favorite fictional character (and happy friday!)

If you haven't yet, you should go check out my guest post at Wordsmithonia on my favorite fictional character. I chose to talk about Suzy Turquoise Blue, heroine and auxiliary character extraordinaire from Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series. The first of seven books (and an introduction to Suzy) was Mister Monday, which I reviewed here. Oh, and happy Friday!

mister monday

I’m mildly irritated whenever someone starts off a review by comparing a series to another, already wildly popular, series. So I’m not going to do it. (However, if you see some obvious parallels, feel free to run riot in the comments. Or…yeah. Run calmly in the comments. Whatever suits your fancy.) That said, Garth Nix’s Mister Monday is the first in a seven-book series, about an unassuming boy with an ‘interesting’ future.

Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world -- where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets.

I first heard of Garth Nix through his Old Kingdom series, which is comprised of novels Sabriel (which I reviewed here), Lirael and Abhorsen, and short story The Creature in the Case. These books are addictive, dark, adventurous and just a little morbid. Then I read Shade’s Children, one of Nix’s earlier works and what I’d term a dystopian YA novel. That book rocked me – in the way that a good YA dystopian or post-apocalyptic story will do (at least in my little world). After that, I was pretty sure that Nix could do no wrong. That’s when I picked up The Keys to the Kingdom series, of which Mister Monday is the first entry. Nix = all-star? Confirmed.

Mister Monday begins the story of Arthur Penhaligon, a young man who by all rights should die young of asthma complications. But something interesting happens. Actually, several interesting and menacing things happen all at once, and Arthur is thrust into the center of a perfect storm. The only way out? Is to the save the world. Of course, you say to yourself. But it’s not like that. It’s a grand adventure, sure. But it’s also Arthur growing up and having to be brave and survive without feeling sorry for himself or worrying for even a second, because the action never stops. He shows such determination and resourcefulness (without verging on sappy), that you just pull for the kid. It’s like watching the underdog. You want them to WIN! But you know that no matter the story, winning’s only half the battle.

And that’s what this story is. It’s an epic adventure all in itself, with marvelous world-building and fantastic characters, but you get the feeling that you are only standing at the precipice of a huge universe that goes on around, under, and over ours – in another dimension entirely. It’s grand and entertaining, and its characters make you laugh and shudder and tear up. So: the plot’s excellent. The characters are believable and lovable. The writing? Simply fantastic. There are allusions and references to classic literature, history, culture and world problems, galore. I felt smarter after reading this book. And it’s MIDDLE GRADES fare? No wonder I love this author.

So, having just given this book the most glowing of reviews, who will enjoy it? I dare say that anyone would. Here’s the part where I break my promise: if you liked Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Ranger’s Apprentice, The Warrior Heir, you’ll probably gobble up The Keys to the Kingdom like cotton candy. Best of all? The last book in the series, Lord Sunday, just came out, so you don’t have to wait for the next installment!

This post was inspired by Andrea of The Little Bookworm, who hosted a Garth Nix Mini Reading Challenge – which I have been VERY slow to complete. But hey, I’ve contributed now!

teaser tuesday (32)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“The drumming sound came again. Leaf gasped and jumped back as several tentacles ripped the draft excluder off the bottom of the door and slithered inside. She picked up an umbrella and struck at them, but the tentacles gripped the umbrella and cut it into pieces. More and more tentacles came through under the door. Then they started sawing backwards and forwards.”

-p. 46 of Garth Nix’s Grim Tuesday

mister monday finds three new owners

Dear all and sundry:

I have been remiss. And missing. And it’s Monday. Eeeek! What a combination. I think that means I’m past-due to introduce the winners of my Mister Monday (by the always amazing Garth Nix) giveaway. Mister Monday is the first in the Keys to the Kingdom series, where a lot of magic, world-saving and mayhem happen to a boy who may or may not have been supposed to die an early death. And basically? The book rocks it out, no matter who you are, or what age bracket you hail from. I’m happy to announce that the winners are:

sRy_ of El último primer beso

donnas of Donna’s Blog Home

and Another Daydreamer from Daydreams and Wanderings

Their favorite literary characters are V from V for Vendetta, Sherlock Holmes, and Auralia from the Auralia Thread series by Jeffrey Overstreet. Congratulations, winners! Many happy thoughts go out to everyone else, and look for a LARGE blogoversary-type contest in the next week or so. Yay!

mister monday giveaway

I joined the Garth Nix mini-challenge hosted by Andrea of The Little Bookworm back in autumn of 2009. I’ve been anticipating Lord Sunday, the final entry in the seven book ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ series, for a couple of years now. The challenge seemed like the perfect way to get excited for a new installment. But I’ve been lazy, and the reading hasn’t happened. So! To jumpstart a little Garth Nix love, I’m going to give away three copies of the first book in the series – Mister Monday.

Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins. One mysterious house is the doorway to a very mysterious world -- where one boy is about to venture and unlock a number of fantastical secrets.

This series is full of action and adventure and mystery, and one of my favorite literary characters of all time, Suzy Turquoise Blue, makes her entrance in the pages of Mister Monday.

-----

If you’d like to win one of three paperback copies, just follow the directions below!

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post answering the question, “Who is your favorite literary character?”

Please include your email address or another method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on March 19 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

Good luck!

mini challenges rock. and so does garth nix.

Andrea at The Little Bookworm is hosting a Garth Nix mini-challenge! Here’s what she says:

“One of my favorite series of all time is the Keys to the Kingdom series. The last book, Lord Sunday, is out in March so I thought now is a good time to do a Garth Nix mini-challenge. The challenge is to read 3 Garth Nix books by April 30, 2010. Easy, right? It starts today. To join enter your name in the Mister Linky list at my blog.”

I may have mentioned that Garth Nix is a favorite author of mine. I may also have written him at one point and received a signed postcard back and KEPT that postcard until the present day. Or something. *looks around furtively and pretends normalcy* I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of Lord Sunday as well, and in preparation for its arrival will probably need to read the whole series again. Plus a couple of others…so yay! Another challenge. And it’s low pressure and short, so I can’t go wrong. Remember to go over and check out Andrea’s post if you want to take part!