velvetpage (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
velvetpage) wrote2010-10-01 10:24 pm
velvetpage) wrote2010-10-01 10:24 pm
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A couple of book reviews
1) Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbit
This book has been out for a while now. My last grade seven class studied it before I returned from my mat leave, and loved it, but I didn't get a chance to read it. Last week at the yard sale, I bought a copy for the library, and decided to read it before putting it in the library.
It was really, really good. It explored the theme of immortality, the pull of it and the fascination with it and the drawbacks to it, and explored them through the eyes of an overprotected, naive girl. She takes her destiny in her hands as a result. Bittersweet, thought-provoking, and gripping, I'm thinking I may invest in literature circle books for it.
2) Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
Gaiman strikes again. As usual, his world is beautifully imagined, rich in detail that nevertheless manages not to overwhelm the reader with its complexity, and peopled by intriguingly complex characters. I got my new Kobo when I got home from work this afternoon and it took two hours to fully charge, so I started reading around five. I was done by ten, with breaks. It meets my definition of couldn't-put-it-down, which is unusual these days because I'm freakin' busy. And it ended satisfyingly, so I'm off to bed happily secure in the knowledge that my new book-friends are safe for the moment.
This book has been out for a while now. My last grade seven class studied it before I returned from my mat leave, and loved it, but I didn't get a chance to read it. Last week at the yard sale, I bought a copy for the library, and decided to read it before putting it in the library.
It was really, really good. It explored the theme of immortality, the pull of it and the fascination with it and the drawbacks to it, and explored them through the eyes of an overprotected, naive girl. She takes her destiny in her hands as a result. Bittersweet, thought-provoking, and gripping, I'm thinking I may invest in literature circle books for it.
2) Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
Gaiman strikes again. As usual, his world is beautifully imagined, rich in detail that nevertheless manages not to overwhelm the reader with its complexity, and peopled by intriguingly complex characters. I got my new Kobo when I got home from work this afternoon and it took two hours to fully charge, so I started reading around five. I was done by ten, with breaks. It meets my definition of couldn't-put-it-down, which is unusual these days because I'm freakin' busy. And it ended satisfyingly, so I'm off to bed happily secure in the knowledge that my new book-friends are safe for the moment.
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A manga series I've been really impressed by lately is Kimi Ni Todoke. It's available in English translation, althogh in my opimition, the French translation is better. The French call it Sawako instead.
It's possibly a bit too mature for your kids though. Or maybe not. Kids seem somewhat more precocious now. It's a high-school romance story, and the main character (Sawako) is so incredibly shy that it's a miracle there's any intimations of romance at all.
I like it because the author really nails the characters. They feel like real people, not caricatures. I remember being that shy. There's no battle suits, no alternate universes, no sorcerers, .... just very believable people.
It's also available from the usual fan sources as anime. The anime at the moment covers about half the published manga, and the manga itself is on hiatus at the moment because the author is on maternity leave.
Yes, it's shoujo.
-- hendrik