teaser tuesday (76)

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

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page (or if you're reading on an electronic device, pick a random number and scroll to that section). Post two or more sentences from that page, along with the book title and author. Share your find with others in the comments at Should Be Reading, and don't give anything vital away!

“‘They’re going to question us,’ he said. ‘And I think eating us is under consideration, too.’

She answered brightly, trying to ignore the growing pain in her skull. ‘See? That’s definitely a more immediate problem.’”

p. 63 of Jenn Reese’s Above World

daughter of the centaurs

I’m just going to put this out there: Centaurs are super cool. And yes, you can judge me for my nerdiness. Greek mythology, Narnia, and Harry Potter – none of you did anything to cure me of this! And then came Kate Klimo’s Daughter of the Centaurs.

Malora knows what she was born to be: a horse wrangler and a hunter, just like her father. But when her people are massacred by batlike monsters called Leatherwings, Malora will need her horse skills just to survive. The last living human, Malora roams the wilderness at the head of a band of magnificent horses, relying only on her own wits, strength, and courage. When she is captured by a group of centaurs and taken to their city, Malora must decide whether the comforts of her new home and family are worth the parts of herself she must sacrifice to keep them.

Kate Klimo has masterfully created a new world, which at first seems to be an ancient one or perhaps another world altogether, but is in fact set on earth sometime far in the future.

The first chapters of Kate Klimo’s book seem to promise something excellent. Deadly Leatherwings threaten Malora’s small settlement, and the scene is set with impossible choices and an interesting world. Then, everything goes south. Warning: if you liked Daughter of the Centaurs, read no further.

Oh, how many things went horribly wrong? Let me count them:

1) Third person present tense. This is the goofiest narrative voice ever. It almost spoiled the first bit of the book for me (the only decent bit, as it turned out). It is awkward. It deadens any connection between character and the reader. It. Is. Terrible. Experiment: read some of the text aloud and tell me it doesn’t sound stilted. See?

2) Twani. One of the interesting things about Daughter of the Centaurs is that it’s not all centaurs all the time. There are humans, Leatherwings, horses, other unique beings, and the Twani. Twani are described as cat-like creatures whose life goal is to serve the centaurs. In fact, they work themselves so hard that they sometimes die. In servitude. No explanation. I'll move on before I get upset.

3) Total loss of tension. As mentioned above, Daughter of the Centaurs opened well. I could overlook the narrative voice and other small annoyances as long as the plot moved along at a strong clip and Malora was going places and doing things that furthered her journey. Unfortunately, almost as soon as Malora and the centaurs made contact, the book slowed down. It eventually stalled out in info dump territory. Class tensions weren’t tense.  Family disagreements weren’t true obstacles.  Shady characters never developed into sinister villains (or anything else, for that matter). The text meandered, told, and pontificated, but the thrill that drew this reader in? Disappeared completely.

4) The wise pet.  Oops, I mean the faun tutor (and now it sounds as though we’ve fallen into Narnia, I know).  This was something that made my skin itch.  When Malora comes to live with the centaurs, one of the first beings she meets Honus, a combination tutor and pet.  It is disconcerting and disturbing to see the objectification and ‘ownership’ of sentient beings throughout the book, especially when it is NEVER unpacked.  If there was any self-consciousness evident in the writing at all, I could be reconciled to it.  Instead, there is none.  And it feels creepy.

This list is by no means exhaustive. For further insight, check out The Book Smugglers’ take. They were the ones who identified the narrative voice - I didn't even know what it was called. *le sigh* Another interesting note: according to Amazon, Daughter of the Centaurs is a young adult title. I found it to be very juvenile (and thus the label 'middle grade').

Kate Klimo’s Daughter of the Centaurs was not for me – in fact, I got to a point where I actively disliked it. I kept reading in hope… but I urge you not to make the same mistake.

Not recommended.

Fine Print: I read an e-ARC of this book courtesy of Random House and NetGalley. Thanks?

middle grade in march

This month I’ll be focusing on middle grade (MG) books. Why? Well, they’re awesome. But also, Jill at the O.W.L. is hosting the March of the Middle Grade, featuring daily posts by middle grade authors and bloggers. I contributed a guest blog for The O.W.L. (which I will direct you to in due time), and I’ve also put together a number of posts for Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia – reviews, giveaways, and an author interview. Did I mention that MG is my new love?

Calendar:

3/2 – Review of Ellen Potter’s The Humming Room

3/4 – Calendar of Events

3/5 – Review of Kate Klimo’s Daughter of the Centaurs

3/6 – Teaser Tuesday featuring Jenn Reese’s Above World

3/7 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Shannon Messenger’s Keeper of the Lost Cities

3/12 – Review of Lauren Oliver’s Liesl & Po

3/14 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Christopher Healy’s The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

3/15 – Author Guest Post with Derek the Ghost (PLUS Giveaway!)

3/16 – Retro Friday Review of Vivian Vande Velde’s Heir Apparent

3/28 – Waiting on Wednesday featuring Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There

3/29 – Review of Sarah Prineas’ Winterling

4/2 – Review of Jenn Reese's Above World

If you want to check out EVEN MORE middle grade goodness, Novel Novice is also hosting a Middle Grade March. And remember to check out the opening post at The O.W.L. – Jill is hosting an awesome giveaway. Let’s go middle grade!

the humming room

Let’s say we have a conversation about classic children’s literature. And when I say classic, what I really mean is old/classic (books over 120 years young!). The first ones that pop into my head are Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. I have read both of these novels multiple times, but the latter is one that has aged well as I have gone from child to adult. Its story and characterization never grow…old.

Ellen Potter’s The Humming Room is a retelling of Burnett’s masterpiece, and I was both excited and apprehensive about reading it – but I needn’t have been. Why? It’s really lovely.

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life. 



As it turns out, Roo has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river?

Inspired by The Secret Garden, this tale full of unusual characters and mysterious secrets is a story that only Ellen Potter could write.

The Humming Room is Roo’s story. When we meet her, she is hiding, she has seen it all, and she knows that there isn’t a happy ending. But even though her situation is tragic, there’s a sliver of hope: Roo has a rich uncle, and a chance for a fresh start. How she takes to her new situation will determine who she becomes, and whether she allows the world and her circumstances to change her for the better.

Potter’s character study of Roo is PERFECT. Her circumstances encourage the reader’s sympathy, even as she is sullen, solitary, and unhappy. Her inquisitive nature saves her, in a sense, and that theme is a major one throughout the book. Also stellar: the descriptions and history of Cough Rock. I was completely enchanted and mesmerized by the island world.

The plot, if you have read The Secret Garden, is no surprise. What is interesting is the way Potter reinvented it by creating a completely unique place (Cough Rock, as mentioned). She also added substantial charm to the story with the particular folklore and superstition of the St. Lawrence islands.

The Humming Room is a delightful and dear meditation on an old story, and a tale set in a new world that I long to inhabit. My only complaint is that it felt too short, and rushed at the end. I wanted more time on Cough Rock with Roo, Jack and Sir.

Recommended for: fans of Burnett’s The Secret Garden, anyone looking for a beautifully-written middle grade book with a secret at its heart, and those who have never forgotten the wonder of first discovery – of a good book, of nature, and of friendship.

Fine print: I received an e-ARC for review courtesy of NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan).