Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters #1) by Alethea Kontis (review)

Hardcover, 305 pages
Published May 8th 2012 by Harcourt Children’s Books
Source: Library

Synopsis:
It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past – and hers?

Review:

Enchanted starts off well. The Woodcutter family is diverse and magical and each family member is sufficiently intriguing. The trouble with this book is that the author tried to do too many things all at once. I think she had enough material in this one novel alone for four books and if she had only focused on one story – the frog prince story, for instance – the readers would have had a chance to immerse themselves completely in the magical world she created instead of feeling like they are getting scrambled glimpses of many stories all at once.

I would have liked there to be a slower progression to the prince’s story because there is so much that could have been done with it. I would have rather the author extricated the prince and Sunday from the narrative and start with them again – developing their characters more, showing the prince in his original incarnation so we can see the man he was and we can compare it to the man he becomes after the spell is broken. We would have been able to see Sunday as her own person and not in the shadow of her sister. She seems almost objectified in the story as this paragon of virtue and beauty – maybe this is because we see her so often from the prince’s perspective but we rarely get a chance to be in her head. Why is she so angry with the prince for not telling her he was the frog? Or for that matter, why does the spell break then and not when Sunday is present to witness it breaking?

Back to Sunday’s anger, it seems unwarranted because no matter what the back story, which itself is confused and a hodgepodge, I would think that first and foremost, Sunday would be happy that the man she loves has been restored to his man-shape. Then there are the other sisters who all have their own stories going on – the most confusing one being Monday – is she a princess? Who is her husband? Why is he present only in name? What country do they rule? Or is she a princess only in name? Then again, where is her husband?

The two godmothers are their own stories and then you throw in Wednesday and her arc – argh. Then the king. Then the fae brother whom I actually really liked – another story there altogether. The book is kind of exhausting, to be honest. There are so many threads of so many potentially good separate stories. The novel is not even long enough to accommodate all the stories it is trying to tell. I don’t know you guys. I think I would like to read whatever Kontis reads next because while I don’t doubt her ability to spin a tale, I think Enchanted does not do too good of a job in giving us an accurate glimpse of her true skill.

Truly Grim Tales – Priscilla Galloway (Review)

Mass Market Paperback, 132 pages
Published October 13th 1998 by Laurel Leaf Books
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Based on the well-known fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen, these retellings will intrigue and disturb readers. From a futuristic “Little Red Riding Hood” in which giant clams and carnivorous beasts stalk humans, to the real reason why the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk” needs to eat human bones, to a version of “Snow White” told from the wicked stepmother’s point of view, fans of fairy and folk tales will find much to interest them.

Review

This little known anthology (I say little known because it is pretty old and I wasn’t even aware of it unless it appeared in a reading list of one of my LIBR classes) contains fantastic retellings of popular tales translated and made known to the world by the Grimm brothers. Galloway’s reimaginations are such that they give the stories in question a fresh look and make them a pleasure to read. Even though the anthology was published seventeen years ago, the retellings are still very pertinent and very much meets contemporary society’s need to revision folktales and shape them into answering our needs.

 

I loved the retelling of Red Riding Hood. As the synopsis mentions, it’s a futuristic setting and Galloway manages to give both the beasts and the humans new dimensions and new depths that give their actions a deeper and more substantial meaning than in the original (not that the original had much substance but you get my meaning). Worth a mention is Jack and the Beanstalk which tells the story from the perspective of the giant’s wife and the story becomes something entirely different. I also really liked The Little Mermaid because I must admit that the original is not one I am a fan of.

 

I really encourage fans of fairy tales to give this anthology a try. It brilliantly retells the stories using perspectives a reader would not usually consider as being suitable for the story. It gives each story a curious depth and a completeness that is very much different from the superficial frothiness that the original tales have with the happy ever after tagged on at the end.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom – Christopher Healy (writer), Tod Harris (Illustrator): A Review

Hardcover, 419 pages
Published May 1st 2012 by Walden Pond Press
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You’ve never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change. Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it’s up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be.

Review:

What can I say about this novel that will properly convey to you how much I enjoyed it? I love fairy tales; they rock my world. I’ve studied them, wrote academic papers on them, retold them in my own words and so on. I find them to be fantastically illuminating on the goals of a patriarchal society and I find that fairy tales are often reflective on the needs of the society they are most famous in.

The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is in particular very revealing of the shifting and evolving gender expressions so prevalent in contemporary society. Some would argue that gender itself is a social construct and that may be true if one considers that children often assimilate culture and gender behavior from fairy tales and/or other tales fed to them in their formative years. However, since everything is in flux at the moment and traditional norms are being challenged and overturned, Christopher Healy’s novel is both pertinent and entertaining. Gone are the days when Prince Charmings were satisfied being nameless beings of perfection. Now they demand to be seen for who they are rather than what they represent. Healy presents his princes as being less heroic and more real. Some are quite less than charming and some would not recognize bravery if it came and quacked at them.

What I appreciated about Healy’s characterizations was that they were dynamic. The characters grow and change and Healy does not promote the princes in favor of demonizing the princesses. There are brave princesses, good ones and even a bad one. The plotting remains awesome and there’s a skein of absurdity in the whole narrative that reminds the reader not to take anything seriously. This makes the novel accessible for both adults and children. Children will be immensely entertained by Tod Harris’s illustrations and tickled by the escapades of the princes while adults will appreciate the deeper and darker humour in the novel.

The various romances in the novel are also intriguing, showing that the matters of the heart are rarely as simple as love at first sight or kiss. I look forward to seeing how things play out in the sequel that I have been told is going to be released next spring or summer. If you love fairy tales, I suggest checking this out. It has all the elements of a wonderful book that should become a staple of childhood reads.

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles) – Marissa Meyer (Review)

Hardcover, 464 pages
Expected publication: February 5th 2013 by Feiwel and Friends
Source: ARC provided by Raincoast Books

Synopsis:
Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Review:

The second installment in the Lunar Chronicles introduces various new characters into the exciting world created by Marissa Meyer. I have many things I want to say about this novel so bear with me.

As one of my friends, Stephanie Sinclair, said in her review, (paraphrased) it felt like Meyer attempted to do a whole lot more in one book than was possible. I really liked some of the things she did and I understand why she wanted to do everything she did but it just felt like there were too many things to focus on. As a reader, I felt that too many separate things wanted my attention and the things I really wanted to pay attention to weren’t granted enough page time. Know what I mean? No? Well, maybe you will sooner or later.

I loved Scarlet. She’s kickass, badass and all sorts of spunky. I loved how much she adored the farm she lived on and how close she was to her grandmother. In fact, while I knew the story was a retelling of Red Riding Hood, I felt that Scarlet, her grandmother and the world she lived in were totally original. I appreciated the troubled relationship she had with her father, it made Scarlet more multifaceted than she would have been. We’ll talk about Wolf later.

I was SO glad to see Cinder, you guys! I had been afraid that most of the focus would be on Scarlet and Cinder would be reduced to having a cameo in the book, with like ten pages dedicated to her troubles. I didn’t need to worry about that at all as she was very much present in the novel as was Kai though both were separated. The new character introduced, the unrepentant, irrepressible Carswell Thorne who is redeemed by his good heart and his willingness to help Cinder, adds a much needed lightness to the fare. More pieces of the puzzle that is Cinder as the Lunar princess fall into place and we get an intriguing look into the evil queen’s mind. I found that portion to be very satisfying as that glimpse into her thoughts made the queen more than a random villain and gave her motivations that are still reprehensible but understandable.

The pacing is swift, oh how swift it is. It moves at a breakneck pace and things happen whether you are ready for them or not. Scarlet’s Wolf is both interesting and not. His twist was unexpected and I thought his real colours show a brilliant sleight of hand by Meyer. I didn’t think too much of their romance as it happened too fast and there was never enough time for Scarlet and Wolf to develop the feelings that would have been necessary for them to achieve that level of emotional intimacy. I would have been satisfied with ambiguity where their feelings were concerned with the hint that they may have something more to them than could be shown. Then in the third book there could have been a continuation of their love-fest.

What I really wanted, I did not get. I wanted a sisterhood of sorts to spring up between Scarlet and Cinder. I hope it happens in book three though I am not sure there will be enough page time for it to happen. Cinder is faced with some existentialist questions in this installment – like who is she, what is she, can she accept who she was born to be – stuff like that and I think it is about time she sat down and had a good think about what it means to be her. I wasn’t too surprised by the ending and I had gathered Kai would make the decision he did from the desperation that seemed to rule him after Cinder disappeared. I’m certain it won’t go through but it does give the narrative a lot of tension which makes for wonderful reading.

All in all, I liked Cinder a bit more than I liked Scarlet simply because Cinder gave me a lot more time to get to know the characters in and out and empathize with them. However, Scarlet is a very strong installment to the series, developing the primary narrative in very strong ways while bringing another fairytale heroine into the melee. I can’t wait to see what happens in Cress because I know lots of things will. If you haven’t read Cinder yet, what are you waiting for? Seriously!

For Darkness Shows the Stars – Diana Peterfreund (Review)

Hardcover, 402 pages
Published June 12th 2012 by Balzer + Bray
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:

It’s been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth–an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret–one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”, “For Darkness Shows the Stars” is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Review:

This was on my impulse (everyone else has it and I really must too) buy. The library said it was “on order” and it had been “on order” for quite a while and the Patience Fairy had forgotten to give me any so I made the plunge. The cover also helped. I think it might be on my most favourite covers ever.

Persuasion is my favourite Austen novel. There was something just so lovely about it that even though Austen and I have had our differences, I could not help but applaud her genius with it. For Darkness Shows the Stars is remarkably faithful to the original tale. In different ways, of course. I liked how Peterfreund worked in the whole dystopian/post-apocalyptic story (which seems rather similar to Obernewtyn if only for how the apocalypse came to pass). She subtly complicates the narrative to introduce or perhaps reiterate the whole social status issue. The novel discourses on themes of progress, modernizations, social disparity, culture and other equally intriguing things. The romance, because it is a romance novel, becomes more interesting when Elliott is given a much more legitimate reason for her rejection of Kai’s offer. However, what this is does is make Kai look extremely bullish. Austen tipped the scale in favor of her male lead while Peterfreund does the opposite. Is it because her audience is mostly female or is there a larger market for strong female characters?

I don’t know but what we can agree on is that Kai is an ass for the majority of the novel. It is not as though we cannot understand where he’s coming from but the fact that he refuses to see from Elliott’s perspective makes him less than an appealing love interest. I also found it extremely icky that he focuses his interest and courtship to a fourteen year old. For a long while, I didn’t know what to make of Elliott. She seemed like a drippy sort but then she’d have these moments of steel and dignity that gave me pause and kept me reading. The story flows softly and Peterfreund deftly creates atmosphere and keeps the plot moving. I found the issue with Elliott’s cousin handled a bit too neatly and I don’t think the issues with Elliott’s father were as detailed as I would have liked it to be.

When all is said and done, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a character study, a look at greed, fear and humanity. I enjoyed it.

Ironskin – Tina Connolly (Review)

Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: October 2nd 2012 by Tor Books
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

Jane Eliot wears an iron mask.

It’s the only way to contain the fey curse that scars her cheek. The Great War is five years gone, but its scattered victims remain—the ironskin.

When a carefully worded listing appears for a governess to assist with a “delicate situation”—a child born during the Great War—Jane is certain the child is fey-cursed, and that she can help.

Teaching the unruly Dorie to suppress her curse is hard enough; she certainly didn’t expect to fall for the girl’s father, the enigmatic artist Edward Rochart. But her blossoming crush is stifled by her own scars, and by his parade of women. Ugly women, who enter his closed studio…and come out as beautiful as the fey.

Jane knows Rochart cannot love her, just as she knows that she must wear iron for the rest of her life. But what if neither of these things is true? Step by step Jane unlocks the secrets of her new life—and discovers just how far she will go to become whole again.

Review:

The trick to enjoying this novel is to completely disregard the publicity that states this is a retelling and go into it with the mindset that though it may have some similarities to the Bronte masterpiece, it is very much its own novel and deals with themes that are not at all similar (somewhat) to the original. I started this book quite a while ago and then, due to lack of interest, closed it and read something else. Google Calendar told me I had better read it soon as its release date is fast coming up and I thought, oh why not, let me try it. So I did and I finished it liking it more than I had thought I would, considering the rather blah beginning. So the following will be something of a review with the inevitable comparison thrown in. For the record, I am a huge Jane Eyre fan and very critical when it comes to retellings (as evidenced by my review of Jane by April Lindner).

Ironskin takes place in an alternate world that is recovering from the aftermath of a war with the Fae. The humans won though it was a pyrrhic victory and the human survivors of this war found a number of themselves suffering from a fey curse. Jane Elliot is one such survivor. She is cursed when she tries to save her brother from the fae and ends up being cursed with rage. The curse emanates from one scarred side of her face and she wears ironskin to hold the curse in. The only similar thing, in my opinion, the novel has to Jane Eyre is the superficial setting – a widower and his daughter wanting a governess – and shades of Jane, both the original and the one in Ironskin. Jane finds herself situated at the manor with instructions to ensure that the fey cursed daughter of a Mr. Rochart remembers how to be human.

The novel gives Dorie a larger part than Jane Eyre gave the child character and I appreciated that. Jane’s struggle to establish some sort of relationship with Dorie also makes for interesting reading as do her relationships with the domestic staff. I liked her relationship with her sister, a new addition, and I also liked the various other characters. The plot diverges from the original story and though there is another woman present, she is markedly different from the crazy wife in the attic…well, she is still crazy but there is no attic present. The pacing is good and the reflective voice of the protagonist is engaging. Rochart is not creepily older than Jane though he acts as if he is (thank you Ms. Connolly) and there is also very little romance present. Actually, let me talk about this for a bit. I found Rochart the least developed of all characters. I couldn’t connect to him because he just not present in the novel – not as much as I would have liked him to be anyway. The romance also, though there is not much of it, is also the weakest portion. There is potential for the chemistry to be developed but it isn’t. But since this is a series, I can hold out hope that Connolly will work on her characterizations (and romance) more. I had no problem with Jane actually and I quite liked her but where Jane Eyre has this internal monologue going on, Jane of Ironskin does not. Not really. But honestly, Bronte was a master at characterization and it seems a tad unfair to compare. We know what Jane Elliot’s primary conflict is and I liked how Connolly expounds on this conflict and makes it into one of the greater themes of the novel – beauty. What beauty is and the sacrifice one must make for it. Can a sacrifice be too much? And how are we prisoners of beauty?

I can’t go into a true discussion of the novel without giving stuff away but I’d love to discuss the greater implications of the masks with anyone who is interested. I ended up liking the book even though I was convinced I wouldn’t. I liked how it took Jane Eyre but instead of being faithful to it, gave the novel its own twist that suited the setting Ironskin occurs in. Also – badass fairies who straddle the line between black and grey. Do I recommend it to you? Yes but it is a conditional recommendation and your enjoyment of this totally depends on how much you want this book to be like Jane Eyre.

The House of Silk – Anthony Horowitz (A review)

Hardcover, 294 pages
Published November 1st 2011 by Mulholland Books
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

For the first time in its one-hundred-and-twenty-five-year history, the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel.

Once again, THE GAME’S AFOOT…

London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man in a flat cap – a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place.

Almost unwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn ever deeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teeming criminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opium dens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear the whispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connects the highest levels of government to the deepest depths of criminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society.

The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate chose the celebrated, #1 New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz to write The House of Silk because of his proven ability to tell a transfixing story and for his passion for all things Holmes. Destined to become an instant classic, The House of Silk brings Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world’s greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous to ever appear in print…until now.

Review:

The House of Silk reimagines the world Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson inhabited. It tries to bring to life the legendary figure of Holmes and the beloved Watson. I haven’t read any of the original work so I will not be able to compare the two. However, I have watched the BBC adaptation and I must say that I could not help but compare the two even though I know that both have taken some liberties in their portrayals of the characters.

The House of Silk moves a bit too slowly for my taste. As a reader, I am patient, however, I felt that the narrative was oddly stagnant and the pacing was deliberately delayed. I also am not a fan of the dire foreshadowing – no, I am okay with it once or twice but when it happens frequently in the novel, it makes me feel as if I ought to be on tenterhooks while expecting the worst to happen instead of being allowed to come upon the situation unprepared and discover for myself the richness of the emotions evoked by these unexpected happening – tragic though they may be.

The progression of the narrative aside, I also had trouble with the characterizations of Holmes and, to a lesser degree, Watson. As I said previously, I have watched the BBC adaptation of Holmes and constructed my expectations of his character from the show. Horowitz infuses his Holmes with a very explicit humanity that I felt was at odds with the character as I had imagined him. Maybe it is because the book is written by a contemporary author who can’t help but shape his Holmes in a way more pertinent to the times but I felt that the callousness that is companion to Holmes’ superior intellect is far more fitting than the moral chaos this Holmes finds himself in after one of the homeless kids he has working for him winds up dead. In my mind, the original Holmes would have pragmatically denied any blame because he understood that he did not directly influence the boy’s actions that led to his murder.

Again, this may be due to the fact that to me, Holmes is personified as Benedict Cumberbatch plays him. I found that Holmes reflecting on his actions and being troubled by them sat ill with me. Dr. Watson does not have much of a personality in the novel. Instead, he becomes this vessel through which we view Holmes and perhaps it is because he is more in touch with his human side that he sees in Holmes the same thing. I guess perspective is very important.

The House of Silk has some really interesting writing, an example of which is this gem:

            “It was a fairy dismal place with tattered curtains, a mouldering carpet and a bed that looked more exhausted than anyone who might have attempted to sleep in it.” (page 66)

In conclusion, I enjoyed the book to a degree. As a 21^st century reader though, it definitely lacked the speed and sustained tension that I like in my mysteries. If you are looking for something similar to the BBC adaptation or the Robert Downey Junior adaptations, this may not the book for you.

Saving Juliet – Suzanne Selfors

Hardcover, 256 pages
Published January 22nd 2008 by Walker & Company
Source: Library

Synopsis:

Manhattan meets Verona in this time-bending twist on Shakespeare.

When Mimi is magically thrust into the middle of Shakespeare’s Verona, she must find a way to help Juliet fight for her future happiness. Will she be able to give this classic tragedy a happy ending?

Review:

Anyone who tries to categorize this book will be confused about which category it belongs in exclusively. This book reads like a contemporary with historical bits thrown – not to mention the slightly supernatural stuff which allows contemporary kids to land in what probably was a fictional place that existed only in Shakespeare’s mind.

I liked this book. It’s not the best one out there but it is amusing, it is entertaining and it leaves you with a warm feeling in your stomach. The main character’s Mom seems controlling and downright tyrannical but her redemption when it does come is believable. The other mother in this one? Evil to the core. And I liked that because anything else would have been cheesy as all heck.

The main attraction of this book is the narrative voice. MC is spunky, wry and with a self-deprecating humour that never spills over into self-hate territory. The love interest is also very human despite his mega star status. Instead of being a cardboard character designed for nothing but the thrills that come from kissing, this dude is flawed but not too flawed, thoughtful and charming when he remembers.

The novel is a somewhat shortened bildungsroman, well, a variant of it anyway. The main characters’ sojourn in the land of Romeo and Juliet is well narrated. I like how the author diverges from what’s written in the play and begins to make it into a realistic portrayal of life but then slips back into the highly melodramatic fictional turn. It keeps things interesting and fresh. Juliet is also charming and her personality is too endearing to allow her death. MC manages to find both herself and to do what she intends to. She also finds love along the way.

In conclusion, this is a very heartwarming novel that is perfect for a rainy day (or a sunny one). It will leave you with a smile on your face.

The Swan Kingdom – Zoe Marriott (Review)

Hardcover, 272 pages
Published March 25th 2008 by Candlewick Press
Source: Library

Synopsis:

Shadows fall across the beautiful, lush kingdom after the queen is attacked by an unnatural beast, and the healing skills of her daughter, Alexandra, cannot save her. Too soon the widowed king is spellbound by a frightening stranger, a woman whose eyes reflect no light. In a terrifying moment, all Alexandra knows disappears, including her beloved brothers, leaving her banished to a barren land. But Alexandra has more gifts than she realizes as she confronts magic, murder, and the strongest of evil forces, and is unflinchingly brave as she struggles to reclaim what is rightfully hers. Fantasy lovers will be held in thrall by this tale full of visual detail, peppered with a formidable destructive force and sweetened with familial and romantic love.

Review

I really liked Marriott’s Shadows on the Moon and considering her superior writing skills, happily dived into The Swan Kingdom expecting the same kind of crisp narrative, plotting and character development that made me like Shadows on the Moon so much. However, while the writing skill is undeniable, I cannot say I enjoyed the novel as much as I liked Shadows on the Moon. I don’t even think it’s the novel’s fault. I just felt that it lacked the complexity I had expected of it.

Perhaps it was intended for a younger audience because while the threads were available for a much richer tapestry, I found the novel to be simple and resolved too neatly to have any lasting effect on me. This is not to say the novel was bad. It wasn’t. It was entertaining and I enjoyed reading it to a certain degree. It just wasn’t the awesomeness I was expecting. I think this has to do with how easily the romantic angle is resolved in the novel. The main character also treats her future mother in law with a laxity that is at odds with her position both as a queen and as her future mother in law. The villain-ness is defeated too easily and as I said, the conclusion is too pat and simple. I wanted something more.

That said, you may enjoy it way more than I did, though, so try it out and make up your own mind.

Tiger Lily – Jodi Lynn Anderson (Review)

Hardcover, 292 pages
Expected publication: July 3rd 2012 by HarperTeen
Source: HarperCollins Canada (Thanks Shannon)
Official Website

Synopsis:

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn’t believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she’s ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland’s inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she’s always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it’s the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who’s everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn’t grow up.

Review:

I don’t know if I’m ready to write a review of this book. Then again, I don’t know if I ever will so let me put on my big girl pants and get on with it.

The novel is narrated from Tinkerbell’s perspective and before I continue, I must point out a sticking point here. Tink says she has no language (by which I think she meant she can’t talk) but she is TALKING or rather narrating to us which belies her assertion that she has no language. She also talks about her father telling her to stay away from the Lost Boys again indicating that the fairies communicate in their own way. So I think that the author may need to make it more specific that she couldn’t talk to humans or that she had no language for the humans or whatnot rather than making the sweeping comment that fairies have no “language” when clearly they do.

That said, Tiger Lily is such a beautiful book. Obviously the readers are already acquainted with Never Land but Anderson builds the world so exquisitely that you can almost smell the damp earth in the forest, hear the sound of the waves hitting the surf and envision the burrow where the Lost Boys tumble around like puppies. Her characterizations are also spot on. Tiger Lily is written as an almost feral girl, at one with the nature she revels in. Her life in all its twists may try to break her but she has more pride, more strength than to let it. She is perhaps one of the most compelling heroines I have read this year. Her relationship with Peter Pan who is also as broken and as beautiful as she is is the kind of romances you secretly read about and yearn for. I never thought I’d hate Wendy but I think in this book, I did. I hated her a lot. Tiger Lily’s heartbreak is exquisitely written and I mean it is so well written that you can’t stop reading even as your heart cracks and breaks. There is this otherworldly sense about the book; it almost feels as though you are peeking into the past and you cannot breathe too loud lest you scare the characters away. The plotting, pacing and the bittersweet ending are, again, exquisitely rendered.

Tiger Lily is a beautiful reimagining of Peter Pan and The Never Land. Anderson gives the story more depth and more dimension. She makes it richer both with her narration and her additions to the classic. I truly recommend it.