Book Notes: "The Winner's Curse", by Marie Rutkoski

"The Winner's Curse", by Marie Rutkoski is a YA fantasy: the story of  Kestrel, the daughter of an important general, and Arin, a slave who becomes a revolutionary.  The setting reminded me a bit of Sparta, with all the young people expected to either marry and produce children for the empire, or to sign up and become soldiers in order to spread the empire across yet more territories.

The title refers to the idea that winning can come at a steep - and unexpected - cost. Which is what Kestrel discovers when she wins Arin at a slave auction. That inadvertent victory changes her life and is the engine that starts the plot running through its paces.

I enjoyed this one. (I know: shocker! I pretty much only review books I enjoy - Twilight, you, as always, are the great exception.)

Kestrel made sense as a 17-year-old who is smart, but in over her head. I figured things out ahead of her, but that weirdly didn't bother me. Usually, running too far ahead of the main character is annoying in a book, but here, somehow, it just made Kestrel feel more real. I mean, how many times in real life have you looked back and thought, How in the world didn't I realize that sooner? In this book, the author was able to make Kestrel's slow realizations sympathetic, not annoying.

My favorite part was probably the setting: Kestrel's city used to belong to the people her general-father had a hand in conquering and the layering of the two cultures - conquered/rebelling and conquerer/defending - made for a fascinating world.

I appreciated that Rutkoski didn't gloss over the violence of the war as much as YA sometimes does. It's a sparkling, dream-like world, yes, but her characters' decisions have costs, and that makes for a good story.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell


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Yarnalong: "Wee Envelope" and "The Winner's Curse", by Marie Rutkoski

I'm linking up with Ginny, over at Small Things, who says, "Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading . . . I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?"

The knitting:
The pattern is "Wee Envelope" by Ysolda Teague. I love how this sweater is designed with a baby's big, wobbly head in mind. Some church friends of ours are expecting their first baby, a boy, and I'm excited to be knitting a little something for them.

I also love the chance to pray for the baby and the parents as I knit. Does anyone else do this, as they work on a gift for someone? I bet I'm not alone in this habit . . .

The yarn is Loops & Threads Luxury Sock.  I like it because it has just a touch of cashmere (10%), but that's enough to make it noticeably soft to the touch, which is perfect for a baby garment.


The book:
I started this book yesterday, during my kids' swimming lessons: "The Winner's Curse", by Marie Rutkoski. So far? So good!  It's a typical YA spec. fic. set-up: we have our disaffected heroine, our mysterious hero, our weird unlikely society . . . but it's well done, and with this genre, that's what matters. 

I know I sound cynical when I talk about "a typical set-up", but I promise that I'm not. Writing genre well is hard, and I love genre lit. In this book, the writing is good and the setting is interesting and the protagonists are likeable and I want to keep reading, which thrills me. I love finding a story that pulls me in and this one does. I'm curious to see where the author is going with this plot and these characters and I'm enjoying the journey.

So, what are you knitting or reading?

Peace of Christ to you,

Jessica Snell

 

This post contains an Amazon affiliate link; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.  (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)

Book Notes: "The Blue Sword", by Robin McKinley

I think I've read this before, but if I have, it was so long ago that I'd forgotten almost all of it.


"The Blue Sword", by Robin McKinley, is, as far as I can tell, the first fantasy novel published by Robin McKinley, one of my favorite authors.

The reason I'm not sure whether or not I'd read this before is that though the beginning felt familiar the ending was a complete surprise. The likeliest explanation is that I started this when I was a teenager and never actually finished it.

But I couldn't help but finish it this time, because it was so, so good.

It's definitely old-fashioned. The point-of-view shifts drunkenly from character to character, which is a definite no-no for authors these days. But I kind of loved it in this book: the drifting POV made it feel comfortably familiar, properly fitting in with the distinguished fantasy novels of my youth. (Oh youth! - the sixty-year-old me will probably laugh at me for feeling old right now.)

So what is it about? Well, Harry (as the main character, Angharad, prefers to be known) is sent to the outskirts of the empire after the death of her parents. Clearly mirroring the British empire, this fantasy empire known as "Home" has subjugated much of the known world - but not all of it. The mountain people of Damar are still free, and the border with Damar is right where our heroine has been sent.

Early in the novel, Harry is kidnapped by the King of Damar, but the kidnapping isn't ill-meant, and in fact, becoming "of Damar" ends up being the making of Harry, and the making of Harry ends up being the saving of Damar - and alsoof the empire of "Home".

It would be easy to dismiss this as a paint-by-numbers Hero's Journey, except that McKinley wrote this before the hero's journey was so fashionable for writers. Also, "The Blue Sword" is so earnest - in the best of ways - and it can't be mistaken for a dull, fashionable, by-the-book legend. It's too real, too immediate and, in some ways, too imperfect.

I loved it. I argued with it, I wanted more explanation in some parts, I fought with it, I didn't like everyone in it, but I loved it.


McKinley is very good, and she became more polished later ("Shadows" is an excellent example - you can read my review of it here), but she was good from the beginning, and this book proves it.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)

Book Notes: "The Living", by Matt de la Peña

I picked up "The Living" by Matt de la Peña because I'd enjoyed a short story of his that I read in "My True Love Gave to Me".

"The Living" starts off as an ordinary contemporary YA, about a young man named "Shy" who's working on a ritzy cruise ship in order to earn enough money to help out his family back home (in Otay Mesa, near San Diego, by the US/Mexico border).

But soon Shy's ordinary routine becomes something else, after he's the closest witness to a passenger who commits suicide and then he finds he's being stalked by a mysterious man in a suit. Weird becomes worse when "the Big One" finally hits Los Angeles, generating a series of gigantic tsunamis that overtake the cruise ship and kill almost everyone on board.

Shy manages to survive the initial disaster, but it's clear he's not out of danger yet, and worse becomes worser and worsest . . . annnnnnnnnnnnnnd, no spoilers from me. The journey's too good to spoil it. I will say: this is an adventure book, a post-apocalyptic book, and if being lost at sea is your personal nightmare, well, you'll find plenty of terrifying fodder here.

This is clearly a YA book, with a bit of romance and a ton of action, but nothing too graphic. However, I've come to genuinely enjoy YA: without the easy out of simply bludgeoning the reader over the head with either sex or violence, what you're often left with is just a good story, full of compelling characters.

Shy's outlook is pretty bleak, when you get down to it. His musings as he's pretty sure he's dying aren't exactly full of hope or any kind of surety of eternal meaning. But in action, he's a decent sort who looks out for his friends and often puts their well-being above his own.

In other words, he's a guy you can root for.

In one of his Goodreads blog entries, author de la Peña says:

The Living is a different book for me. It's an action-driven disaster novel. I wanted to take my usual mixed-race, working class characters and put them in a bigger context. Why? I want to reveal to a wider audience the heart and dignity (as well as the flaws) of kids growing up on the "wrong side of the tracks." My dream is for The Living to reach suburban folks, too, this time. And kids in private schools. And middle class adult readers who dig YA. So instead of bringing story conflict to my characters and letting them fight it out on their own turf (rough southern California neighborhoods), I brought my characters to the conflict, in this case a luxury cruise ship bound for Hawaii.

And I have to say: boy, he succeeded. I love de la Peña's voice, and now I want to go and find his earlier books, set in those rough southern California neighborhoods he mentions. Voice is the thing that carries you through a book; it's the thing that makes the book easy to read, no matter how much hard territory the author wants to carry you over.

De la Peña has a voice I'm willing to listen to, even if it's in genres that aren't usually my favorites. That's a rare thing, and I'm so happy to find a new author I like that much.

Some content warnings for violence, mayhem, a tiny bit of sexual content, and a mildly hopeless worldview. Probably appropriate for older teenagers, but parents give it a look first.


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

This post contains an Amazon affiliate link; if you purchase a book from this link, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.  (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)

Weekend Links - wine, vaccines, and more!

Interesting reading from around the Web:

"We made a sommelier taste all the Trader Joe's Two-Buck Chuck":

Here's the thing, though: some of it's actually pretty damn good, and could easily be sold as Nine-to-Eleven-Buck Chuck without anyone being the wiser.

So we brought in two devoted tasters to blindly drink eight different types of Charles Shaw Blend, hit us with detailed notes, and determine 1) which bottles are totally palatable and even enjoyable, and 2) which should be avoided as if they were made by Chuck Woolery, who, it turns out, makes terrible wine.

"Growing Up Unvaccinated":

Pain, discomfort, the inability to breathe or to eat or to swallow, fever and nightmares, itching all over your body so much that you can’t stand lying on bed sheets, losing so much weight you can’t walk properly, diarrhea that leaves you lying prostrate on the bathroom floor, the unpaid time off work for parents (and if you’re self employed that means NO INCOME), the quarantine, missing school, missing parties, the worry, the sleepless nights, the sweat, the tears and the blood, the midnight visits to A and E, sitting in a doctor’s waiting room on your own because no one will sit near you because they’re rightfully scared of those spots all over your kid’s face.

Those of you who have avoided childhood illnesses without vaccines are lucky. You couldn’t do it without us pro-vaxxers. Once the vaccination rates begin dropping, the less herd immunity will be able to protect your children. The more people you convert to your anti-vax stance, the quicker that luck will run out.

"Celebrating Epiphany": I love Ann's ideas for month-long celebration! Very creative and family-friendly.

"The God of the Coming Year":

And Osteen’s books be damned, you may have the worst year of days you have ever seen.

"Resolve to Resolve":

In the place where hope meets grace, there is God. God is where resolutions become effective. God is where change happens. Grace is the answer to the naysayers, those voices both within and without who say that you cannot start afresh. Grace is the breath of fresh air in April when the resolutions of the new year and even the Lenten promises look like one big heap of failed attempts at perfection. Grace reminds us that His power is made perfect in our weakness and the true growth in holiness is in the soul’s earnest effort. Grace is sufficient. Sufficient? It’s abundant.

"Rainbow Rowell and the World with No Rules":

. . . YA novels should be written for teen readers, not adults who just want the teenagers in the books to hurry up and grow up. I’m not advocating for the teens in this book to grow up already and have their worldview and ethics all figured out. I just want them to have something, preferably Christianity, but something, to push against, to wrestle with, and possibly to grow into. 

"The Invisible Anglicanism of CS Lewis":

It is striking that as much as Lewis spoke about mere Christianity, when asked to speak about his own spiritual life he constantly returned to his roots in Anglicanism. Lewis might have written about a broad Christian orthodoxy, but the spiritual experience that enabled him to do so was much narrower. 

Book Notes: "Shadows" by Robin McKinley

Shadows by Robin McKinley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, how I wish this book had been longer. Not because it felt unfinished or because it ended in an unsatisfying place, but just because I was enjoying it so much, and I wanted to stay in the world a little longer. I was loathe to leave it.

The best part of Shadows is the voice. I instantly believed the narrator was the smart, somewhat grouchy teenage girl she said she was, and her matter-of-fact explanations about her odd world and her normal self felt very real. And because of that very real narrator, McKinley was able to pull of one of the neatest characterization tricks I've ever seen. I don't want to go into detail, because it would spoil it, but someone turns out to be someone different than you thought he was, and because of the viewpoint (and limitations of viewpoint) of the narrator, I was totally able to buy him both as the person the narrator first thinks he is, and as the person he actually turned out to be. It was a lovely suspense, and then a lovely surprise, both.

I admit that I almost didn't read this one, because the gloomy cover and gloomy title put me off. But it's not gloomy at all, even if it is a bit mysterious and sometimes scary. Instead, it's a slow-building fairy tale with familiar characters and fantastical details. Loved it!

And really, really, truly? I did not want it to end.

View all my reviews

Book Notes: "A Conspiracy of Kings" by Megan Whalen Turner

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, I meant to go to sleep at 11 last night and made the mistake of picking up this book. Ended up getting to bed close to 3 in the morning, completely satisfied because I'd just swallowed a most excellent story in one delicious gulp. Golly, Turner is good!

View all my reviews

-Jessica Snell

Book Notes: "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I found this book through a recommendation by Lois McMaster Bujold (whose own work I can't recommend highly enough) and I'm glad I picked it up.

This book follows a thief, Gen, on a quest to steal a magical object. The twist (well, the first twist) is that he's plucked from his jail cell by a magus and told he'll go on the quest or else.

The story is set in a fictitious world that's nonetheless highly influenced by the world of ancient Greece, and Turner did a marvelous job of it - you can practically see the silver light reflecting off of the leaves of the olive trees.

This story also did something I've never seen done before, and I don't want to talk too much about it for fear of spoiling the fun. Suffice it to say: it's very clever. The whole book is compelling, but after I read the last chapter, I wanted to go back and read the whole thing again, because there's information at the end that casts everything that happened before it in an entirely new light.

Yet even without that extra information, the first read-through is excellent. The story didn't need what she did at the end in order to be a good story - it already was. But the end gave you a second good story, almost as a bonus. It's almost as if Turner wrote two books, and you get to read both of them at the same time, and you don't realize that you actually read two till you're at the end.

And if that sounds confusing, well, the fault is mine. The book's not confusing, not at all. Just good, and clever. Recommended.

View all my reviews

Book Notes: "Partials" by Dan Wells

Partials by Dan Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A friend of mine complained recently about the passivity of YA heroines. My suggestion to her? Try "Partials" by Dan Wells.

I just finished this post-apocalyptic novel - and yes, it's another post-apocalyptic YA novel, but it distinguishes itself from the pack by being good.

What's good about it? Well, to start, the proactive heroine. Kira's strongest characteristic is that she does what she thinks is right, even if it costs her. Does she always have enough information to choose the right thing? No, and that's why we have a plot. But I liked reading about a girl who was actively doing her best to fix the problems in front of her, and that without being idiotically headstrong either (she takes her time to think about things - at least when events give her time enough to do so).

The plot works too. The action and complications tick over nicely, and the main story has a satisfying resolution, while still leaving plenty of interesting questions for the sequel. The setting matters, but this isn't a book with a ton of sensory detail, it's more about character and action than about all-encompassing sensory immersion in the world.

I don't know what else to say . . . is this the book that's going to revolutionize literature? No. But it was just a thoroughly good read. I liked it a lot and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

View all my reviews

Book Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Bumped is another YA sci-fi, and I found it much more satisfying than the last one I read ("Delirium"), if still falling far short of books like Feed or The Hunger Games.
In "Bumped", everyone over the age of 18-20 is infertile, which leaves the entire burden of propagating the human race on the shoulders of . . . the teenagers. Talk about your nightmare scenarios.
Its creative premise is the first thing that "Bumped" has going for it, and the second thing is all the interesting details that McCafferty uses to fill out her near-future world - most of it slightly advanced versions of technology like smart phones and social networking sites.
The third thing that really makes this novel work is that McCafferty chooses an interesting person for her heroine: the first girl to go pro as a surrogate. Making her heroine one of the leaders of social change (even though it's her parents who push their entrepreneurial vision on her) is what pushes the plot forward and allows for an ending that both feels like an ending and that promises interesting developments in the next book. Throw in an estranged identical twin who was raised in a repressive religious compound and you've got a story that ticks over nicely from chapter to chapter.
The religious twin is probably my least favorite part of the novel: at one point she ends up equating the physical perfection of the prize stud (teenage boys as well as girls are caught up in the reproduction-for-profit business) with her vision of Jesus, and I wasn't able to get any useful social commentary from that; it seemed like the author was just having fun with the girl's naiveté in a way that struck me as irreverent.
But overall this was a good read that followed through on its fascinating "what-if" speculative premise, and I'm curious to see where the series goes from here.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell