Tag: Fiction

Cursed by Christening Gifts

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

My quest for retold fairy tales most recently brought me to Sleeping Helena by Erzebet Yellowboy. As you can probably guess from the title, it was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.  And it was…an odd one.

Helena has eight aunts, who all give her special gifts at her christening.  Six offer her well-meaning things like beauty and dancing ability.  One issues a complicated prophecy that seems to predict death.  And the eighth uses her gift to try to undo the curse.  Seven of the aunts raise Helena together, while desperately trying to protect her from the curse.  As the book goes on, we realize that the aunt who issued the curse, Katza, has more complicated motives than it seemed.  It’s all tied into the tragic death of their brother, a century before.

Yes, they have a brother who died a hundred years ago.  Everyone in the family is blessed (or cursed) with extraordinarily long life, which is the first place this starts to get odd.  It’s a little disconcerting when most of the characters are 105 or thereabouts.  Especially when they haven’t been given youth–they really are 105, and apparently feel that way.  I have nothing against elderly characters, but it makes it kind of hard to relate to.

It’s also rather depressing to think about seven sisters living together from childhood into old age, and if any of them ever got married or formed any meaningful attachments outside of their family group, we don’t hear about them.

The purpose of it is so that Helena’s sixteenth birthday can be exactly 100 years after Katza’s sixteenth birthday, which is also when their brother died tragically.  So you get Sleeping Beauty’s hundred years–but going back from the day the curse strikes, instead of forward.

Helena is the most interesting character, although more as a concept than as a person.  I love the way this examines what it would be like to have eight christening gifts.  Helena is so filled with her gifts, there’s no room in her personality for anything else (and they forgot to give her compassion or sympathy or kindness…)  She is utterly absorbed in herself and her gifts, which are constantly clamoring at her to be used–she wants always to dance, to sing, to admire her beauty, and so on.  In some ways, they seem more like curses than the curse.

This does take some interesting turns, and I particularly liked the flashbacks to Katza and her brother, Louis, when they were young.  I ended up disappointed by the ending, though.  I won’t give away the details, but essentially just when it was getting to something really interesting–it ended.

I have to come down somewhere in the middle on this one.  It wasn’t so bad that I’ll talk a friend out of buying it (The Frog Princess—actually, she was going to buy one of the sequels and I convinced her it was a terrible idea) or so good that I’ll push it on friends (Robin McKinley–anything by her, really).  It was okay.  So if you have a particular fondness for Sleeping Beauty or some of the elements sound especially interesting, you could give it a try.

Author’s Site: http://www.erzebet.com/

Persephone Today

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews, Ruminations, Young Adult4 Comments

I seem to be on a mythology theme this week.  Heading back towards the Greek isles, in a way, after The Red Pyramid I read Abandon by Meg Cabot.

I’ve read a fair bit of Meg Cabot; she’s a good option when I feel like something light, fluffy and bubbly that I can read in a day or so.  Abandon turned out to be a very different Meg Cabot book.

Abandon is a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth.  In case you don’t know it, Hades, the god of the dead and Lord of the Underworld, kidnapped Persephone, who if she isn’t the goddess of flowers (I can’t remember for sure) nevertheless gives that distinct impression.  Depending on the version, Persephone and Hades may or may not fall in love.  Ultimately, Persephone ends up dividing her time between the Underworld with Hades and being with her mother, the goddess of harvest, up on Earth.

Abandon retells this, loosely, in the present day.  The lead character, Pierce, is a teenager who had a near-death experience.  While she was dead, she met the Lord of the Underworld (who conveniently looks like an attractive 19-year-old man).  He isn’t Hades, but he has the same job.  He chooses Pierce to be his consort, but Pierce flees, the EMTs bring her back, and she tries to get on with her life.  Except that she’s convinced he is following her, hoping to bring her back to the Underworld.

The funny thing is, I very much enjoyed this while I was reading it.  Then afterwards I started thinking about all the flaws–well, the one big overarching flaw, really.  So I’m not sure where I come down on this one, except that I do feel sufficiently positive that I’ll probably try the sequel when it comes out.

I really like the concept of this, and the plot, though far-fetched in spots, is reasonably good.  It’s the characters that bring me to that big overarching flaw.

One character thing I do love–I love that the dark, brooding, fearsome and mysterious Lord of the Underworld is named John.  Not a dark, mysterious name–just John.  That’s fun.  And John is actually a decent character.  I like dark, brooding heroes with good hearts, so he at least has potential.  Although the more I think about it, the more I think I’m just assuming he has a good heart in there somewhere because it’s the only way this will work at all, not because there’s actually much evidence for it.

But John is all right.  The real problem, the big problem, is Pierce.  She’s one of those bland, underdeveloped heroines.  Other than an understandable obsession with death since her accident, and a concern for animals and other people, Pierce has almost no personality.

I made a possibly unfortunate comparison, and realized there’s a lot of similarity to Twilight–brooding, handsome, not-human hero falls obsessively in love with ordinary, undistinguished girl for no particularly compelling reason.  Edward thought Bella’s blood smelled good.  And John was totally blown away when Pierce asked how he was.

No, really!  She accidentally spooked his horse, he fell off, and she asked if he was all right.  Granted, he’s a death deity, who mostly deals with people who are dealing with the fact of their own recent demise, so he doesn’t get this sort of thing very often–but it doesn’t make her Mother Teresa!  Nor does it seem a reasonable basis for deciding that this is the person you want to–literally–spend eternity with.

Pierce does demonstrate caring for others at other times, but Cabot must have a poor opinion of humanity if she thinks it’s enough to mark Pierce out as an extraordinarily kind and giving person.  The times when Pierce does go over the top trying to help people, it’s either meddling, or totally stupid and ill-advised.

I think one reason this didn’t strike me much as I was reading is that the book went by so fast, I felt like I was still just starting when I was halfway through.  So it didn’t occur to me how undeveloped a character Pierce is until I got to the end–and she was still undeveloped.  It is part of a proposed series, so maybe she’ll get more depth in the next book…but she had an entire book, she could have gotten deeper here.

I do recommend Abandon–I enjoyed reading it–but don’t expect to find a new favorite character in the heroine.  Despite the similarity in how they met their heroes, Pierce is no Jane Eyre.

Author’s Site: http://www.megcabot.com/

Egyptian Mythology in the Present Day

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, Reviews1 Comment

After enjoying the Percy Jackson books, I decided to try another Rick Riordan series, and read The Red Pyramid.  It’s basically the Egyptian Percy Jackson.  Which in a way is a good thing–I mean, I liked the Percy Jackson series.  And Riordan’s given us another book where ancient mythologies turn out to be true, the pantheon of gods is still hanging out in the current day, and ordinary-seeming kids have to discover their hidden powers to fight an ancient evil threatening to destroy the world.

All right, so it’s a formula.  But it’s a fairly unique and specific formula, at least the ancient mythologies part.  And, the most important thing for a formula–it works.

The Red Pyramid is about Carter Kane (who rather resembles Percy) and his sister Sadie (who really resembles hot-tempered and strong-willed Annabelle).  I may be oversimplifying in my character comparisons, and there are distinctions…but not broad sweeping ones.  Things go rather awry for Carter and Sadie when their father blows up the Rosetta Stone using Egyptian magic, and unleashes ancient gods into the world.  Carter and Sadie come to realize that they have magical powers they have to learn how to use, in order to fight the evil god Set, who has captured their father and is also planning to destroy all of North America.  Mostly because he can, I think–it’s all part of an ancient feud among the gods, and an even more ancient conflict between order and chaos.

It’s a good thing, by the way, that all these kids are around to deal with ancient evils, because apparently they’re all in the same fantasy world.  At one point Carter and Sadie are in Brooklyn, and a comment comes up about Manhattan.  The Egyptian magicians don’t get involved there, because Manhattan has other gods to deal with.  Love the reference, as the Percy Jackson books tell us that Mount Olympus is floating above the Empire State Building.

The mythology is the biggest way this differs from the Percy Jackson books, not only the gods themselves but the way the gods relate to the world.  The Greek gods are, to large extent, sort of like very ancient and very powerful humans, who interact with the world more or less like humans do–just in larger than life ways, and in ways that may involve monsters and destruction.

The Egyptian gods seem to lead a more metaphysically-complicated existence.  They mostly exist in a sort of dream world, and primarily access the physical world by possessing humans or objects, but preferably humans with the blood of the pharoahs.  Timelines and chains of events are also a little confused, as the gods apparently act out the same patterns and stories again and again over millenia.

The Egyptian way of engaging the world is certainly more complex, and fascinating in some ways.  But on the other hand–I like that Hermes uses a cell phone, that Poseidon hangs out on the beach, and that Aphrodite and Ares use the Tunnel of Love at the theme park.  The Egyptian gods are, mostly, less relatable, and I can’t decide if I like that or not.  I suppose it’s just different, and both ways have merits.

In the end I think I have to come down saying that I did prefer the Percy Jackson books, but that’s mostly for two reasons that I should elaborate on, because they may not be relevant for other people.

For one thing, I’ve always been a Greek and Roman mythology buff.  Maybe it’s a product of watching Hercules: The Legendary Journeys as a kid (a truly brilliant TV show, by the way).  When I was around twelve, I had run out of new Greek mythology books to read at my library.  The Egyptian gods, on the other hand, I’ve mostly had brief encounters with through friends who love Egypt, or in an occasional historical fiction book.  So when a Greek god shows up, my reaction is usually “oh, them, I know them, they had this story and that story and were the god of this, and it’s so cool how they’ve been portrayed!”  When an Egyptian god shows up, my reaction is more along the lines of “yeah, I guess I recognize your name…”  That skews my impression of the book, I’m sure.

Second thing: my favorite character in the Percy Jackson series is Grover, and there was no Grover equivalent here.  The funny baboon is, well, funny, and Bast as a supporting character is pretty great, especially when she exhibits cat-like tendencies.  But they’re still not as much fun as the ecology-obsessed satyr who loves eating burritos and tin cans.

So if you enjoyed Percy Jackson, and especially if you like Egyptian mythology, give The Red Pyramid a go.  It’s maybe a little darker and a little more complex, but pretty much…it’s an adventure about ordinary (except not) kids on a quest through ancient mythology to save the world.

Chasing Ducklings

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews4 Comments

I’ve been getting very little writing done at the park lately.  I try to go over there every Saturday morning; on nice days I write by the pond, on nasty days I go into the library to write (there’s actually a library in the park–how cool is that?)  Lately, the weather has been nice–but the pond has been distracting.  You see, it’s duckling season.

I’ve been spending a fair amount of my writing time watching little fuzzy balls of fluff float around the pond.  I’ve identified two families with babies.  There’s a single mother duck who was chasing six children around on a recent Saturday, and two-parent family with a mere two off-spring.

All of this duck-watching does in fact lead to a book review!  Because the duck-watching very naturally led me back to Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey.

I love the artwork of this book.  I think that’s really why I wanted to reread it, to look at the cute duckling drawings.  McCloskey’s ducklings have longer necks than mine (maybe they’re older?) but they’re just right for fuzziness.

Although I’ve yet to see the ducklings at my pond walk in a neat line like McCloskey’s.  Mama Duck seems to spend most of her time herding ducklings around.  They stray off in all directions, and every so often one realizes it’s gone too far away, panics, and has to be rescued.  They start cheeping, and sometimes they go shooting over the water back to the rest, while other times I’ve seen Mama Duck go after a strayed duckling.  It’s adorable to watch, but I think it would be exhausting to be a duck mother.

Back to Make Way for Ducklings.  I admit I was a little disappointed by the plotline.  I remembered the ducklings’ journey as a bit more epic.  Then I went back to the story to find it’s only a couple of blocks.

But it may be silly to discuss whether the plot of a picture book is sufficiently epic.  It was cute, and well-worth a visit just for the drawings.  If you know any ponds with ducks near you, you might want to visit them too–there could be ducklings to distract you too!

A Treasure in a Warehouse

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Young Adult3 Comments

My library had a warehouse sale recently, and I came home with ten new books (for $12.50!  I love my library.)  It was a glorious sale.  There are few things better in book buying, for me, then stumbling across a J. M. Barrie book that isn’t about Peter Pan and looks like it’s from 1900 (although I can’t find a publishing date on it!) and then realizing that the librarians will let me take this treasure home to keep for a mere two dollars.  Lovely.  But almost as good is finding a book I’ve been meaning to get around to buying for, I don’t know, three years, and that one can go home right now for only a buck.

That book I’d been meaning to buy was A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt.  I started reading it the same day I bought it.  I really don’t know why I took this long to purchase it (except possibly because brick-and-mortar bookstores never had it when I looked, and I was wary of buying on Amazon because I didn’t want to inadvertantly end up with a particular edition I knew I didn’t like).

A Solitary Blue is a wonderful, beautiful book.  I love the way Voigt writes about emotions.  A friend who went to the sale with me asked what the book was about, and I flailed a bit trying to answer.  I had read it before, that wasn’t the issue, but it’s much more a character-development book than a plot-driven one.

Here goes a best-attempt at “what it’s about.”  Jeff’s mother, Melody, is beautiful and charming and fascinating–and she walked out when Jeff was seven years old.  As Jeff grows up, we watch the development of his relationship with his father, a very reserved college professor, and with Melody as she moves unexpectedly in and out of his life.

It’s Jeff’s thoughts and feelings that make me love this book.  When he’s small, his mother is the center of his world.  Voigt writes wonderful descriptions about how Jeff feels around her.

“Jeff watched and listened, basking in his own feelings: of being with his own mother, who wrapped her love around him; of being–strange as it seemed–home, where he was welcome; of waking up to a world where his help was needed to right what was wrong; of lying on soft grass under trees hundreds of years old beside walls that his ancestors had built; of being logy with the perfumed heat of the day.”

When Jeff gets older, he sees through Melody’s charm to realize how irresponsible and self-absorbed she really is–and the descriptions of how he feels in his disappointment and betrayal are beautiful too.

“He felt so bad–sorry for himself, and angry at himself for losing her–and helpless.  He didn’t know what he should have done, what he could have done.  He felt as if he had been broken into thousands of little pieces.  Broken and then dropped into some dark place.  Some dark place where he was always going to stay.”

I think the reader sees through Melody sooner than Jeff does, so we can see the tragedy coming.  But, despite some sad parts, it’s an ultimately positive story, as Jeff learns and grows and comes out of both the sun of Melody’s approval, and the darkness of her disregard.

The title refers to a blue heron, a bird Jeff sees alone on an island one day, and which becomes symbolic for Jeff himself, and for a few other characters too.

A Solitary Blue is part of a larger series, but I think it could stand alone.  The larger series is about the Tillerman family and their friends, and the Tillermans have only a supporting role in this one.  I recommend the rest of the series too, but this one is my favorite.

Author’s site: http://cynthiavoigt.com/