to do with his time, he offers his fealty to Ambrosius, the Roman favorite to unite Britain and drive out the Saxons. He spends the rest of his life working for him, training horses, fighting battles and eventually marrying and having a child.
But he's a difficult man who holds his anger and bitterness inside, to his own detriment. he has few friends, his family hardly knows him, and he cannot forget his sister. The Lantern Bearers is more a story about one man's journey of self-discovery and forgiveness than it is a prequel to the Arthurian legend we all know and love.

It is only when I read books that were marketed as "young adult" a few decades ago (this one was first published in 1959) that I realize just how little credit we give young people today. Luckily, that trend seems to be changing for the better, and I think there are a lot of great young adult books out there today, particularly in the fantasy genre. But this book is intense for someone entering middle school. It is much more psychological drama than anything else. Yes, there are war scenes, but those pale in comparison to the over arcing drama of Aquila and his inner struggle. Very deep stuff!

I really enjoyed this book. It was my second choice for the readathon and though I admit that, due to tiredness, I skimmed most of the battle scenes, I still found it enjoyable. Enjoyable enough, in fact, that I am sticking to reading its immediate sequel, Sword at Sunset, instead of dropping it for the copy of Unseen Academicals that just arrived in the mail for me today. If that isn't high praise, I don't know what is.

Aquila is a very troubled and angry man. It is painful to see how isolated he is in his life, and how deeply he feels it. The most moving passages in the book, for me, were the ones in which he felt the huge gap that existed between him and his son. He would sometimes try to bridge it, but he felt it was so far a jump to make that he often missed his chance to do so.

They looked at each other through the smoke of the windy fire, through the barrier that had always been between them... Aquila, watching [his son] disappear into the dusk, thought suddenly and painfully of all the things he would have liked to say...

There are so many passages like that, between Aquila and his son and Aquila and his wife, that make the reader ache for the poor man. He doesn't make it easy for those around him to like him, but we, the readers with access to his self-doubt and distress, can't help but sympathize. What makes it even more sad is that Aquila was so very close to his own father that he feels the chasm with his son even more.

How many young adult books deal with the parent-child gulf from the parent side? Not many, I'll bet.

While Aquila is by far the centerpoint of this story, there are several meaningful and well-constructed secondary characters. The one I liked most was the monk, Brother Ninnias. He is so patient and forgiving and kind; I think he does a lot to help soothe Aquila's wild emotions. Ambrosius, too, is a larger-than-life character; he is a king that the people love and die for. And, waiting in the wings of destiny, there is Artos. I enjoyed reading this prequel to Arthurian legend because it was really fun and interesting to see Arthur as a young person, and not at all as the centerpoint of a story. Instead, we get glimpses of him that hint at what is to come, but he is in the background.

I also thought that Sutcliff described the life of women in the time period very well. None of them are allowed to make their own decisions and most lead lives they would never choose for themselves. But they make the best of it and try to be happy in a very inhospitable world. While women also were very much in the background of this novel, they were believable and interesting.

So really- I enjoyed this book! I am also about 1/5 of the way through Sword at Sunset and enjoying that one, too. I don't know if I'll like Sutcliff's take on Arthurian legend as much as I do Mary Stewart's, but I like Arthurian tales so much that I am willing to give them all a chance! Well, except for stories told from Guinevere's point of view...

Review: I, Coriander

Title: I, Coriander

Author: Sally Gardner

Publisher: Dial Books

# of Pages: 287

Plot Summary:
Coriander grows up in a cheerful, happy home with parents who love each other and her and a nanny/maid who is kind, protective and friendly. This happy life begins to fall apart, though, when Coriander receives a pair of silver shoes for her sixth birthday, puts them on, and is transported to a faerie realm. She is only there a short while, but when she returns, bad things start happening. The King of England- Charles I- is beheaded and the Puritan regime takes over. Her family is royalist and life becomes dangerous for them. Her beloved mother passes away, and her father remarries a horrible woman for political purposes. But then he must leave the country, being a royalist, and Coriander is left with her evil stepmother and her stepmother's friend Arise Fell with little help from those around her. And when she accidentally returns to the faerie realm, she finds that things there aren't going so well, either. Coriander must somehow overcome all the difficulties facing her to save her father, her mother's memory, and the realm of Faerie.

Wow, for a short children's novel, this one has quite the plotline! I left out some key characters and side plots above, too. I think I'm still not sure how much information to put into plot summaries. I try to put as little as possible to get the plot across, as I don't want to ruin the story for potential readers. But then I feel as though I am leaving out crucial information, too! Not sure I have the balance right yet.

I really enjoyed Sally Gardner's book The Red Necklace. I did not like its sequel The Silver Blade quite as much, and I think I like I, Coriander even less. That's not to say I dislike I, Coriander. I just don't think much is holding up to The Red Necklace. I had pretty high expectations!

I think some of the plots in this book were oversimplified or glanced over. I don't think the fact that it's a children's novel can really be used as an excuse, either, as there are many excellent children's novels that have complexity and depth. The main one that seems to have upset most readers is Coriander's father's decision to marry, and then to escape England for the continent, leaving his daughter with a woman he knew was a horror. The love that existed between Coriander's mother and father was obvious and really touching, through the first parts of the story. So it was a bit jarring when he remarried, and when he chose someone so horrible. Perhaps he was enchanted into doing it, but afterward, when he left England for the safety of France, he could have taken his daughter with him. It seemed callous and very out-of-character for him to just leave her behind.

I also would have preferred more time in the Faerie realm, but I guess that's just my personal taste. I think stories that involve that whole alternate reality of Faerie, with people who never age, and balls and sinister villains who seem so nice but draw you in... they're fabulous. I love them. However, Coriander doesn't spend all that much time in Faerie, just brief snatches, and that saddened me.

I think Gardner did a good job of portraying England under the rule of Oliver Cromwell. While the Puritan faction was portrayed very negatively, I think she captured the underlying tension and fear of ordinary citizens very well. They were all nervous about how people would perceive them, and were trying very hard to just get by, regardless of the political climate. I like that Gardner didn't talk down to her audience on this point, but let them see the confusion 17th century England for what it was. It would be interesting, I think, to see how all those Royalists reacted to Charles II's behavior :-)

I think this was a good Read-a-Thon pick for me because it was pretty light reading and had a fast-moving plot. Also, the font was nice and big :-) I don't know that I would recommend it without reservation; if you want to try Sally Gardner, I would recommend The Red Necklace instead of this one. But if you want a feel for Cromwellian England, with a bit of Faerie dust thrown in, then this might be a good pick.

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon: Wrap-Up Post

Whew, the Read-a-Thon is over! My gosh, that was a long haul. And I definitely fell asleep around hour 20 as well. I had big plans to wake up and cheer everyone one for the last hour, but... er, I didn't :-) However, it looks like a LOT of cheerleading went on in the wee hours, which is wonderful. Here is my end-of-event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Well, I set my alarm clock for 6am to see through the last hour, and then couldn't get myself out of bed. So probably hour 23, but that, I think, is only because I weakly chose to sleep.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
I am not sure if my book choices are the same ones that would interest others. But I would stick to genres you like and are comfortable with, rather than trying new ones.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope, I thought it was great! Though maybe make comment verification turn-offs a HIGH HIGH priority! Also, not sure how feasible this is, but it might be cool if everyone participating was encouraged to read one book or one particular author, and then discuss that. Might be hard to coordinate, though.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I think Eva did a fantastic job of leading the cheer squads! But really, everything was SO well organized by everyone. So many mini-challenges, so many tweets, so much enthusiasm!

Nymeth's Mini-Challenge

I have yet to participate in any mini-challenges for the Read-A-Thon, mostly because I seem to be completely ADD today. I have these rushes of energy to cheer other people on (the bones in my hands are quite tired!), and then I get exhausted and relapse into reading. For like, ten minutes. Then I start getting hungry. Then I go to fix myself a snack. Then I can't get back into a comfortable position, so I decide to see if anyone has Tweeted me (no one really ever does, mostly because I am still not sure I "get" Twitter). Then I kind of snicker to myself because Tweeted is a fun word.

I recently finished my first book, and now I'm not sure what to read next. My pile of books was chosen solely because they are young adult-type books with large text. So of course, now I have no desire to read a young adult book with large text. And I hoped to get a good start on books that I had had sitting on my TBR pile for a while. And so, of course, none of those appeal to me. Honestly, I'm my own worst enemy.

So then I saw Ana's post about her mini-challenge which is basically to go online and read comic strips. Apparently, comic strips appeal to me much more than books at the moment, since I leaped at the chance. I chose to read Unshelved, which Ana describes, "It's set in a library, and the protagonist is a deliciously sarcastic comic book and fantasy loving YA librarian."

Well, if I can't get myself to actually read a young adult fantasy, then maybe a snarky librarian can motivate me to do so! So I went and was delighted to see this strip in the archives, all about Pride & Prejudice and how fabulous a book it is! It made me smile.

I have never really read web comics and to be honest, I don't think I'll really follow any along very closely. But I really like Unshelved, and I can see myself going there randomly sometimes and gorging on the archives. Especially if they reference Jane Austen more often.

Thanks, Ana, for the heads up and happy reading, everyone!

Read-a-Thon!

I'm cheerleading for the read-a-thon today and trying to get some reading in, too! First up is I, Coriander by Sally Gardner. Maybe I'll get that done by the time I make the next rounds for cheerleading :-) I'm quite happy the weather is so miserable today as now I have a ready-made excuse not to go out! Good luck to all the readers out there!

Review: The Girl with Glass Feet

Title: The Girl with Glass Feet

Author: Ali Shaw

Publisher: Henry Holt

# of Pages: 287

Favorite Line: "I don't think there is being brave, anyway. I used to not tread in puddles in case I fell in them and died like Mummy did. But then in the autumn when it flooded I got stuck and had to splash through one. It didn't feel safer or worser. I just had to splash through it or wait until the sun came up and it all dried out."

This review is based on an advanced reader's edition.

Plot Summary:
St. Hauda's is a cold island way up north where narwhal fishing used to be the trade of choice. Once that was banned, most of the population left and the island is now dull, quiet and secluded. This is perfectly fine with Midas Crook, who doesn't like being around too many people and certainly doesn't like touching them. He prefers, instead, to view the world through his camera and make sense of it that way. Ida MacLaird comes to St. Hauda's Land hoping for a cure to her strange illness. Her feet have turned to glass and the illness seems to be spreading up her body. She comes to St. Hauda's looking for Henry Fuwe, a man she met on her last trip there who told her about tiny flying cows, an animal that turns everything it looks at to white, and glass people sunk into bogs. She meets Midas instead, and the two become friends, deepening into something more. The two embark on a mission to save Ida, aided in part by Carl Maulson, who used to be in love with Ida's mother and work with Midas' father. But even as they try to find a cure, the glass in Ida's body keeps creeping up...

This was a beautifully written book. There were so many interlocking stories, all about relationships and love lost and found. Ida and Midas are in the center (I wonder if their names are similar for a reason). Ida wants desperately to connect with someone before her illness leaves her cold, literally. Midas is drawn to Ida, but he must overcome his innate dislike of touching or even really interacting with other people.

Their relationship is central to the plot, but there are so many that are similar to it that reach different conclusions. For example, there is Midas' friend Gustav, who fell madly in love with a woman, and she fell in love with him, too. But before they had spent much time together, she passed away. There is Henry Fuwa, who was in love with a woman, but she was already married and now he thinks it's too late to go after her. Carl Maulsen was in love with Ida's mother, but she wouldn't have him and so now he hopes to help Ida and somehow affect her mother. Elianna, who fell in love with Carl and realized that he would never love her. Midas' father was unfeeling and never cared for his wife or his son; his son now cannot touch anyone and his wife is withering away, at age 50, in a retirement community.

Each relationship presented in the story represents and symbolizes a different version of love, and it's fascinating to see how Shaw weaves the illness of bodies turning to glass into all of it. For an author that is only 27 years old (a year older than me, only!), he writes with a very lyrical touch. I really enjoyed both Ida and Midas as characters. Ida was so strong and faced her problems head-on. Even though she has a seemingly incurable illness, she goes after what she wants and refuses to cater to anyone else. Midas, too, grows so much during the novel, from a shy, socially awkward person always frightened that he will turn out like his father, into a man who stands up for himself and takes risks even when they terrify him.

This book reminded me, atmosphere-wise, of A Winter's Tale. Everything is black and white and cold. It also had the same sort of fantastical elements present- they are there and alluded to, but never really explained. I personally would have preferred a bit more closure around the more minor plot points, but I can see why Shaw left them out. I wish he had also left out just a few instances of characters saying the word, "Um," but I will forgive him that :-)

The Girl with Glass Feet is a slow, sad novel that meanders around on an isolated island. I think you have to be in the right mood for it- I read it curled up inside on a miserable rainy day, and that was the perfect setting. Shaw has a gift for descriptive passages, and he's an author I will follow.

The Dewey 24-Hour Read-a-Thon

So, everyone and their monkey's uncle in the book blogging world is talking about the Read-a-Thon! It's being held this Saturday, October 24th. For me, being in the Central Time Zone, it starts at 5am. I have signed up to be a cheerleader, but I figured, just in case, that I should also have a list of books to read. I won't be reading for 24 straight hours, mostly because... well, if I do anything for 24 hours at this point in my life, it should be graduate school applications. And that's not happening. So I can't quite justify spending 24 hours reading. But hopefully by April, I'll be able to!

Anyway, so here's my pseudo-pile of books for the read-a-thon, since I'm not actually a reader:

1. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba
2. The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey
3. Any one or several of all the Georgette Heyer novels I have on my bookshelf
4. A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
5. I, Coriander, by Sally Gardner

I think that's enough! Knowing me and my rebellious streak, none of the above will appeal to me come October 24th, but hey... I will try :-)