jenna starborn

It’s January, and one of the things I resolved to do in the New Year was participate in Long-Awaited Reads Month.  I’m sure any avid reader will agree with me – sometimes you buy a book that looks absolutely wonderful, and then for one reason or another, you don’t read it for YEARS.  It sits on the shelf (or e-reader) gathering dust, and though you know it’s probably wonderful, you keep putting it off.  Well, I’m finally reading a few of those books.  Sharon Shinn's Jenna Starborn was up first.  Shinn writes beautiful, deep, heart-wrecking books, including Archangel from the Samaria series, and Troubled Waters from the Elemental Blessings series.  Jenna Starborn is a sci-fi standalone, and perhaps even more relevant to a potential reader, it’s a retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

Jenna Starborn was created out of frozen embryonic tissue, a child unloved and unwanted. Yet she has grown up with a singularly sharp mind—and a heart that warms to those she sees as less fortunate than herself. This novel takes us into Jenna Starborn's life, to a planet called Fieldstar, and to a property called Thorrastone—whose enigmatic lord will test the strength of that tender and compassionate heart.

In this science fiction future, there are five levels of citizenship, and one’s place in the hierarchy determines everything (or almost everything) in life.  Jenna Starborn is a half-citizen – she was commissioned, ‘grown’ in a gen tank, harvested, and then raised by a citizen, but never formally adopted by her ‘creator.’  As a half-cit, her future is precarious at best.  In the beginning she must face it alone – but Jenna is quietly extraordinary, and she wins friends and family for herself.  While working at Thorrastone Park on the terraformed planet of Fieldstar she finds love, but there are mysteries, complications and machinations to maneuver before the tale comes to a (satisfying) conclusion.

The plot of Jenna Starborn is, of course, well-known to anyone who has read Jane Eyre, or seen the film versions (Michael Fassbender as Rochester in the latest incarnation = hello, dreamy!).  When I first read Brontë’s classic in the 9^th grade I mooned over it for several months – reread it and identified with it and thought it enormously romantic.  I am a different person now, and I’ve had many years to consider whether or not I’d like a Mr. Rochester of my own.  The answer has changed to an emphatic ‘NO.’  I can still see the romance in the tale, but I would not want to live it… and I think that knowledge kept me from sinking completely into Shinn’s web of words.

Like the original Jane, Jenna is a private, quiet person.  She prefers quiet environments and smart, purposeful people.  She’s guided by strong moral principles and believes in justice, equality and kindness, though she knows that in practice the world around her is unfair.  Unlike in the original, she’s a highly proficient nuclear technician, and she is no one’s governess.  Jenna is also a member of the PanEquist belief system, and what one gathers of this religion and its adherents fits in nicely with her ideals and uprightness (and also makes for a satisfactory differentiation from the 19^th century Christianity that was Jane Eyre’s faith).

The most interesting part of the book, for me, was seeing the ways in which Shinn was faithful to the original tale, but still made it her own, and made it sci-fi.  An unapologetically brilliant and scientific heroine is a lovely rarity in my reading life.  At the same time, Jenna doesn’t discard her feminine side or lack for emotion – she feels deeply, but organizes her hopes quite strictly according to her inner moral compass. This combination adds to generally practical, rational Jenna’s humanity and empathy.  She’s a character that the privileged modern reader can access. 

I’d say Shinn has done a marvelous job of evoking the classic in Jenna’s character.  I can also tell that Jane Eyre must be a huge influence on everything Shinn writes, because it contains her standards: a heroine who knows herself, and a hero who has made (or is still making) dubious choices, even though he means well.  Shinn writes the most beautiful, shattering romantic moments, and though I’m not as partial to Jenna Starborn as I am to other of her works, I can’t say I escaped unscathed – I cried! 

Jenna Starborn is a noteworthy tribute to a classic, and at the same time a delightfully deep sci-fi romance, with wrenching emotion and difficult choices that make up real life, and the requisite happy conclusion.

Recommended for: fans of Jane Eyre, and anyone looking for sci-fi, romance, or beautiful, emotion-filled writing.

retro friday – shards of honor

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

When I read science fiction, I feel as though I am a step behind.  Although I’ve always (or for as long as I can remember) read fantasy, I don’t have that legacy with science fiction.  I don’t know when a plot twist or technology has been done to death, because I haven’t read that widely in the genre.  So how do I know which books to pick up?  I trust my fellow readers.  Elitist Book Reviews usually steers me well, and of course there are others, including Alyce of At Home With Books and The Book Smugglers.  Very recently (last week!) Anastasia at Birdbrained Book Blog pointed me in the direction of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Shards of Honor (published in 1986), the first in the Vorkosigan saga, and I downloaded it on the spot.

It was the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. And Commander Cordelia Naismith of the Betan Expeditionary Force would be forced into a separate peace with her enemy, Lord Vorkosigan ...

Commander Naismith is on a biological survey of an uninhabited planet when her expedition is attacked by the dreaded Barrayarans.  This warrior empire is famous for its atrocities, and it appears that there’s little Cordelia will be able to do to help her Betan crew, or herself, when she is taken prisoner by one of Barrayar’s most lethal fighters, Lord Vorkosigan.  What follows is a story of wartime adventure, heroics, honor and politics, with a thread of romance running throughout.

Cordelia is the heroine of this story, without a doubt.  Her fierce determination to do her duty is the thing that propels her through the story and into the reader’s good graces.  She is intelligent and clear-headed, and she’s been placed in an impossible situation where she must make something out of an array of bad choices.  Instead of putting anyone else in danger, she puts herself in that position – not without flinching – with due consideration and courage.  It’s this streak of honor that makes her such a good leader, and it’s also what draws Lord Vorkosigan (who is not as terrible as his reputation suggests) to her.

Of course, there is more to Lord Vorkosigan meets the eye – he’s a very complicated man, and he has a lot of enemies.  After the initial ‘survival’ bit at the start of the book, Vorkosigan and Naismith spend a lot of time avoiding politics, playing with politics, and (of course) avoiding death.  This is all going on while each is independently struggling with command, responsibilities, loyalties and a growing romantic relationship.  It’s impressive that the plot coexists with great characterization and the trappings of sci-fi – that it works is a testament to Bujold’s skill.  I’m excited to read the next in the series.

Oh, and this quote made my sappy little heart happy. I wrote it down on a scrap of paper to remember later:

“You’re asking me to judge you?”

“Someone must.”

“I’m sorry.  I can love you.  I can grieve for you, or with you.  I can share your pain.  But I cannot judge you.”

Recommended for: fans of sci-fi romance, those who enjoyed Garth Nix’s A Confusion of Princes or Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, and anyone ready for a space adventure featuring two stubborn, honorable characters caught in a no-win situation.

retro friday – shadow magic

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

Shadow Magic is the first of the Lyra books by Patricia C. Wrede, one of my auto-buy authors.  Wrede wrote Dealing with Dragons, Snow White and Rose Red, and the Mairelon the Magician books (all of which are on my favorites shelf).  I originally read Shadow Magic as part of the Shadows Over Lyra omnibus edition, which contained the first three books in the Lyra series.

In Alkyra, children's tales are told of a time long past when humankind shared the land with folk who had magic in their blood and bones: the small, fierce Wyrd of the forests; the proud Shee in their mountains citadel carved of ice-white rock; and the shimmering Neira of the dark sea. As a child, Alethia had shivered in delicious fright when the bards sang the lays of Alkyra's mythical past. But as a grown woman her nightmares come from the world of human reality: the spreading discontent in a land ruled by querulous noble families, and the soft rumors of war. As a daughter of one of Alkyra's leading families, she has no time now for children's tales. Until she learns that they are all true.

Alethia is a rather headstrong young noblewoman, unaware of much of the world beyond her father’s holdings in a peaceful city-state in Alkyra.  That changes when a merchant’s guard accompanies her brother home from a trading trip and tells of disturbing disappearances among the caravans.  These events, combined with rumors of an ancient and evil Shadow awakening across the mountains, form the backdrop for an adventure that will change Alethia and her land in ways she cannot imagine.

I remember going through Wrede’s backlist and positively devouring everything I found there.  I LOVED the Lyra series as a teen, and I hadn’t reread Shadow Magic until this summer, after I found that my library had an ebook copy available for download.  Unfortunately, I was not as enchanted with the book upon rediscovery as I was all those years ago.  BUT.  Shadow Magic still has many merits, one being a fast-moving plot, which contributed to my spending much too late a night finishing the story.

Another strong point of Shadow Magic is the world building.  World building is a Wrede specialty, and there is never any doubt in her books that the place is solid, realized, and that magic is a possibility.  While Alkyra is a traditional fantasy setting (swords, sorcery, dangerous forests, a la Tolkien), the execution is spot-on and the result interesting.

What lead to my rereading disappointment, then?  I don’t fault the book, I blame myself.  Since that first time I read Shadow Magic, I’ve read a LOT of fantasy, over many years.  I’ve read Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, Patricia McKillip, Ursula K. LeGuin, Charles de Lint, and on the list goes.  I picked up Shadow Magic again and found that it was too similar to other books to stand out as amazing.  It contains what I recognize now as fantasy clichés.  Its ending is incredibly similar to that in The Blue Sword (a favorite of favorites).  I do not find Shadow Magic less worthy, I find it less original.  And while that is disappointing, it’s not world-ending.  I still plan to pick up the next few titles in the Lyra series, because they are, after all, Wrede books.

Recommended for: fans of traditional high fantasy (with the expected knife fights, feats of archery, and mysterious magic), and anyone who has read Patricia C. Wrede and wondered where she ‘started’ in writing.

retro friday – the hobbit

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

I think there’s one thing we can all agree on: browsing in bookstores is wonderful, joyous, and dangerous.  I brave certain peril every now and again for author events or on a whim, and I often see new cover art on old favorites.  It is then that I am seized by a compulsion to BUY that-book-I-haven’t-picked-up-in-10-years.  This is how I ended up purchasing and rereading The Hobbit for the 5th or 6th time.  I was also acting with the knowledge that the film version is coming out (soon!), and an uneasy thought that I couldn’t remember the particulars.

Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo–alone and unaided–who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside…

This stirring adventure fantasy begins the tale of the hobbits that was continued by J.R.R. Tolkien in his bestselling epic The Lord of the Rings.

 

The Hobbit begins with, well, a hobbit.  Bilbo Baggins is a small being from a quiet corner of Middle Earth, and he would be quite content to be left alone in his comfortable hobbit hole.  His life is rudely interrupted by Gandalf (a mysterious wizard) and several dwarves.  Before Bilbo has a chance to think, he’s been thrust into an adventure, and is chasing fame and fortune, fighting a terrible dragon, braving a sinister forest, and traveling under a mountain range.  It all ends in an epic battle and a tale worthy of ballads. 

As a chronic re-reader, I know that some books stand up to time, change and life better than others.  I didn’t expect The Hobbit to wear badly; when I was a child and a teen its adventures thrilled and inspired me.  I could live in Middle Earth for days on the mental images, and believe I was deep inside a mountain or forest, on a quest to end all quests.  However, when I read this Tolkien classic for the umpteenth time last year, I couldn’t help but feel disappointment. 

What caused this disenchantment?  I can point to a few immediate things, but the first is the obvious: I am an adult.  The Hobbit is a children’s book, particularly a children’s book with an omniscient narrator.  The narrator’s tone is not anything I would have noticed as a child, but reading it now, I see condescension and little else.  Also, the book starts slowly – the majority of the ‘action’ takes place in the second half of the story.  Again, something I wouldn’t have minded as a kid, but now that I have less time and leisure, I want to hurry the book up and leave out all those long-winded passages that are not indispensable. 

Thirdly, there’s a complete lack of character development, and a dearth of any interesting characters.  Oh, they are all doing epic things… but there’s no quirk, statement, or turn of phrase that made me want to take a second look at any of them…except the one (human) character without a name.  And that is the definition of frustrating and unfortunate.  In the end, these annoyances overcame the nostalgia and pleasure in revisiting an old favorite.  I confess that I wish I’d left the book in the bookstore and continued to fondly remember the story.

Recommended for: fans of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and children (or those who read to them) in search of a story of dragons, dwarves, wizardry and treasure.

Tell me: have you reread a childhood favorite and been less-than-impressed?

retro friday – crystal singer

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

When I wrote earlier this summer about one of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books, the reaction was swift and enthusiastic.  Many sci-fi and fantasy readers cut their teeth on Pern and its dragons.  However, aside from her short story collection Get Off the Unicorn, I hadn’t read anything by McCaffrey that wasn’t set on Pern.  And as any Amazon visitor knows, once you’ve browsed or bought a title, you will be bombarded by that author’s backlist for all time.  This is how I discovered Crystal Singer, published in 1982, and the first in a series by the same name about Killashandra Ree and the world of Ballybran.

Her name was Killashandra Ree. And after ten grueling years of musical training, she was still without prospects. Until she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild who could provide careers, security, and wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left. But to Killashandra the risks were acceptable...

Killashandra Ree has spent ten years of her life studying to become a vocal soloist, and she has her heart set on fame and lasting renown.  When she is told after her final exam that she doesn’t have the talent to realize her dream, she is absolutely furious.  Amid anger, disappointment and shock, she is forced to consider, for the first time ever, what she might do other than perform.  It is then that a coincidental meeting introduces her to a member of the secretive Heptite Guild, and the possibility of a future on a planet both puzzling and perilous.

McCaffrey is known for her world building prowess, and she does not let the reader down with Crystal Singer.  The Heptite Guild, Ballybran, and Killashandra’s home world are portrayed in such careful detail that they become characters in their own right.  Ballybran itself is a marvelous, mysterious and dangerous world, and I believe I could read a book on its history, geography and geology very happily – and I mean that.  It’s amazing what McCaffrey is able to do with description, as well as somewhat terrifying.

In Killashandra Ree, McCaffrey has created a character who views herself as set apart from others.  Killashandra is headstrong and stubborn, extremely talented and intelligent, and yet unhappy with the direction her life has taken.  Her innate determination to be the very best is what leads her to life as a crystal singer, and that stubbornness and bullheadedness carry her on toward her goals.  Killashandra isn’t immediately likeable, but she is such a hard worker, and so curious and passionate about every aspect of life, that you begin to see charm amidst the struggle.

The coming-of-age aspect of the story, combined with the peculiar planet and the unraveling of its mysteries, places Crystal Singer firmly in the camp of YA/adult crossover sci-fi.  While I enjoyed the book and felt a strong compulsion to see it to the finish, it was not a runaway favorite.  However, the strange life of crystal singers, and especially Killashandra Ree, will haunt me for a long time.

Recommended for: fans of Anne McCaffrey, those who liked Sharon Shinn’s angel books and Alastair Reynolds’ Terminal World, and anyone who knows that (or would like to discover if) sci-fi with extensive world building is their cup of tea.

retro friday – dragonsong

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

Many a woman who found her love of reading early will fondly reminisce about her ‘horse period’ – when she read anything she could get her hands on that had to do with horses, such as the Marguerite Henry books (Misty of Chincoteague!) and Black Beauty. There’s a smaller and more select group that can reminisce about their ‘dragon period.’ I say this because I know: I went through both. However, unlike horses, my love of dragons and dragon-lore has lasted well into adulthood. And those early dragon books that I devoured were written by the likes of Jane Yolen, Patricia C. Wrede and Anne McCaffrey.

Forbidden by her father to indulge in music in any way, fifteen-year-old Menolly of Half Circle Hold on the planet Pern runs away, taking shelter with the legendary fire lizards who, along with her music, open a new life for her.

Dragonsong is the first book in McCaffrey’s Harper Hall trilogy, a set of sci-fi books for younger readers – today we’d probably call them middle grade. The series is set on the planet Pern, where colonists fight the life-threatening Thread that falls from space with dragonfire (it’s all explained in less fantastic terms than that in the book, trust me). The story follows gifted musician Menolly, youngest daughter of the head of fishing-centric Half Circle Hold, as she struggles against the restrictions of Hold life and traditions that state that women cannot be Harpers. The injustice finally becomes too much and Menolly flees, only to discover a nest of fire lizards, a new life, and a destiny that will take her far from anything she has ever known.

Oh, this book. I must have gotten it at a Scholastic book sale or similar, because I distinctly remember that I bought it because: DRAGONS! and also because there was a $1.99 sale sticker on the front cover. And then, after I was swept into the world of Pern and dragons and fire lizards, I discovered it was the first in a trilogy and had to read the next two immediately. Thank goodness for libraries.

The main thing I remember feeling when I read this as a child was just how unfair life was for Menolly. Rereading it now as an adult I still feel the injustice of her situation, even to the point of tears – but it is tempered now with knowledge. Menolly’s life is narrow because she lives on a colonized planet, in a very traditional community, and there are no options for, or knowledge of, anything different. Her family forbids her musical tinkering not solely out of spite, as I thought when I was younger, but out of fear. Half Circle Hold is a patriarchal, sexist society that doesn’t know how to change for the better, so it keeps a stranglehold on Menolly. And it is that attitude that eventually forces her flight into the unknown.

Of course, that flight is what saves Menolly, but it also breaks her spirit and effectively cuts her off from the past. This is one of the clearest examples I can think of in fantasy and science fiction of leaving the past and pushing into the future. It’s an effective narrative to be sure, but I now also think of it as a metaphor for all sci-fi: leaving the repressive, traditional world of the past and pressing on into the future and new and greater heights.

But I mentioned dragons! Well, I’ll deliver (to a degree). Menolly encounters fire lizards, the dragons’ smaller cousins, and these tiny creatures are not only her personal salvation, but they are also her introduction to the life she was meant to live – with enlightened friends and the possibility to follow her musical dreams. I won’t say any more about the book, as you should just read it yourself. It’s wonderful, and for all ages.

Recommended for: fans of adventurous middle grade fiction, those who enjoy (or would like a well-written introduction to) science fiction and fantasy, and anyone who missed their ‘dragon period’ and needs to make up for lost time.

retro friday - the forgotten beasts of eld

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

Do you remember the book that turned you into a fan of an author?  I have many favorite authors (Neil Gaiman, Robin McKinley, Garth Nix, and Patricia McKillip, to name a few), and I vividly recall the books that changed me from casual reader into devoted, ‘no really, I’ll read ANYTHING you write’ fan.  With Gaiman it was Neverwhere; with McKinley, The Blue Sword, and for Nix, Sabriel.  For Patricia McKillip, my go-to high fantasy fix?  The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.

Sixteen when a baby is brought to her to raise, Sybel has grown up on Eld Mountain. Her only playmates are the creatures of a fantastic menagerie called there by wizardry. Sybel has cared nothing for humans, until the baby awakens emotions previously unknown to her. And when Coren—the man who brought this child—returns, Sybel's world is again turned upside down.

I read Patricia McKillip’s World Fantasy Award-winning The Forgotten Beasts of Eld at age eighteen, during my first year in college.  I found it interesting and strange, but didn’t particularly like it.  However, it did introduce me to Patricia McKillip, and from that moment on I read anything she published (and most of her backlist, too).  Recently while browsing the teen sci-fi and fantasy section at my locally library I came upon it again and thought it worth the re-read.

As an adult re-acquainting myself with this book, I see it with a clarity that I did not before, and perhaps have a greater appreciation for it.  McKillip always writes about the tricky, unknowable intent of the heart.  Well, and magic of course!  In The Forgotten Beasts of Eld she explores themes of independence, power, responsibility, familial duty, deception and forgiveness.  But above all, the book is about knowing oneself.  I rather think that part of the reason I didn’t love it the first time out was that I didn’t yet know myself, and couldn’t see the complex motivations of the characters for what they were – an explanation of truth.

Though Sybel’s story is classified as YA, it would now I think be a little hard to place.  The protagonist starts quite young, but by the end of the book she has raised a child.  In any case, while the issues are deep and the scope broad, the fact that the book is fantasy helps soften the edges a bit and younger readers will likely gloss over things they do not understand (like I did).

Recommended for: an easy entrance into a world of exquisitely written high fantasy, and fans of Robin McKinley, Patricia C. Wrede and Kristin Cashore.

retro friday – mansfield park

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

Whenever I need some therapeutic television time and hockey isn’t on, my best bet is to put in a lineup of period film DVDs. Those that regularly make the cut? The Young Victoria, Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion, Mansfield Park and Gosford Park. Feel free to suggest others – I haven’t added to my collection in quite a while.

The other day I needed some Austen-induced calm and went on a movie binge. And then I decided that a re-read of Mansfield Park was in order. A week of Austen immersion commenced!

Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. A subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austen's most profound works.

Mansfield Park: home of the Jane Austen characters with the highest morals and highest likelihood of producing genetically unstable children (cousins…kissing cousins). Too soon? Okay. But really. This book features one of Austen’s youngest protagonists. Also one of her most devout and timid and principled.

Fanny Price is hard to love at times. It’s not necessarily because she’s a prig – it’s that she is judgmental and passive and more self-effacing than a regular, self-respecting member of the human race has any right to be. I’m being a little bit ridiculous, yes, and not taking into account the roles of women in the pre-Victorian era. Even so, it is hard for this modern woman to find her anything but watery.

While not as emotionally satisfying as other Austen works, Mansfield Park IS a classic, and I always come away from re-reads enriched in some way. This time, I can say that I examined the structures of society as shown in the novel and was impressed by the sibling devotion between Fanny and her brother William. This is poignant on a personal level to me because I am quite close to my siblings, though I too communicate with them from long distance. I had forgotten the very existence of Fanny’s brother (horror!) – and their friendship is rather delightful.

Recommended for: anyone already acquainted with (and a fan of) Austen’s other works, the curious classics reader, and those who, having seen the film version, wonder how the book stacks up in comparison.

retro friday – heir apparent

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

These days I carefully curate my reading based on recommendations from fellow book bloggers and award lists. In the past (before blogging), I used to leave book selection method up to chance. I’d wander the library shelves or browse the bookstore tables until a title called my name or an intriguing book cover caught my eye. That’s how I discovered Vivian Vande Velde’s Heir Apparent.

In Heir Apparent there are as many ways to win as there are to get killed.

Giannine can testify to how many ways there are to die—it's about all she's been able to do since she started playing. Now all she has to do is get the magic ring, find the stolen treasure, answer the dwarf's dumb riddles, come up with a poem for the head-chopping statue, cope with the army of ghosts, outmaneuver her half brothers, and defeat the man-eating dragon.

If she can do all of that, why, she just might save her own life!

Giannine is a fourteen-year-old with distant parents, a penchant for gaming, and a gift certificate burning a hole in her pocket. She’s also living in a not-too-distant future where buses are automated and ‘gaming’ means fully immersive experiences in a virtual world that doesn’t seem, well, virtual. When she chooses to play the game Heir Apparent, she enters an alternate medieval reality where survival (and being named king) depends on making the right choices. To complicate matters, protesters in the real world have damaged the machinery, and unless she can play her way out of the game, Giannine is facing her last adventure – virtual or otherwise.

Heir Apparent is based on that ubiquitous staple of middle grade years – the choose your own adventure book. Of course, it’s also based on RPGs (role playing games), but in its 'infinite ways to solve the puzzle' I always thought of it in relation to the choose-your-destiny books. Which I hated, by the way. But what I DO like? Watching someone else making the choices and gleaning hints about their character from their choices. Which is probably why I once watched a roommate play 50+ hours of Zelda, without once ever taking a controller myself. I like watching. Weird, I know.

In any case, what we learn about Giannine is that she’s plucky, stubborn in her determination to succeed, a problem-solver, and a mean strategist. She’s also just a young girl who is having a hard time of it – but you get the feeling that with her skills and attitude, she’ll find a way to win in life. The rest of the characters receive less airtime, as it were, but each add interesting elements to the game (and the book).

Though I know the ‘ending,’ I’ve enjoyed reading Heir Apparent multiple times – and I continue to appreciate its clever plotting, Giannine’s resourcefulness, and the bit-by-bit reveal that marks a well-written fantasy/mystery.

Recommended for: fans of choose your own adventure novels and gaming, young adult and middle grade fantasy and science fiction enthusiasts, and anyone who likes a good adventure, admires quick-thinking, and recognizes that sometimes you don’t get it right – on the first, second, or even third time – but the important thing is to keep trying. Enjoy!

retro friday - so you want to be a wizard

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

When I go out in public with friends I try to avoid book displays (notice key word: TRY). If I’m by myself with time to burn, I can be completely happy in a bookstore for hours on end. But when I’m with friends I try to stay away from the books because I really can’t resist their lure. Take this Monday, for instance. I went to the Goodwill thrift store with my roommate. There were books. I… wandered away.

And promptly found the remains of a sci-fi and fantasy collection from someone who was a teenager in 2002. I know this because I recognized some of my favorites and found some new-to-me reads. One dollar per book – you know how that ended. One of the ‘new’ books I found was Diana Duane’s So You Want to Be a Wizard.

Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a loose thread at the top of its spine. It was one of those So You Want to Be a…books, a series on careers. So You Want to Be a Pilot, and a Scientist…a Writer. But this one said, So You Want to Be a Wizard. I don't believe this, Nina thought. She shut the book and stood there holding it in her hand, confused, amazed, suspicious—and delighted. If it was a joke, it was a great one. If it wasn't…?

Nita, short for Juanita, is a smart, friendless thirteen year old who is just trying to escape daily bullying. One day, though, she encounters a book that may be an elaborate prank, but may also be her key to escaping abuse. Using the book will introduce her to a world she never could have imagined, unexpected friends and a seemingly impossible task to save the city she loves, New York.

This book was first published in 1983. The year I was born. A long, long time ago. Naturally, there are technological (and cultural) references that are no longer relevant. In that respect, the book reads like classic sci-fi – something akin to Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. I can compare it to L’Engle without guilt because it’s also high-quality fantasy with an engaging protagonist and an interesting magical universe. I can't say much more without giving away things that should be kept unspoiled - so I'll stop.

Please don’t be dissuaded by the dated references – So You Want to Be a Wizard is a charming middle grade fantasy with an epic adventure, a brave heroine, and loyal friends. It’s about a girl beating adversity and finding her calling – oh, and saving the world. First-class fun.

Recommended for: fans of Diana Wynne Jones and Madeline L’Engle, those who enjoy magic-in-our-own-world fantasies, and devotees of enduring vintage middle grade literature.

retro friday – dealing with dragons

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville that focuses on reviewing books from the past. These can be old favorites, under-the-radar treasures that deserve more attention, woefully out-of-print books, and so on. Everyone is welcome to participate!

In my early teenage years I was [in]famous for a) reading classics, and b) for trying to find the biggest, fattest books possible. Goal? To find reads that would keep me occupied for more than one afternoon. I read several hefty James Michener sagas that way (Hawaii, anyone?). I also snuck in some fantasy from the local library’s Teen section (now I’d call it a combo of YA & MG).

One of the books I checked out over and over was Patricia C. Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons. Eventually I bought myself a personal copy – my usual practice when I loved a library book enough. Re-reading: my impetus and/or excuse for book hoarding. What’s yours?

Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart…and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon…and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Princess Cimorene is unsatisfied with her life, and she’ll take matters into her own hands to change that. Being a princess doesn’t require being smart, curious and adventurous – all of her best traits. So, she takes some strange advice and finds a world of magic, dragons, wizards and treasure, and guarantees herself freedom from a lifetime of nothing-much.

In retrospect, what was most attractive to me about Dealing with Dragons and its sequels was the combination of humor and top-notch fantasy that Wrede employed. There was a hint of absurdity mixed in with some seriously cool magical hijinks that made these stories compulsively readable.

Well, and of course Cimorene and Kazul (and Morwen!) are fantastic characters. Cimorene is plucky, brave, and a hard-working problem-solver. Kazul is wise and has wonderful taste in princesses and friends. Morwen is witchy, strange, and all around cool. In college I used one of Morwen’s ‘sayings’ outside my dorm room, and made a couple of fantasy-loving friends. Getting to know the rest of the cast of characters never failed to take me out of my own world and on an uncommon adventure.

Recommended for: those who enjoy fantasy full-stop, but especially clever young adult and middle grade fantasy, and fans of Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones and Jessica Day George.

**NOTE: If you're interested in quality middle grade fantasy, check back in March. I'm taking part in Jill at The O.W.L.'s Middle Grade March Madness event, and I'll feature some fabulous recent middle grade releases.