Books Read in 2015

For the past few years (2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) I've had a goal to read and review a bunch of books over the course of each year.

My goal had been to average a book per week and end up with 50 books read and reviewed at the end of the year. I usually don't include smaller books (early middle grade, picture books, etc) unless I feel really strongly about them. For the past couple of years I've dropped well below my 50 and I'm starting off 2015 already a couple of months behind. Still, I'm going to try and catch up and at least get some books read and reviewed in coming weeks/months.

1. Dauntless
2. The Darkling Child
3. Trouble is a Friend of Mine
4. Finn: A Novel
5. The One and Only Ivan
6. After Alice
7. The Illustrated Man
   
8. The Enchanted April
   
9. 
   

Book Review - The Enchanted April

The Enchanted April is a hundred-plus year old classic novel tells the tale of four English women who are looking for an escape from their lives and decide to take a month-long vacation in an Italian castle...with each other. The women are strangers to one another and come from different walks of life. Two are married and part of the escape is to get away from their husbands and clear their heads. Apart from the initial vacation preparations and character introductions, the entire book takes place in the castle that the four women rent out. They don't go on lavish adventures around the countryside. They don't find mysterious romance with locals. They just enjoy their surroundings and learn about themselves. In our fast-paced adrenaline driven 21st century, the concept may sound terribly boring...and if you go in with that expectation, you'll surely be let down. It is slow paced and lacking in adventure, but from an aesthetic and thoughtful point of view this is an elegant and beautiful piece of work well worth reading. (I understand that there is a movie version as well, but I haven't seen it so I don't know how well it compares)

The initial chapters of the book introduce us to Lotty Wilkins, the woman who has become dissatisfied with her life in London and the humdrum relationship with her husband. She reads and advertisement for an idyllic month among the wisteria at an Italian castle and she's decided that she absolutely must go. Unfortunately, she can't afford the entire rent on her own and she doesn't want to ask her husband for the money. She approaches an acquaintance (Mrs. Arbuthnot) who Lotty feels may be similarly dissatisfied and convinces her that they should rent the place together. They then decide to advertise for an interview two other women to join them and before long the entire plan is set. As an interesting twist by the author, as Lotty prepares to tell her husband about her vacation plans, he announces that he would like to take her on a trip...to Italy. This sudden invitation catches her off guard and she nearly changes her mind but then remembers all of the reasons she wants this "girl's month out" and announces that she's committed to this trip and she must go.

We get to know the other two women very briefly through the interview process and then meet them more vividly upon arrival in Italy. Mrs. Fisher is an elderly aristocrat and Lady Caroline is a young socialite and each initially seems somewhat stereotypical. As the four women interact, Lotty Wilkins strives to turn them all into close friends and to help each of them experience all of the wonderful possibilities she believes this trip will offer them. To Lotty's dismay, both Lady Caroline and Mrs. Fisher seem only to want to be left alone.

Book Review - The Illustrated Man

I've loved Bradbury's writing since I was first introduced to some of his short stories in elementary school and later read some of his novels in Junior High and High School. Even loving his work, there is so much of it that I've never read. I finally decided to remedy that problem. The Illustrated Man is an interesting "novel" to read as it is actually a short story collection framed within the concept of a tattooed man whose images come to life to tell true stories and have a prophetic aspect that effects anyone who watches them long enough.

The book consists of 18 different stories ranging from the ultra "sci-fi" to the less "sci-fi" tales of wonder. Think of it like an eclectic collection of 'Twilight Zone' episodes done with expert mastery. Even though these stories were written individually over a number of years, the framing together with the larger narrative made me look at these stories a little differently...not as a single cohesive story by any means, but I did notice ways in which some of them related to one another or "spoke to" themes and elements of others. Part of me wanted a little more "wrapping" to learn the story of the Illustrated Man and how he interacted with the characters in these various stories (granted, we get some of that in 'Something Wicket This Way Comes' but I was left wanting more here).

As with many (most? all?) of Bradbury's stories, there are certain twists and reveals that I don't want to spoil with a plot synopsis but I will comment that I absolutely enjoyed all of the stories in this book. Admittedly, some were better than others but I wouldn't say any are specifically "bad" stories...I'm certain some will be less liked than others but that will largely be an issue of preference as well as an early writer finding his voice.

As a parent, I felt a certain unease with the opening story ("The Veldt") which was then set back in balance by the closing story ("The Rocket"). I didn't do a full compare/contrast of the stories but I felt like this sort of balance was present in the book. I don't see any heavy handed balancing act in place but I was truly impressed with the selection and order of the stories in the book. I felt like everything flowed together in a way that felt natural and helped keep the reader engaged and with a good emotional ride.

There is definitely a fantastical element to all of the tales but whether you're a die hard fan of Bradbury and/or sci-fi or if you're just a lover of a well written story, The Illustrated Man will surely have something you will enjoy. I'm thinking about re-initiating our "bedtime story time" routine and reading these stories to my kids. This is a collection that is definitely recommended. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



4.5 out of 5 stars


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Book Review - After Alice

Gregory Maguire's latest twist on classic literature comes in After Alice, the story of Alice in Wonderland from an entirely different point of view. In this book, Alice barely makes an appearance. Instead we get to see what happened up in Oxford during Alice's trip to Wonderland as well as a new perspective on Wonderland as Alice's minor friend Ada accidentally tumbles down the rabbit hole and spends her time trying to catch up with Alice.

Ada is a neighbor who lives down the lane from Alice and has been sent to take some marmalade to Alice's family and potentially spend time with Alice. Due to some physical limitations, Ada wears a back/body/leg brace to help her move about and she has been entrusted to a governess. In a bout of impatience and (seemingly) uncharacteristic impetuosity, Ada gets far ahead of her governess and ends up tumbling down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. Ada's governess, Miss Armstrong, frantically searches for Ada and meets up with Alice's teenage sister Lydia. Miss Armstrong and Lydia spend the day searching Oxford (both alone and occasionally paired up) for Ada and Alice...more on them in a moment.

As Ada is introduced and even more once she arrives in Wonderland, it is clear that where Alice is imagination and curiosity personified, Ada is Alice's grounded realist foil. Where Alice had stars in her eyes and her head in the clouds, Ada was more of a naturalist, taking the world at face value and seeking for understanding while straining to grow her youthful desire for playfulness. Ada seems to have a knowledge and a perceptiveness beyond her young years but is still a bit oblivious to the nature of the world around her. Her trip to Wonderland is suited to be a great opportunity for her to open her eyes to new possibilities...to increase her own imagination and cultivate a sense of curiosity and wonder. Initially she is sure she is falling into Hell, based partly on her recent glances at Dante's Inferno. This notion seems to stick in the back of her mind as we catch subtle references later on. As she progresses through Wonderland, meeting various inhabitants and experiencing some of its craziness she remains focused squarely on finding Alice. As such, her plentiful opportunities for imaginative growth seem to fall flat. And yet, she does have some insights into herself and her surroundings which have an impact on her and give some growth to her character. I was excited to see a wide variety of characters and experiences from Wonderland that strayed beyond the simple and most popular/famous elements known by casual readers. These were fun additions and made me want to re-read the original Alice books. Still, I was left a bit disappointed with the presentation of some of these characters. It felt like they were trying too hard to straddle the fence between their original self and the message that Maguire was trying to present and as a result they tripped and fell over that fence they were straddling.

Book Review - The One and Only Ivan

I remember a lot of excitement around The One and Only Ivan when it was released and later won the Newbery Medal (along with numerous other awards). As a result, it made it on my "to read" list...it just took me a while to get around to it.

From a high level, there's an element of being "based on a true story" in that there was a real Gorilla on a billboard and in a less than happy zoo-life in an mall. There some opportunities for editorializing as we learn about the hunting and capture of animals and of the treatment of some animals...but mostly this is definitely a fictional account. That said, there are elements that are harshly real and could certainly trouble young readers (even though it is geared towards younger readers).

Part of the hook, as you'll find early on, is that the book is narrated by Ivan, the gorilla. Ivan is a gorilla who was captured young and has virtually no memory of life outside of captivity. Through Ivan's eyes we see his understanding of himself and his world increase as he interacts with and observes friends/neighbors (an old elephant named Stella, a stray dog named Bob, a baby elephant named Ruby and the humans outside his enclosure). Ivan has a very unique voice that is sometimes heart wrenching, some times frustrating and often endearing. The author creates a wonderful voice of innocence, simplicity and curiosity.

Book Review - Finn: A Novel

I fell in love with the writing of Mark Twain in Junior High and High School. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was always one of my favorites, not only because of the fun adventures and outrageously ridiculous humor but also because of the great depth and thought of the story filled with so many layers and nuances of historical social dynamics and beliefs. As a result very naturally intrigued by Finn: A Novel, a new novel telling the story of Huck's father "Pap" Finn.

The book follows the life of Pap Finn (mostly just called "Finn" in the book as he never receives a true first name). There are a few scenes and recollections about his youth but mostly the novel focuses on his adult life in the time leading up to Huck's birth and the years that follow until the ultimate discovery of his death as outlined in the original novel by Twain. The organization of the chapters was occasionally disorienting with limited indication of timing since from one chapter to another we may jump forward or backward in time by a handful of years. It was only significantly disorienting once or twice but when it did happen I wondered as to the intent of such jumps other than perhaps to help the reader feel as unsteady and flailing as Finn was in his own life.

The tone, language and literary styling of the novel are impressive. The book is well written. In some regard there seems to be a desire to imitate Twain's rhetoric and uphold the 19th century language of the previous novel. But the tone and content of this book necessarily result in stylistic differences that make this a much darker novel even in the moments of levity. 'Finn' has some scenes which are indeed laughable but the tone makes them tragically funny as opposed to the laugh-out-loud humor of 'Huckleberry.'

We are given scenes outlining the strained relationship between Finn and his family members. Finn's father looks at Finn with absolute disgust and hatred that has gone on for years. Finn's brother provides token olive branches where he can but is limited by a need to remain in the good graces of his father and society. As a result, Finn is left to his own devices. His broken family life sends him into the world with a spiteful attitude and a feeling that everyone is out to get him and that the only person he can count on is himself. Fortunately Finn is capable enough to find odd jobs and thus scrapes to stay alive...but only barely so. And as his vices increase, his ability to survive diminishes.

Book Review - Trouble is a Friend of Mine

This book was initially pitched to me as a cross between Veronica Mars and the BBC series Sherlock. Enjoying both shows, it sounded fun and requested the book. As the title "Trouble is a Friend of Mine" suggests, the narrator (a teenage girl named Zoe) has a tendency to get into trouble. More to the point, "Trouble" truly does become one of her friends in the character Digsby. He becomes the literal representation of Trouble popping up in her life.

The book starts with a few paragraphs of flash-forward of Zoe in front of a house filled with explosives and her conflict about whether to run back inside and help Digsby or run to safety. The book then flashes back to the moment she first met Digsby and explains how they get to know one another and the various forms of Trouble and mystery they uncover and stumble upon.

From the initial meeting between Digsby and Zoe I had to wonder about Zoe's character. She's skipping school one day and Digsby shows up on her doorstep with very cryptic comments that come off as stalker-like and definitely creepy. Instead of being totally freaked out and calling the cops or talking to her mom, Zoe feels a little confused but largely shrugs it off and then just sort of accepts that Digsby is becoming part of her life as he shows up time and again. Granted, Zoe has a troubled relationship with her mother but she's a smart girl with normal nervous tendencies so it felt odd that she didn't even mention Digsby to anyone.

Book Review - The Darkling Child (Defenders of Shannara - Book 2)

So I've basically been a Terry Brooks fan for life...or at least since 7th or 8th grade when I first read the "Sword", "Elfstones" and "Wishsong" of Shannnara. Since then I've read nearly all of his novels only missing a few here and there when life got in the way. As such I have a certain sense of loyalty to Brooks and to the Shannara world in general. I really liked his sort of "origin" stories where he wrote about magic in "our" world and the end of our world followed by the creation of the world known in the Shannara stories. It was a fun weaving of stories and a nice change of pace.

That said, with his past few novels, Brooks has returned to his core worlds of Shannara fantasy and magic. This latest book, The Darkling Child is a stand alone novel that takes place 5 years after the previous novel, "The High Druid's Blade." It involves some of the same characters but introduces new characters and new dangers. At its heart, the book has the same main villain as its predecessor, the sorcerer Arcannen. After having his plots foiled and his world turned upside down in 'High Druid's Blade', Arcannen has spent the past five years essentially hiding out and rebuilding. What his exact plans are unknown (other than an overarching goal of eventually infiltrating and either taking over or destroying the Druid Order). New plans are set in motion in this book when the Federation discovers Arcannen's location (in the same village where some other outlaws and pirates are hiding out) and they send a force to destroy them. Arcannen escapes the resulting destruction but vows revenge on those who destroyed his village.

The new element in this book is a teenage boy named Reyn who happens to bear the ancient power of the wishsong (it's never explicitly said but I presume Reyn is "the Darkling Child" of the title...though perhaps it could be argued that Paxon may still be a darkling in development). Arcannen learns of this power and seeks to subvert and use Reyn for his own purposes. The druids sense the wishsong magic and send out Paxon Leah (the "High Druid's Blade") and a druid emissary to discover the bearer of the magic, determine any risk and decide what is to be done. Paxon is especially interested in this new wishsong magic since his sister, Chrysallin, was discovered to have the wishsong in the previous novel and the implications of that discovery are still unclear to everyone involved, especially Paxon and Chrys. Thus Paxon undertakes the mission out of loyalty to the Druids but also as a mission of discovery to try and determine the risks and needs of his sister and figure out the path they should take.

Book Review - Dauntless

Dauntless is a late-middle-grade / early-YA novel that takes elements from Robin Hood and medieval adventure stories and pairs them with a strong female lead akin to the Katniss or Pris characters of recent YA novels. The story follows the struggles of Merry Ellison, a young girl who's been hiding in the forests ever since John had her father and his household killed along with other supporters from his village. Merry escaped with the other orphaned children from the village. She's shunned her noble name "Lady Ellison" to live off the land and protect the children in ways reminiscent of the Robin Hood story.

Merry and the children have attracted some attention and been dubbed the "Ghosts of Farthingale Forest" but when they accidentally hijack a treasure chest filled with the king's gold they decide to relocate and find themselves suddenly receiving unwanted attention. Coincidentally, the nearest village to their new home is also the home to Lady Merry's once betrothed, a young man named Timothy Grey. Timothy is currently in the service of the local earl and has been tasked with hunting down the supposed Ghosts.

The novel was detail oriented and moved at a steady pace, albeit slower than the thrill-a-minute action of other recent YA books. Not surprisingly, we find our heroine caught in a romantic tangle of emotions as she tries to unravel her feelings towards Timothy, the man she once loved and the man currently tasked with bringing her to justice.