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Posts Tagged ‘Fiction’

Dream Angus | Alexander McCall Smith

Posted by Jaemi on June 26th, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★½☆☆I don’t actually know anything about the myth of Angus, had never heard of The Dagda, so I had nothing to draw on in terms of comparing this telling to the myth itself. Therefore I can’t say how it compares, or even if I was missing anything by having no prior knowledge.

One of the titles in Canongate’s The Myths series, Dream Angus centers around Angus, a God of Love and Dreams. Born to Boann, after she was tricked by Dagda, Angus is quickly stolen from his mother and handed off to one of his kin. All who encounter him are the better for it.

Upon eventually learning of his true parentage, Angus, with the help of the man who raised him, takes Dagda’s kingdom from him, much to the liking of his subjects.

Interweaved among his own tales are other stories. An unknown newly-wed couple. A pair of brothers who are to be separated. A pig-keeper. Sometimes the connection was easy to see, other times not, but somehow it all fit.

This is a book very different from my usual fair, which I find makes it hard for me to write about well. The writing was good, and the tales were definitely interesting. Inspired me to at least take a peak at the other Myths books to see if I might like to read them as well.

If you’re into myths yourself, obviously this ought to be up your alley. If you’re looking to stray from your normal fare, I’d also say it’s worth a look. It should get your brain working, if nothing else.

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Prep | Curtis Sittenfeld

Posted by Jaemi on June 25th, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★☆Boarding school isn’t something on which I’ve ever spent much thought. Much like our main character, Lee, I really only ever saw it in movies. But unlike Lee, I never decided it looked like a prestigious life I wanted to get myself into. But such is the idea as it strikes Lee Fiora, a teen from South Bend, Indiana, who decides she wants a better life. What she finds is a bit of a surprise that never ends.

The story takes us mostly through the past, covering her years at the prestigious Ault School, but now and again her older self will kick in with a tidbit from the present, to give us a fuller picture, or maybe just to let us know she’s there.

I suppose the most striking thing about this book is the aspect of watching this girl’s life go by as she does the same. Because never in her time at Ault does Lee Fiora truly engage. Not even when she thinks she has.

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The Last Cato | Matilde Asensi

Posted by Jaemi on June 2nd, 2010 No Comments

Rating: ★★★★★

If you like a good puzzle, mystery, or loved The Da Vinci Code, you’ll probably enjoy this book. Ottavia Salina is a nun who enjoys a celebrated career working in the Vatican Archives. Her life is a simple and quiet one, until one day she is asked to help decode symbols tattooed on the body of a dead Ethiopian. No one will tell her who he is or what he’s done, only that she needs to figure out what the markings on his body mean. It is to be her main priority, and a Swiss Guard Captain, Kaspar Glauser-Rvist will be assisting her.

The mystery and unanswered questions are too much for her, and on a visit home, she has a nephew assist her with searching the internet, in the hopes of finding information on her dead man, which she does. Almost more than she wanted to know. She then confronts the captain with her knew knowledge, and finds herself dismissed from her job, and exiled to Ireland. Disheartened, she arrives in Ireland only to find important men waiting to take her to a plane to send her back to Rome.

After this dizzying turn of events, she finds that the Captain had gone to bat for her, insisted she be a part of his time, receieve an apology, and get her job back, before he would go forward with the project set to him by the Vatican. At long last, Dr. Salina gets her answers. Their dead ethiopian stole a piece of the True Cross. It was not the only theft of its kind. The Vatican wants to get to the bottom of these thefts, and to find the people responsible for them. This is the task set to Dr. Salina, the Captain, and eventually, their partner Farag Boswell.

Using Dante Alighieri‘s Divine Comedy as their guide, the three puzzle their way through a series of tests set forth for aspirants wishing to gain membership in the oldest religious order in existence: the Staurfilakes, protectors of the True Cross. Their lives, needless to say, will be changed forever.

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Permission Slips | Jerry Sander

Posted by Jaemi on June 2nd, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★½☆☆

Take life in any small town as you know it, mix it up with a few other small towns, throw in a little imagination for the things you might not know, and you’ve got life in Hadleyville Falls High School. Sometimes it seems like a world far away and others it’s eerily familiar. Students will likely enjoy reading about the Administration, and Administration may enjoy reading about the students. Although for the most part they are far from funny, or charming, and in some cases likeable. Yes indeed, High School might be the last place in the world anyone wants to be nowadays. It’s quite the mixed up bag of pros and cons, and in this novel, we take a pretty close look at some of those cons.

This book was written by a Guidance Counselor from my hometown, and was recommended to me by my mother. I’d have to say the picture painted of the messed-up world that was my school is accurate. And probably even kind, although it’s probably shocking to some. Life as a teen is definitely changing, and not for the better. It’s good to see people trying to bring that to light. Ignoring it clearly hasn’t helped.

There’s nothing particularly outstanding about this story. I mainly read it due to its ties. But anyone who grew up in a small town will likely commiserate.

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Eating the Cheshire Cat | Helen Ellis

Posted by Jaemi on June 2nd, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★½☆☆

If you appreciate a darker sense of humor, this is a book for you. If not, you might only end up wanting to throttle the cast.

Sarina Summers is perfect in every way. Except for her pinky fingers. Their slight crookedness mars her style, and so when she is 16, she gets drunk and has her mother break them.

Nicole Hicks lives across the street, and has idolized Sarina her whole life. Her mother is nicer, her life is better. As long as you keep her happy, she’ll return the favor. And all Nicole wants is to keep this balance. So much so that she intentionally fails 10th grade, thinking it will better her chances for a friendship, when in fact it proves to be her undoing.

Bitty Jack Carlson grew up in a small town, on a Summer Camp. Summers, she attends. The rest of the year, she’s home-schooled. The year Sarina attends, life changes forever.

Caught using a hairdryer in an unusual fashion by Bitty Jack’s father while he’s changing a light bulb, Sarina cries abuse. Camp maintenance workers are no longer allowed into cabins without staff invitation, and her father is not allowed to work in them at all during summer, but otherwise, things mostly blow over. Until years down the line when Bitty Jack is dating Sarina’s first boyfriend, and Sarina’s life is coming apart at the seems.

Sarina hatches a plan to get Stewart back. The plan? Out herself as an abuse survivor at a Take Back the Night rally, where both Stewart and Bitty Jack will be there to hear. The back-lash causes the Camp to come under siege by the Press and thus ends the Carlson’s have always known. So when Nicole Hicks climbs through Bitty Jack’s window late one night with her own plan, rather than being afraid, Bitty Jack is mesmerized.

She has few details. They need to hijack the mascot uniform from Stewart. That’s all she knows. From the President’s Box she looks on, and as we wait for Nicole’s plan to hash out, we come to find Bitty Jack had one of her own.

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Ruby | Francesca Lia Block

Posted by Jaemi on June 2nd, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★☆

An intertwining tale of two magical and troubled lives, Ruby is a gripping mix of fantasy and reality.

Ruby has always been different. Not just because she hides things.

She sees things. She hears things. She knows things. Her father has always ignored it. But she knows it’s real.

She moves across the country, to LA, to take a job as a nanny. She wants to be able to leave herself behind. An ex-boyfriend shows up at her employer’s door. Some things are easier said than done.

She leave LA and travels to England. Here the magic is stronger than ever. In the midst of what feels like only lies, she finds a family, her dream, and even herself. What started as a good cover story turns into a reality, freeing her from life-long demons.

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The Expected One |Kathleen McGowan

Posted by Jaemi on May 31st, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★★ When Maureen Paschal begins researching for her book on Historic Females badly portrayed, she thinks she’s just following a lifelong passion and dream. Little does she know she’s embarking on a path that will change her self and world irrevocably.

It begins with a mysterious encounter in a shop in Jerusalem, which leads into a vision of Mary Magdalene the day of the Crucifixion. From there, Maureen returns home, writes her book, and continues on with her life as normal. Except for the recurring dreams.

Eventually, the dreams become more insistent. At a loss, Maureen turns to her cousin Peter, a Jesuit Priest, who has always been there for her and helped her through. In this instance, however, Peter is feeling well over his head.

Events continue to unfold mysteriously, with Maureen following along. When a chance finally presents itself for her to find some answers, she takes it, even though it leads to more questions and further mystery along the way.

Her trip to the Languedoc region of France will be life-changing–for Maureen, and everyone else involved.

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The Historian | Elizabeth Kostova

Posted by Jaemi on May 31st, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★☆ This book took me a long time to get through, partly because of the style in which it was written, which can be quite confusing if you start thinking about it too much, and partly due to the depth of the story. Not only is there far more content on Vlad/Dracula than I’ve ever come across before, the details on every setting are incredible as well. It was almost like taking an strange exciting yet scary and very, very long vacation.

Any vampire fan should surely enjoy this book. In fact I think any book-lover will enjoy this book. And of course, any librarian, seeing as quite a few of the characters are librarians themselves, and there’s quite a lot of library visiting going on throughout.

The story follows mainly the studies of a father and his daughter, and the many paths which intertwined with theirs along the way. For Paul, it started with his advisor, who had his own tales to spin about the paths that had crossed with his over time. In fact, it’s his advisor’s disappearance that gets Paul on the hunt for Vlad, picking up where Professor Rossi had left off.

In the meantime, Paul stumbles upon another student doing similar research. Wilder yet, her name is Helen Rossi.

After brief discussion, they head off to Romania, in search of the Professor. A journey which gets wider and more daunting at each turn. Most of it we learn of through the eyes of Paul’s daughter, years after the fact, as she reads through his notes, Rossi’s notes, postcards from her mother, letters from her father.

The details throughout are incredible. From the customs of the countries passed through, to the descriptions of the food, architecture and scenery. So long as you’re prepared to give this story your full attention, it should definitely please.

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