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cyphomandra27 degrees today (80F for my international readers) and I am now trying to pack winter clothes, thus creating a mild cognitive dissonance. The main problem I have (well, currently) is coats, in that I can have a coat that is a) waterproof or b) stylish or c) warm, but I only have two coats that manage even two of these, both of which will take up significant amounts of packing space and one of which is about 18 years old. Hmm. Maybe I should see this as an excuse to go shopping.
Heather Quarles, A door near here. Teenage Katherine tries to look after her three younger siblings as her mother retreats further into alcoholism, and her father (separated, with a new partner and more convenient family) fails to notice. Nicely done – shows the limitations in Katherine’s thinking (her determination not to tell anyone, in particular, and how this eventually leads to a fairly appalling action that she regrets almost immediately, but cannot undo) in an understanding way. Is about Christianity in a low-key sort of way that I haven’t encountered in a lot of children’s/YA post-1950s – the title refers to the Narnia series, which the youngest child is obsessed with and the school the girls attend is religious, as are the teachers (to varying degrees of helpfulness) but it's thoughtful and well-done. I wasn't blown away by this book, but it's good.
Ysabeau Wilce, Flora's Dare. I was mixed about the first one and I’m mixed on this as well. I love the world and the world-building, the gender equality, the Spanish/Mexican references, the way the plot of this book builds on the last, and Flora’s voice is entertaining, but it’s still not working as a whole for me – I bought the first but borrowed this from the library, and this hasn’t altered that decision. One problem is that, when an insurmountable problem occurs, and Flora is pushed to her limit, she will suddenly (in this and the last book) find herself using the Gramatica, the magic system, in a way beyond all her previous knowledge that turns out to be the vital thing she needs to escape or whatever. It is possible the third book may explain this, but currently it feels like cheating (for the plot and the characters) and it bugs me.
The second annoyance is, perhaps, more my own problem, but in an early scene Flora is at a club, and has to go to the loo. When she gets there a giant tentacle slithers out of the toilets and attacks her, which I thought was a nice scene, and she eventually defeats it and escapes. To head back through the club and do various other things without ever getting to go to the loo at all (unless I missed something - there's a line about "she really needed to go" beforehand, but nothing afterwards), and all my anxiety on her behalf (I become most anxious when characters are deprived of sleep - To Say Nothing of the Dog was great for this - but food, medical treatment and bathroom accessibility are also possibilities) was frustrated - suddenly Flora became a book character again, rather than a real person. It's like the Gramatica thing, in that what happens is convenient, but not necessarily right for the story.
Vivian Vande Velde, User Unfriendly. Another one in the same computer role-playing game as Heir Apparent, but much less good. I like that the lead has his mother accompany him into the game, and I like the idea of the conflict between his perceptions of the character he plays and the others' (although the execution didn't work as well), but otherwise I wasn't all that wild about the story.
Heather Quarles, A door near here. Teenage Katherine tries to look after her three younger siblings as her mother retreats further into alcoholism, and her father (separated, with a new partner and more convenient family) fails to notice. Nicely done – shows the limitations in Katherine’s thinking (her determination not to tell anyone, in particular, and how this eventually leads to a fairly appalling action that she regrets almost immediately, but cannot undo) in an understanding way. Is about Christianity in a low-key sort of way that I haven’t encountered in a lot of children’s/YA post-1950s – the title refers to the Narnia series, which the youngest child is obsessed with and the school the girls attend is religious, as are the teachers (to varying degrees of helpfulness) but it's thoughtful and well-done. I wasn't blown away by this book, but it's good.
Ysabeau Wilce, Flora's Dare. I was mixed about the first one and I’m mixed on this as well. I love the world and the world-building, the gender equality, the Spanish/Mexican references, the way the plot of this book builds on the last, and Flora’s voice is entertaining, but it’s still not working as a whole for me – I bought the first but borrowed this from the library, and this hasn’t altered that decision. One problem is that, when an insurmountable problem occurs, and Flora is pushed to her limit, she will suddenly (in this and the last book) find herself using the Gramatica, the magic system, in a way beyond all her previous knowledge that turns out to be the vital thing she needs to escape or whatever. It is possible the third book may explain this, but currently it feels like cheating (for the plot and the characters) and it bugs me.
The second annoyance is, perhaps, more my own problem, but in an early scene Flora is at a club, and has to go to the loo. When she gets there a giant tentacle slithers out of the toilets and attacks her, which I thought was a nice scene, and she eventually defeats it and escapes. To head back through the club and do various other things without ever getting to go to the loo at all (unless I missed something - there's a line about "she really needed to go" beforehand, but nothing afterwards), and all my anxiety on her behalf (I become most anxious when characters are deprived of sleep - To Say Nothing of the Dog was great for this - but food, medical treatment and bathroom accessibility are also possibilities) was frustrated - suddenly Flora became a book character again, rather than a real person. It's like the Gramatica thing, in that what happens is convenient, but not necessarily right for the story.
Vivian Vande Velde, User Unfriendly. Another one in the same computer role-playing game as Heir Apparent, but much less good. I like that the lead has his mother accompany him into the game, and I like the idea of the conflict between his perceptions of the character he plays and the others' (although the execution didn't work as well), but otherwise I wasn't all that wild about the story.
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-23 04:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-23 07:19 am (UTC)If I get time before I go I do want to write up Terry Pratchett's Nation and Morris Gleitzman's Then, two of the best books I've read all year, so I can be entirely positive!